Now, let us assume an attitude of prayer. Let us stand on our feet, bow our heads, and close our eyes; or look at me as I look at you if you can. Lord it is good to be present in the house of the Lord. There are a lot of places that we could have been today at this time. One of the places that we could have been is dead and in our graves. So, it is a blessing to be among the land of the living. Lord there are some things that happen on this earth, in this land, that we, even I, need to exercise the authority that you have entrusted us with. We, even I am here to enforce the covenants, what you and Jesus have spoken on the earth. This we can do through intercessory prayer. God you are looking for those that you can partner with, to accomplish what you want to do on the earth. "For your eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show yourself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to you." You said that, then you will raise up for yourself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in your heart and in your mind." God you are looking for individuals who are willing to stand in the gap to fulfill your purposes and enforce your covenant on the earth. For Lord you said, "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." Lord it is true that standing in the gap is intercession. Lord, I believe that standing in the gap also means that believers are standing in the gap for unrighteousness, even as Daniel prayed for his nation. It means becoming the solution to unrighteousness. Us believers become the salt and light that is going to allow culture to be shaped and transformed so that Jesus does not have to judge that people or nation. We are to fill the gap. Even as Aaron ran into the midst of the assembly and made atonement for the people. Lord, evil still exists on the earth through Satan, but God you have given the "lease" on earth back to us through the blood covenant of Jesus. However, we must exercise it, to see the manifestation of the covenant promises. God you are waiting on your people, who are called by your name to exercise their authority to bring these things into being. Jesus one of your last instructions was the passing of your authority to those of us on earth. Our role is to enforce your will through prayer by claiming your promises and defeating the works of the enemy. Jesus, you came to defeat the works of the enemy. "For this purpose you were manifested, that You might destroy the works of the devil." We, too, are called to defeat the works of the enemy on earth. We do not have to ask what your will is in many situations because you have already stated your will. We are here to enforce your will through intercessory prayer. Unless we do this, we will not see the manifestation of your will and purposes on the earth. That is why prayer exists. You limited your authority on earth based on our involvement to pray your covenantal promises into existence. Many things on earth do not happen because we your representatives are failing to pray it into existence. You refuse to act without your representatives, using their authority through prayer and spiritual warfare to activate your desired will. Lord, I am persuaded that a major function of intercessory prayer is to change the culture so that you Lord do not have to judge the nation. A primary issue that we face as a people is these last days. ------ Lord we know that the world will never truely end, but it will end as we know it. Time will turn its page and start a new chapter called eternal life. Lord, in the first verses of Matthew chapter 24, you predict the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. We are not surprised that in the next verses the disciples ask what we all want to know. They ask when the destruction will happen and what will be the sign that the end of the age has arrived. We must realize that the disciples are not asking one question but two. *** The destruction of the temple and the end of the age are two separate events. The key to me understanding Matthew 24 is to know when you are talking about the temple and when you are referring to the end of the age. Lord, I personally believe that much of the chapter is about the temple's destruction. The destruction of the temple was the end of an age for them. Jesus you gave many hints, as to how things will go for the Jews, in the days ahead of them. The first thing that I learned from Matthew 24 is not so much, what the signs are, but what they are not. Lord it is easy for us to develop a pessimistic outlook, with the expectation that the world, as we know it, will soon go down the drain. Lord, the problem with our, "the end is near", disaster mentality, is that it is not biblical and is exactly the opposite of what you said. Yes, you did predict wars, earthquakes and famines. However, your predictions of chaos were followed by a clear message to all that the end is not yet. Lord, contrary to much of the preaching today, the end does not soon follow this disaster and chaos. In fact, as much as some predict the end of the world immediately following these events, Lord, you are saying just the opposite. The "signs" are not signs at all of the end. Rather than say these moments of disaster are the end, Jesus, you call them the beginning. That's right, from a Jewish perspective—these signs of wars and nation rising against each other are only signs of the beginning and not the end. The beginning of what Lord? They are signs that birth pains have begun. Birth pains are not fun, but they don't bring death, they bring life. If we have birth pains, then we should expect a birth. Why do you say this is just the beginning of the pain? It is just the beginning because the next pain will be the disciples or Isreal experiencing persecution and trouble. Lord, I believe that the pains of birth have continue for centuries? I believe that the birth of Israel in 1948 is what this was all about? I believe that these years of persecution and even the holocaust were but part of the painful birthing of a nation? I believe that the time from the temple's destruction in 70 A.D. to the time of the birth of Israel in 1948 was one big season of tribulation? I believe that the days when Jerusalem was trampled by the Gentiles, mentioned in Luke's Gospel, was one great big long season of tribulation that ended in 1948 with the new Israel? Lord you, not Satan, is the orgestator and planner of these End Time events. Lord you planned these events for the world's greatest revival, just before your return to the earth. Lord we now have a population 28 times as large as the population of the Apostles. Lord you knew and planned for this revival that we now need. We should therefore enter into these end times with enthusiasum, with vision, and with excitement. Those of us who have an understanding of the times will know what we ought to do. This understanding is not to get us to go to a fox hole or to buy a bomb shelter somewhere. This understanding has been given to us to paint a picture of what we should be doing. We are not to be a defeated, lukewarm, or indifferent people. Lord, your word says in Daniel 11:32-33, "And such as do wickedly against the cavenant shall be carrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: God your will is for us to understand, and then share our understanding with others. Jesus you are not comming back to a weak church that will limp accross the finish line. While most of the world is going into apostasy, Lord I need to be going back into the book of Acts Christanity. The level of commitment that they had is the level of commitment that I need to have. Instead of me sitting around the campfire talking about how I do not feel loved by people, I should be talking about how I feel loved by God. Lord for me, the wisest train of thought would be to stick with the general expectation of most first century Jews. The bottom line is that at the end of this long journey was the expectation of restoration or revival. I don't need a stopwatch or a clock to measure how slow or how fast it is moving. I don't look around at the circumstances of the world to decide if it is happening. For me, this means a restoration or revival. Lord again, you said you are looking for individuals who are willing to stand in the gap to fulfill your purposes and enforce your covenant on the earth. For Lord you said, "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." Lord in these last days, we your people who are called by your name, find it hard to recognize scripture quotations and aplications in the mist of public speaches. Lord you said that we should pray for our leaders. Lord you have placed in our mists, a man who is willing to build your wall, which is designed to keep people out, who are sworn to change our culture to align with their unrighteous goals for this nation. Lord you have placed in our mists a man who is commited to building a wall against the culture of globalization, against the culture of one world religion. Lord we should be praying that he will stand and build a wall that will allow us to maintain our sovereignty of independence, that we can maintain our institutions of marriage. That we can be the salt of the earth, that will allow us to reshape the culture so that you do not have to destroy this land. Lord I pray for the confidence of a revival of this nation, to stay your hand against the imminent distruction of the world by the way of Daniel's Abomination of Desolation. For Lord you said to hold on a little while longer, while I allow a few more people to be saved, in the manner in which you were saved. Lord in order for that to happen we need a change of the culture, in order to produce men and women, with the ability to stand up under the pressures that these end times are yet to produce. Lord I pray that the joint effort of us building this wall, might work towards the end of restoring prayer in the schools, learning to read by reading the bible, learning the values of life from a source outside of our own minds or relativism, even as the isrealites bounded by buliding their walls. To God be the glory. I pray these things in the name of Jesus, in the authority of Jesus. So let it be. Amen.