January 6
In 1996, I was traveling from San
Diego, CA to Riverside County to visit my father one particular weekend. I had
taken the greyhound and was dressed down for the trip to avoid any issues. I
thought since I was arriving without notice chances were that my father would
not be home and since he lived on the same block of the Church, I thought why
not visit the church that afternoon. You see, I have been in and out of the
church for quite some time and even left for a more liberal and charismatic church,
so why not come home and see what the old church is up to. As I entered the
corridors, I learned that there was a visiting church and they were having worship.
Mind you, I was not dressed for church but, I decided to attend and carry my
duffel bag with me. Unfortunately, people would look at me and not say a
word. They would speak with people next to me or in front of me but not to me.
I became frustrated and then, I remember as to why I had left the church in the
first place, it was because of the people
because of interceptors at the door. Their pious and judgmental attitude deterred me from wanting to go back.
So, by their actions, who were they intercepting for? Was it for Christ of was
it for His enemy?
After an hour, I called my
father’s house and heard that he had made it home. I left with a distaste toward
the church. The following weekend, my father invited me to return and
support my sister as she was going to sing at a specific church. Hence, the following
weekend I went dressed to impress and to support my little sister. Well, to my surprise I was at the church that was visiting the church down the street from my father’s home the weekend
prior. The very same people were there and after my sister sang and while
everyone were giving her accolades, a couple who last week would not look at me
and ignored me spoke with me and told me that I am welcome to come to that
church anytime. This was the opportunity that I was waiting for. I told the
couple that they had met me before. Of course they could not recall where, so,
I reminded them, I was the woman sitting at the corner with my travel clothing
and duffel bag…THEY WERE ASHAMED!!!
They were interceptors and had no
clue as to how their actions could deter someone from truly knowing Jesus Christ. Their emotions showed me that if I did not
look like them, acted like them or wore the same clothes as they did then I was
not worth being spoken to. They bought into Satan’s lie (pride) and were
intercepting for him. Question, are we
not being interceptors when we judge others, and if we are then who are we intercepting
for? Is it Christ or Satan, only you can answer that question? Are we letting
our emotions, our past experiences or abuse ruin our lives and the lives others?
After this incident, I left religion
completely. After all, people who caused me a great deal of pain and abuse were
from so “called” Christians. Praise the Lord that after healing from my abuses
I began to see these individuals with pity and sadness. For the record, I am not a saint I have
been an interceptor for Satan and I am not proud of that, so this post is also
for me. I have come to realize that when I am not focused on the prize and lean on my own understanding, I
too can intercept for the enemy's team. So what does an interceptor for Christ looks like? The Bible
shows who real interceptors for Him are and what length they would go to get
someone to the feet of Jesus. When I came back to the Lord in 2004, I
surrendered all bitterness and malice that I had toward so “called” Christians and
non-Christians alike but, the Lord placed a burden in my heart that focuses on
forgiveness and unity. Now equipped with the Word and faith in Christ, I have
learned that we need to become interceptors for Christ to break down walls, roofs and
glass castles so that we can empower others who have been abused, who are
hurting and who are sick in spirit and bring them to feet of Jesus.
The Bible has an amazing story of
some great interceptors. In Mark 2:3-11 shows what interceptors do“A few days later, when Jesus again entered
Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there
was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some
men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they
could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the
roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed
man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Son, your sins are forgiven."
These interceptors for Christ were
trying to get this broken person to Jesus. Think about this for a moment…they
broke into someone’s property. This person meant so much to them that they did
the unthinkable. We do not know why the Lord said to this paralyzed man “your
sins are forgiven” and it does not matter. Since they could not get him to
Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and,
after digging through it, lowered the paralyzed man, they
were emotionally tied to this man and because of their faith in Christ, they
did not let their emotions be wavered but rather helped this individual. Their faith, the faith of the interceptors got
this sick man to the foot of Jesus Christ and he was healed.
Now, how many of us today, would
cut up someone’s roof to bring them to Christ? How many of us including me,
would risk getting slapped with a lawsuit to bring someone to the feet of our
Lord and Savior? Are we emotionally unsecured about our walk with God that we
do not have faith enough to help others?
Interceptors in the Bible…
- Jesus, the greatest interceptor, He went out of His way to meet with the Woman at the WELL…she was intercepted by Christ.
- Rehab the prostitute, she was an interceptor.
- Tamar, King David’s daughter, raped and discarded at the door, she was intercepted by Amnon.
- Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, he was intercepted by the angels.
- Jonah, he was intercepted by a fish, kept in the belly until God saw fit to release him.
- Adam and Eve, intercepted by Satan BUT CHRIST intercepted Satan’s evil plot at the cross so that we may have salvation. Amen?!!!
Today,
would you choose to be an interceptor for Christ emotionally, spiritually and
mentally? I encourage everyone to look at themselves and ask, which interceptor
am I?
Is it for Christ or his enemy? How can I become more effective interceptor
in a defective world? Will Jesus see our faith?
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