I sought for a Man

Dear friends,
I hope this finds you well. In recent weeks there has been an intensifying of spiritual warfare in our area. I have felt it personally and seen many who are being affected by it. I know a number of marriages that are in trouble. Crime has seemingly increased. Our church has been broken into a number of times and people close to me have experienced loss due to burglaries. Yesterday, our mayor committed suicide. I am not a prophet of gloom and doom, but one might ask the question, "What in the world is going on?". The truth is that the kingdom of God is advancing and there is going to be an acceleration of what God is doing here. In a war there is no advance without conflict. As I was praying this morning the Lord laid some things on my heart, I would like to share. It is a call to war.

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30

1. God is looking for men and women to stand in the gap. God is calling out intercessors. There are some who have been so beaten down that they have pulled back. They have become pew sitters or bench warmers, but there is still a small ember, a little spark that won't die. There is an unrest in your spirit that can only be satisfied by His presence and being who He called you to be. The Lord says to you today, "Be healed, it is time to take your place on the wall. Little spark feel the bellows of God that you might burn brightly again."

2. Awake from your slumber, Oh church, it is time to arise and conquer. The tyranny of the comfortable has kept us bound in apathy and complacency. The assault has come because we have not taken our rightful place. North Korea and Vietnam were lost because we only tried to maintain a line instead of conquering. Imagine what kind of football team you would have if you only played defense. The gates of Hell are not to be attacking us. We are to be attacking the gates.

3. Difficulties are bringing purity. The intensity of the battle is increasing and it is time to seek the Lord. Pressure brings forth the precious. Loss often reveals that which is truly important. There must a prioritization of what is really important, an extracting of the precious from the worthless, if you will. There must be a purification of motives, a purification of thought and actions. Only the pure in heart can be trusted with true power. It is the pure in heart to whom God reveals Himself.

We are being conformed to the image of His Son. Jesus was and is the Intercessor of intercessors. He stood in the gap for us all. God looked for a man and He found Him in His only begotten Son. Not only did He take our place, but we are being saved by His life. He didn't stop interceding, but ever lives to make intercession for us. Jesus is interceding for us and the Holy Spirit is interceding for us; how can we fail?

Desperate times call for desperate measures and I know God is calling us into the fray. There are some who have been so discouraged that you have felt like giving up. There were times you wanted to quit, but the Holy Spirit in you sustained you. We must be like the woman with the issue of blood, for though she was weak, sickly, and broke she pressed through a crowd to get to Jesus. God is calling you to Himself to be healed, refreshed, equipped, and given new orders.

Some are being greatly shaken; hold fast to the King for when the shaking is over only that which is of His kingdom will remain.

Perilous times may lie ahead, but this is destined to be the church's finest hour. We must respond to the call, for we are not yet prepared for the glory the Lord wants to release on us and in us. The intensity of the struggle is an indicator of the prize to be gained. Rise up, church.

This writing may be an accumulation of random thoughts, but I believe it is addressed to several groups of people. I pray that you will be encouraged and that you will be drawn into deeper intimacy with Him.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean