Rev. 5:1-8

Introduction

• This is the third message in a series under the subject of "Shock and Awe."
• Just as we are engaged in a war in the natural, we are also engaged in a war in the spiritual.
• We made the point earlier that our "weapons of warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." (2 Cor. 10:4)
• At least 3 of the weapons that we have in our arsenal are worship, intercession and overcoming evil with good.
• Last week we examined the power of Extravagant Worship-creates an open heaven-we begin to control the air space, which makes intercession more effective.
• Today we want to look at the subject of intercession-Intelligent or "smart bomb" Intercession.

Revelation 5:8
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Harp=Worship bowl full of incense=Intercession

I. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION SHOULD ALWAYS BE PRECEEDED BY EXTRAVAGANT WORSHIP
A. Worship brings us into the presence of the Father where we can hear what is on His heart-it is His will that we are seeking to pray.
B. We only learn to pray according to His will by learning to hear His voice.
C. If you only have 30 minutes to pray, spend at least half that time in worship.
II. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION KNOWS BOTH ITS POWERS AND ITS LIMITATIONS
A. There is an old adage; "There is strength in numbers."
B. We all have power in prayer, but we need to recognize that certain things will only come down when there is a united body of believers praying.
C. It is dangerous for one person to go into Baghdad-it is another thing when a whole army comes in.
D. God is calling forth an army, not just an individual.
E. More will be accomplished when we recognize that we need a coalition of believers coming together in prayer-different flags, but a common objective.
F. Our city and county will be changed only when we come together as the church.
G. One can have power (1000) in prayer, two even greater power (10,000).
III. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION HAS PRECISION WEAPONS
A. Precision weapons have guidance systems built into them.
B. Our guidance system is the Holy Spirit-"He will guide you into all truth."
C. It is the Holy Spirit who shows us how to pray effectively-He can make us into precision weapons.
D. We often rush into prayer not having the proper guidance systems up and running.
E. Intelligent Intercessors have to be prepared and guided by the Holy Spirit, and they must learn to operate under authority-don't fly off alone.
IV. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION HAS A DEFINITE TARGET
A. We must wait upon the Holy Spirit for spiritual intelligence.
B. Carpet-bombing is different from precision-guided bombing.
C. Effective intercession knows exactly what and where the target is.
D. More often than not, we are "dumb" bombs and not "smart" bombs.
V. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION SEES OBSERVABLE RESULTS
A. When the right "smart" bomb is used with a definite target in mind, we will see results.
B. When a bomb hits its target, you know it.
C. Effective intercession keeps dropping bombs until the target is brought down.
VI. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION WINS THE OBJECTIVE
A. We are called upon to destroy the works of the devil-not people.
B. When we see the devil's works being destroyed, we know that we have engaged in intelligent intercession.
C. The enemy and his strongholds don't fall easily, so we must be persistent in our intercession.
D. We must learn to "pray through" a matter-don't give up because we don't see instant results-it often takes many assaults.
VII. INTELLIGENT INTERCESSION ENCOURAGES US TO CONTINUE IN THE BATTLE
A. Victory breeds a desire for more victory.
B. Victory causes our faith level to rise to greater heights.
C. Every prayer victory extends the Kingdom of God.
D. It is said that Napoleon sat down and wept because there were no more worlds to be conquered.

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