Forgiveness, Prayer, and the Lightning Rod of God!!!

Right before Christmas, we studied how forgiveness releases God’s vengeance, untying His hands in a situation where our unforgiveness and bitterness might otherwise keep Him bound.   And when God releases His vengeance, it isn’t against those who have sinned against you or the ones you love, but against the demonic forces that are operating through, or controlling that person who has violated you, or others.Now we’ll take a look at what happened at the cross, and how Jesus was truly our example in how forgiveness opens the pathway for God’s vengeance . . .  WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CROSS?   What was the last prayer to come out of Jesus’ mouth before He died?  “Father Forgive them for they know not what they do.”   Jesus SET an example for Stephen did He not?  He set one for you and me.  Because He did that, releasing FORGIVENESS, a DIVINE REVELATON of WHO He is comes in for all that choose to see Him and receive Him!  Do you see?    The death on the cross was actually an INTERCESSORY act and He had to go THROUGH the valley of death in order to be given that authority to pray that prayer, and release the divine revelation and intervention of Heaven on earth!  The Father has the greatest joy and He receives the greatest GLORY and the GREATEST VICTORY when you are in the place of your greatest woundedness, yet you are still able to say, “Father Forgive.”  THEN HE GETS OFF HIS THRONE AND STEPS IN WITH A VENGANCE ON YOUR BEHALF!!!   Let’s look at another aspect of the Priestly Prayer.    Let’s say you are praying for a loved one that is suffering with something horrible in their lives.  You are praying and praying and praying but still you see no results.  What is a possibility of this?  You see, if that person is in sin, that sin might have opened the door to whatever they are facing in their life to come in.  LEGAL RIGHTS!!   Sin brings consequences.  HOWEVER, LOVE covers a multitude of sins!  That is what the Bible says.  What LOVE?  The intercessory act that Jesus did on the cross!  BUT someone needs to apply it just like the priests did in the Old Testament.  We are no longer applying the blood of animals, but the blood of Jesus!  Is this Biblical you ask?  YES it is!  Let’s take a look at an account in the Bible that clearly shows us this.   Matthew 9 1-8 – “and behold they brought to Him a man paralyzed and prostrated by illness, lying on a sleeping pad, and when Jesus saw their faith He said to the paralyzed man, Take courage, son; your SINS are FORGIVEN and the PENALTY REMITTED.”  And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes – He claims the right and prerogative of God!”  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil and harbor malice in your hearts?  For which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitter, or say, Get up and walk?”  (NOTICE JESUS JUST STEPPED FROM THE PRIESTLY INTO THE KINGLY ROLE!  HE DECLARED THE WILL OF THE FATHER AS A KING AFTER THE SIN WAS COVERED AS A PRIEST WHEN HE SAID HERE “GET UP!”!!!)  HE JUST APPLIED THE AUTHORITY OF HEAVEN TO THIS MAN’S CONDITION AND THE AUTHORITY OF HEAVEN TOUCHED EARTH – CAUSING A FULL MANIFESTATION OF WHAT HE JUST DECLARED IN THIS MAN’S BODY!!!) And in order that you may know that the Son of Man has AUTHORITY on EARTH to FORGIVE sins and REMIT the PENALTY, He THEN said to the paralyzed man, “GET UP!!!  Pick up your sleeping pad and go to your own house.”  When the crowds saw it, they were struck with fear and awe, and they recognized God and praised and thanked Him, WHO HAD GIVEN SUCH POWER AND AUTHORITY TO MEN.”  Are we included in that word “MEN” YES!!!  You see it?  Another incredible scripture is John 20: 23… “Now, having received the Holy Spirit and being led and directed by Him, if you REMIT the sins of ANYONE, THEY ARE REMITTED; IF YOU RETAIN THE SINS OF ANYONE, THEY ARE RETAINED.”  See that?   Now back to the story of Jesus and the paralyzed man.  Notice He did not tell the man to pick up his bed and walk!  He knew that there were some sin issues that were in the way of his healing!  He heard the Father (as a prophet 1^st – remember a prophet simply is one that hears what the Father is saying)  saying that there were sin issues there and that He could not intervene because of His character, so Jesus realized,  “I’ve got to be a Priest before I can be a King to declare healing.  I’ve got to stand in the gap and cover some sin here.  Once I cover the sin, GOD, who has been waiting to bring in healing, can intervene with His divine INTERVENTION because the sin has been covered.  The opening that the enemy had to bring infirmity or disease has been shot.  NOW I AM NOT SAYING THAT THIS IS ALWAYS THE CASE!  However, Jesus HEARD as a Prophet FIRST and discerned in this case, that there was sin in the way.  He not only stepped in and covered the sin, but He REMITED the penalty.  He released the man from the penalty that comes as a RESULT of the sin!    As you are reading this, if you have had horrific things committed against you or if you have been a victim of ritualistic abuse, sexual abuse or physical abuse and if you have been through hell, this doesn’t minimize the awfulness of what has happened to you or make it ok!!!!  What is does, is it MAXIMIZES the mercy of God and His Love and it brings Him glory!  Your ability to release a priestly prayer brings Him glory because as we said before – the one with the greatest wounding has the GREATEST AUTHORITY!!! Remember what it DOES!  It RELEASES God to bring judgment on those demonic powers that used the person or persons to come against you.  Those demonic powers WILL NOT go unpunished by the Lord your Father IF you allow Him to step in by forgiveness, by asking Him to cover that horrific sin that was done to you and REMIT the punishment due TO THE PERSON.  I have been through it; I have seen it work MIRACULOUSLY in my life!                 Now, back to Stephen’s story.  After Stephen remits the sin, what happens in the very next chapter of Acts, in Acts 9 1-6?  We see that Saul has an encounter with the living God.  Now was Saul seeking out Jesus, or a revelation of Him?  NO!  He was entirely opposed to the purposes of God!  BUT something happened on the way.  He was met with a revelation of Jesus Christ.  WHY?  Because Stephen became a priest.  The priestly prayer, releases divine INTERVENTION and it releases divine REVELATION.   Again, ONCE THERE IS A REVELATION OF Jesus, sin is NO LONGER THE ISSUE!  When we see God, all of a sudden we have a very clear perspective of who we are.  THAT WILL BRING REPENTANCE, just like with Saul.               I will end with this incredible revelation!  The root word for PRAYER is LIGHTNING!  PRIESTLY PRAYER IS THE LIGHTNING ROD OF GOD!  I will write on this more in the Kingly teaching, BUT what does a lightening rod do?  It ATTRACTS the LIGHTNING!!!  The purpose of priestly prayer is to prepare the path for the release of the Word of God!  It will PULL HEAVEN to earth!  It will attract Heaven to earth so that Heaven and earth touch, so that Heaven will REFLECT on earth in ANY given situation that you are bringing before the Lord!  WE are ATTRACTING GOD onto the scene; we’re attracting His KINGDOM on the scene!              JOB 38:25 – “God prepares a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderbolt.”  This is what we’re doing in priestly prayer!  We are preparing a path for the thunderbolt of God, for the lightening and revelation of God to intervene in our situation!               JOB 28: 26 – “The Lord makes a DECREE for the rain, and a WAY (PATH) for the lightning of the thunder.”               In the next teaching, I will talk about KINGS which are the LIGHTNING of GOD!  When we release the NOW SPOKEN CREATIVE WORD OF GOD, we are releasing LIGHT and REVELATION into the situation.  But if we have not first covered and remitted the sin, there is NO ATTRACTION for it!  We have not created a PULL or a PATH for the lightning to strike!  As we cover the sin we are CREATING a PATH and we have created a PULL on Heaven – and ALL that Heaven represents and all of the authority of God to intervene in the midst of the situation.  We created the PATH and we THAN RELEASE THE NOW spoken word of God and “BAM!” you have LIGHTNING!!!!  That is REVELATION!  Saul was literally KNOCKED OFF HIS DONKEY WITH A LIGHTNING BOLT THAT BROUGHT THE REVELATION OF JESUS!               Dare to make a PATH for the LIGHTNING OF GOD to HIT!!