Pressing into His Presence

Intercession Will Help Finish the Work

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Series Code: PHP

Program Code: PHP000015


00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Please join us today on Pressing Into His Presence as we learn
00:06 how intercessory prayer will help finish God's work.
00:31 Welcome to Pressing Into His Presence.
00:34 On our last program we considered how God's plan
00:38 for Christians, those who have been born again,
00:41 and re-created in the image of Jesus, is to be co-laborers,
00:47 co-heirs, and co-intercessors with Christ.
00:53 Jesus serves as our great intercessor in heaven,
00:57 and He wants us to do this work with Him.
01:01 Today we're going to look at how this ministry
01:05 of intercession is part of God's plan to finish the work.
01:10 If you're following along in your companion book,
01:12 also called Pressing Into His Presence, today we are going
01:17 to begin on Page 125.
01:19 You will recall that we have studied how the school of
01:24 intercessory prayer makes us more Christlike.
01:27 To witness an amazing Christlike intercessors heart in action,
01:32 just consider Moses.
01:34 On behalf of a rebellious people, he pleaded with God in
01:40 Exodus 32:32, asking God to forgive the sin of the people.
01:46 But saying to the Lord, If not, I pray blot me out of Your book
01:52 which you have written.
01:54 He's talking about the book of life.
01:56 I don't know about you, but I must confess, I'm not there yet.
02:00 God still has a work to do in my heart before I would willingly
02:04 ask Him to remove my name from His book of life
02:08 to save someone else.
02:10 I need His divine assistance to become more Christlike,
02:14 to walk in absolute surrender, and live in perfect
02:18 self-sacrificing love.
02:19 The time I dedicate to intercessory prayer
02:23 is unsatisfactory.
02:26 There is still unfinished work in my heart.
02:30 You know, a viewer once called 3ABN to level a complaint
02:35 against me, criticizing the message I had
02:38 delivered on prayer.
02:39 What she accused me was of trying to guilt people
02:42 into praying more.
02:43 I hope you don't feel like I'm trying to guilt you
02:46 into increased prayer.
02:47 I believe the message of this book and this series
02:53 echo's a wake-up call from God to us, His drowsy children.
02:58 Christ desires to come soon for His bride.
03:02 And the bride must be prepared.
03:04 And our lack of prayer limits God's work
03:08 in our personal lives.
03:09 Are we likewise limiting His work on earth?
03:13 Neglecting our call to intercessory prayer could be
03:18 the chief reason the work isn't finished.
03:21 Let me share a story with you that will
03:24 illustrate what I mean.
03:26 In 2008 I was introduced to Dr. Paul Ratsara,
03:30 who is president of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division
03:34 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
03:36 And within an hour of conversing with him,
03:39 I recognized he was a Godly man.
03:42 I say this not to lift him up, but to acknowledge
03:45 the presence of God in him.
03:48 Dr. Ratsara is a man of earnest prayer, who seeks God's wisdom
03:53 for matters great and small, spending hours daily
03:57 communicating with the Lord.
03:59 And finishing the Lord's work is his passion,
04:02 and he earnestly pleads with Him for direction.
04:05 At our first meeting he shared how God had led him to encourage
04:09 a tiny church membership, only 273 people of a particular
04:15 district in his vast division, to make a two year commitment
04:21 to prayer and fasting.
04:23 The results in church growth were jaw dropping.
04:26 And I had originally planned to share that inspiring report,
04:31 both in my book, and in this program,
04:34 Pressing Into His Presence.
04:35 However, when he arrived at 3ABN in January 2010
04:40 for an interview, I presented him the rough draft to check
04:44 for accuracy, and my plan was thwarted.
04:47 After reviewing my narrative he said, Yes, Shelley,
04:50 this is accurate, but I think it best that we not
04:53 put this in your book.
04:54 You see, it was a very poor district, and recently the
04:58 country that shares its borders opened, and thousands upon
05:03 thousands of these church members flooded across to enjoy
05:07 a better standard of life.
05:08 And he said, We would not want anyone to question the voracity
05:13 of this report saying, where are these church members now?
05:17 But I was crestfallen.
05:19 It was such an incredible report of what the Lord could do
05:23 through intercessory prayer, and I just relished writing it.
05:28 And then Dr. Ratsara said, with his winsome smile,
05:32 I'll give you a report, a good report to share.
05:36 This too will thrill your heart, Shelley.
05:40 So Dr. Ratsara related the story of a devout Muslim
05:45 who had converted to Christianity, and was turning
05:50 the area in which he lived upside down.
05:53 A science teacher by profession, this regimented academia man
05:59 had found that his schedule interfered with his first love
06:03 of testifying to God's grace.
06:05 To increase his time for soul winning he decided to change
06:09 his careers, and ironically he became a farmer; planting the
06:12 friends and working the fields to support his family,
06:16 all the while laboring more fervently in the harvest
06:19 fields of the Lord.
06:20 Sometimes he conducted up to 8 evangelistic series a year.
06:26 And in the first 27 years of his, quote unquote, harvesting
06:31 business, this farmer studied his Bible, fasted and prayed,
06:36 and went forth preaching the Word of God.
06:40 His harvest was plentiful.
06:42 Get this: he baptized 24,650 people, half of whom were won
06:52 to Christ during the last 7 years.
06:54 And as a result of his ministry, 56 churches were planted.
07:00 One man! In recent years this farmer has intensified his
07:05 time of prayer and fasting up to 7 hours daily: before,
07:11 during, and even after these evangelistic series.
07:15 He earnestly intercedes for the people, and he makes
07:20 supplication for the Spirit's power to preach.
07:24 The great success that God has granted him in converting
07:29 hostile non-Christians to our Lord has made him unpopular
07:34 with certain people in this district.
07:37 Enraged, some plotted and poisoned him.
07:41 And after he ingested the lethal dose that was administered
07:46 by a trusted, but coerced assistant, the Lord miraculously
07:51 delivered him from death.
07:53 And then later a small group, bonded by mutual hatred,
07:57 framed him for murder.
07:59 And here he is sitting in prison, and he said, Lord,
08:02 I will not stop praying until you vindicate Your name.
08:07 And within three days the body of the murder victim that had
08:11 been weighted down by a 66 pound stone to prevent it from
08:16 floating, this body was discovered.
08:19 It came floating to the top of the river, and it still had
08:23 the massive rock attached to his waist.
08:26 So under cross examination, his false accusers broke down
08:30 and confessed to the killing.
08:32 God vindicated His holy name, and the farmer's as well.
08:37 And more recently this beloved brother in the Lord conducted a
08:42 four week evangelistic series in a small town which had only
08:47 80 church members in an area that is extremely
08:52 hostile to Christianity.
08:54 And this report reads like a chapter from the book of Acts.
09:00 Through this farmer, strong in the Spirit from weeks of
09:05 fasting and praying, the power of God was manifested.
09:10 And it was just an evangelistic explosion.
09:15 It reminds me of what Jesus said in John 14:12. He said:
09:36 Now this is the type of greater works to which Jesus referred.
09:40 At the conclusion of the four week campaign
09:44 3,010 people were baptized.
09:48 Our dear brother was not interested in posting numbers
09:51 for the appearance of success.
09:53 He actually postponed a good number of other baptisms
09:58 until those people, and candidates, could finish
10:02 preparation classes, and understand with certainly
10:06 the commitment they were making.
10:07 Then he embraced the Fishers of Men program.
10:13 Now I'm going to explain that in just a second.
10:15 But what happened was these newly baptized Christians,
10:19 using the Fisher of Men's program, won many more souls
10:24 to Christ in just three months.
10:26 So hearing this report, my heart leaped for joy.
10:31 But then it landed with a thud.
10:34 I've heard similar stories coming out of Latin countries.
10:38 Why isn't this happening in the developed nations like
10:42 the United States, or Europe, or New Zealand?
10:45 Oh how we need to be like this dear farmer, and Dr. Ratsara.
10:52 People who intercede for lost souls.
10:55 People who seek the Lord for instruction, and the power to
11:00 share the gospel so our Lord can return soon.
11:02 Why aren't we? Is it complacency, lack of prayer
11:09 and its accompanying power, or simply fear that we don't
11:13 know enough to share the good news?
11:16 You know, the call of Jesus in Mark 1:17, 18 is this:
11:28 Now those to whom Jesus spoke then, the Bible said:
11:35 You know, reports shared by Dr. Ratsara proved my satisfaction
11:41 it is not lack of knowledge which limits our soul winning.
11:45 Led by the Spirit, He is the one who implemented this
11:49 Fishers of Men campaign in his division.
11:52 And what they do, they simply take newly baptized converts,
11:57 and they train them to share their testimony, and they train
12:01 them to go share their faith immediately to win souls.
12:05 In June 2009 Dr. Ratsara conducted an evangelistic
12:10 campaign in Angola that resulted in more than 6,000 baptisms.
12:16 Now that sounds wonderful, but at once these people were put to
12:20 work for the Lord, and he announced a special Sabbath
12:23 in October to baptize the converts who would be won
12:28 by their witnessing.
12:30 These are brand new converts.
12:32 They give them a Bible.
12:34 They gave them a book called, Steps to Christ,
12:36 and a few other materials.
12:38 And after simple training, they were sent forth.
12:42 They each had a little more than three months to win one soul.
12:47 Like the Samaritan woman who encountered Jesus at the well,
12:52 they went with the excitement of discovering the Messiah
12:57 to their villages to tell others what Christ had done for them.
13:02 And the special baptism that was planned, and held,
13:06 in October 2009 resulted in 14,396 more souls
13:15 being baptized into Christ.
13:18 Just a matter of months later, in December of 2009,
13:23 another 22,850 people were baptized!
13:30 I haven't had an update since 2010, but at the time of the
13:35 writing of the book, Pressing Into His Presence, God had added
13:39 an increase of at least 37,246 souls.
13:47 In just six months, through the seed of those original 6,000
13:53 plus people that were baptized at Dr. Ratsara's campaign
13:58 in June of 2009, in perfect similitude to the book of Acts,
14:04 this story has no conclusion.
14:06 What would happen if church members around the world
14:10 woke up to their duty as co-intercessors, and co-laborers
14:16 with Christ? What would happen if we earnestly prayed for the
14:22 Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest field?
14:26 You know, we're actually commanded to pray that
14:29 in Luke 10:2. Jesus is speaking.
14:49 What if we all pleaded for God to pour out His Holy Spirit
14:55 in the latter rain, as commanded in Zachariah 10:1.
15:02 Look at what this Scripture said.
15:05 This is God speaking.
15:12 The answer to these questions of what would happen if we
15:18 earnestly prayed, finds a witness in the personal stories
15:23 of those 273 church members, the farmer, and the Fishers
15:29 of Men, and our dear brother Dr. Paul Ratsara.
15:33 Fervent prayer would bring about greater workings of the
15:38 Holy Spirit in our churches, and in our individual life.
15:42 If we would be like those who pattern their lives after
15:46 Elijah, and prayed earnestly.
15:50 You know, over the last few programs that have been
15:54 dedicated to intercessory prayer, we have covered six
15:59 of the seven points that we promised to present
16:02 on intercessory prayer.
16:03 Now lets move to the final point, and in a moment I'll
16:08 recap all seven of them.
16:10 Our final point is this: intercessors have their reward.
16:17 They are doubly blessed.
16:20 Let me start by sharing about my husband.
16:24 He is the kind of man who knows how to make
16:29 everyone feel special.
16:30 J. D. is never too hurried to acknowledge each and every
16:34 person around him; taking time to uplift them in conversation.
16:39 And when we attend events he frequently tells me in advance,
16:43 All right honey, we should plan on leaving at a certain hour.
16:46 And at the designated time I dutifully check my watch,
16:51 and I head for the door.
16:52 Sometimes it appears that I'm anxious to leave,
16:55 only to wait for him while he circles the room
16:59 on his goodbye tour; capping off the occasion with words
17:03 of encouragement to everyone.
17:05 Sometimes these tours are quite lengthy.
17:07 If anyone shares a problem with J. D. he will immediately
17:12 pray with them. You know, I try to respond in the same
17:15 manner, but sometimes I fall short on my efforts.
17:18 It seems that I am destined to rush from one deadline
17:22 to another. And perhaps that's a destiny of my own making,
17:26 I don't know. But I'm geared to bolt off of the elevator as soon
17:30 as the door opens, just like a race horse out of its stall,
17:34 whether we are on the right floor or not.
17:38 And I hate to confess, but I have on more than one occasion,
17:44 mouthed these words: I'll pray for you,
17:47 and later forgot to carry through.
17:50 I've learned that it's best to pray with people immediately,
17:54 if possible, when we know that they have a need for prayer.
17:58 Praying for another in their presence is still a form
18:02 of intercessory prayer.
18:04 When we learn of someone's problems, whether through a
18:08 firsthand report, or even discernment,
18:10 God is inviting us to pray.
18:13 The personal difficulties of others are not revealed to us
18:17 so that we may wag our tongues to start a whisper campaign.
18:21 You know gossip is nothing more than Satan's sick
18:26 counterfeit to intercession.
18:29 In my race against time I sometimes can't always pray
18:34 with someone immediately, but in those instances I ask God
18:39 to bring their need to my remembrance, and cause me
18:42 to be a faithful prayer warrior for them.
18:46 Keeping a prayer list handy would be ideal,
18:50 but I don't always do that.
18:52 But my prayer journal serves this purpose.
18:55 I can review the segments on intercessory prayer,
18:59 and I can be promoted to intercede again for someone
19:02 who has yet to see the answer.
19:04 You know, when I do pray with someone personally,
19:07 I try to remember afterward to share one piece of advice
19:10 with them, and this is it: pray for others who are
19:14 in your situation.
19:15 I advise you to do the same.
19:17 For example, if you had just suffered a divorce,
19:21 intercede for others who are facing similar emotional strain.
19:26 This advice serves a good purpose.
19:29 Just as praying for the salvation of someone who has
19:33 hurt you can introduce forgiveness to your heart,
19:37 interceding for a person in a similar situation to yours
19:41 can foster patience and endurance in you.
19:45 Often as you sincerely seek God's mercy and comfort
19:50 for someone else, you will find a greater measure of mercy
19:54 and comfort for yourself.
19:56 You are, in a sense, casting your bread upon the waters.
20:01 God's Word says in Ecclesiastes 11:1 it will come back to you.
20:07 When you give a measure of sympathy, and devotion,
20:11 and intercession God measures it back to you.
20:15 In fact, just as God established the law of gravity,
20:20 He has established a law of reciprocity that Jesus shared
20:26 in Luke 6:38. Listen to this: Jesus said...
20:44 When we pray with mercy and love for others, mercy and love
20:49 is measured back to us.
20:51 Certainly we should avoid praying for others with a
20:54 selfish motivation of gaining personal benefits.
20:57 That would be displeasing to God.
21:00 But He's the One who knows your heart,
21:03 and He knows when you're sincerely asking for others.
21:07 And there is a reward that accompanies
21:10 intercessor's prayers.
21:12 Intercessors are doubly blessed.
21:16 I'm sure most of you are familiar with the story of the
21:20 ancient patriarch Job.
21:22 Ah, poor Job! The devil had a heyday with him, didn't he?
21:26 Satan did everything he could to ruin Job's life,
21:30 including placing an unsympathetic spirit in Job's
21:34 friends who were there to comfort him.
21:38 And I would say that with quotes and unquote's.
21:41 So what happened was after enduring a long-winded dispute
21:46 with his companions, Job finally turned his eyes toward heaven.
21:50 And guess what he did?
21:52 He prayed for his friends.
21:55 He interceded on their behalf.
21:57 And what happened?
21:58 Mercy and forgiveness flowed.
22:00 And God responded by giving Job a double portion blessing.
22:07 Listen to this. Job 42:10 says:
22:26 Now all intercessors may not be flooded with earthly fortunes,
22:32 but God will multiply His love, His mercy, and His grace to you.
22:37 Intercession inspires a living relationship with the Lord.
22:43 Your double portion blessing on earth may be spiritual.
22:49 It may be spiritual growth.
22:51 It may be an increased intimacy with God.
22:54 But in heaven it's going to be a joy inexpressible.
23:00 As we pour out our hearts in the priestly work of intercession,
23:06 we are pressing into the presence,
23:09 right into the heart of heaven.
23:13 And when we stand in the gap to plead for the perishing,
23:18 God's blessing comes down on us.
23:22 We're praying down His blessings on the world,
23:26 and we demonstrate Christ's love for the lost
23:29 and the suffering.
23:31 And our faith in God's power to deliver absolutely
23:37 goes through the roof.
23:38 God shines His face on us when we are interceding for others.
23:43 He looks on us with approval. Halleluiah!
23:49 Well, our time is quickly slipping away,
23:53 so what I'd like to do is recap the seven points that we've
23:58 covered in these last four programs that we've had
24:02 on intercessory prayer, because I think that these
24:05 are very important points.
24:07 First I'm just going to go through all seven.
24:54 You know that should be plenty of motivation for us to get
24:58 serious about intercessory prayer.
25:00 When God was first teaching me to press into His presence,
25:05 He impressed me of a need to follow the leading
25:09 of the Holy Spirit to learn how to pray like this.
25:16 And the Holy Spirit impressed me to start with praise,
25:21 which is such a faith builder.
25:23 Then He added repentance as the next segment, so that I could
25:30 come before the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.
25:34 And then affirmation as the next segment of prayer;
25:38 where I took God's Word and I prayed it back to Him.
25:43 And then afterward, when I was praying and I said,
25:48 Lord how should I go?
25:50 How should I continue?
25:52 Then what He did was He impressed me to first practice
25:57 intercessory prayer before I prayed for myself.
26:01 And I can understand why as what He did was take me to...
26:07 You know, when we pray for others first,
26:09 it certainly squashes our self-centeredness.
26:12 I understand that completely.
26:14 But why did He have me intercede?
26:18 By beginning with the broader circle of humanity,
26:21 then slowly narrowing my focus to those with whom I share
26:26 a common bond, and finally to focus on my beloved husband.
26:32 I believe it was for the very reason of increasing intimacy
26:37 in prayer, before He took me to the next segment.
26:42 My appeals for world situations, for the downtrodden,
26:47 for Christians around the world, and for my associates
26:51 were sincere. And prayers for my church family, and my friends
26:56 engendered even greater enthusiasm.
26:59 And at the point of praying for my extended and close family
27:04 members, I was praying with heartfelt confidentiality.
27:10 Ultimately though, praying for my husband J. D. aroused
27:16 intimate and passionate prayer.
27:19 God was preparing my heart to be laid bare before Him.
27:25 As I pressed further into His presence, with openhearted
27:30 humility, openhearted intimacy, I was ready to make meaningful,
27:37 honest supplication on behalf of my own life.
27:41 So please join us next time as we move into this next
27:47 segment of prayer, supplication, where we are praying for God's
27:52 help to overcome the things that are going on in our personal
27:57 lives, when we are praying for God to grace us with the grace
28:02 our Lord Jesus Christ, His love, and the fellowship
28:05 of the Holy Spirit.
28:07 And that's our prayer for you, too.


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Revised 2015-01-26