Old Testament Lesson; Leviticus 19:9-18
Epistle Lesson; Colossians 1:1-14
Gospel Lesson; Luke 10:25-37
Sermon Text; Colossians 1:1-14

The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from Colossians. This will serve as the text for our sermon, today.

Intercessory prayer is one of the most profound ways, not just to show love for your neighbor, but also to love your neighbor, to be an intercessor for your neighbor.

What is intercessory prayer? Jesus told a parable in Luke, chapter 11, which is a good picture of what it means to be an intercessor. I am going to put it into modern-day terms.

Imagine that you are standing in your yard, when you see your neighbor pull up in his driveway. Your neighbor gets out of his car, opens his doors, and begins to take bag, after bag, after bag of groceries out of the car and then take them into his house.

You realize, "Wow! My neighbor is well stocked with good things to eat in his house." And, that reminds you, "Oh! That's right! I don't have any food in my house. I am going to have to go grocery shopping tomorrow."

That night you go to bed. In the middle of the night you hear a knocking at your door. You get up, go to the door, and open it up. There stands a good friend of yours who you have not seen for a long time. He is bedraggled. He explains to you that he has been walking for days. He is on a journey. He has no money and he is starving. He is hungry. He is wondering if you can give him something to eat.

Now, you have a problem. You have a friend who has a profound need. He needs food, however you don't have any food in your house. There is nothing in your refrigerator. There is nothing in your cupboards. You were going to go grocery shopping tomorrow. What do you do? What do you do?

You have a friend in need and you have a neighbor next door. So, in the middle of the night you go to your neighbor’s door and you knock on his door. And then, you ask him to help your friend in need.

That is what an intercessor is.

An intercessor is

the friend in the middle.

He has a friend in need and he has a friend who can assist. He is the one who brings the two together, who asks for help, on behalf of his friend.

Scripture calls us to be intercessors. Scripture calls us to pray for one another. Scripture helps us to recognize we have many, many neighbors in need, whether it is our mom, our dad, or whoever it may be in our lives, who are in deep need of one thing or another. You may not be able to assist them, but there is a Friend you have who is all-powerful, all loving, and who can assist them in every way possible. To be an intercessor is to be the friend in the middle, who takes the needs of those you care about, those you love, and takes them to God in prayer.

We are to be

the friend in the middle.

Why should we intercede, or pray for others? The reason, the ultimate reason, the ultimate thing that causes us to want to pray for others is the Gospel, the Gospel motivation in our lives. We, ourselves, have a Friend in the middle. We, ourselves, have someone who intercedes for us, who pleads our case day, after day, after day, and moment after moment.

You see, we have a problem. We have a great need. It is greater than any other need you could possibly list. It is greater than having no food to eat. It is greater than being sick. This need is greater than being in any kind of trouble. Here is the need we have. There is an accuser. The devil is our accuser. At this very moment, the devil stands as my accuser. He stands as your accuser. The devil, at this very moment, could stand before God and say about me, to God, "You see that man in that pulpit there? He has no right to be in that pulpit. Look at what kind of man he is. Look at the thoughts he has had. Look at the things he has said. Look at the things he has done."

The devil could accuse me of sin, after sin, after sin - all of which would be true. He could accuse me, saying, "God, he does not even deserve to be in that pulpit, let alone be called one of your children. And certainly, he does not deserve to be in Heaven, someday."

And so, here I am, in great need. God, the Father, has the ability to assist. He has the ability to help me. And, He has the ability to condemn me. But, He also has the ability to forgive my sins. So, what will He do?

Which takes us to our intercessor. It takes us to the Friend in the middle, the Friend between God, the Father, and me. There are two profound Bible passages that I want to quote to you. The first one is from Romans, Chapter 8. It asks you a question, first of all.

"Who is he that condemns?"

Who is he that condemns? There is only one person who can condemn us, and that is God, Himself. Do I have to be afraid of condemnation?

It goes on and says,

"Who is he that condemns?

Christ Jesus,

who died,

more than that is raised to life

is at the right hand of God

and is interceding

for us."

There scripture is giving us great comfort and is telling us that Jesus is right now, this moment, interceding for you. He is your Friend in the middle. He is the One who is taking your case before God, the Father.

There is another passage in the book of Hebrews. Here is what it says, when it is talking about Jesus.

"He is able to save completely

He is able to save completely

those who come to God,

through Him,

because He ever lives to intercede for them."

Your Savior, right now, is interceding for you.

He is pleading your case.

He is taking your needs before His Father.

He is saying, "This man, this woman, this child, they need to have their sins forgiven. And Father, I have lived the perfect life in their place. Give them my perfection as a free gift. Declare it to be theirs. They need their sins washed away. I have paid for their sins on the cross. Father, wash their sins away and declare them not guilty, for my sake."

And, the Father listens to His Son, who intercedes for us.

We are declared not guilty.

We are declared forgiven.

We are declared holy for Christ’s sake.

We have a Friend in the middle who intercedes for us. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ's love for us so moves us, so changes us on the inside that we say, "That is the kind of friend that I want to be. I know that I have a Friend, a powerful, all-mighty, all-loving Friend who can help and assist. For Christ’s sake, when I see someone in need, whoever it is, I want to be the friend in the middle who takes their needs to God in prayer."

Now, as we become intercessors in prayer, what types of needs should we take before God? Certainly, we take the physical needs of those we care about to God in prayer. Probably, as you look at your life, and you think about the people you pray for, often it is for physical things. But let's look at the Master. Our Master is Jesus. When we look at His intercessory prayers in His life, the primary thing that Jesus focused on was not the physical things, but it was the spiritual things. Physical things are important, but spiritual things affect our eternity forever, and ever, and ever.

And so, we see Jesus in John, chapter 17, interceding in what is called the High Priestly Prayer. He prays deeply for the spiritual needs of his Church.

We see Jesus on the cross, and in intercession, He says, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." There He prays for the spiritual needs of people.

We see Jesus, as He teaches us the Lord's Prayer. There He teaches us to ask for seven things, (Seven Petitions), six of which are spiritual things, in which He teaches us to pray with the pronouns 'us' and 'our', to intercede particularly about spiritual things.

Given that, let's look at a prime example, an excellent example in scripture of an intercessory prayer. If you look at today's text, that was read earlier, we find St. Paul, writing a letter to the people in the city of Colosse, to the Colossian congregation. Immediately, as he begins to write this letter, he informs them that he is praying for them, he is interceding for them, he is their friend in the middle. He explains to them the things that he is praying for, and praying about.

We can break them down into two categories. First of all, St. Paul tells his friends in the city of Colossi, he has some things that he thanks God for, on their behalf. Secondly, he explains to them what it is that he asking God for, on their behalf.

This is a good example for us of intercessory prayer. Pay special attention to what Paul is thanking God for, on behalf of the Colossian congregation.

Thanksgiving

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because

we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus

and of the love you have for all the saints-

the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.

You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgivness of sins."

When Paul served as the friend in the middle, (who is now taking the needs of the Colossians before God in prayer), he first thanks God. What does that mean to thank God? It means he is recognizing that there are things that God has done for these people that they simply could not do by themselves. He is acknowledging the great assistance and help that God has already given them and profoundly thanking God for that.

What are the things that Paul is thankful for? Every single one of them is spiritual. Number one, he thanks God that God has given them faith. "I thank God for your faith."

"We have heard of your faith

in Christ Jesus."

That is not something they gave themselves. God gave them faith. God has brought them to believe that they are sinners and that their sins have been paid for by Jesus Christ. Therefore, God has given them saving faith so that they can be in Heaven, someday.

Secondly, he thanks God that they are living a life of faith, bearing fruit. "I thank God that you are living a God-pleasing life, a life of good works."

"All over the world

this gospel is bearing fruit

and growing."

Faith produces fruit. It is not something they can produce on their own, but God has produced that in their hearts, as the Gospel has changed them into new people. Paul is so thankful to God that He has already done that for his friends. He thanks God that God is causing them to continue to grow. He has sent them a faithful minister named Epaphras, who has taught them the Word of God. That came from God. That wasn't something they did themselves.

And he certainly thanks God that they have the forgiveness of sins and they have eternal life in Heaven. There was much to be thankful for.

Given that, let's see what it is that Paul, as he takes his dear friends to God in prayer, what it is that he asks, on their behalf to God.

Now remember, Paul was aware of the needs of the Colossian congregation. He knew their situation. He knew what they needed. On the basis of their needs, he goes to God, and asks God to help them.

Again, pay attention to what Paul asks God to do for his friends.

Ask

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God

to fill you with the knowledge of His Will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way:

bearing fruit in every good work,

growing in the knowledge of God,

being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might

so that you may have great endurance and patience.

Paul knew that the Colossian Christians were facing some deep challenges. He knew they were in danger in their congregation. He knew that people had slipped into the congregation, who were beginning to teach false doctrines. These false doctrines could potentially lead them away from saving faith in Christ, lead them away from living that God-pleasing life that they were living, and lead them into a living a life that was not worthy of Christ. And so, seeing their great need and the trouble they were facing, Paul as an intercessor, as a friend in the middle, comes to God on behalf of his friends.

And, what does he pray for? They are all spiritual things.

He prays that God would cause them to grow in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, as they face false teachings.

He prays that they would know the Word, grow in the Word, and know it so well that they would be able to recognize truth from falsehood.

He prays that they would stand in the truth, and would be delivered from falsehood.

He prays that they would certainly be strengthened in their faith in Christ, as their Savior from sin.

And as a result, he prays that they would live a life worthy of Christ, because they were in danger of falling away from faith and therefore not living a life worthy of Christ.

He prays that they live a life of good works, because by so doing they serve as lights to this world, lights of how Jesus changes our lives, and lights of the Gospel message, bringing others to faith.

He prays that God would give them great strength and endurance. They were facing challenges. It is hard to fight against false teaching. It is hard to stand up for what is right, in the face of many people doing what is wrong. And so, he prays that God, through His Word, would give them strength and endurance.

He prays for them. He intercedes for them. This is an awesome example of an intercessory prayer.

Let’s take it home! What about you? What about you, in your life? Are you someone who is involved in intercessory prayer? What an excellent way to love your neighbor, to be the friend in the middle, who knows your neighbor’s needs and takes it to God in prayer.

It is so comforting to know that someone is interceding for you. I know when I come to church to study for my sermons, (sermon writing is hard for me and I struggle with it), it is so comforting, when I leave home, and my wife Sherry says, "I will pray for you." It is so comforting to know I have a friend in the middle, who knows my needs, who knows my struggles, and says, "I will take that to God in prayer." What a comfort! What a comfort to know that God hears the prayers of His people and assists us in our needs.

So, who will you pray for? Who will you interceed for? I encourage you take this piece of paper home today and spend sometime thinking about that. Spend some time thinking,

"Who can I take before God in prayer?"

The obvious answer is the people in your own family. If you don't pray for your children, who will? If you don't pray for your mom and dad, who will? If you don't pray for your spouse, who will?

But, there are many, many others. And the list could be infinite. Who will you pray for?

You could pray for the children here at Holy Cross who go to public school and also for those who go to our elementary school, Holy Cross Lutheran School. There are certain needs that each of those groups have.

You could pray for the young people here at Holy Cross who are beginning to date. There are certain needs that those young people have.

You could pray for the people who are on the boards and committees here at Holy Cross. They have certain needs.

You could pray for the pastors and teachers. They have certain needs.

You could pray for the senior members who are drawing near the end of their lives and have certain needs.

Literally, the list could go on, and on.

As you go home today, think about the people that you are going to pray for, intercede for in your life. Ask yourself, "What will I be thankful about?"

Maybe you can even use Paul's letter as an example. You can give thanks to God for what He has already done for these people. If they are already Christians, you have so much to be thankful for, on their behalf. If they are not Christians, certainly you can thank God that He has given you the opportunity to be in their lives.

Then the question is, "What shall I ask for?"

Again, use Paul as your example. Read through the list of things that he asked for. What are the needs of the people that you intercede for, particularly their spiritual needs? For example, if you are going to pray for the young people who are dating, there are some specific needs. Pray that God would watch over them, and give them good wisdom and judgment. Help them to honor one another, be respectful of one another, and live a life worthy of Christ.

Certainly, there are so many spiritual needs that we can pray for, and by so doing, be excellent neighbors showing true love.

Which then gets me down to the question, "Who will intercede for you?"

Is there anybody here who is going to be interceding for you? You may think to yourself, "Maybe nobody will pray for me." Or, maybe you wonder if somebody will pray for you. You know what? Do what Martin Luther did. Do you know what Martin Luther did? As you read through the correspondence of Martin Luther, you will see that he asked people to pray for him. Over, and over, and over again, we find Martin Luther corresponding with this person or that person and saying, "Please pray for me." And then, he would tell them what to pray for. Many times there were very profound needs, great spritual needs that he had, or temptations that he was going through. And, he told them, "Please pray for me. Intercede for me. Be my friend in the middle." Sometimes (pardon my earthiness here), he even asked his friends to pray for things that were very embarassing to himself. He wrote to two friends and asked them to pray that God would help him through his constipation! He had a need. He had a need and he knew there was someone who could help him and assist him. He recruited the help of his friends to be the friends in the middle who would intercede for him. Isn't that awesome! Don't be afraid to ask someone to pray for you.

What if we all really grew in our life of intercessory prayer? There is a beautiful picture of prayer in the book of Revelations, chapter 8. It is a picture of an angel in Heaven. It says in his hand he holds a censor (it is like a bowl that holds incense). The smoke is rising from this censor and the smoke is filling Heaven. It says the smoke is the prayer of the saints, the prayers, the intercessions of God's people, here on this earth. That smoke fills Heaven and God breathes it in, taking it into His nostrils. That is a beautiful picture of the prayers, the intercessions of God's people before the throne of God.

In the next chapter, do you know what happens? Having heard those prayers, God acts. God acts and He begins to deliver and save His people.

Let's intercede for one another. Christ intercedes for us, and how thankful we are! How we can grow in our ability to show our faith to the world! How we can grow as parents! How we can grow as husband and wife! How we can grow as a congregation! May God grant that to all of us, for Christ’s sake.

Amen.