I know that there is no such
term in the Bible as '''''HEDGE BUILDERS''''
and some may not like
making up a new term...
but what 'intercessors' do,
is to build hedges of protection around others...
Ezekiel 22:30
"And I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the hedge,
and stand in the gap before Me for the land,
that I should not destroy it;
but I found none."
We all seek to protect our children.
We make them use car seats while in the car,
and later as they mature
we train them to use seat belts.
Play pens are not little prisons for punishment,
but protective devices to keep them from harm.
Back yard fences serve the same purpose of protection.
We make sure they have soft comfortable beds in which to sleep.
The doors of the houses are usually locked to keep burglars from entering.
We set curfews, and have watchful eyes when it comes to our children.
This is because we love them.
It is easily seen what we love,
by what we protect.
Children, homes, cars, money, etc. are all usually protected by people.
It is unlikely that you would ever say, "Hi ! Thief. I live at ... and I will not be home tonight. My door will be unlocked..."
No! rather, we lock our doors, have lights that automatically come on, install burglar alarms... etc... all to protect what we love.
Spiritually, we are in a battlefield. We need to protect what we love from the demonic forces that seek to attack and rob us of our friends, relatives, church brothers and sisters, our possessions, etc. We must learn how to protect these loved things.
I Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour."
How do we do it?
How do we protect our loved ones from forces that are unseen, yet powerful?
The Lord gave us the answer.
Matthew 21:33
"Hear another parable:
There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about."
Vineyards were sometimes fenced with a wall of stone,
or thorny plants.
Sometimes it was a combination of both.
Some times, they used mud bricks that were three foot by three foot, and six foot long.
On top of these mud bricks were planted thorny bushes.
This wall of mud and thorns kept intruders outside.
The little foxes could not squeeze through
the thorns
without doing major damage to their bodies.
This hedge is described with the Greek word - "phragmos."
This is the word for "a fence, a wall, a hedge."
God is a good husbandman,
Who lovingly tends and cares for His vineyard.
Jesus said that "I am the vine, and ye are the branches".
In this way, He identified us as part of the vineyard with which God is now concerned.
Israel had been that vineyard, but at least temporarily, they are "cut off", and the Gentile church has been "grafted in".
Romans 11:22-23
"Behold, therefore,
the goodness and the severity of God,
on them which fell, severity;
but toward thee, goodness,
if thou continue in His goodness;
otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off...
if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in..."
term in the Bible as '''''HEDGE BUILDERS''''
and some may not like
making up a new term...
but what 'intercessors' do,
is to build hedges of protection around others...
Ezekiel 22:30
"And I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the hedge,
and stand in the gap before Me for the land,
that I should not destroy it;
but I found none."
We all seek to protect our children.
We make them use car seats while in the car,
and later as they mature
we train them to use seat belts.
Play pens are not little prisons for punishment,
but protective devices to keep them from harm.
Back yard fences serve the same purpose of protection.
We make sure they have soft comfortable beds in which to sleep.
The doors of the houses are usually locked to keep burglars from entering.
We set curfews, and have watchful eyes when it comes to our children.
This is because we love them.
It is easily seen what we love,
by what we protect.
Children, homes, cars, money, etc. are all usually protected by people.
It is unlikely that you would ever say, "Hi ! Thief. I live at ... and I will not be home tonight. My door will be unlocked..."
No! rather, we lock our doors, have lights that automatically come on, install burglar alarms... etc... all to protect what we love.
Spiritually, we are in a battlefield. We need to protect what we love from the demonic forces that seek to attack and rob us of our friends, relatives, church brothers and sisters, our possessions, etc. We must learn how to protect these loved things.
I Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour."
How do we do it?
How do we protect our loved ones from forces that are unseen, yet powerful?
The Lord gave us the answer.
Matthew 21:33
"Hear another parable:
There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about."
Vineyards were sometimes fenced with a wall of stone,
or thorny plants.
Sometimes it was a combination of both.
Some times, they used mud bricks that were three foot by three foot, and six foot long.
On top of these mud bricks were planted thorny bushes.
This wall of mud and thorns kept intruders outside.
The little foxes could not squeeze through
the thorns
without doing major damage to their bodies.
This hedge is described with the Greek word - "phragmos."
This is the word for "a fence, a wall, a hedge."
God is a good husbandman,
Who lovingly tends and cares for His vineyard.
Jesus said that "I am the vine, and ye are the branches".
In this way, He identified us as part of the vineyard with which God is now concerned.
Israel had been that vineyard, but at least temporarily, they are "cut off", and the Gentile church has been "grafted in".
Romans 11:22-23
"Behold, therefore,
the goodness and the severity of God,
on them which fell, severity;
but toward thee, goodness,
if thou continue in His goodness;
otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off...
if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in..."
