BRADES, Montserrat, October 14, 2016 – Our three main spiritual enemies are “the world, the flesh and the devil.” That’s why we see a pretty stern word in 1 John 2:16 – 17 – “ . . . all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father . . . 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. ”
Why, then, are we told Matt 28:19 – 20 – “ . . . make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”? Also, why do we see Eph 2:10 – “ . . . we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”?
The answer is, the spiritual battle we face as God’s ambassadors in his ekklesia, his assembly, is one where we must address people in communities, with ways of thinking and living that are often shaped by the influences of an evil world system that is too often dominated by devilish evil that preys on twisted bodily appetites and sin-blinded eyes.
This means that the seven key mountains of cultural influence are under demonic influence.
That’s why we have a promise Matt 16:18 – “ . . . the gates of hell shall not prevail against [God’s ekklesia – the church].” That is also why the ekklesia must be rooted and grounded in the Faith, not being seduced by or squeezed into the patterns or ways of the world. And we see, Eph 6:10 – 13 – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
The world is impacted for good or ill by what the ekklesia does or fails to do at the Gates and Mountains in the land.
A famous example is in the Book of Esther. For, righteous Mordecai sat in the King’s gate where – by God’s grace and miraculous power – he overheard secret, wicked plots. He was thus able to understand his times and blocked an assassination plot against the king. Then, later, this act of good citizenship equipped him to act with Queen Esther to save the Jewish people from mass murder.
Today, we often speak of Gates and Mountains as more or less being the same idea. That is why Rev. Dr Nicholson turned his spotlight on seven major Mountains of influence: 1) Religion; 2) Family; 3) Education; 4) Government; 5) Media; 6) Arts/Culture and 7) Business/ Finance/ Science & Technology.
So, just like Mordecai and Queen Esther, we too must understand our purpose and what is required to function with maximum effectiveness in order to impact every sphere of society in the land. The ekklesia is to go into the gates, working as ambassadors for the kingdom of God. The gates or mountains of influence should be points for prayer to bring their influences under the impact of the blood of Jesus Christ and that of prophetic voices of godly leadership empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.
Through the costly victory of the cross, Jesus holds all power in heaven and on earth. He has the keys to all the gates. He uses these keys to open the way for his people, his ekklesia to bring discipleship into the gates of the community. Yes, the ekklesia has the keys to lead others into the kingdom of God.
So, we must ask: how are we using these keys, as the children of God?
The commitment of the ekklesia is to the Word of God and to disciple the nations of the world. As members of the ekklesia, we have dual citizenship. We are not only residents on earth for a time, but we also have access to heaven and are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The devil and his demons are illegal in the earthly realm and have no authority in it unless given by humans. The dkklesia therefore has the authority to drive demons away, to bind the strong man and to command release of those he duped and enslaved. But, to actually achieve this, the Ekklesia must understand a few things: 1) What it actually means to disciple/baptize the nation(s)/land; 2) The nature of the discipling of the nation(s); 3) The scripture/Word of God is our core commitment; 4) That members of the Ekklesia have dual citizenship; 5) Our need to be equipped, educated and trained to disciple the nation(s); 6) Understanding of world-views and current, demonically motivated secular agendas.
All this is the church’s training ground for eternity. God equips, exercises, trains, feeds, arms and proves His soldiers. God’s inheritance is in His Saints, His glory is in the Ekklesia. That is why the Apostle Paul prayed Eph 1:18 – “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
So, we ask: What must we do? When? Where? How?
