MIC (8) Victory for Christchurch

God has a strategy for dealing with this stronghold over Christchurch.  He will not attack it head on, as the casualties would be too great.  He will defeat it by working from the edges and demonstrating his grace by healing unbelievers who live there.  When God heals a person listening to the gospel, it is an act of grace, so the MIC spirit has no authority to obstruct the healing.  The unbeliever is not under the authority of church leaders, so they are not bound by their commitments.

Sharing the gospel with people who do not know the Lord and seeing them healed is the most effective witness to Jesus.  Healing prayer for unbelievers is the key to defeating the stronghold that controls Christchurch.

The gift of healing is primarily for unbelievers.  It is essential for confirm the power of the gospel.  One reason that the modern gospel is so ineffective is that the gift of healing has been shut up in the church.

People with a gift of healing should focus on praying for the lost.  Praying for Christians is often messy, because they have too much junk, and need to have faith.  It also provokes the MIC spirit unnecessarily.  Prayer for unbelievers will usually produce more fruit.

God is raising up an invisible army in Christchurch that will win back the city for him.  They will gather in small groups on the edge of the city, where they will not be noticed, either by the church, or the spiritual powers of evil. 

The MIC spirit is strongest at the centre of the city where political and religious power is focussed.  This makes the city centre a dangerous place to be.  Starting there would be a mistake.

These small groups of Christians will be totally committed to Jesus.  They will be drawn together by love for him and bound together by commitment to love each other.   They will be able to support each other through the struggles and storms that come.  They will stand together in Jesus while everything around them is shaken.

These followers of Jesus will have laid aside the things of the world that would encumber them.  They will live simply on what God provides. They will share everything with each other and the people around them.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit will be upon them.  As they follow his leading, he will release his gifts among them.  They will be mighty warriors in prayer and be able to deal with anything that arises.

These people will be prepared for distress and equipped for victory.

When they share the gospel, they will pray for the sick.  When people are healed the power of the gospel will be confirmed and the love of God manifested.  Many will come to faith in Jesus.

As their numbers grow, the leaders will move out and start new groups.  Lights will come on all over the place on the edge of the city.  As the groups multiply, they will move towards the centre of the city.  They will squeeze the MIC spirit from the outside, but because they are so many, they will be hard to attack.  Because small groups are united by love, there will be no use of manipulation or control, so the MIC spirit will struggle to get a foothold against them.

Centreless City

When this invisible army is in place, the spiritual, political and business powers entwined together at the centre of the city will be swept away by an economic crisis.  Those with authority will flee, because they are scared of the responsibility.  Power structures will collapse as their resources disappear.

God will build his kingdom from the edges, as the invisible army rises up.  This will be the time for the frontal attack.  Without political, religious and business powers to work through, the MIC spirit will be dramatically weakened.  It will not be strong enough to resist the invisible army.

The people of God will move into the centre of the city in the power of the spirit.  They will care for people who are struggling.  The gospel will advance in the power of the Spirit.  Many sick people will be healed.

God’s Kingdom will come in Christchurch and will shine as a prophetic light to the nations.  All the authority in this city will be submitted to Jesus and Christchurch will be filled with his glory.  The Lord’s presence will be so strong that his glory will be visible.

Gods Wisdom

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (Eph 3:10).

God’s intentions are clear. The principalities and powers that rebelled with Satan will come to realise that they have chosen the wrong side. This will happen now. It is not something that will happen at the end of the age when Jesus returns.

The church will make it happen; not Jesus returning in glory. God’s intention is that the church, moving in the power of the Spirit, will inflict such defeats on the principalities and powers that they will know that they made a mistake.

I have always remembered what Peter Marshall and David Manual wrote about the Puritans in their book called The Light and the Glory.

They really believed it. They actually believed what few people have, before or since: that the King of God really could be built on earth, in their lifetimes.

When I read those words my spirit stirred. I believe that the Kingdom of God will be established on earth through the church moving in the power of the Spirit.

Most Christians do not believe that God can do it, especially through the church. They do not get it. They do not get the rest of Ephesians 3, where Paul declares that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask imagine through the Spirit that dwells within us. He will do this for the glory of the Church.

Many Christians (maybe most) are more confident about what the forces of evil will accomplish in the world than they are about what God can do through the church. We need a radical mind shift. We need to get Eph 3:10.