INTERCESSORY GRACE FOR THIS DECADE

 Intercessory Grace for this New Decade 

~ Azuka Gbogboade.

Text: Isa 43:18-21 , Acts 10:1-8, 30-33.

““Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 

19  Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road (a way, path,track, a direction, habit, course of life) in the wilderness And rivers ( enlightenment, ability to have the light of wisdom) in the desert. 

1. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters ( will refresh you) in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 
2. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:18-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We have entered a brand new decade.

We will observe that from several months now, we have all been going through a paradigm that ushered us into this new decade.

A) In this new decade God will have to instruct us more as intercessors. 

He is saying to us from-Isa 42:9.

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.””

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

He will tell us before they Spring forth..,

B) Our victory will come through Praise- vs 10-13.

“Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 

11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 

12 Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42:10-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

C) And by Divine Intervention, He has promised to HELP us : 

vs 14-17.

““I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. 

15  I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. 

16  I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. 

17  They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42:14-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

D) There is A call to sharpen our HEARING and VISION from the Lord 

- vs 18-20 says…

““Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. 

19  Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, ( who feels complete, dwelling in safety and at Peace) And blind as the LORD’s servant? 

20  Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.””

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42:18-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

So, brethren, let us learn to: 

HEAR ( that is - listen, receive power to hear, perceive , hear with attention and interest, understanding what He says....

And OBEY!!! 

( Our hearing is completed in Obedience)

And LOOK (that is - Behold, observe) that we may See..

( Our seeing is completed in observing)

Why ? 

There are:

• Too many distractions 
• lack of focus. 
• And execution of Personal agendas. 

It ought NOT to be so....... it shall no longer be so!

Looking at the Life of Cornelius in Acts 10:1-8,

The Bible says, he was..

* A devout man

* He feared God.

* He was a giver

* He carried his household along in fellowship and  in honoring God.

* He was always praying... that is, he was continually in the presence of God.

*He saw vision clearly.

*God expect us to do intercessions more by REVELATION this decade. 

Seeing clearly is very important, we do not want to rely on foggy revelations. 

*We need to SEE CLEARLY  even in situation that looks vague or bleak. 

Clarity of vision and revelations are very important.

Another point worth noting about Cornelius is that  he knew that what he SAW and HEARD was from God. 

He was not confused, he was instructed that he should send men to Joppa. He was not asked to go there himself. 

He faithfully complied with divine instructions.

He also had a CLEAR and ACCURATE description of where to go. 

This made his assignment easy and his desires met on time.

* God will give us AUTHORITY and POWER to take territories for Him this decade.

Grace to Preach with the power of the Holy Spirit to OPEN HEARTS to receive the gospel.

We should expect more answered prayers as we pray according to His will.

This will be possible if we faithfully TARRY in His Presence and trust the Holy Spirit to help us to develop a Praying Heart. 

That is a heart that will be in constant communion with God irrespective of where we are at any point in time.

* We observed that Cornelius was always in the presence of God:

1. Seeking the Lord.

2. Following and obeying the Holy Spirit.

God is looking for FAITHFUL INTERCESSORS who will be willing to pray the TRUE Church into a more effective walk with the Lord. 

Those who will intercede to stir up this grace in the Church.

More laborers needs to be raised because more hearts need to be opened to receive the gospel. 

This can be accomplished through intercession (Acts 16:13-14.)

“And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 

1. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This kind of intercession may not necessarily be by a multitude... 

In 1Chro 12 we read about David’s army. 

In vs 32, the Bible says concerning the Sons of Issachar, that the Chief among them were only 200...

While those who went to war among other tribes were in thousands.

* The Sons of Issachar had UNDERSTANDING of the TIMES to KNOW what Israel ought to do. 

All their brethren were at their command. 

.....That means that they were United and purpose driven.

*The Lord is willing to reveal His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amos 3: 7-8

* It takes intercessions for heart of people to open to the word of God. Acts 16:14-15

* To intercede by revelation we need to:

Stay focused on Him

See clearly, 

hear accurately 

Worship Him in Spirit and in truth 

Receive His Word with meekness of heart and 

Be willing to obey Him.

As He instructs us, we should have a desire for Prompt obedience.

Prayers:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10. 

May we receive the deep things of God.

Lev 24:12.  - May we know the mind of God in every situation.

May the church leaders and ministry leaders be empowered to lead their disciples safely into the hands of Jesus.

We prayed for everyone in the prayer group - that you will be United and purpose driven.

More grace and blessings to us all.