Devo 51: Intercession through Our identity as Sons

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Luke 11:9-13

In the last devotional, we looked at the Holy Spirit being the guarantee of our inheritance as sons. He is “the witness” that gives us the assurance of eternity and the coming kingdom of God (Eph. 1). We have not been left as orphans, but the Comforter has come to teach us all things and tell us of the things to come (Jn. 14:18, 26; 16:13). He is “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). He tells us of the glory to come and transforms us into His likeness from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18).

As we talk to Holy Spirit, we abide in His love and find our identity as sons and daughters of God the Father through the blood of Jesus (Jn 15, I Jn 3). It is in this place as sons and daughters that we have the boldness to come to His throne in intercession.

In Ephesians 1:9-10, we see that Jesus brought together the heavenly realm and earthly realm. He was fully God; yet, He was also fully Man. By walking out a righteous lifestyle and bringing redemption through the Cross, He restored the separation between the spiritual realm and earthly realm that was brought about by the fall of man with Adam and Eve. This is why He came preaching “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 6:10, etc).

With each new revelation of God throughout history, the heavenly realm comes closer and closer to complete restoration with the earthly realm as it was in the Garden of Eden. It is God’s desire to dwell with men. When Jesus returns, His goal will be to bring heaven to earth. He will rule and reign from Jerusalem as King, then usher in God the Father to the earth (Gen, Is, Zech, Ezek, Mt, Rev, etc). For this reason, He taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Mt. 6, Lk. 11).

As we join Christ in intercession, we are ushering in the kingdom of God piece by piece. This takes the idea of “the meek shall inherit the earth” to a whole new level (Mt. 5:5). Intercession is the idea of “standing in the gap” between the people and the wrath of God we deserve because of unrighteousness (Ezek. .

Jesus was the ultimate intercessor. The Lord “saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him” (Is. 59:13). Jesus was the “right arm” who was “numbered with the transgressors” to make “intercession for the transgressors” (Is. 53; 59:16).

What Jesus did was previously pictured by Moses who lifted up the golden snake in the wilderness to stop the death plague that came against the children of Israel because of their unrighteousness (Num. 21). Jesus said, “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:13-15).

Now, Jesus stands at the right hand of the Father making intercession on our behalf (Heb. 7:25). Also, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with “groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:15).

It is our inheritance as priests to join Him in making intercession. As intercessors, we ask for the blood of Jesus to cover our transgressions (sins) and the sins of our people. It is the same idea as when the blood was applied to the doorposts in the Book of Exodus and the death-plague “passed over” the children of Israel (Ex. 12).

Many people are confused about intercession because the judgment of the Lord is brought on by God. Many think that God was mean in the Old Testament and nice in the New. NO! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Heb. 13:8). The thing is that when God reveals Himself to His people in a manifest way—those who are ready for Him are blessed and those who are not ready are judged (See parable of wise and foolish virgins in Mt 25; also see Allen Hood’s teaching on Daniel).

God is Holy, and when He shows Himself to us, we have to respond accordingly HIS WAY or we die. All have fallen short of the glory of God and deserve death (Rom. 3:23, 6:23). So, it is not God who is unjust. We are unjust and deserve death, but God, in His mercy, prepared a way for us to be covered with the Blood of the Lamb so that death would “passover” us. If we accept His plan, then the intercession He made for us covers us, and we are then adopted into His family as sons.

At that point He washes us with His blood, we are all made kings and priests (Rev. 1:5-6). Then, we have the privilege of joining Him in making intercession in prayer and by crying out for the mercy obtained through the blood of Jesus to be applied to our nation, our families, our lives, etc.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the Lord encourages us to pray. He has always been seeking human involvement in what He is doing. He does not need our help, but He does want us to love Him and want Him. He wants us to partner with Him. When we realize our identity as sons covered in the blood, we can boldly approach His throne and ask for the kingdom of heaven to be released on earth.

Luke 11 and 12 are examples of this. Specifically in Luke 11:13-14, Jesus instructs us that whoever seeks will find, and whoever asks it will be opened to them. Then, He connects it to our place as sons by saying that if earthly fathers love to give good gifts, then how much more will our heavenly father love to give the Holy Spirit! There again is the connection of our sonship in relation to the Holy Spirit and also in connection with the Holy Spirit.

This week, I encourage you to read Luke 11 and 12. I encourage you to pray the Lord’s Prayer not a rote memory verse, but as a true prayer with this new revelation of the kingdom coming to earth and our place in making that a reality. Also, I encourage you to ask for good gifts from the Father—the “much more” of the Holy Spirit—a deeper relationship with Him.

I also encourage you to reread Devo 50 from last week. I covered some things that are necessary for properly understanding this devo.

Bless you!

Amanda
 
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