Why should the church be an influence in a city and what happens when she ceases to have a impact where God has placed her? We can see what history teaches us about what happens when God’s people fail to take their role seriously.
God has ordained the church to be the first line of defense in spiritual warfare.
Can you imagine doing something so extreme it would cause God to be stunned or appalled? That is exactly what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 59:15-16.
“The Lord saw it… and wondered [was stunned or appalled]…”
What happened that caused such a reaction from Heavenly Father? The prophet answered that question. “He saw that there was no man and He wondered that there was no intercessor.”
The Prophet Ezekiel describes a similar occasion with the Almighty. God told the prophet about the condition of the city of Jerusalem.
The people were living unrestrained.
The government leaders were corrupt and taking extortion.
The spiritual leaders were unjust and failing to accurately teach the Word of God.
Truth was compromised and morals were relative. God proclaimed,
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,’ said the Lord” (Ezekiel 22:30-31).
The heart of Heavenly Father was astonished because there was no man among the people who would take responsibility to intercede for the city so it would not be destroyed.
Did you catch that?
God, Himself, said intercessors had the authority and power to prevent a city from being destroyed.
God means for the Church to be the first line of defense for their city.
Every city where there is a Gospel preaching church should be a safe place. It should be a blessed place where God’s favor prevails and righteousness abounds. What makes that possible is the church. When the intercessors assume the responsibility and boldly say, “Not on my watch,” their city will not be plundered by the powers of darkness.
When God created Adam and Eve, He proclaimed over them, “Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it; have dominion or the over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over every living that moves on the earth.”
The level of authority delegated mankind is breathtaking.
They were given authority to prosper and succeed; to procreate and populate the earth; to defeat all enemies; and authority over all other created beings.
The Psalmist David spoke about the level of authority given to mankind.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen — Even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:4-8 NKJV).
God delegated to mankind the responsibility and the authority to extend His Kingdom over all the earth.
Mankind was given authority to defeat every power of darkness that would seek to invade the earth; that would seek to rule over a region; or that would attempt to take dominion over a city.
That was God’s original design.
It is the basis by which the church can assume the position of intercessor for their city. It is the basis for knowing they have the power to drive out the forces of darkness that would destroy their city.
The church can be and should be the first line of defense for their city.
