Message topic: Interceding on our behalf
Scripture text: Romans 8: 26-34
How often do you listen to any of the many different TV ministries that is ongoing everyday? Do you ever wonder how many of those sometimes large crowd of people do understand the messages that is being conveyed to them?
Could there be any similarities in a preacher, a teacher, or even doctors who are doing their very best to help those whom they are caring for and find that their efforts are having little or no effort on some of those whom they are trying to help?
Daily I pray to God and ask him that He will speak through me so that anyone who hears my voice will not only hear the simple words coming to the physical ears, but He will cause them to hear and understand his words with their spiritual hearts.
I do hope that none of you got any idea that I was making any ill remarks about any of the TV preachers: because our topic for discussion this morning is interceding on your behalf; so, who is interceding on your behalf? And why do we need an interceder? And by the way who is an interceder?
An interceder is one who pleads or make a request in behalf of another or others, as to intercede with the authorities for the prisoner, or any in such a conditions.
There are references throughout the bible that talks about prayer, how to pray, when to pray, and stories where prayer makes a big difference. Many points specifically talk about intercessions for the people.
The bible is filled with intercessory prayer from the very beginning. Moses, David, Hezekiah and Nehemiah all interceded on behalf of the people and God responded, forgave their sin, and helped them. One example is in Daniel 10, where Daniel was fasting and praying on behalf of the people. After three weeks, an angel comes and says, right away your prayers were heard by God.
When we get into the New Testament, we’re encouraged by Jesus to pray as part of loving one another. We carry one another’s burdens, and we can do that in prayer.
The New Testament is full of indications to pray and encouragement to pray. 1st Peter 4: 7-8 says, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray, above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Acts 12 records the account of the miraculous released of Peter the apostle from prison by an angel as a result of God’s people praying: today as we pray and intercede for the will of our heavenly Father to manifest in our lives and for others, we are engaging God in His world, a miraculous realm.
Intercession is important for the church because we’re called to love each other, and loving each other is laying down our lives. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. We lay our lives down in different ways.
(Romans 8.) Paul reminds us that we have supreme confidence in God’s acceptance of us because it is Christ Jesus who died for us and rose again, and is now at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us. In the ongoing argument of Romans, the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection is clear.
A few chapters earlier, Paul concludes that Christ was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification; (Romans 4: 25) Christ died for our sins, rose again so that we night be justified in union with him, and is now pleading our case before the Father on the basis of his work for us.
His intercession can save us to the uttermost because his intercession is rooted in his death and resurrection. In other words, the great gospel events provides the foundation for Jesus ongoing intercession for us: he pleads for us on the basis of who he is and what he has done to rescue the perishing and care for the dying.
This is also why John can write with the reassurance that if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1st John 2: 1) John also writes that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleansed us (1st John 1:9) this forgiveness is on the basis of Christ, the righteous one.
He actively pleads his righteousness on our behalf. As surely as Christ pleads that our sin will be forgiven.
Jesus is the one who died for our sins on the cross, He is now seated at the right hand of God the father as our intercessor: and for those who accept him as our savior we will hear him saying to his Father: forgive him he is one for whom I died; glory to God we have access to God the father through Christ Jesus our redeemer.
His intercession means that he will save to the uttermost because he pleads on the basic of his work, with the result that our sins will be forgiven. This should fill us with unshakable confidence and hope that seems almost irrational to anyone watching us living our lives.
Speaking of Jesus, the writer of the book of Hebrews says, therefore he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since he always live to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
This verse and others like it, tells us that although Christ’s work to secure the salvation of the elect was completed on the cross, as evidenced by His cry “it is finished”(John 19: 30), His care for His redeemed children will never be finished.
Jesus did not go to heaven after His ministry and “take a break” from His role as eternal shepherd to His people. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)
He had the power to accomplish so great a work as reconciling us to God, how much more may we expect that He will be able to keep us now that He is a living, exalted, and triumphant Redeemer, raised to life and interceding on our behalf before the throne (Romans 8: 34) clearly, Jesus is still very active on our behalf in heaven.
After Jesus ascended to heaven and was seated at the right hand of God the Father, He returned to the glory He had before His incarnation (John 17:5) to carry on His role of King and Lord-His eternal role as the second person of the triune God. While this old earth continues to be won for Christ Jesus is the Advocate for Christians, meaning He is our great defender and our intercessory.