Dear Intercessors,
Psalms
127:1
(NASB)
“Unless
the LORD builds the house, they
labor in vain who
build it; Unless the LORD
guards the city, the watchman keeps
awake in vain.”
It has been almost a year since leaders of several prayer
networks began to come together
to seek God for His word, His heart, and His purposes for the
Northeast Ohio region. It has
been eight months since we began to listen to John Mulinde’s
words for our nation, which
we found to be particularly on point for our region. It has
been painfully clear to us, during
this time, that fulfilling God’s purposes is not primarily a
matter of what we do, but more
importantly, a matter of what He does. We have prayed for
revival for twenty years but we
have yet to see it take place. We have prayed for
“transformation” in Northeast Ohio, but we
haven’t seen answers that would come close to indicating
significant changes. We are
discovering, not just theologically, but in reality that it
is the Lord who builds the house and it
is the Lord who guards the city. This does not negate the
fact that there are builders and
watchmen. The questions, then, that need to be asked are, if
the Lord builds the house, what
is the role of the builders? If the Lord guards the city,
what then is the role of the watchman?
We
see Moses, in Exodus 25,
as a builder involved in the construction of the Tabernacle, which
was to be the place of God’s dwelling.
Exodus 25:8-9 says:
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me,
that I may dwell among them.
According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the
tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall
construct it.” It is
quite clear that Moses role as the builder was to obey and construct
the building of this dwelling place according to the design of the
Lord. It was, however, the Lord who supplied the skill of the
workers, the provision for the materials, and His presence. The
Lord will not live in a dwelling that He, Himself did not build.
The Lord built this dwelling through the obedience of His servant.
Ezekiel
is appointed as a watchman, but his job is to report what He hears
from the Lord. In Ezekiel 33:7-9
the Lord says: “Now as for you, son
of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so
you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from
Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O
wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the
wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but
his blood I will require from your hand.
But if you on your part warn a wicked man
to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die
in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.”
It is the Lord who sees and knows what is taking place, it is the
Lord who removes the danger, and it is He who speaks to the
watchman. It is the watchman, then, who repeats the warning that he
is told.
It is clear from both of these passages that it is the Lord who
builds, through the obedience of the builder and it is the Lord who
guards through the obedience of the watchman. The beginning place
of God’s intervention, as seen in the scriptures, and is certainly
the case in our day and in our region, is in the obedience of the
builders and the watchman. In Northeast Ohio it is the Lord who
will guard and protect our cities. His protection, however, is
conditioned upon the faithfulness and obedience of His people and
they will not know what is taking place or what lies ahead without
the faithfulness and obedience of His watchmen to convey what He
sees and what He knows, and warn of the outcomes.
Your faithfulness and commitment to Him, as His servant, will allow
Him to show you what He sees and speak to you what He knows, even in
the form of warnings. You see it is not your obedience, however,
that will ultimately bring safety to the region but the repentance
and obedience of His people. In 2 Chronicles 7:14
God says “I. . .will heal their land.” As
you intercede this month, consecrate yourselves to His service.
Remove those things from your lives that would stand between you and
Him. It all begins with you. As we intercede
for the safety of our cities this month, let’s do so from the
empowerment of purified hearts.
Yours in His service,
Carlton H. Smith,
Founder and Advisor
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Prior Month's Message:
May 2008 - Letter
April 2008 Letter
Mar. 2008 - Letter
Feb. 2008 - Letter
Jan.
2008 - Directors Letter
