Sunday Evening Worship Service

keep that same Spirit as you make your way back to your seats and just remain standing with me if you would my heart is very heavy this this uh Sunday evening um I want to say a special thank you to brother Ryan George sister Stacy George brother Underwood brother Mark Wilson for shuttling our our students back and forth from youth retreat brother will sister chrisy brother vem sister Angela thank you all so can we give them a great big hand such a a tremendous blessing we received just the the devastating news this past week week of our our dear friend chado and uh was looking through his Instagram and he had a uh a video on his Instagram from our first service in this in this new building and we got to we got to meet Pastor Colby who's uh known brother chado around the around the same time that that we have when he came to Knoxville and uh he uh he pastors at Whit Stone Church he and his wife just just very precious precious people and they have a a Haitian service on Sunday evenings and he told us in the office now he said now I could get Chic to our Haitian service on Sunday evening but he said I didn't dare ask him on Sunday mornings where he was going to be because he loved fac and it's just uh this morning just just looking back there just right behind where brother Steve sat as uh is where he would come in at me and brother Steve were talking last week said no idea that would be is last last Sunday uh with us and um it just all the more just this this urgency this this urgency that life is is so very precious and uh just reminds us that I wouldn't have conflict with anybody if there if there's any trouble in your family if there's somebody you need to reach out to and say I'm sorry this life is just too too short and I'm thankful for for him and we um and had so many friends and family of course the great display by the Knoxville Police Department and just just so many of his friends and and family here we our hearts um just mourn for them and continue to mourn for them and thank you fac for ministering to them as you as you um always do and this um we we're going to be continuing to reach out to them and praying for them in the days in the days to come uh if you have your bibles if you would open up to the Book of Romans chapter 8 verse 26 just one verse of scripture and I won't keep you standing uh verse of scripture familiar that we we hear often likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit everybody say the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered I want to preach to you from the topic tonight A Prayer of intercession if you would uh let's let's pray one more time Heavenly Father we thank you tonight for allowing us the opportunity to to come into your presence father we thank you for the Legacy and the the ministry and the memory of our dear brother chado who has gone on to be with the Lord and we thank you for the time that you gave us with him and we won't forget his his his life and his service father I thank you for every individual that is in this house I thank you for every person tuning in online Lord speak to us through your word Overlook the inadequacies of the speaker tonight let your word let you be revealed in our situations in Jesus name we pray amen and amen and you can be seated a prayer of intercession intercessory prayer is a specific Act of Prayer that includes petition and a burden while all prayers are could be technically classified as intercessory prayers intercessory prayers reference as the associated with an unusually deep concern a heavy burden and an emergency or an impending crisis it's an act of prayer out of the ordinary usually associated with dire consequences should there there be no divine intervention uh to meet the need I as I as I look over my life one um one circumstance that I I was just forever ingrained in my uh in my mind and uh sister Heather Wilson's given the testimony uh before but uh when there young daughter Emily who's who's now a a great basketball player in College was just three two or three years old uh there was news that she might have drowned and it was just a a crisis and I remember Elder uh Dean and sister Brenda Wilson calling my grandparents on the phone on that Sunday afternoon and telling them just we don't know all of the details but we need you to pray and it was if I ever can think of an intercessory prayer it was there was an urgency there was there was a there was a need for divine intervention that something had to take place at that very moment and in addition to uh petitioning God prayer includes praise and worship and let me say God stepped in and intervened in that situation and the model of the Lord's Prayer begins with worship and it ends with praise and the presentation of petitions or requests to God or sandwich in between praise and worship and Believers of God in faith believing that he is God and that he answers the prayer and as children of God Believers can ask what they will of their heavenly father with trust and confidence of this loving relationship that there's no need to beg the father but he Delights the Gospel of Luke tells us Delights to Grant his children their request expressions of worship and praise to God that are made in various forms we offer our wholehearted worship when we desire to sincerely honor the Lord for all his goodness we worship Him by declaring his greatness and his attributes and we thank him for the privilege to be his children and his manifold blessings and many of the Psalms declare that we praise him in song the highest form of our vocal expression sing praises unto God sing praises sing praises unto our king sing praises for God is King all the Earth sing ye Praises with understanding reciting verses of scripture his Living Word the beauty of his own word filled with promises is an act of praise and and of itself praise dominates the believer's communion the relationship with God and this is as it should because all acts of prayer are important and acceptable to God but and praise brings Believers into his presence like we experienced earlier but Thou Art holy oh thou that inhabit us the Praises of Israel The Exodus from Egypt was a miracle in process the great miracle of Deliverance included three key events the appearance of Moses representing the I am before Pharaoh the plagues and The Parting of the Red Sea and though numerous prayers of intercession are given in the Old Testament Moses's prayer for Israel models the prayer of intercession even Paul's expression in Roman where he said I could wish myself were a cursed from Christ for my brethren my Kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israelites it's not as even as strong as Moses request to God to remove his name from The Book of Life if Israel was destroyed in God's anger Moses was actually facing the real possibility of God removing his name while Paul was theoretically willing for severance and Moses asked the Lord for Mercy Mercy one of the great attributes of God the justice of sin is death but the mercy of God is life that which makes Mercy possible is the shed blood when the blood of the sacrifice was placed on the mercy seat in the holy of holies God's consuming fire turned to Mercy and sins were forgiven when Israel began worshiping a golden calf at the foot of Mount Si God was angry he had just removed Israel from the physical bondage of slavery in Egypt and the spiritual bondage of idolatry and in the moment of their Rebellion God was detailing his loving laws to Moses God took very personally Israel's rebellion and turning to other gods Moses stood in the gap for the Israelites pleading with the Lord not to destroy his people again how it's a wonder that God chooses to engage with his people in accomplishing his purpose on Earth it seems that God was pleased that Moses had intered seeded stood in the Gap prayed that prayer of intercession on behalf of Israel he relented and did not destroy Israel and Moses's pleading for the people he did not excuse their guilt or Justify their wrong rather he entertained the Lord and intreated the Lord for Mercy Moses reminded the Lord that these were his people who he brought out of the land of Egypt and Moses continued his intercession by reminding the Lord of his Covenant blessing and the promise that he gave to a Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and God you remember what you promised re remember where you found them out remember the mercy that you gave them and the fact that he confirmed the Covenant with his own words was an oath unto his servants and Moses who had been in the presence of God for 40 days was speaking out of Love reflecting the greatest of all of God's attributes love abiding in Christ's presence will enable Believers to reflect his nature and characteristics in their own lives God's Mercy is Everlasting through intercession Believers can appeal to him on Mercy on behalf of others all of Moses family was born and lived in Egypt Moses saw the splendors of Egypt from inside Pharaoh's Palace he also witnessed the suffering of the people of Israel knowing he was himself an Israelite his heart has always been with them he forsook Egypt rather to suffer the Affliction with the people of God in Egypt Moses had already suffered greatly because of his love for the people of Israel he could not bear the thought of seeing them now destroyed and losing out on the Promises of God he was one of them Inseparable in suffering in spirit but strong in faith toward God knowing that he had a covenant promise with him and that he didn't lead him just this far that they would be Forsaken and he said God I love these people so much I I know they've mured against me and I I I know that they they they're worshiping Idol gods and I know you're your anger has has quack vexed at them and but God even if it cost me my name being blotted out Lord I stand in the gap for them right now and I intercede and plead their cause on your behalf and God would you please show Mercy would you show Mercy to my people I I know I've been up top of the mountain for 40 days communing with you and you've been riding out just the loving Lord laws and telling us how to live and you've provided us mana and you've split the Red Sea and you conquered one of the greatest Empires ever to exist in humanity and yet now only a few days later they're building a golden calf but God please don't destroy them these are my people and I love them it says Moses's love for the Israelites whoever does not love does not know God for God is love and we see this foreshadowing we see this prophetic story to a time as first Timothy tells us for there is one God and one mediator between God and man Christ Jesus the great intercessor Jesus taught extensively concerning prayer the gospel of Matthew captured his early teaching on the techniques of prayer and the Lord's Prayer as a model the other gospel writers also referenced his teaching in Parables on the subject but what is important is that Jesus actually prayed and in a few cases the contents of his prayers are recorded his prayers could fall into four different categories the first one being Thanksgiving such as when he broke bread and when he prayed at Lazarus tomb the second being the blessing such as the blessing of bread with the two disciples from Emmas and the blessing of those who were present to witness his Ascension the third being submission his submission in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane and number four the prayer of intercession Jesus often prayed such prayers Jesus prayed for Peter because Satan desired to destroy him Jesus prayed for his disciples and all who would believe which includes the Christians of all ages as a result of the disciples words Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him forgive them Father for they know they know not what they do Isaiah would prophesy therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors Jesus the Messiah poured out and emptied himself of his Divine privilege when he became human and he did so even unto death at the Last Supper with his disciples Jesus the Messiah took the cup and he said unto them drink all of you this is my blood this is the Covenant this is the reminder that that promise to Abraham that promise to to jaob that promise to Israel that that promise that if you drink from this cup which is poured out for the Forgiveness of sins I want you to know tonight that you can drink from the Cup tonight and it's it's Everlasting it's an everlasting flow and every one of us have to remember that we got to drink from the cup for our forgiveness of sins and Jesus the Messiah was numbered with the transgressors he was executed between two criminals he became sin for us in order to make us righteous in God's sight even though the Messiah obediently suffered these things yet he himself bore the sin of many and in interceded for the transgressors once again Isaiah reminds us that the Messiah suffered all of these things on whose behalf who's the transgressors that's me I'm the transgressor he died on behalf of every single one of us and he personally bore the penalty of sin that was due to us so we would not have to suffer and pay its horrible cost and in doing this the Messiah interceded for the transgressors which is you and I just as Moses interceded for his people God wrapped himself in flesh Jesus Christ the mediator between God and man and he became L he died on a cross for all of us and he became the substitution the [Music] intercessor so we wouldn't be blotted out would you clap your hands for that tonight and in three days he conquered death in the grave and Romans tells us 811 but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also Quicken your moral bodies by the spirit that dwelleth in you that means the same power that was alive in conquering death in the grave is the same power that is alive in you and that means we have the ability to stand in the Gap that means that we can pray that prayer prayer of intercession on behalf of someone else that means that we can step forward and say God you know the name that I'm praying for right now you know the need that I'm praying for right now and Lord unless you move in this moment unless you make a way in this moment God I need you to make a way and perform a miracle right now that means you can pray for healing for somebody else that means you can pray for provision for somebody else that means that you can stand in the gap for your family and prayers of intercession as we've talked about there's a special urgency that comes along with them it's something that's got to take place right now in this moment but some prayers are of intercession are prayed with even greater urgency and burden than others it's this kind of intercessory prayer that relies upon the holy ghost it's a it's a desperation ation that we have to take a hold of it's a a burden that we have to feel on our shoulders so overwhelming that sometimes we don't even know how to pray but the spirit makes intercession for us the thing that we do know is that we've got to step forward and step up and say God I'm pleading the cause I'm pleading your blood right now in the name of Jesus and I want you to know you're not alone in intercessory prayer there is a ready companion in the Holy Ghost the Holy Spirit and it is alive in you musicians come forward Hallelujah there's different prayers of intercession that we pray for and I want you to be thinking what is that need in your life tonight who who is that person in your life tonight where is that trouble in your life tonight what is that plague in your mind tonight what what's that burden on your shoulders tonight we intercede for those who need God who who we we want to reach and teach and preach this gospel too we've all come short of the glory of God and we're all in need of his salvation the word word of God tells us that the world is our our field and it's white Under Harvest and the need is evident and there's a harvest waiting Jesus said while laboring for souls in the field he gave us this admonition he said the Harvest is plenty but the the labors are are few and we that's got to create an even greater urgency inside of us that if it is me that is one of the few God let me feel that weight let me feel that that burden oh not out of some kind of self-righteous piety but the understanding that I am a sinner and that that I that you died for my sins and that my testimony might could could reach somebody else to let them know that there's power in your blood and there's there's a blood that could wash away their sins and there's a blood that could bring their family back together and there's a blood that could bring healing to their body oh Lord let us let us feel that urg see oh Jesus saying unto them my need is to do the will of him that sent me in to finish his work say not yet that there's there's four months and then cometh the Harvest he said yeah I agree with planning for the future and and I agree with all of the the different plans that we can do for the future but there's a a harvest right now in this moment is what he's saying behold look up your eyes and look at the fields they they're already ready to harvest the work of the kingdom is the preaching of this gospel and it's preached in so many different capacities that I I say this probably every sermon it's it's not from behind this Podium but it's the life and the the the way you treat people and the the way you commune with people we can intercede for families from the beginning of human time the family has been Central to human existence the genealogy of Jesus is traced through his family healthy family relationships uh create strength prayers for the family are possible possibly the most often prayed are the most important when there's unrest in the family it can be difficult to give meaningful support on practical or spiritual matters but we can pray that prayer of intercession to say God give understanding God give wisdom God touched the heart of my loved one and it can be a healing bomb to the hurting family it was a House of Prayer a family setting that intercessory prayer that urgency that brought Peter's deliverance from prison stand with me you can pray that prayer of intercession for a need in your life you can pray that prayer of intercession for a friend for a family A Prayer of intercession for your city for a nation whatever the need is but an intercessory prayer is an urgent prayer an intercessory prayer has groaning with it an intercessory prayer is a desperate prayer an intercessory prayer takes you down to your knees an intercessory prayer gets into your very being an intercessory prayer is one that if it don't happen tonight some something else if God doesn't move in that situation something else is going to take place but we have biblical precedent we have biblical precedent through Moses through the power that Jesus gives us that you your prayers can turn around a situation we have biblical precedent that you stepping forward on behalf maybe of someone who's needing healing you stepping forward for a family situation that your prayers can turn the course of events God was angry with the Israelites Moses said if it cost me to and he prayed that prayer of intercession displaying the greatest attribute of God and that is love in Ezekiel 22:30 the Lord says I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not destroy [Music] it but I found no one the word picture painted in this verse is that a wall that had a gap in it a wall was the me best means of protection in ancient times a breach in the wall would let the enemy through if there was was a breach in the wall Defenders would swarm to that specific location and expose it and therefore infiltrate the city so the Gap needed to be repaired just as quickly as possible if a breach was left unattended or unrepaired the enemy would come in and the city would fall the Lord said I looked for someone to stand in that Gap to get to that Gap and create a stronghold and immediately begin to Build That Wall up and not let the enemy through but he said I found no one but I believe here tonight at First Apostolic church maybe there's a loved one who's facing an unimaginable circumstance and they need healing in their body and there's a there's a hole in their life I believe there's someone tonight that'll say I'll stand in the gap for that friend of mine and say I declare healing in their body right now I declare healing to take place in their life right now oh maybe there's somebody right now with a hole in their family and they need God to move in a situation on this night I believe somebody will get to that wall right now and start and start building and start praying and say I'm going to stand in that Gap I'm going to pray that prayer of intercession the enemy is not going to enter by this means I'm going to stand here and declare the name of the Lord I'm going to stand here and declare his Covenant blessing I'm going to stand here and declare that the same God who gave the promises of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the same God is the same God who's going to turn it around in this situation and I believe when you pray that prayer of intercession that Miracles begin to take place I believe when When you pray that prayer of intercession oh the people we're praying for right now might not even be in this building but his spirit is not limited to this geographical location I believe he's reaching down in a hospital room right now he's reaching down at the bedside right now he's reaching down to somebody in a car right now and convicting their heart oh and tell them that he loves some telling them that somebody's praying for him telling them that there is a God who still a promise for him yes Jesus don't let anybody pray alone tonight turn this thing around God turn it around God turn it around it oh Jesus turn it [Music] around on oh there's somebody standing in the gap for their children stand in the gap for your family for your mom for your dad yes Jesus turn it around turn maybe it's a friend at [Music] school all our Summit seniors that might be watching by way of the internet we're lifting you up right now as well oh we're praying for you y'all stood in the gap for us and we're standing in the gap standing in that gap of prayer it's an urgent prayer it's a desperate prayer oh it's God I pray for Souls I pray for the hurting I pray for those that need comfort and peace in their mind right now yes Jesus