Called to Be History Makers August 14th, 2022

1. INTRODUCTION
   
   1. As a house of prayer, we are called to be History-Makers. Perhaps you remember the song by Delirious back in the nineties. I believe this is where we stand today: Is it true today that when people pray? Cloudless skies will break Kings and queens will shake. Yes, it's true and I believe it. Is it true today that when people pray? We'll see dead men rise, And the blind set free.
      
   2. Yes, it is true, and I believe it—I'm living for You! I'm gonna be a history maker in this land. I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind. I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run into Your arms, Into Your arms again.
      
2. HISTORY—MAKING INTERCESSORS
   
   1. One of our primary tasks as “Intercessory—Believers” is to be watchmen on the walls. I believe we have two primary assignments: To pray for the United States of America, and the nation of Israel. We are called to be national revivalists who stand in the gap for nations, in strategic places, with strategic assignments. The Lord orders our steps and our stops in these assignments.
      
   2. As Intercessors, we are to be both watchful and alert. We are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and power, to lay aside our own thoughts and ideas, and to embrace the call of God to understand the power of prayer, how it works, and our place in the grand scheme of being history makers in this hour that we live.
      
   3. There are many examples in the Bible that we can draw from. One of those is Abraham. Abraham is perhaps the first great intercessor in scripture, for he lived in one of the most sinful places in the ancient world! Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with sin and debauchery, yet the great Patriarch of Israel, the Father of Faith, interceded passionately that those twin cities of sin be spared! I believe it was this kind of compassion that led God to say, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him’? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him”.
      
   4. God was getting ready to visit Sodom because of the outcry of its wickedness that had come to the Lord. God was getting ready to deal with it by sending judgment. But it says, Then the men (angels) turned away from there and went to Sodom, but Abraham stood still before the Lord. Abraham came near and said, would You destroy the righteous with the wicked?
      
   5. When God told Abraham that He planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the patriarch asked God if He planned to destroy the righteous people along with the wicked. Abraham then made the counterproposal, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?" (Genesis 18:23-24).
      
   6. When God agrees to relent if 50 righteous people were found, Abraham persisted to drive the numbers lower, knowing only Lot and his family could possibly qualify—He whittled down to 10!Hilltop House of Prayer Hilltoptlh.org

G. God agrees to Abraham's request, but this passage causes us to wonder, What if Abraham hadn't stopped at ten? God definitely showed no signs of being angry with Abraham over his persistent intercession and pleading on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. I have a hunch that Abraham could have gone lower. This incident illustrates one of the fundamental laws governing the relationship between God and man in intercession: God quits when man quits! History-making intercessors just flat-out never give up. They continue until!

3. FOUR BIBLICAL DEFINITIONS OF AN INTERCESSOR
   
   1. One, we remind the Lord of promises and appointments not yet met and fulfilled:“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6-7).
      
   2. Two, We Take up the case of justice before God on behalf of another:“So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor (Isaiah 59:15-16).
      
   3. Three, we Build up the wall of protection against the demonic forces in critical times of battle. “O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the desert. You have not gone up into the gaps to builda wall for the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord”. (Ezekiel 13:4-5)
      
   4. Four, we tand in the gap between God's righteous judgment, which is due, and the need for mercy on the people's behalf:“So I searched for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore, I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads, says the Lord God”. (Ezekiel 22:30-31)
      
   5. Bringing all four of these definitions together we see the following: An intercessor is one who relentlessly reminds the Lord of His prophetic promises while identifying the needs for justice in our generation. We do spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness in the mighty name of Jesus while lifting a cry for mercy upon our spheres of delegated rule for Christ's name’s sake!
      
4. HOW DO WE RESPOND TO HIS PROMISES?
   
   1. History-making intercessors deal with two kinds of promises: The promises recorded in the Word of God which are yet to be fulfilled or are ongoing promises available to every Believer by faith. Secondly—The prophetic, revelatory promises given to us in our day through the voice of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are true, but also are yet to be fulfilled (1 Timothy 1:18-19). We must contend for the promises!
      
   2. God tells us in the Book of Jeremiah that He is watching over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). That means the most valid and effective way to present our case before God is to rehearse and respectfully remind Him of His unchanging Word. In Isaiah God says, “Ask Me concerning the work of My hands—You command me” (Isa. 45:11). We can do this!!