Sep 14, 2022
Show Notes: We generally think of intercession as prayer for someone or something external to us, but real intercession embodies more than that. We read in Isaiah 59 that God was grieved because there was no one to intercede. Therefore, He raised up His own intercessor, who did something we do not associate with intercession: He put on righteousness and salvation. This intercessor is the Messiah, and His intercession was not a matter of praying for us to be saved. He brought salvation by becoming in Himself the source of our salvation.
Christ did not pray to end sin; He became the opposite of sin. His intercession was to take responsibility for what the world had become through sin and become the solution for it. If we are to follow Christ’s example of intercession, we will not do it without taking responsibility ourselves. We are not victims of an external world that we had no part in shaping. We will not change what surrounds us by feeling that we are victims of it. We must realize that we are responsible for this age and what is transpiring in this age.
We must do the same thing that Christ did. He put on righteousness. The Scriptures tell us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to put on the divine nature that has escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The way to change the world around us is by cleansing ourselves of the world’s corruption that dwells in us. Through Christ put that rebellious nature on the cross. Get rid of the anger. Get rid of the hatred. Get rid of the injustice. Get rid of the judgment. Get rid of all the things of this world that are still in you. This is how we pray in a manner that will change the world—by cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Key Verses:
- Isaiah 59:1-17. “He put on righteousness like a breastplate.”
- 2 Samuel 12:13-14. “The LORD also has taken away your sin. ... However, … the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”
- Romans 5:12-19. “Through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”
- 1 Peter 5:7. “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
- Romans 6:6. “Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with.”
- 2 Peter 1:3. “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”
- Romans 13:14. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.”
- Romans 8:16-24. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope.”
- 1 John 3:1-3. “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.”
- Hebrews 5:8-9. “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect …”
Quotes:
- “What we must understand is that salvation worked for us through what He personally became.”
- “How do you change the world of sin? How do you get rid of sin? You become righteous.”
- “Do you say, ‘I want the world to change’? Good. Then get the world out of you.”
- “If we're going to see the world set free from futility, we don't do it by looking at futility as outside of ourselves.”
Takeaways:
- When God raised up Messiah to be our intercessor, we read that He put on righteousness. He put on salvation. Everything He did to save us He did within Himself.
- We look around today and see a world that is bathed in the concept of victimhood. That is the opposite of what God is trying to do right now to bring forth His Kingdom. He is looking for sons who will take the responsibility as Christ took the responsibility.
- We must purify ourselves. We must take these things that still exist within us in unrighteousness and put them on the cross, literally pulling them out by the roots. We must remove these things from our lives by faith, by love, and by the blood of Christ.