Jesus got you covered
Accompanying notes to podcast at www.africhristpodcast.com
You are covered by Jesus' Master-intercession Now!
The Bible clearly states through various scriptures, that Jesus has an ongoing ministry of intercession. It is so important that the Word of God mentions it in several scriptures some of which we share later below. Believers have assurance of answered prayer especially when they understand and take advantage of foundational truths in Jesus’ intercession ministry. Some examples are:
Our Assurance is in Jesus
Our need to petition with confidence
Our confidence is in his completed victory at Calvary
Our certainty is in his current position and proven record
When he sees our faith in action, he is moved (Mark 2:4-5)
When we take the step to pray,God moves his powerful hand on our behalf (Isaiah 37:21, 2Chronicles 20 )
Understanding the Intercessory Loop
1. Petitioner
2. The Trinity: The Holy Spirit, Jesus The Son, God The Father
We have an Open Door to The Throne of Grace
For those who believe and (1) pray, God sees their (2) active faith and answers prayers because of those 2 steps that point toward Him. He moves unconditionally as the scriptures show.
I John 5:14-15 NKJV
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
The Trinity is a Troika that forms a loop of intercession
The Father is at the center of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the “spiritual Troika”
The dictionary definition of troika
troi·ka
Is a noun with Russian origin and it means:
1. a Russian vehicle pulled by a team of three horses abreast.
2. a group of three people working together, especially in an administrative or managerial capacity.
Forming the powerful loop of intercession is the Troika of persons we call The Trinity. That is God The Father, God The Son and God The Holly Spirit
Holy Spirit intercession
The Holy Spirit is like an editor. Without changing the substance of our petition He “packages it” so we do not have to worry about how we come to God. It’s what is in our hearts and the faith in God that we have. He knows God’s heart and ours as well as our weaknesses
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Also in Ephesians we see that the Trinity is involved in all our prayers even when we pray for others. Paul asks all believers to also intercede for him, great as he was in prayer, because he knows the power in this loop. It is powered by The Trinity not by our strength or knowledge
Ephesians 6:17-19
17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray in the Spiritat all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,
Philippians also encourages us to petition God in everything because in this loop we stand as the petitioning beneficiaries. So the door is open for to go into the presence of God with our petitions.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Jesus’ Righteous intercession
The Bible says that we stand before God in the righteousness of Christ. God sees the finished work of The Way, Jesus himself.and sees no condemnation in us who are in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:34-35 NLT
“Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?”
Our petitions are buoyed by the Power in the Name of Jesus. We can pray for our selves or others but our final path is through the Troika Intercessory Loop, either way God sees His Son pleading for us.
John 14:12-14 NLT
““I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”
As Jesus hang on the Cross he declared his earthly work finished, the original Greek word was “tetelestai”meaning completed. The “pathWay” for us to reach God had been constructed and was now completed on the cross. In John 14:6 Jesus had previously said prophetically that “I am The Way, the Truth and the Life”.
So now The Freeway was constructed and finished for us to approach The Throne of Grace with confidence
John 19:29-30
A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Jesus’ intercession ministry is continuous.
His intercession is his only ministry, ad continuum with an English dictionary meaning that says “it’s a continuous series or whole, no part of which is noticeably different from its adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes of it are very different from each other”
The power of The Intercession Loop
What is intercession?
English:
⁃ The action of intervening on behalf of another
⁃ Mediation, negotiation to cause a reconciliation
⁃ Greek Word in scriptures is Paga or standing in the gap.
⁃ The Hebrew root translation of “pawgah” is to make entreaty or interpose as well as “attack”
So intercession is an active and intentional act of the intercessor, driven by selfless love for the well-being of another. The power behind spiritual intercession is greater than the task ahead because it is “God powered”.
Why Jesus intercedes
Ephesians 6 below tells us that we are in a spiritual battle with heavenly powers. Though the results may manifest here in the physical earth, the people we encounter are only “puppets” used by spiritual forces.
Ephesians Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Jesus is ready to join us in prayer and entreat God on our behalf.
Jesus stands in the gap (Pawgah)) for us when we are overwhelmed by circumstances. Isaiah prophesied that because he has already overcome and is able to shield us
Isaiah 53:4
“Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!”
God The Father and Jesus are moved when we pray and/or act on our faith. Two good Bible illustrative examples are found in the stories in Isaiah 37:21 and Mark 2:4-5 below
1. King Hezekia - Because he PRAYED
Isaiah 37:21
Sennacherib’s Fall
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
2. The paralytic - The he SAW THEIR FAITH
Jesus will be there to meet us even at our lowest point. He will be at the bottom before we are.
A good example is the story of the paralytic brought through the roof by his friends. Jesus was at the bottom ready to receive them
Mark 2:1-5 NLT
“When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.””
Jesus did not regard the man’s faith but SAW the FAITh of his intercessor friends. Secondly he did not regard his sins as a barrier either so he forgave his sins even before he healed him
Illustrative “standing in the gap” example in the natural
The secret service stands in the gap between the president and possible attacker. We saw this with President Regan when John Hinkley shot him.
The secret service agent next to the president jumped into action standing in the gap between the president and the attacker. In the process the agent was shot. However because he had body armor on, he survived the bullet.
In contrast, if there’s lack of “pawgah” in the sense of protection or reaching out we may take provisions or safety for granted. We become lax in our lives even though the Word of God warns us in several scriptures not to be complacent such as in :
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”.
and
2 Corinthians 2:11 “So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs”
An example of being lax is the unfortunate assassination August 7, 2022 of the former Japanese Prime Minister. Japan is so safe that in all of 2021 only 1 person was killed by gun violence. The assassin used an improvised homemade gun to fatally shoot him twice. He had no security detail checking the crowd nor bulletproof gear.
In the same way the devil will improvise unexpected ways to harm us. In spiritual warfare, when we stand in the gap for others in prayer, we become a target for Satan. That is why we have to have the full armor of God through prayer. We have the know the Word of God and how to use it in these circumstances
Some Sample Scriptures of Jesus’ Intercessory Ministry
Hebrews 1:3 ESV
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Mark 16:19 ESV
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Romans 8:34 ESV
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
1 Peter 3:22 ESV
Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him
Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
That is the difference between our intercession and Jesus’ intercession. We need the full armor while Jesus who we depend on has already overcome according to the Book of John
John 16:32-33 NLT:
“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Be encouraged, we are buoyed by the intercession of the Solid Rock Of Ages
So we stand on solid ground, the Rock of Ages. He said we could use his Name as collateral and petition God. Then we will see God’s hand move on our behalf as he did for King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 below when God told the king to be at peace and wait to see the Hand of God move.
2 Chronicles 20:15-22 NLT
He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!” Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD. Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout. Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever!” At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.
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