“LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY OF GOD AND SPEED ITS COMING.” 2 Peter 3:12
Dear Friends,
& 8220;For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for
a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.& 8221; (Philippians 3:20) As they say, & 8220;when
you& 8217;re up to your waist in alligators, it& 8217;s hard to remember that
your objective is to drain the swamp.& 8221; In the busyness of life and even
in our desires to serve the Lord, we can easily forget that our ultimate objective
is the return of Jesus Christ - & 8220;looking forward to a new heaven and a
new earth, the home of righteousness.& 8221; (2 Peter 3:13) Jesus gave us the
great commission just before he ascended to heaven to & 8220;go and make disciples
of all nations& 8221;. Why did the Lord want us to make disciples? So the churches
would grow? So we would have crime-free communities and happy families? As wonderful
as that may sound the answer is NO. The answer is so that an increasing number
of disciples could & 8220;preach this gospel of the kingdom to the whole world
and THEN THE END WOULD COME.& 8221; (Matthew 24:14) Let& 8217;s not forget that
the main thing, the ultimate objective, our greatest motivation as believers
in Christ, is & 8220;the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ. (Titus 2:13) Our deepest longings, our highest hopes and dreams will
never be fulfilled on this side of heaven but only when we see Him face to face.
& 8220;Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides
You.& 8221; (Psalm 73:25) Peter speaks of the hope and the certainty of the
Lord& 8217;s return and says, in view of this, how then shall we live, as one
author entitled his book. & 8220;You ought to live holy (set apart and dedicated
to God& 8217;s will and purpose) and godly lives as you look forward to the
day of God and speed its coming.& 8221; (2 Peter 3:12) Thus we must regularly
examine our lives, our decisions, our activities, the motives and & 8220;intentions
of the heart& 8221; (Hebrews 4:12) to align them with God& 8217;s ultimate purpose
for our brief
sojourn on earth and & 8220;look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.& 8221;
Andrew Murray (1828-1917) a South African pastor and a man surrendered to God& 8217;s
will, says the greatest work we can do as we live our life for Christ is prayer
and intercession. & 8220;Our true aim must not be to work a great deal and pray
just enough to keep the work right. We should pray a great deal and then work
enough for the power and blessing obtained in prayer to find its way
through us to men.& 8221; (To the people we desire to bless and serve for Christ.)
I highly recommend Murray& 8217;s book With Christ in the School of Prayer.
I was personally challenged with this call to pray and intercede and in September
of 1998 I gave up a significant portion of my week that had been dedicated to
training and equipping businessmen in discipleship in order to make intercession
a priority. Since that time, a small group of businessmen and pastors have been
meeting with me from 6:00-8:00 a.m. each Monday morning to worship the Lord
and intercede for our communities and the city of Atlanta. Through these two
years of praying, I have grown in my conviction that intercession is our highest
and most effective ministry to others just as Murray states it above. Furthermore,
I have been greatly encouraged that the Body of Christ in Atlanta (and even
the country and the world) is realizing the same. This year uniteAtlanta,
a movement of pastors, worship leaders, intercessors, para-church ministers
and laypeople (across denominational, racial and geographical lines) have been
rallying the Church to transform our communities and city with the presence
of Christ. This movement serves as a trumpet to & 8220;Gather the people, sanctify
the congregation. Assemble the elders& 8230;& 8221; (Joel 2:15-17) calling us
to gather for monthly prayer meetings in the spirit of Nehemiah to rebuild the
& 8220;spiritual walls& 8221; around Atlanta. A wall to provide protection from
evil (Ephesians 6:10-18) and change the identity of Atlanta to a city known
for its love for Jesus Christ and a unity and love for one another. & 8220;By
this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.& 8221;
(John 13:35) The gatherings provide a place of united worship, confession of
sin and repentance, to assess the tangible work that needs to be done to meet
the needs of the poor and the lost, to encourage leadership and intercession
according to our area of the city and gifting and calling and to pray for more
laborers for the harvest. There are planned twenty-four hour Houses of Prayer
and Worship across the city where we can go and enter into ongoing worship and
intercession around the clock. (See 1 Chronicles 9:33; 23:5)
& 8220;I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone& 8230;& 8221; (1 Timothy 2:1)
& 8220;I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand
before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it,
but I found none.& 8221; (Ezekiel 22:30)
We must repent of prayerlessness and disunity.
& 8220;Come, let us rebuild the wall& 8230; And we will no longer be in disgrace.
They replied, & 8216;Let us start rebuilding.& 8217; So they began this good
work.& 8221; (Nehemiah 2:17-18)
Here are six ways you and I can help rebuild a wall of righteousness around
our city and country and stand in the gap through intercession:
1) Personal intercession - & 8220;But when you pray, go into your room, close
the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.& 8221; (Matthew 6:6)
2) The family altar - Intercede with your
wife and family. & 8220;Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree
about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
For where two or three come together in My name, there I am with them.& 8221;
(Matthew 18:19-20)
3) Join or form an intercessory prayer group at
your church. (Matthew 18:19-20)
4) Join or form an intercessory prayer group with other businessmen at a business
location. (Matthew 18:19-20) For businessmen in the Tucker/Stone Mountain area
call Rick Sauers at Atlanta Web Printers 770-621-8880 for directions to our
meeting Mondays from 6:00-8:00 a.m.
5) Participate in the monthly prayer gatherings of uniteAtlanta. Call
Randy Haviland 770-351-0818 or me 770-925-9524 for information on upcoming
meetings.
6) Participate in the planned 24 hour-7 days a week Houses of Prayer and Worship.
(Call Randy Haviland for information)
Revival for Atlanta and our country through united worship and intercession
is how we & 8220;obtain in prayer the power and blessings& 8221; Murray said
would & 8220;find its way through us& 8221; for the raising up of laborers for
the harvest to bring salvation to the lost and then the return of our Lord.
& 8220;Where is this promise of His coming?& 8221; the scoffers ask, speaking
of the Lord& 8217;s return (2 Peter 3:4) Then Peter answers them and us. & 8220;The
Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.& 8221;
(2 Peter 3:9)
As we set ourselves apart for the prayer and work the Lord has called us to
we can & 8220;look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.& 8221;
& 8220;Come, let us rebuild the wall. So they began this good work.& 8221;
Your co-laborers in Christ,
Len and Kristen