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I discovered something new about intercession. I’ve written about this recently, but you have forgotten, so I wanted to focus on intercession again.
What word in the New Testament is opposite the word used for “sin?” You might say “holy” or “righteous” and you would be wrong.
The world juxtaposed from sin in the New Testament is “intercession!”
What!? Why? I did not know that. Those were my thoughts too.
In the Greek, the word “sin” is translated from a word that means “missing the mark.” The word for “hitting the mark” is “intercession.”
Thunder, lightning, applause from heaven – I get excited about these insights in scripture.
Back in the Roman days of the first century, if you were an archer and missed the mark of a target at 100 feet, your commander would consider your punishment. But if you hit the mark, right in the middle of the target, your commander would consider your reward.
Hitting the target is intercession. Missing the target is sin. There is penalty for missing the target and reward for hitting the mark.
What is the mark or target? Romans 3:23 says, “We have all sinned and missed the glory of God.”
The target is the glory of God; our reward for hitting the mark.
Glory means intrinsic worth. When the bible describes God, the word “glory” often surfaces. What God says, what God means, God’s intentions, His actions, His love, His mercy, grace, power, wisdom, eternality (this list in infinite), are all a part of God’s glory.
We were created to reflect God’s glory:
We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus.
We are being transformed into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. 2 Corinthians 3:18 TPT
What is God’s plan for achieving God’s glory? It is intercession. It is not works! It is intercession.
When we intercede according to God’s glory – in our lives, in politics, in relationships, in everything – we are hitting the target.
Implication: our growth, and glory depend on our prayers! Wow. And you thought all you had to do was read Interruptions daily.
In my previous hippie world (circa before 1974 when hippies sold out to the system and became extinct), we used a phrase, “This will blow your mind!”
This will blow your mind.
Do you know what Jesus is doing right now?
Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:34
Jesus is interceding for us according to God’s will.
Another mind-blowing thought about the Spirit of God:
Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26
We can’t, absolutely cannot, miss the target of God’s glory, because both Jesus and the Spirit are interceding for us according to God’s will.
Continue to read Interruptions and I will talk about how we as believers should be interceding for ourselves, for our families, for our church, and for our government.
How do we pray in the Spirit?
Intercession is the opposite of sin. Sin misses God’s glory. Intercession, standing alongside Jesus and the Spirit, hits the target.
Remember Psalm 4 intercession for 2021!