Because the time for the release of my book is approaching, I want to give you a preview and at the same time help many in the body of Christ that may not realize are violating an important spiritual law that could be detrimental to their destiny and the future of their descendants. I am referring to the principle of covering each other with prayer and intercession instead of slander and gossip. I pray you are blessed through this excerpt and get back to the right path if you have fallen from it and receive the grace of God to avoid this violation of a spiritual law.
...Continuing our study about
fasting covered in chapter 5, Isaiah 58:6-7 raises the bar to God`s intended
kind of fasting for His people and some important reasons why we must fast on behalf
of others. It says,
6“Is this not the fast that I have
chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
We are commanded to do the
things outlined in these verses not only on our own behalf or for our family members,
but also on behalf of others we are called to intercede for. The dictionary definition
of the word intercession is:
1. The
action of intervening on behalf of another.
2. The
action of saying a prayer on behalf of another person.
We are commanded to not only
seek to satisfy our own physical or spiritual needs, but also the needs of others
in the body of Christ. This also means that we need to stand in the gap for
others that for a number of reasons may be showing a low level of the character
of Christ in them. But one important reason could be that they have needs that we,
as a body of Christ, should be mindful to help meet so that no one among God`s people
is suffering unnecessarily when we should help carry one another`s burdens until
the person gets strong enough to do it on their own. Galatians 6:1-3 says it this
way, Dear brothers and sisters, if
another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and
humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall
into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s
burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think
you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are
not that important. NLT
In addition, Genesis 9:20-27 gives us the account of Noah’s nakedness and the two different reactions from his sons along with the consequences of those reactions. 20And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”
26And he said:
“Blessed
be the LORD,
the
God of Shem,
And
may Canaan be his servant.
27May God enlarge Japheth,
And
may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And
may Canaan be his servant.”
Canaan was cursed and sentenced to serve those who did the right thing because he did not. Now as you fast forward to when God promised Abraham the land of Canaan as an inheritance for him and his descendants (Genesis 17:8), don’t you think God’s decision for the land to be removed from the hands of the descendants of Canaan and into the hands of Abraham and his descendants could have originated with this incident? Thus, know that when something happens in which someone around you is being exposed and shown naked in front of you (their trials and testing being made public), God may be dealing with their sins or shaking their wrong foundations by taking them through a process that you do not understand, but He also may be testing you to see how you are going to use your mouth in the situation.
