INTERCESSION
  FOR A NEW DAY

  Doug Fortune

  www.NewDayFellowship.org

Over the years, it has been so encouraging to see how the Father constantly brings fresh manna, a word of ‘present truth’, to His people. We must keep in mind that ‘present truth’ revelation is PROGRESSIVE; God is continually breaking open the seals of our understanding. In reality, it is not NEW truth, it is simply an epiphany, or an unveiling of what has always been. I think of the day that God revealed to a man a ‘present truth’ that literally catapulted the Church into a new day... the truth was ‘justification by faith’ and the man’s name was Martin Luther. That ‘present truth’ shook the heavens in it’s day, and still is, for that matter. However we have progressed since then, for God has revealed much more ‘present truth’ since the year 1517.

In recent years the Father revealed to the Church the truth of Hosea 6:2, “After two days will He REVIVE us: in the THIRD DAY He will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” After two millennial ‘days’ since the cross of Jesus Christ we witnessed the powerful movement of ‘REVIVAL’ sweep the nations. One of the most profound ‘present truths’ brought to the forefront in the ‘Revival Movement’ was the truth of INTERCESSION. I believe that the Father has utilized intercession to birth tremendous advances of the Kingdom in the last few years. I find it interesting to note that often you will hear the words ‘intercession’ and ‘birth’ in the same sentence. That is because spiritual birthing/ travail is perhaps the most common ‘model’ of intercession the Church has known. Most recently this ‘model’ of intercession found wide acceptance and practice through the Brownsville and Smithton Revivals, although its’ roots lie in the Azusa Street Revival of the early 1900’s.

I believe in intercession. Over the last few years, I personally have spent countless hours in spiritual birthing/ travail. At one point I considered seeing a doctor because of the intensity of pain I experienced while in intercession... however, while I was interceding in prayer was the only time I had the pain, so I knew it was not a physical illness. I share that, not to try to impress you with how ‘spiritual’ I may or may not be, but to give a frame of reference for what I’m about to say.

My wife and I have four children, so we know something of the ‘birthing’ process. (Obviously SHE knows a lot more about it than I do, but I’m the writer in the family!) At this writing, our children range in age from sixteen down to age seven. Simple math tells you that we were involved somewhere in the entire birthing process for about ten years. (Yes, sympathy cards addressed to my wife, Kellie, will be delivered promptly... sorry, that’s my attempt at humor!) Presently, however, my wife and I are in a different season of our lives. Our oldest child is sixteen, and this may sound ridiculously obvious, but we’re not ‘birthing’ her anymore... we came home from the delivery room and we are now in a different season. Our youngest child is seven, and this may sound ridiculously obvious, but we’re not ‘birthing’ him anymore... we came home from the delivery room and we are now in a different season. This also may sound rather obvious, but most birthing in the natural happens in hospitals and birthing rooms in a somewhat private setting... why then should I feel the need to have spiritual birthing as a public display in a public meeting?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, &11 tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born... I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:” In the intended time and place, things are good... When things are out of place or ill-timed, they are not good. Isaiah 66:9 reinforces this as it says, “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.” My point is that spiritual birthing/ travail is not the final destination. Women who stay in the delivery room too long can die. Eventually things get ‘birthed’ and then it is time to move into a different season.

Am I saying that God is not spiritually birthing anything in the earth anymore?... certainly I am NOT saying that! I AM saying, however, that intercession is moving into a different season. I am in no way demeaning the spiritual birthing/ travail ‘model’ of intercession, but it seems that most every other Second Day paradigm we’ve held is shifting as we transition from Second Day understanding to Third Day understanding. I believe that intercession, as we know it, is no different. Remember, the spiritual birthing/ travail ‘model’ of intercession came forth at the outset of the spiritual Second Day with the Azusa Street Revival of the early 1900’s. (To bring some clarity of definition, the Second Day experience can be defined as moving into the second feast- Pentecost, the Holy Place, and the second heaven; these are all symbolic of our moving into the realm of the ‘gifts’ of the Spirit, prophecy, praying in tongues, the illumination (golden candlestick) of the Spirit, and becoming aware of the governing principalities and powers of the second heaven.)

One of the most noticeable differences that we must be prepared for is that the SOUND of intercession will change. Ruling sounds different than travail. Ruling is RESTING in sovereign authority and Divine Intervention. Travail is work. Once again, I am in no way demeaning travail, however I AM saying that we are moving into a different season that has a different sound. If we’re not aware of this we may become discouraged. “I just don’t know what has happened to our intercession, seems we just can’t get into that place of travail. Maybe we’re doing something wrong...” Maybe you’re doing something right.

We can find a beautiful prophetic picture of Third Day intercession in Esther chapter five. Keep in mind that the people of God are in a major crisis as they are threatened by Haman with extinction, and things appear to be going from bad to worse. So we find Esther in the place of INTERCESSION, going before the King on behalf of the people. “Now it came to pass on the Third Day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house... So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.” (Esther 5:1-3)

Here is the key to the Third Day intercession of an Esther Company that is being prepared- Esther (1) DREW NEAR, and (2) TOUCHED the TOP of the sceptre.

* Hebrews 10:22 declares, “Let us all come forward and DRAW NEAR with true hearts... having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a GUILTY EVIL conscience...” (Amplified Bible) The only way we can truly DRAW NEAR to the Lord is when we are free of a GUILTY EVIL conscience produced by a religious sin-conscious mentality. Hebrews 10:1-2 tells us how the Law could never make the people perfect, otherwise the sacrifices would have STOPPED being offered because if “since the worshippers had once for all been cleansed, they would NO LONGER have any guilt or consciousness of sin...” (Amplified Bible) Listen closely here, we must understand that if we have once for all been CLEANSED, we will NO LONGER have sin consciousness! If we then go on to verse 14 of Hebrews 10, it says “For by a single offering He has FOREVER completely CLEANSED and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy...” (Amplified Bible) My friend, we have been CLEANSED! Sin-consciousness is anti-Christ; it profanes the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We must realize that we are living in the New Covenant; “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord... And their sins and iniquities will I remember NO MORE. Now where remission of these is, there is NO MORE offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:16-18) We must cast off the sin-conscious mentality that religion has tried to keep us bound with. It is time to DRAW NEAR with true hearts, having our hearts purified from a GUILTY EVIL conscience.

* Esther then TOUCHED the TOP of the golden sceptre. The word translated as touched, naga’ in Hebrew, means to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon, in euphemism to lie with a woman; by implication, to reach, to arrive, acquire. The word translated as top (of the sceptre), ro'sh in Hebrew, means the HEAD, in many applications, of place, time, rank, etc. Gold is symbolic of the divine, and a sceptre is symbolic of sovereign authority. So the golden sceptre speaks of divine sovereign authority.

Esther intimately LAID HOLD of the HEADSHIP of the King, which released divine sovereign authority on behalf of all the people! My friend, God is intimately preparing an Esther Company that lays hold of, that apprehends the Headship Anointing of King Jesus, understanding that it is the SAME anointing on the Head (Jesus Christ) that flows to the rest of the Body of Christ. During her preparation for the King, Esther spent “six months with oil of myrrh... for the purifying of the women” (Esther 2:12) Myrrh is first mentioned as a principal ingredient in the anointing oil of the tabernacle. The word translated as principal is also ro’sh in Hebrew, meaning the HEAD. Everything in the tabernacle was anointed with this oil (Exodus 30:23-28), and so it is for us as His tabernacle, it is the SAME oil, the SAME Christ our Head who anoints us all with Himself.

This Headship Anointing is not just a head-knowledge thing either, it is a matter of ‘growing up’, it is a matter of maturity; “...GROW UP into Him in all things, which is the HEAD, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:15) You see, myrrh was also used as an intimate perfume and used in embalming; six is the symbolic number of man, of carnality; the ‘purifying of the women’ speaks of the purifying of the SOUL (mind, will, emotions). So when we read of ‘six months with oil of myrrh’ this also speaks of the carnality of the immature soulish life being intimately exposed, reckoned dead, ‘embalmed’, and immersed in the anointing of Christ our Head.

As we ‘grow up’ into Him in exercising this Headship Anointing, there is no ‘long Second Day travail’ in this scenario, simply a display of Divine Intervention! “BEFORE she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as SOON AS Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” (Isaiah 66:7-8)

We must draw near, and touch the top of the sceptre. As we apprehend the Headship Anointing of King Jesus, I believe the Lord will say, “it shall be even given thee to the half of the Kingdom.” This is a divine invitation to reign with Christ, and He is extending this invitation to US! “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit WITH ME IN my throne... And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and WE shall REIGN on the earth... but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN WITH HIM a thousand years.” (Revelation 3:21, 5:10, 20:6)

Remember also that ‘to lay hold of’ or ‘apprehend’, naga’ in Hebrew, in euphemism means to lie with a woman. This speaks of a relationship of intimacy (into-ME see), and the one-flesh relationship Paul spoke of in Ephesians 5:31-32; “...and they two shall be ONE FLESH. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the CHURCH.” Third Day intercession is all about becoming ONE with Him, His nature, His Life manifesting through us, His Headship Anointing manifesting through us which then releases Divine Intervention.

Listen to what this Third Day intercession produces:
“Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows... Write YE also for the Jews, as it liketh YOU, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse... Wherein the king granted the Jews... to take the spoil of them for a prey...” (Esther 8:7-8, 11) Not only is the enemy firmly defeated, then He says, YOU make the decree and I’ll enforce it and no man can change it! “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15) Not only does the Father restore that which the enemy has tried to steal, then He says the spoil of battle is ours for the taking. Third Day intercession releases abundant spoil!

“And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour... And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.” (Esther 8:15, 17) Not only do we receive the favor of God, Third Day intercession releases favor with men and a harvest of souls for Christ. Indeed, we must draw near, and touch the top of the sceptre!

It is a new season, my friend. New seasons require new thinking! New thinking brings transformation and reformation. Let us allow our intercession to transition into this Third Day of transformation, reformation, and Divine Intervention.