GIVING GOD PERMISSION
Ezek. 22:30
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There was a preacher who had a little three-year-old daughter named Tori. She’d just become a Christian and learned that Jesus was in her heart.
2. One day she was with her mother at a shopping mall when a woman policeman came running in, looking for a thief. Tori, being terrified of the officer, clung to her mother.
3. When the officer left the store, Tori looked at her mother and patted her chest and said, "That woman almost scared Jesus out of my heart!"
4. Sometimes life can produce circumstances that seem to threaten our walk with God. But fear not, Jesus isn’t going anywhere!
B. TEXT
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them...” Ezek. 22:30-31.
C. THESIS
1. What did God NOT want to do? Destroy Israel. Was He successful? No! How could it be that the All-Powerful God was powerless to save Israel?
2. What could possibly stop God? His own laws, which would not allow Him, as Judge, to also act as defense attorney. That would be partiality (Deut. 10:17). He needed someone to be an intercessor for Israel, but He found no one. What was the result? Israel was destroyed, contrary to God’s professed will.
3. God has given us free will*, the right to determine our own course, to live our lives as we see fit. Not only that, but God gave us dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). God won’t “make us” do anything, even though He’d like to.
4. He’d like to SAVE you, but He won’t without your permission. He’d like to HEAL you, but He won’t without your permission. He’d like to DIRECT your life, your choice of a SPOUSE, the raising of your KIDS, etc.
5. He actually knows what’s best, what you’re best suited to do, who would be best for you to marry, which job you should take, where would be best for you to live, how many kids you should have, what you’ll be most successful at, and what will make you happiest.
6. But unless you ASK HIM to save you, heal you, guide you, etc., He won’t do it, because He is a “gentleman” -- God politely waits for you to ask him for assistance; He won’t take over your life against your will.
7. GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU TO “GIVE HIM PERMISSION.”
I. BARRIERS TO GIVING GOD PERMISSION
A. WE TEND TO BE SPIRITUALLY LAZY
1. People say, “If God wants me to have it, He’ll give it to me!” It’s just as foolish to say, “If God wants me to have money, He’ll give it to me.” Why? Because God told us we need to put forth effort if we want to have money – work!
2. Prov. 10:4 NLT says, “Lazy people are soon poor.” Many Christians are lazy in PRAYER, lazy in REPENTANCE, lazy in OBEDIENCE, lazy in prompt RESPONSE to the Spirit’s direction, & lazy in READING the Bible. So they’re poor in blessings, in health, in forgiveness, in answers to prayer, and in gaining what’s been promised.
3. But God honors passion, zeal, importunity in prayer, working for the kingdom, etc.
B. NOT WANTING TO GIVE UP CONTROL
1. We all like to be in control. We feel helpless when we’re sitting in the passenger seat of a car and someone else is driving! Old people fight to keep control of their finances and driver’s license. Married couples conflict over how the family will be run.
2. Just as we don’t want to give up control in earthly life, we resist giving up control spiritually. Even the Lord Jesus struggled to pray, “Not my will, but Your will be done!”
3. God can do more in five minutes than you can do in five years. That’s why it’s better to let God be in charge!
C. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
1. Trusting God is the first step. Reading the Bible helps us know about God. God is a person who keeps His word, regardless of how much time passes. You can counted on Him!
2. Surrendering your life to God does take courage, but God said, "For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for Me shall gain it" Matt. 16:25, Living Bible.
3. The only way you can get the God-kind of life is to give up your own. Same is true of your – Sickness, finances, Marriage, Fill-in-the-blank.
4. God is saying, "GIVE IT UP! Surrender it to Me!" "Quit hanging on to the rags of your life; give them to Me!" Victory comes with allowing God to have it all. Die out to your efforts, dependencies, your plans for your life. LET GOD THE YOUR SOLE SOURCE OF SURVIVAL!
II. SECRETS TO GIVING GOD PERMISSION
A. FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM AREA
1. What area do you need help in? Your marriage, finances, health, stress, relationships, your work, your kids or parents, fears, a spiritual need, etc.
2. It’s good to pinpoint our need and ask specifically.
B. ASCERTAIN GOD’S WILL IN THE WORD & ASK
1. Go to the Bible and find a promise about the need you have. Examples: Jesus promises us peace, promises to provide for our needs, to make our enemies be at peace with us, to heal us, to cause us to prosper, etc.
2. We need to take our needs to God and claim the promises as the basis for our asking, and then believe God hears you and believe that the answer is on the way.
C. ILLUS.: TURN IT OVER TO GOD
1. During a retirement party for Larry Bird in Boston Garden, former Celtics coach, K. C. Jones told of diagramming a play on the sidelines, only to have Bird dismiss it, saying, “Get the ball to me and have everyone get out of my way!”
2. Jones responded, “I’m the coach and I will call the plays!” Then Jones turned to the other players and said, “Get the ball to Larry and get out of his way.”
3. That’s the church’s message – give the ball to Jesus, put your life in His hands, and get out of the way!” [1001 More, #334] THAT’S THE PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS!
III. NEXT LEVEL: BECOME AN INTERCESSOR
A. GOD HAS ORDAINED INTERCESSION AS THE MEANS OF SUMMONING HIS INTERVENTION
1. E. Stanly Jones said, “In prayer you align yourself to the purpose and power of God and He is able to do things through you that He could not do otherwise...for this is an open universe, where some things are left open, contingent upon our doing them. If we do not do them, they will never be done. So God has left certain things open to prayer – things that will never be done except as we pray.” [The Secret of Effective Prayer, Helen Shoemaker, p. 5]
2. God, of course, knows what we need before we ask, but we still need to ask. He said, “Ask and you shall receive,” Lk. 11:10. The converse is generally true too.
B. THE CRUCIAL NEED OF INTERCESSORS
1. The situation is serious: there’s a worldwide breakdown in morality. Sin and corruption are running rampant.
2. But a more serious problem is that the Church is indifferent, apathetic, and asleep at the wheel. God says, “and no one takes it to heart” Isa. 57:1, NIV. Nobody cares!
3. Thank God for men (Elijah, 1 Kgs. 18; Moses, Ex. 32) and women (Deborah, Judges 4-5; Esther, es. 4:16) who stood in the gap to save their nation through intercession!
C. A SPECIAL POSITION BEFORE GOD
1. God has allowed there to be a special place before Him for people to intercede. Many have taken that place: Abram (Gen. 18), Moses, Samuel (1 Sam. 12), Elijah, Daniel (9:2), etc.
2. “Intercession” (Heb. ‘paga;’ Isa. 53:12; 59:16) means to “impinge.” Impinge means “to drive in, as with a wedge.”
3. Things will go on naturally, unless we ‘drive in’ the wedge of the supernatural by intercession.
4. Elijah prayed for rain 7X. Why? He was confident God would answer his prayer. We need that kind of persistence if we want God to answer our prayers too! (see Luke 18:1-8)
5. Going back to Ezek. 22:30, God is looking for men and women who will intercede for His best will – repentance and salvation – to come to our nation. Will you be one of those who “stand in the gap and make up the hedge?”
6. On a personal level, will you ask God to intervene in your life & family? Will you ‘give God permission’ to run your life?
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: TURN ON THE SWITCH!
1. Most things that are powered by batteries have an on and off switch. If the batteries are included when an item is purchased, then it is ready to be used immediately.
2. However, it still must be activated by the switch. As Christians, our switch is faith. When we turn on our faith, we are able to access the power included in us. (Tony Evans #272)
3. Are you ready to turn on your faith? What do you need from God today? Do you need salvation? Do you have a situation at home where you need God? Financial need? Let’s take it to God now!
B. THE CALL
1. Are you ready to surrender your life to God? Ready to let God assume control? “Not my will, but Thine be done!”
2. What areas of your life, your family, your community, your nation – need to be changed? Will you intercede for them?
3. How many will intercede for our church and community of faith to have revival? Can we spend a few minutes right now in prayer? PRAYER
* THE NECESSITY OF FREE WILL
1. IF WE DON’T HAVE FREE WILL, THEN WE CAN’T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE DO. Moral obligation implies moral freedom. It would be wrong for God to command you to do something you were incapable of doing. Accountability is according to knowledge in the Bible; Lk. 12:47-48, Lk. 16:27-29, etc. Paul said, “that people are without excuse” Rom. 1:19-20. The 3 levels of reprobation listed in Rom. 1:21-28 show that humans begin with knowledge about God, but suppress it and disobey it, resulting, at last, in depraved minds. The depravity didn’t come first, but last!
2. God created humans with free will because FREE WILL IS A PART OF THE IMAGE OF GOD. Just as God is a free creature and can determine His own course, so God has given humans the freedom to choose their own course, even if it deviates from His will for us. Not only are we unique because of our intelligence and consciousness (self-reflection), but even more starkly, for our ability to cross moral boundaries if we choose. This aspect may result in the violation of God’s declared will and order, yet this freedom has been given to us.
3. WITHOUT FREE WILL GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF SIN. If humans are not free, then all their acts are determined by God and God must be directly responsible for evil, a conclusion that is clearly refuted by Scripture (Hab. 1:13; James 1:13-17). If Calvinism is true, then God is directly the origin of evil, instead of, as in the Arminian system, evil being a byproduct of God’s real intent -- to create free creatures who could choose to rebel against Him & His will. When Paul was told people said “Christ promoted sin” (Gal. 2:17) he was scandalized. God is not the author of evil. [Isa. 45:7 KJV “I create evil” refers to calamity or disaster, not moral evil.]
4. LOVE DEMANDS A CHOICE. God tells us that our love for Him must be superior to all other loves. It can’t be faked, like the Pharisees, who had outward obedience but were inwardly craven and selfish. Just as in human relationships, love cannot be forced, but rather it must be a free will decision in order to have any meaning.
5. WITHOUT FREE WILL WE WOULD BE ROBOTS. Billy Graham was asked why God made Adam & Eve so they could sin. His answer was, “Because He didn't want them to be puppets or robots. He made them with a free will -- for only then could they freely love Him. Yes, it was a risk on God's part -- but if He hadn't taken it, Adam and Eve (and you and I) would be robots, not humans.”
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/God-didn-t-want-us-to-be-puppets-or-robots-1147156.php
