GOD PLEASE DONT DO IT!

 

                                  

When David Livingstone began ministry, some of the native tribes opposed him. One afternoon word was out that the warriors were outside the camp. They were going to kill everyone when it got dark. Livingstone wrote in his journal that night on January 14, 1856. “It is evening; I feel much turmoil and fear in the prospect of having all my plans destroyed by savages who are just now outside the camp.

But Jesus said ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and earth and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the earth’. This is the word of a gentleman of sacred honor, so that is the end of my fear. I feel quiet and calm now’. They did not attack that night. Later the tribe was brought to faith in Christ. Years later, Livingstone asked the chief of the tribe ‘that night ...why didn’t you attack?’ The chief said ‘when we got close to the camp we saw 47 warriors surrounding your camp with swords in their hands’.

Livingstone was baffled, they didn’t have any guards. Later when on vacation in Scotland, he shared this story at a church that was supporting him. A man came up to him afterwards with his prayer journal. He said ‘Look I wrote it down; January 14, 1856 was that the night?’ Livingstone said yes. The man said “that night a group of men came to pray for you. We prayed for your protection. I wrote it down. There were 47 men praying that night for you’.

In Ezekiel 22 the destruction of Jerusalem is certain and God tells Ezekiel to prophesy regarding its impending doom. God calls Jerusalem "the bloody city “(v.2). Through the years, Jerusalem had been called the Holy City (Isa 48:2), the city of righteousness, the faithful city (Isa 1:26), the mountain of his holiness (Ps. 48:1). But at this point in her history, God calls it “the bloody city”. Nahum had in the previous century arraigned Nineveh as the bloody city (Nahum 3:1). Jerusalem is now as bad as Nineveh.

Verses 8-12 list numerous sins being committed in Jerusalem. They despise holy things and profane God’s Sabbaths v. 8. Their princes shed innocent blood, oppress strangers and mistreat the fatherless and the widows’ vv. 6, 7. The people are so morally bankrupt that they commit incest and adultery (vv.10-11). They have become so materialistic and cheating has become cultural norm. Bribery is the regular order of business. Gain by oppression is rampant throughout Jerusalem (vv. 12, 20). Does this sound familiar?

God said to Ezekiel that the house of Israel had become dross to him v.18. The process of turning ore into metal is called smelting. Smelting is accomplished by filling a furnace with ore and heating it up. The metal naturally sinks to the bottom, while impurities float to the surface to form a scum, which is then scraped off. God desired pure silver, but Israel was the scum of impurity. The prophets had conspired to give false hope to the people, all for monetary gain. In so doing they had condemned the people to death.

In the midst of that corruption, God says “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. Therefore I have… consumed them with the fire of my wrath (vv. 30-31). Even though God’s power is beyond any human resistance, we get the impression here that God is willing to be stopped by intercessors from carrying out destruction.  “But where are the intercessors?” God asked.

The role of intercessors can be quite tasking and challenging. Have you given up precious time praying fervently for a family member, a close friend or the country only to find that the more you pray, the more things get worse? The case is now hopeless. Do you give up or for how much longer should you continue? If you give up what is the consequence? Is a hopeless case necessarily a lost cause? If God is looking for intercessors, why does it seem that He sometimes does not hear them?

Jesus assured his followers, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will be done for you” (John 15: 7). John says, “This is the confidence that we have, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14-16).  We read in proverbs 15: 29 that, “The Lord… hears the prayer of the righteous” and “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

Taking all together, we can postulate that the ability of intercessors to successfully intercede depends on God’s will and the intercessor’s “righteousness.” An intercessor should ask for what is already in the will of God by way of a promise or His purposes. In Exodus 32, Aaron made a molten calf, God was furious with the “stiff-necked people” who did not deserve to live (vv. 7-10). However, Moses interceded on their behalf by reminding God of His promises (vv. 12-14, 28).  His prayers availed much because God had promised.

King Herod killed James and put Peter in jail, hoping to also kill him soon after the Passover. To prevent Peter’s escape, Herod put four quads of soldiers (16 soldiers) to guard him (Acts 12: 1-4)! But, constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church (Acts 12: 5). The night before Peter’s planned execution; an angel of God appeared in the prison and set Peter free (Acts 12: 8-11). Prayers delivered Peter from death because the matter was in line with God’s purpose.

The prayers of the most righteous intercessor cannot avail anything if the people persist in their unfaithfulness “if a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness…even if Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they would only deliver themselves by their righteousness” (Ezek. 14: 12-14). These were the most righteous men in Israel’s history yet; Noah could not preserve his world from being drowned. Job could not preserve his children from being killed. Daniel could not prevent the captivity of his people.

After David had repented his adultery, God told him that He had forgiven his sins but added, “Because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child who is born to you shall surely die” (2 Sam. 12: 1-14).  When the child fell ill, David fasted and lay all night on the ground, hoping that the Lord will be gracious to him. But, on the seventh day the child died (vv. 15-18; 22). His prayer could not avail anything because it was a settled matter to God.

We are living in days similar to Ezekiel’s, days where the Church is close to “a scum”. But God is seeking intercessors to stand in the gap and reverse things. Are you an intercessor?  You have access to the very presence of God. Don’t leave your post, you have been appointed by God; do not keep silent day and night. Take no rest and give God no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isa.62:6-7). What does it take to become a great intercessor and to gain audience with God?

Bible intercessor had a great personal relationship with God. Knowledge of the Scriptures helps you to know the promises and the will of God. Sin and persistent rebellion against God blocks the prayer line. Examine your life and prayer petitions. Is your relationship with God right? Are your petitions in line with Gods will? If so your case is not hopeless. You are not interceding over a lost cause. Keep praying, it will be done, with God nothing is impossible!

Make great requests, ask without ceasing, lay hold of him and do not let go. Wrestle with him like Jacob did and change things that look hopeless, in your life, in the lives of others, in your workplace, in church anywhere.  Give God no rest until Jerusalem, his chosen city, is restored to its intended position on earth, as the city of righteousness, the faithful city, the mountain of God’s holiness. Give him no rest until the church (today’s Jerusalem) is in full splendor, complete and glorious.