Seeking for the helm of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Romans chapter 8, Romans 8,
and reading from our text, verse 34. It is the latter part of this verse,
the words, who also maketh intercession for us. The whole verse reads,
who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8, 34. And my desire this evening is
specifically that it might be a help to those that are finding
it hard to pray for themselves. We never discourage any from
a path of prayer. We're not to, in one sense, just
be asking everyone else to pray for us, but deliberately neglecting
the throne of grace ourselves. It's a great privilege that all
may come and call upon the name of the Lord and pray unto Him
and come before Him. But there are those times in
our lives that we get very low. We don't know how to pray or
what to pray for. We get very, very discouraged. And then it is. an encouragement
to know that there are others, others that pray for us. There is a provision in the gospel
that when, in one sense, we are silent through temptation and
trials or distress and trouble and doubt and unbelief, yet there
is an intercessor, there is one that speaks for us in heaven's
high court for good. So what is prayer? Prayer is
man speaking unto God. In preaching, it is God speaking
to man through the minister. But prayer is when We speak to
God, we come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Man began to call upon the name
of the Lord. We read in those early chapters
of Genesis, and from then on, man is to be, when he is spiritually
alive, one that prays unto the Lord, one that seeks unto God,
Why is it so important to pray? The Lord taught it. He said that
men ought always to pray and not to faint. He set forth the
vital necessity of importunate prayer, going again and again
and asking and asking the Lord and giving him no rest. The Lord has said it will for
this being quieted of by the house of Israel to do it for
them. Ezekiel 36, many blessings and
the way the Lord has ordered it that men will then be brought
to pray and in answer to prayer, the Lord would send forth those
blessings. We read of Daniel that when he
understood by books that the time of the captivity in Babylon
was nearing its end, Then he went to prayer. And we can read
in Daniel 9, the prayer, a confession of intercession he made for his
own people at that time. And when we know that the Lord
has instituted prayer in that way, may we truly value it. It is the life of a Christian.
This is why it was said of Saul of Tarsus, behold, he prayeth. And yet, as a Pharisee, he would
have made long prayers, but those weren't prayers any different
than what the Lord spoke of the Pharisee in the temple, who spoke
of what good things he'd done for God, how different it was
with the publican who beat upon his breast, God be merciful to
me, a sinner. And so it is the path of prayer
that the Lord would have his people walk the same as he walked
while he was on this earth, spending whole nights in prayer unto his
Father. It was through prayer while he
was on this earth that he had that fellowship, communion, with
his Father. And if we are brought to be reconciled
to God, brought to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, then we
will use that path of prayer. We cannot see the Lord, but we
come before Him, we speak to Him. He speaks to us through
prayer as well, makes us to know and do His will. We think of,
in my dear one in Ireland, we were courting And for many, many
months not seeing each other, no such thing as what we have
today with the WhatsApp or means of a visual at all. It was all
audio and phone calls and not just a few pence or nothing,
but a pound a minute we paid. And nearly 2000 pounds over 18
months in phone calls. It was that love and desire to
communicate one with another, to hear each other's voice. And so it is in prayer. If we
are brought to love the Lord, then we will be often in prayer
and want to be found with Him. But prayer then is that channel,
channel that the blessings of God come. And when we are low,
It's very easy to be really tempted that, well, I can't pray, so
I can't be blessed. The Lord can't appear for me.
He won't help me at all. And yet here, we have in our
text here, Romans 8 and verse 34, at the end of that verse,
who also maketh intercession for us. the Lord Jesus Christ
making intercession for us. Now, Paul presents four or five
questions leading up to the text. It follows in verse 31 with the
first question. It follows a beautiful chain,
if you like, Those that are foreknown, He predestinated to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Those that He predestinated,
them He called. Those He called, them He also
justified, or accounted without fault, without condemnation.
And those whom He justified, them He also glorified. And we have a chain that goes
from the foreknowledge of God of his people to them being glorified
in heaven. And in the middle of that chain,
there's the calling of God of his people. And so Paul has this
question, what shall we then say to these things? And maybe often think of this,
when we read these statements and read the truths in the word
of God, Maybe think of this question, what shall we then say to these
things? Is there anything to be said?
Does it move us in any way? Does it bring anything to our
thoughts? Does it bring any comfort, any
help, any strength to us? Or do we just read these things
and we have nothing to say about it at all? So this is the first
question. And then he follows that with
another. If God be for us, who can be
against us? The picture is God working out
his salvation. He choosing his people, beginning
a work, suffering on Calvary for them, redeeming them, saving
them, beginning a work of grace in their hearts and keeping them. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Again, what a question. A question
that brings its answer. Who can be against us? If we
have the almighty, eternal God on our behalf, who can be against
us? Who is higher than God? None is higher. He is the almighty
God. It's a blessed thing to discern
that God is for us. You know, when the children of
Israel went through the Red Sea after they left Egypt, then it
was very evident when they got the other side, when they sang
the song of Moses, that God was for them. At first, when they
were hemmed in, with the Red Sea in front, the mountains each
side, and the Egyptians pursuing after them, then they thought
that God was against them, that they'd been brought into the
wilderness to be destroyed. But then the Lord opened the
Red Sea, and they went through the Red Sea as on dry land. They got safely over the other
side. Then their enemies tried to do
the same. and went through the Red Sea
and God fought for Israel and He took off their chariot wheels.
And then when Israel was safely through and the enemy all in
the Red Sea, the Lord brought the waters over them and destroyed
them all. The children of Israel could
have no doubt that God was for them, that God had appeared for
them. And they sung the song of Moses.
We read that that is the song that shall be sung in heaven.
It is a song of complete deliverance from all the enemies of God. Now it may be with us that the
Lord shows His for us in some simple things. Something that
the Lord has appeared for us and helped us. And we've seen
that help and realised it was so. Be able to say with some
of the saints of old, This is the Lord's doing, it is marvellous
in our eyes, or by another one that stated that the thing proceedeth
from the Lord. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Then we have in verse 32, a third
question leading up to our text. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all? How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Paul uses a similar argument
in Romans 5. He says that if while we were
yet enemies, enemies to God by wicked works, Christ died for
us, how much more being reconciled shall we be saved through his
life? In other words, if when we were
going our own way and the Lord passed by us and bid us live
and called us and quickened us into spiritual life, made us
feel our sinnership, brought us to know Him as the Saviour
or Redeemer, if He's done that, then we shall be saved through
His life. He won't forsake the work of
His own hands. He won't go so far. and then
not finish the work. And so it is put here in this
way, this question that we should go over in our minds. If Christ
has died and he's been delivered up, the blood's been shed, the
sacrifice offered, the wrath of God endured by the Lord Jesus
Christ, If God has done that, and done that through his beloved
Son, and given us his dear Son, shall he not, and that was done
freely, shall he not freely give us all things? Of course he would. Of course he will. God commendeth
his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. And then we have another question
in verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. You might say, what do God's
elect? Those that he has foreknown,
those that he has chosen, those that then he has called, are
they sinless? We read in heaven that they are
without fault before the throne. And yet they were all sinners
here below. But then we read that they washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. In
the Song of Solomon, the Lord says of his church that there
is no spot in thee. The Church says, I am black,
but comely. She feels her sin, but in Christ
she is perfect and spotless. She is viewed by God as being
without sin. Our confession is that we have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. But when the Lord
Jesus Christ has blotted out our sins with his precious blood. You know, I think it was Luther
had a dream and Satan came and presented before him all his
sins and said, these are all your sins. This is what you have
committed. And Luther looked at them, he
said, yes. He said, they are all my sins.
But now he said, right at the bottom of that list. The blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from all sin. Blotted out, covered. I think it was perhaps the deaf-mute
that Charlotte taught that again shocked her when he said that
God couldn't see any of his sins. And he indicated to her that
the blood had covered over them all, they couldn't be seen. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, or
God that counts, that they are without fault, that judges, that
the payment is fully made, that satisfaction has been obtained. We must all stand before God's
judgment throne. We are not the judges. The Lord
is the judge. And there's no difference in
that way for a poor sinner on this earth to stand as it were
and to judge another as if he was the judge when he himself
must stand before the throne. That's not that we shouldn't.
In the church, or used discernment and the discipline of the church,
it is required. But it is done in the fear of
the Lord and according to the Word of God, and realizing that
what judgment ye meet, we shall be judged of the same. And that
is very true. Who shall lay this question? But then we have in verse 34,
our text, Another question, who is he that condemneth? Who can it be that as a judge
brings in a condemnation? This chapter begins with those
most beautiful words. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. By nature we are under condemnation. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. There's not one that doeth good,
no, not one. And death is to be passed upon
all men in that all have sinned. But in Christ, that wrath is
turned away, that condemnation is taken away. Who is he that
condemneth? Not man, not the devil, none. And the answer is, it is Christ
that died, yea, rather that is risen again, that proves the
payment true, an empty tomb, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. So we have a picture
of the leader to Christ at the right hand of the Father, one
who came from the Father to this earth, one who shed his precious
blood, who died, who laid down his life to take it again, and
then ascended up into heaven to appear in the presence of
God for us. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And our text says, there he is
who also maketh intercession for us. And those are beautiful
scriptures that speak of what Christ has done on one level,
as it were, and then adds what follows on with that. We had
that in the former questions as well. He that spared not his
own son, how shall he not with him also? And there's that also,
there's that adding to that. We have a beautiful word in the
psalm, Psalm 107 and verse 3, or verse 2. Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand. of the
enemy and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from
the west and from the north and from the south. The Lord not
only redeemed his people, not only paid the price for their
sin, delivered them from condemnation, but his work to gather them as
well, to call them by grace. And at the end of the world the
angels shall come and gather his people from the four corners
of the earth. It's the same God that redeems
as gathers. It's the same God. It's the same
Lord Jesus Christ that died that also makes intercession for us. And it is in that way I want
to look this evening. in three ways, this word, who
also maketh intercession for us. Those that make intercession
for the people of God, or those that make prayer on the behalf
of another, that speak for another. Judah made intercession for Benjamin. When Benjamin, Joseph was going
to have him stay with him in Egypt, But Judah pleaded as a
shorty with Joseph, not knowing, of course, that it was his brother,
but that he would stay in the place of Benjamin. So Benjamin
could go back to his father. You don't hear anything that
Benjamin said, everything that Judah said. And Judah, there
is a beautiful time of the Lord speaking on behalf of his people. Benjamin the one was in trouble. The cup was found with him. He
was the one that was going to have to stay in Egypt. But it was Judah that was speaking
on Benjamin's behalf. And that is the type here. So I want to look at this in
three ways. Firstly, the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us. And then Christ is in the words
of our text. and then the people of God. Firstly, we go back several verses
to verse 26 and verse 27, Romans 8, verse 26 and 27. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as
we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. When the Lord calls
a people, he gives them the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit with
the Lord was without measure, but he gives the sealing of the
Spirit with his people. And it is that Spirit within,
the Holy Spirit of God, and the Spirit that bears witness with
our spirit that we are the children of God. It is that new Spirit
that makes intercession for the people of God. And we're told
here it's with groanings which cannot be uttered." I mentioned
before about Paul as a Pharisee. Well, the Pharisees made many
prayers that were uttered. But here is spoken of that which
is not uttered. Of course, we know the prayers
like Hannah made, her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.
But God heard. God knew. the prayers that she
was uttering, even though they were just silent from the heart,
they weren't audible ones. And here is one step further,
as it were. Here is the heart that longs,
that groans, that sighs, that really has its petitions before
God, its wants, but can't put them into words. But God sees
that. You know, God sees what is our
intentions. He tries the reins. He's not
deceived by flattery. He's not deceived by words. In all of our worship, He knows
exactly where we are, what we are, why we come, what we're
seeking for. He knows what is in the heart
of man. It's with the heart that man
believes. and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. And it's with the heart that
there is the exercise, the feelings, the groanings, the love, the
mourning over sin, the longing for righteousness, holiness,
the longing for deliverance and to walk with the Lord and to
fear his name, the groaning under the body of sin, The Apostle
says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this
body of sin? And it is an encouragement for
everyone that feels that life within those exercises, feelings
that they have never known before, maybe for the first time they've
been brought into real concern for their soul burden for sin
and desire for heavenly realities and to be taught of God and to
know the way and hardly know how to speak or how to bring
these things before the Lord. Well, it is God's Spirit that
has quickened that soul and made that soul alive. And it is His
Spirit that makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered. Now may that be an encouragement,
encouragement to us here, an encouragement to any that find
themselves in that position and feel to not know how or what
to pray for. What voice is that which speaks
for me in heaven's high court for good? We have then in our
second point, Christ making intercession, our text Romans 8, 34, the end
of that, who also maketh intercession for us. Our Lord is not just. You speak reverently, not just,
at the right hand of the Father. Our Lord on earth made intercession. You read John 17, that is his
intercession for his people. It's a beautiful prayer for his
people. He says, I pray for them. I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them from the evil. He says, I pray that
they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they
may behold my glory. I pray not for these alone, but
for them that shall believe on me through their word, that they
may be one even as we are one. and all the intercession He is
making on earth is recorded in the Word of God. And then He
says, I will pray the Father. I must needs go away. If I go
not away, the Holy Spirit shall not come unto you. If I go away,
I will pray the Father and He will give you another comforter
who shall abide with you forever. Tarry at Jerusalem till ye be
endued. with power from on high, and
the Spirit did come, was given on the day of Pentecost, a clear
answer, a clear demonstration of the intercession of our Lord
in heaven, who also maketh intercession for us. May we value and realize what
it is to have a friend at court, Now the Jews, in the days of
Queen Esther de Hasuerus, when Haman caused that there be the
decree that the Jews be slain, Mordecai said to Esther, who
knoweth that thou hast come to the kingdom or the throne for
such a time as this? Why was she in that position?
She was in a position to be able to go in and speak unto the King. And she did. She obtained his
ear. She pleaded for her people. She
obtained the life of her people and deliverance. And in that
way, she is a beautiful time of our Lord. Right in the midst
of the court, able to speak on behalf of the people. Mordecai
also later on was another type. There he was speaking peace for
all his seed. Now the same with Joseph. Joseph
speaking that his brethren come to him and his father and that
they go in the land of Goshen. He gave them the best of the
land. There are many types of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have
the case with Lot was in Sodom and God came down and to see
the wickedness and was to destroy that place. And Abraham made
intercession for Lot, pleaded for him that the city would be
spared if there'd be 10 righteous in it. There wasn't 10. God brought
out Lot, and we read this, when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
and the cities of the plain, that he remembered Abraham and
sent Lot out of the overthrow. The intercession of Abraham for
Lot, again, a beautiful type of our Lord's intercession for
his people, prayer for his people, appearing in the presence of
God for them. And when we pray, it is through
the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of in our parliaments
when those of our representatives stand up to speak in parliament,
they always must acknowledge the prayer, the chair. They're making their statements,
and every now and again, refer to the chair. It's always going
through. the chair. And when we pray,
we pray for Jesus' sake. We pray through our Lord Jesus
Christ. We plead his name, we plead his
merits. We all the time remind ourselves
and present before God that we do not come in our own righteousness. We do not plead our own name,
but we plead the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and is he himself
that owns our prayers and speaks for us and makes intercession
for us. The same one that died, the same
that rose again. Some of you may have felt it
very precious to you that Christ has died for you. You have been
able to see what He has suffered and bled for you, that fulfilled,
they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, they shall
mourn for Him. You might have known that blessing. Well, this is a blessing that's
inseparably joined with that. Because He died, He rose again. He is at the right hand of God. And He makes intercession for
us. And this is then to be a great
encouragement and help to us. But then thirdly, the people
of God are to make intercession for one another. In James we are exhorted there
to pray for one another. In James 5 and verse 16, Confess
your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye
may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. Elias, Elijah, was a man subject
to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might
not rain, and it rained not on the earth, by the space of three
years and six months. And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." Encouragement
to pray. The Apostle Paul, greatly as he was used and living
close to the Lord, yet he valued the prayers of those that he
wrote to several times. In the epistles that we have
set before us, we have the exhortation that he was exhorting those to
whom he wrote that brethren pray for us. He coveted their prayers. It's a right thing for us to
ask, to have an interest in the prayers of the brethren and to
pray also for others. of the brethren as well. He says in the Hebrews, pray
for us for we trust we have a good conscience in all things willing
to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather
to do this that I may be restored to you the sooner. How that he sought those prayers
from those that He wrote to. And we have it in each of the
epistles to the Thessalonians as well. Brethren, pray for us. We are exhorted not only to pray
for the household of faith, but for our enemies as well. And
very often it can be that the Lord will turn as a mirror those
things that we are praying about them, and turn it around to us
and realize those things that maybe a brother is grieving us
for, those things we've committed before God as well. There's great
benefit and blessing in praying one for another. It brings us
to remember one another at a special place, remembering at the throne
of grace, remembering in the presence of God, remembering
when God is hearing us remembering and hearkening to our petitions. It's often a sacred thing to
remember and we've done so many times here as we come for an
evening hour of worship and realize that other churches and some
we might particularly think of are gathering in the same evening
hour and at the same time in prayer. Very often we feel so
on a Thursday evening, knowing many of our churches in the area
also having their evening service at the same time. And that is
very encouraging to realise we are meeting at the Throne of
Grace, meeting in prayer. Well, may we be encouraged Even
if we find prayer hard, may the Lord appear for us and encourage
us that we may have others that are praying for us, looking on,
seeing our troubles and trials. We certainly have Christ intercession
in heaven, and the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us. And may the Lord hear. and answer
prayer, and this word be precious to us this evening, who also
maketh intercession for us. The whole verse reading, who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us. The Lord add his blessing. Amen.