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Discussion Forum : Miracles that follow the plow : A Call For Intercessors

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AbideinHim
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Joined: 2006/11/26
Posts: 5185
Louisiana

 A Call For Intercessors


A Call For Intercessors:

God did not intend the church to be without the power of the supernatural. The design of Christ in establishing the church was that she should give light to this dark world. The world is making significant preparations for a death struggle. At the same time the church is facing the greatest crisis in history. God is calling for intercessors to stand in the gap, ones who will take upon themselves the burden of the world dying in sin.
“Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence!” (Isa. 64:1-2).
Those who would do the greatest service to mankind in this hour of need, must take time to watch and pray. To rule with God in the realm of intercessory prayer is the greatest of ministries. That we pray too little is a confession of sin we must make. How strange that our highest privilege, holding fellowship with God in prayer, is to so many a matter of form without the power!
Watchmen on Zion’s Wall
“For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. ...I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:1, 6-7).
Trial Turned to Triumph
As Queen Esther and Mordecai fasted and prayed to avert peril, so must we today fast and pray. “When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry” (Esth. 4:1).
Queen Esther said, “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Esth. 4:16). Thus it was that imminent peril became a triumph. The intercession of Queen Esther and her people saved the Jews from impending destruction.
Intercessors of Other Days
Intercessory prayer by a faithful remnant has always preceded every outpouring of the Spirit. There has always been a faithful remnant.
Abraham pleaded for the wicked city of Sodom. If only ten righteous people in all that city could have been found, judgment would have been stayed.
Moses was ever interceding for the children of Israel. He is the type of the great Intercessor, our Lord Jesus Christ. After the children of Israel had made the golden calf, Moses asked forgiveness for their great sin even at the cost of blotting his own name out of the “book which Thou hast written” (Ex. 32:32). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Scripture describes the whole-souled manner in which Daniel interceded for his people who were even then in Babylonian captivity: “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes…and said, O Lord…We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments” (Dan. 9:3-5).
Nehemiah learned of the distress of the remnant in Jerusalem. Then said he, “I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Neh. 1:4). The result was that Artaxerxes, the King of Persia, sent Nehemiah with men and resources to rebuild Jerusalem.
When King Josiah “heard the words of the law…he rent his clothes” and travailed for his people (2 Chr. 34:19). A glorious reformation followed which purged Judah of idols, and the Passover was kept as never before. Judgment was stayed as the Lord said, “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God” (v. 27).
Martin Luther was not the only one who wrought the Reformation. In the dungeons of the Inquisition, the canals of Holland, the green fields of England and in cottages and palaces of all Europe were those who read their Bibles in secret and cried, “How long, O Lord?” At last the answer came which shook the Vatican from pinnacle to foundation. Always in the history of the church there has been the travail before the birth.
There was travail of the Spirit at the grave of Lazarus. “...Jesus…groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto Him, Lord, come and see. ...Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave. ...And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me” (John 11:33-34, 38, 41).
“...The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26-27).
Jesus spent entire nights in intercessory prayer. He wept over Jerusalem, and overcame at Gethsemane. He is the High Priest who is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15). Today He is at the right hand of God interceding for us. “He ever liveth to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25).
Travail Precedes Revival
“...As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isa. 66:8). Before spiritual children are born into the kingdom of God, there must be travail of the Spirit! He who would bring men to Christ must first feel an agony of desire that souls should be saved!
The Lord said to Ezekiel, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezek. 9:4). In the destruction that followed no harm came to those who had the seal of God on their foreheads. They were the intercessors upon whose hearts lay the burden of the sinful nation.
God is calling people to stand in the gap for our nation and a world that is facing imminent judgment! He is calling intercessors to come out and be separate “and touch not the unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6:17). Many who have been called are living careless lives. “...Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
Paul did not hope to win by the careless life. He said, “...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). With all our hearts let us NOW seek the Lord “until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest” (Isa. 32:15).
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).
– Reprinted from an earlier issue of Herald of His Coming – and more relevant now than ever!


_________________
Mike

 2020/11/18 21:06Profile
NeedHim2018
Member



Joined: 2018/10/6
Posts: 29


 Re: A Call For Intercessors

In 1970, God graciously answered the prayers of some students at Asbury Christian College. They experienced Revival through an extended chapel service that lasted for about 1 week. During this time, students from the school would visit other schools or churches, share testimony of what God was doing in their lives, and the people in those places would experience revival as well.

Here's a video in which the then president of Asbury, Dennis Kinlaw, shares his memories of of the blessed events that transpired:

 https://youtu.be/7qOqitIKUNs

Also wanted to share an article(below) by evangelist John Van Gelderen titled, ' Why Asbury?' From the sounds of it, this college has experienced not one, but a number of revivals over the course of its history.

Hope you find this story of what God did at Asbury to be a blessing! :)



WHY ASBURY?

Posted by John Van Gelderen | Mar 24, 2020 | Revival | 2

In researching the 1970 and 2006 revivals at Asbury College, one may wonder, “Why Asbury?” God is not a respecter of persons, but the Word of God does make clear that those who seek the Lord will find Him (2 Chron. 15:2; James 4:8). Seeking God is faith, yet faith is not a work; it is dependence upon the Worker in response to His stirrings. The Asbury accounts reveal several factors as to “Why Asbury?”

First, there was an awareness of need. In fact, Dennis Kinlaw, Asbury’s president in 1970, addresses this in a video produced years later. Regarding why the college experienced revival, he humbly stated, “We needed it!” Several student accounts reveal a consciousness of their need for revival, and becoming aware of one’s need is the beginning of a revival journey. It is the realization that there must be more! Rather than a collegiate mindset that sometimes borders on “We are the best!” we need a realization of how far from the potential of New Testament Christianity a college scene may be. When this is the case there will be a proper awareness of need.

Second, there were some who were aware that God could meet the need. A few students (it only takes a few) who were sensitive to the Holy Spirit knew that God Himself was the great answer to their great need. They knew that God is the great “Reviver.” When students are aware of what God has done in the past, it cultivates faith in what God can do in the present. Such knowledge would be invaluable as part of one’s Christian college training.

Third, there was willingness to ask God to do it. In both accounts, some students with a burden and passion for revival began to pray. They became the intercessors and sought the blessing of God’s reviving presence for others. Notably, in these accounts, the faith to intercede for revival was student led. They cast themselves on God to meet their student body in their need. When faith for revival is expressed in definite heart cry, it reveals that there is not only an awareness that God can revive but an actual trusting Him to do it.

Finally, there was a favorable theological atmosphere. Several reasons reveal the theological soil was fertile for revival blessing. First, on the campus, Jesus was believed to really in fact be Lord. If He desired to rearrange the schedule, there was willingness by the administration to recognize and follow His leadership. Second, revival was not despised but prized. This treasuring of God’s reviving presence stands in contrast to the anti-revival attitude found in some sections of academia. Third, praying for revival was not an abnormal concept. The theological atmosphere was neither fatalistic nor formula-oriented. There was basic understanding that faith is a response to the Spirit’s stirrings and that faith is not a work but dependence on the worker—God.  So, if some felt stirred by the Spirit to pray, this was not only accepted, but encouraged. Finally, the focus was not on a system or a “box” of lifestyle ideals. The focus was on a person. Jesus.

Many Bible colleges may think of themselves as a place where Jesus is Lord. But if the Spirit of Jesus moved in, how many administrations and faculties would yield to the Lord by changing the schedule really? Why do so many young preachers fresh out of college, purporting themselves to be intellectuals, blog against revival? Why are there so few on college campuses that meet for the express purpose of seeking God’s reviving presence? Why is God-dependence accused of being man-centered though such is a total impossibility? Why do so many emphasize their “box” of Christianity, instead of stressing the genuine life of Jesus Christ? Apparently, Asbury, regardless of anything else, was a place where the theological atmosphere was favorable to revival and not a barrier against it.



Revivals on college campuses are not new to history. In the early 1800s during the Second Great Awakening, many colleges were transformed by the Spirit of revival, and some schools experienced repeated moves of God. In fact, some administrators sought the Lord for a campus revival at least once every four years to affect each generation of students—and saw God do it. God has not changed, but have we?

The answer to the question, “Why Asbury?” ought to stir God-passionate administrators, faculty members and students on any Christian campus to simply apply the faith-step of heart cry for God’s reviving presence. Why not?

 2020/11/20 13:13Profile
NeedHim2018
Member



Joined: 2018/10/6
Posts: 29


 Re:


This link to the account of the revival may work better:

https://youtu.be/7qOqitIKUNs

 2020/11/20 13:35Profile





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