Intercession for the Peoples in this World
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[edit] Intercession for the Peoples in this World
[edit] 1.The peoples of the world are created by our Lord
In Psalm 86:9, the Word of God explains, “All nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” Through this Psalm we understand that all peoples living in this world are created by God. Although many Christians find it difficult to accept that there are so many peoples, let us not complain about this. Our Lord has created them all. If we complain about the existence of the many peoples, are we saying that the Lord has made a great mistake in creating them? They all were made by Jesus (see John 1:3.10; Colossians 1:16) for one purpose - to glorify His Name and to worship Him. It is a pity many people do not listen to their Creator and this grieves Him. He has created mankind in the form of many different peoples, so they can worship Him through many languages and cultures. His longing has not yet been fulfilled because there are still thousands of peoples all over the world who have not yet confessed Jesus as their Lord. This is a challenge for us who believe in Him.
[edit] 2. The vision to the ends of the earth
From the beginning, our Lord had the vision "to the ends of the earth". In Genesis 1:28, He gives one command to Adam and Eve, fill the earth and subdue it. This command to “fill the earth” was repeated to Noah when he left the ark in Genesis 9:1. And when the Lord called Abraham, He said to him, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3) and “all nations on earth will be blessed through him” (Genesis 18:18).
[edit] 3. All people are sinners
The Apostle Paul states that all people in this world “fall short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). They are separated from God. In fact, mankind was created to glorify the Lord, but all of humankind was contaminated by disobeying the commands of God. The consequence of this is that the entire world has come under the judgment of God (Romans 3:19) and is separated from God forever. Where there is sin, there is judgment. The judgment that the world deserved for their sins is capital punishment (Romans 1:32; 6:23). The whole world has already been judged (Romans 3:19b; John 3:18, 36), but execution of this judgement has been postponed. Our Lord is full of kindness and patience (see Romans 2:4), but this does not mean the world is already saved. If a person does not repent of sin, “His righteous judgment will be revealed to them” (Romans 2:5-11). The Prophet Nahum explains, “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished (1:3).
[edit] 4. Many people long to be saved and want to worship God
Day by day we see people who are looking for religious and spiritual teaching. They want to know how to lead holy lives. Soothsayers and all kinds of religious teachers are sought out by people looking for spiritual guidance. People are writing to magazines and asking for advice in their personal lives. Many people are concerned that the food they buy in the shops be prepared according to the rules of their religion, because they do not want to violate these rules. Others inquire about how their houses should be built, in order that there will be no trouble from any other power. When we ask people, if they want to go to heaven, they usually say, "That's my desire!" But if we ask them how to get there, they do not know. It is true, “Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). We as Christians have an extraordinary duty - we can preach the Gospel of life to the people who are longing for eternal salvation. They, too, can hold the promises of our Lord and can enter heaven. If we have a burning desire as we present the Gospel, there will be a crowd glorifying the name of the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-12; Romans 15:9-12). Whether they live far away, on a ship, on an island, high in the mountains, or they are from the clan of Kedar (child of Ishmael), or in Central Asia, or in West or South Africa, or in the Middle East, they all will join forces in a big choir, a multitude that no one can count, glorifying the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:9-10). If we want to see the fulfillment of this promise of our Lord, we have to become active to spread the Gospel of salvation. Then we ourselves will be filled with joy because we will recognize that our hard work was not in vain. Our life has yielded everlasting fruit.
[edit] 5. The biblical basis for intercession
The Apostle Paul visited many places and evangelized the people there. But if he could not go to a certain place, he was certain that through intercession, he was able to influence people he had never met so they also understood the secret in Christ. Paul wrote, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:1-3). In other words, we can say the Apostle Paul evangelized people through intercession. With his words “I am struggling for you ... for all who have not met me personally”, he described how he entangled himself in intercession. In the same way as he strives to evangelize the people directly, he is also interceding (Colossians 1:29). He also asks to be prayed for by the Christians who do not know him (Colossians 4:3; Romans 15:30-33). It is difficult to pray for people we do not know, but this is necessary in order for the Gospel to be spread into areas which have not been reached. Like Paul, we will see many peoples and regions opening themselves to the Gospel if we focus our prayers for the nations, asking for new cross cultural workers (Matthew 9:36-38), and for the unreached peoples around the world who do not know Jesus (Philippians 4:6).
[edit] 6. The prayer of the prophet Isaiah
From the prophet Isaiah, we Christians can learn how to wrestle for nations and the peoples without the Gospel. In Isaiah 64:1-12, we see how the prophet Isaiah wrestled for the nation of Israel when it had left the correct and right road. In fact, every prayer warrior must read this chapter repeatedly for motivation and inspiration for intercession, which our Lord wants to see in the life of his followers. In verse 7, Isaiah cries to God, "No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you." In verse 10, he grieves about Zion, which has become a desert and Jerusalem desolation. This means there was no service where the name of our Lord was worshiped. In his prayer, he mentions all the sins of the nation. But in verse 12, he cried out, “After all this, O Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?” The prophet Isaiah was sure the Lord would answer and act according to His power. In Isaiah 65:1, God answered, "I reveal myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my Name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I'". Though the people of Israel did not call on the Name of their Lord, they even did not mind the existence of their God. But because a prayer warrior dared to intercede for the people and was full of faith, God acted. The prophet Isaiah gave us an example of how we have to intercede for the people who do not yet believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. For Paul, in his letter in Romans 10:20, the promise of Isaiah 65:1 was an assurance that God would call the people who did not yet believe in Christ. Therefore, for the Apostle Paul, it was clear that the intercession of Isaiah was not just for the nation of Israel, but his intercession was for the peoples who are far and separated from God.
[edit] 7. There is everlasting fruit through intercession
Many people do not know, and the media has never reported, that many things happening in this world are an intervention of our Lord after faithful Christians have prayed. For example, many Christians prayed for the fall of the communist governments in Eastern Europe. Now there are living churches in Albania and Mongolia and Christians in the Maldives. From West China to Turkey, there are more than 30 people groups of the Turkic cluster with a similar culture and language. From ancient times, this entire area was named the "Silk Road." Fifteen years ago, there was no church in this region - maybe not even a single Christian in some of these peoples. Now there is at least one church among all of these peoples, even among the Kazakh, Kyrghyz and Uzbek peoples thousands have become Christians. Why? This is because Christians have prayed in faith. Also in other areas of this world, we have seen progress in evangelization. Unreached peoples without any Christians in their midst now have at least a Christian group. But despite this progress, there are still thousands of people waiting for the Gospel. In Africa, wars have ended after many Christians prayed for peace, especially in Southern Sudan. In Afghanistan, a group of Christian social workers were arrested by the Taliban. But through intercession for their safety, they were finally freed. Let us be certain that we have received the power of prayer. Intercede for the lost!
[edit] 8. We pray
In Proverbs 31:8.9, we are challenged to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. The peoples are destitute. They do not know about their right - that they can have new life in Christ. These peoples are mute spiritually; they do not know the name of Jesus. The consequence is they cannot call on to Him for eternal salvation. This is the reason we must speak for them through intercession. We are certain all faithful prayer warriors will see the fulfillment of Isaiah 55:5, “Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you.” The promise in Psalm 66:20 - “Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer” - encourages us not to become bored in intercession. Praise the Lord for He is ready to listen to us. If we pray, even cry to the LORD according to His will, He will not refuse our request. He will do something. Our Lord intervenes directly, so that people will become open to hear the Gospel and the evangelists can explain the Gospel to them. Do mention the names of the unreached peoples before God and pray for them, as in Isaiah 64! We are certain this kind of prayer is not in vain, but rather will give much everlasting fruit.
