Saturday, April 08, 2017

Territory

We should focus our prayer on the places where we have authority. We have authority in our lives and our family’s lives. We have authority in the lives of people who have submitted to us. This is why groups of believers need to submit to each other for spiritual protection. Three or for four people who are united by love and submission can be together spiritually in the same way as Jesus is with them (Matt 18:20). They can establish a spiritual space where Jesus reigns.

However, establishing spiritual space for Jesus to operate is not enough. The principalities and powers operate through the political authorities that control physical territory. To eliminate their power and replace it with the Kingdom of God, Jesus needs to extend his authority over physical territory.

Territory is important. We need a better understanding of the relationship between authority and territory. Jesus currently controls very little territory in most cities. He has authority over the homes of his followers and church building. He has authority over any businesses that are owned by Christians.

Looking down on the city from above, it would look like several thousand dots, scattered all over a map of the city (with each dot representing a family, church building or business). Between the dots would be swathes of territory controlled by the enemy.

If a general looked at this map to come up with a strategy to expand Jesus’ territory, he would say, “This is hopeless”. Jesus army is scattered and isolated. They are not a threat to the enemy, not matter how vibrant their worship when they come together on Sunday. They can be picked off one at a time, and that seems to be happening.

God’s strategy is essential. We must operate where he leads. A wise general would generate his troops together and establish a few strongholds on the ground and secure them from attack. He would then push out from these strongholds into places where the enemy is weak.

The spiritual powers of evil cannot be everywhere at once. We can overcome them by working where they are weak. They tend to concentrate on the centres of power (civic and religious), because that is where their power is amplified. They are usually much weaker on the edges of life at the edge of the city.

We should work together to establish spiritual enclaves where the spiritual powers of evil are weak. From there we can push back against the power of darkness from a position of strength. As the enclaves expand, the principalities and powers that control the city will be weakened as their authority is fragmented.

The principalities and powers operate through the political authorities that control territory. We must be ready with a system of authority over territory for when they are defeated. (I explain how this can happen in my new book called Government of God). Otherwise, an alternative political power will rise and establish imposed authority over the territory. The principalities and power will use them to recover their spiritual authority over the territory.

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