THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERCESSION

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before." - Job 42:10

The book of Job reminds us that there is more to our suffering than meets the eye.  Like Job, we tend to have a superficial view of our struggles.  There is much more that is going on behind the scenes than we can perceive. 

Job was an outstanding man in his day.  God and men respected Job.  Even the devil took notice of Job.  Yet when the devil was permitted to afflict Job, no one, including his friends, supported Job.  His friends were "fair weather" friends.  Job's wife wasn't much help to him either.  Job suffered alone.  To make things worse, Job couldn't seem to reach God with his prayers. 

Despite the fact that Job couldn't seem to feel the presence of God, the Lord still was in control.  Often when we need God the most, we feel His presence the least.  Like Job, we often let our feelings overrun our faith.  Whether you feel God's presence or not, He is near.  Whether you understand His purpose or not, He is still Lord of all --- including your situation.

Job's friends continually badgered Job with accusations.  His friends are like many judgmental church members.  They are experts at others flaws but blind to their own.  Even worse, his friends accused him falsely.

When God made His presence known, Job's friends were put to shame.  They were told to bring offer sacrifices for their sin.  Furthermore, God instructed them to go to Job and have Job pray for them.

It is easy to allow selfishness to consume your prayer life.  It is not wrong to pray for yourself, but if you are a follower of Jesus, you also need to pray for others.  There are many who need your prayers.

Praying for friends shouldn't be difficult, but if your friends turned against you like Job's friends did, interceding for them would be tough.

Note two things about Job's intercession.

1.  THE LORD COMMANDED IT

First of all, God commanded Job to pray for his friends.  Despite their heartless treatment of Job, he was still expected to pray for them.

Jesus has instructed His followers to pray for their enemies.  As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to pray for those who treat us badly.  It isn't easy to obey that command.  In fact, it takes the indwelling Christ to accomplish this. 

Who needs our prayers more than those who mistreat us?  Those who deserve our prayers the least need them the most. 

2.  THE LORD REWARDED IT

Secondly, God rewarded Job for his obedience.  Notice two ways the Lord rewarded Job.  First, Job experienced a breakthrough:  "... the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends..."  Do you need a spiritual breakthrough?  Do you need God to turn around a situation?  Perhaps the answer is found in praying for others.  When you turn selflessly to intercede or assist someone else, God tends to do something in your own heart.

Also, God blessed Job.  "... also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."  God gave these things to Job --- not because of Job's worthiness --- but because of God's incredible love and grace.

When you intercede for others, it is wrong to assume that God will respond exactly as He did to Job.  For one thing, you've never gone through the trials that Job did.  Secondly, don't expect God to keep promises He didn't make.  He never promised Job that He'd turn his situation around, but God did so anyway.  Thankfully, there are times God breaks through a situation, even though a specific promise was not given for that situation.

Here's what we do know.  God does reward those who pray (see Matthew 6:6). How and when He rewards us is up to Him.  I believe that most of our rewards will be granted in heaven --- which will be far better, because those rewards are eternal. 

Job prayed specifically for those who mistreated him.  You and I should do the same.  

COURAGE TO FACE AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

"... if I perish, I perish." - Esther 4:16

Faith is more than mere philosophical belief.  Biblical faith is taking God at His Word.  Biblical faith leads to obedience and faithfulness.  Such faith is the product of love for God, dependence on His Word and a willingness to follow Him.

There are times when a bold step of faith is required.  That was the case for Esther.  She and her family were doomed to destruction because of the racial hatred of one man, Haman.  Haman schemed to have the king sign a decree that would result in the extermination of the Jewish people.  Unknown to Haman, the queen, Esther, was a Jew. 

Humanly speaking, Esther was the only person on earth that could do anything to stop the human carnage that was planned.  As queen, she could speak to her husband and have the entire situation changed. 

However, there was a problem.  The king had not called for her.  A person could not just come unannounced to the king.  Even his wife was not permitted to come to him unless he asked for her.  Any person who came to the king without permission would be executed --- unless the king held out his golden scepter. 

Since her predecessor had angered the king and was removed from her position, Esther had reason to be concerned.  She needed to talk with the king, but if he didn't invite her to come, she risked her life to approach him.  When her uncle, Mordecai, pressed her to speak to her husband, Esther asked for the Jewish people to fast for three days and then she would go, uninvited, to the king.  Esther further said, "... if I perish, I perish." 

Esther had no guarantee that she would be spared.  Despite the fact that she was the queen, she could be executed for her uninvited visit to the king.  She came to the king and he held out his golden scepter.  Ultimately, she was the instrument God used in sparing the Jews from certain destruction.

There are some things worth risking your life for.  Esther had the courage to risk her reputation and life for her own people.  She had no guarantee that her life would be spared.  She faced an uncertain future with faith and courage.

Anything worthwhile in life begins with uncertainty.  As we seek to follow God and obey Him, we will face uncertainty.  That is why faith is required. 

It is better to die for something worthwhile than to live for things that don't matter.  It is better to risk your life for the Gospel's sake than to live a worldly, compromising life.  It is better to risk your reputation than to live silently while others perish. 

Living for God requires faith and courage.  Courage is the product of faith.  Biblical faith produces courage.  We need to understand that courage is not the absence of fear.  Courage leads us to do what is right in spite of fear. 

If you want your life to make an eternal difference, faith and courage will be required.  Your life will never be fulfilled while you remain in your comfort zone.  You will never enjoy God's richest blessings and ultimate rewards if you remain in safe seclusion. 

God used Esther to spare an entire race of people.  God tends to use certain people to accomplish unusual things.  These individuals are usually ordinary people who trust God and have the courage to do what is right in spite of the consequences.  They, like Esther, face uncertainty and say, "... if I perish, I perish."

Everyone is going to die someday anyhow.  It is better to die for the cause of Christ and the sake of the Gospel than to live to an old age but waste every day.

Some things are worth risking your life for.  Jesus risked His life for us.  In fact, He died for us.  He gave His life on the cross for us.  He paid our debt of sin in full with His precious blood.  Because of His sacrifice, sinners like us can come to the great King of the universe.  Because of Jesus, the golden scepter was held out for us.  When we come to God in repentance and faith, we are saved and made children of the King.  God's golden scepter was not held out because of our worthiness, but because of His grace.

Now as recipients of God's grace, we are motivated with gratitude to love, follow and obey Jesus.  Following Christ is not always easy.  Sometimes the path is uncertain.  Danger may lie ahead.  For some, martyrdom will come.  Jesus is worth dying for because He died for us.

The future is uncertain for all of us.  Faith and courage is needed.  If our faith is anchored in Jesus, we can proceed with confidence.  If we must die for our faith, like Paul, we can honestly say, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." 

If I perish, I perish.

DOING A GREAT WORK

"I am doing a great work" - Nehemiah 6:3

In America today, mega-church pastors are celebrated for their numerical success.  This often results in best-selling books about their church's story of phenomenal growth.  While I believe that there are many great mega-church churches & pastors, there are a few mega-church pastors who seem to show a level of disrespect for those who lead small churches or ministries. 

These days, American Christians honor those who lead large churches and Christian organizations.  We must be careful, however, to recognize that success in ministry is not fully gauged by visible results. 

Faithfulness to God and numerical growth are not necessarily synonymous.  Cults can experience numerical growth, but their statistics do not compensate for their doctrinal error.  If you think that large numbers indicate spiritual success, go to a professional football game.  You'll see large numbers of people there without any spiritual activity going on. 

I do agree that numbers matter in ministry.  Each person has an eternal soul and is vitally important.  I heard one mega-church pastor say that churches should celebrate their large numerical success because, "God believes in numbers so much that He wrote a book called Numbers."  His cliché sounds factual, but needs to be clarified.  This pastor needs to be reminded that David sinned greatly against God when he numbered the people.  In the book of Numbers, God commissioned the numbering of the people.  In David's day, his numbering of the people was based upon pride ... not a calling of God.  Could it be that "numbers" have become an idol in American Christianity? 

When Nehemiah was leading the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, his critics called for him to come to a meeting so they could discuss their differences with him.  Nehemiah knew that their real plan was to pull him away from the work God gave him to do & ultimately stop the work of God.  He responded to their request by saying, "I cannot come, for I am doing a great work."   

We need to understand what constitutes "a great work."  What I'm about to share is not typically stated on Christian talk shows or church-growth seminars, but I firmly believe it is true.  When you are doing God's work, according to God's plan, for God's glory, you are doing a great work.

If numerical growth constitutes a great work, then Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial were huge failures in ministry.  In fact, John the Baptist saw his numbers decline as his ministry continued.  Yet they all did a great work.  Why was their work great?  Their work was great because they did God's work, according to God's plan, for God's glory.

  

At one point in Jesus' teaching, the crowds left him.  When He went to the cross, Jesus died alone.  Obviously, Jesus did a great work.  Why was His work great?  Jesus' work was great because He did the Father's work, according to the Father's plan, for the Father's glory. 

Let me encourage many today.  If you teach a small Sunday School class, keep teaching for God's glory.  You are doing a great work.  If you are the pastor of a tiny church, keep leading that church for the glory of God.  You are doing a great work.  If you are a little-known evangelist, keep preaching the Gospel for Jesus' sake.  You are doing a great work.  If you are a Gospel singer, keep singing for the Lord --- even if your music never reaches Christian radio.  You are doing a great work.  If you are a street preacher, keep spreading the Gospel for the glory of God.  You are doing a great work.  If you are a prayer warrior, stay in the prayer closet & continue standing in the gap for others.  You are doing a great work.

Your faithfulness and motive will always be the key to your success in ministry.  Whether you see phenomenal numerical growth or not, your work is a great work if you are doing God's work. 

I believe that there are many mega-church pastors who are doing a great work.  I also believe that there are many, many pastors who lead small congregations who are are doing a great work, too. 

Don't look down on those who lead ministries smaller than yours.  Don't envy those who lead ministries larger than yours.  Don't judge those who lead ministries that are different from yours.  Keep your motives pure and stay faithful to the Lord. 

You are doing a great work.

A MAN OF GOD'S WORD

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." - Ezra 7:10

The spiritual intimacy of a person is often gauged by the time he or she spends in God's Word.  Certainly there is more to Christian living than reading the Bible, but it is difficult to image a person reaching any level of spiritual maturity without regular time spent in the pages of God's Word.

Ezra was a man of God's Word.  Our text teaches us about the spiritual depth of this Old Testament scribe.  He was more than just a dry, lifeless historical figure.  Instead, he was a man who sought the ways of God when it was unpopular to do so. 

Note three things about Ezra's approach to the Word of God.

1.  PREPARTION

First of all, the Bible states that Ezra, "... prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD."   It is good to prepare your mind, but it is better to prepare your heart.  The devil would like to convince ministers that preparing a good sermon is enough.  It isn't enough.  You must prepare your heart to bring the message.  The same is true for the Sunday School teacher, Bible school instructor, seminary professor or small group leader. 

Notice that Ezra sought the law of the LORD.  He didn't have 66 books of the Bible available like we do.  In spite of this, he used his time to diligently read and study the Scripture that was available to him. 

More than likely you have at least one Bible in your home.  Do you read it?  Whether you are in ministry or not, the best way to prepare for each day is to begin every day with time in God's Word.

2.  APPLICATION

Our text further teaches that Ezra sought the law of God, "... to do it."  Ezra studied God's Word so that he might practice what he read.

There are many people who have a textbook knowledge of the Bible but rarely, if ever, obey what it teaches.  Before you can lead others to obey the Scriptures, you need to be actively obeying the Bible yourself. 

Ezra obeyed the Word of God.  Do you?

3.  EDUCATION

Finally, we learn that Ezra obeyed the Word so that he would, "teach in Israel statutes and judgment."  Ezra shared what he learned with the people.  He didn't selfishly keep information to himself.  He taught others what he found in the law of God. 

Ezra was used of God, along with Nehemiah, to bring about spiritual revival and community revitalization in Jerusalem.  His influence was greatly due to his intimate knowledge of God's Word.

Ezra was a man of God's Word.  We need more men like Ezra today.  We need men to step up and be men of God's Word.  We need more women to rise up as women of the Word. 

Although most people will never occupy the pulpit on Sunday morning or teach a Bible study class, every Christian should be reading the Bible daily.  Read the Bible every day without fail. 

Be a man or woman of God's Word.