NO.1/ YOUR VOICE
“...it means that God NOW speaks plainly to us all through His Son ... of which YOU and ME have been made “His bone and flesh”... if we are believers.”
God is Sovereign. He opens doors no man can shut and shuts doors no man can open (Rev. 3:7). "He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings." (Dan. 2:21 NLT) Even Paul noted that no one can resist His will; "I will be merciful to whomever I choose and I will show compassion to whomever I wish." (Rom. (:15 TPT), and concluded with the observation, "This proves that God's choice doesn't depend on how badly someone wants it or tries to earn it, but it depends on God's kindness and mercy." (v. 16). Could it be said any clearer?
But having said this, let me confess that in my early days as a young Christian, it always struck me odd why Jesus could respond as He did to His disciples when asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled." (Mark 13:4 NIV). Of the many things Jesus spoke involving their concerns, one thing that stands out is His warning that they, "pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." (Matt. 24:20 NKJV), a solution offered to their plight once they saw specific events taking place.
Why was this so unnerving ? Because if God was Sovereign, why did the disciples need to pray? Didn’t God love them? Didn’t He care? And if He cared, why have them pray that their “flight be in winter or on the Sabbath?” Surely, He would never let this happen, right? Honestly, it is because God is Sovereign that I had always assumed He had everyone’s best interests at heart and would NEVER let such things catch the saints unaware or unprepared.
NO.1/
YOUR VOICE
That's when the Lord began to teach me about INTERCESSION and showed me how Moses saved the children of Israel from God's wrath simply because he prayed. "Therefore (God) said he would destroy them - had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them." (Psalm 106:23 ESV). Can you imagine how history would have looked had God destroyed Israel. The Genesis account says God was fully prepared to make "one nation" out of Moses and be done with Israel all together. Yikes. For sure, Jesus would not have been Jewish!!
I was also shown that "man" played a part in how history unfolded. "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them." (Ezekiel 22:30 ESV) YIKES again!
That's when prayer began to take on a much different "look." I was no longer pleading for God to "do something" and hope that maybe He might ... that is, if my prayers made it past the ceiling! Oh, how young I was wink wink!
Today, I understand what the apostle Peter meant when he said, "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God." (1 Pet. 4:11 NIV).
The Passion Translation says it this way. "speak as though God were speaking his words through you." Can I get an Amen? As I will continue to shout from the rooftops, we are "bone and flesh" of Christ's body on this earth ... right now. We are His "mouthpiece."
With this understanding comes new responsibilities. "Throughout our history God has spoken to our ancestors by his prophets in many different ways. The revelation he gave them was only a fragment at a time, building one truth upon another. But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly in the language of a Son, the appointed Heir of everything." (Heb.1 1:2 TPT)
Translated, it means that God NOW speaks plainly to us all through His Son ... of which YOU and ME have been made "His bone and flesh"... if we are believers.
If we are to speak His word, however, we must first come to know Him in the same manner as He knows us. To do so, we'll have to become familiar with His voice and stay close. "My sheep hear MY voice and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27 NKJV). Also stated, "They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (v.5)
These passages speak to the intimacy of knowing our Lord, so much so that we can distinguish His voice above the clammer of all the other voices speaking.
Let me add that while it should be obvious as to why we should pursue intimacy with the Lord, also consider that Jesus could only say what He heard the Father speak. Should it be any different for us?
Once we fall into line as willful "Bond servants/slaves" and subsequently begin operating in the full measure of freedom (yes, I said "freedom") afforded to all of God's "Sons," we begin to speak TRUTH with the same authority and VOICE as He.
Can you imagine what kind of authority our prayers must have if this is all true?
I'll end it here for now, but not before pointing out that Paul said, "Pray for all men with all forms of prayers and requests as you intercede with intense passion.
And pray for every political leader and representative. Why? "SO THAT WE (YOU AND ME) WOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE TRANQUIL, UNDISTURBED LIVES." (1 Tim.2 1-2 TPT)
Did you catch that? Because of YOUR prayers and intercessions for the political leaders of our day, WE (collectively) can EFFECT the political landscape for the good of ALL.