CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................2 2. AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST.................................................................................2

Role of Ambassadors..............................................................................................................................................2 Our Dual Citizenship.............................................................................................................................................2 Our Dual Task........................................................................................................................................................2 Story of Evan Roberts No Short Cuts...............................................................................................................2

3. BRINGING GODS RULE INTO SITUATIONS........................................................3

Too Busy To Pray?.................................................................................................................................................4 Secret of the Korean Church.................................................................................................................................4

4. SALT OF THE EARTH.............................................................................................4

Illustration 1 Sodium Chloride (Salt)................................................................................................................4 Salt Gives Flavour..................................................................................................................................................4 Salt Restrains Corruption .....................................................................................................................................5 The consequence of Failure...................................................................................................................................5 1. Good for nothing.............................................................................................................................................5 2. You have not done your duty and will be thrown out.....................................................................................6 3. Trampled by men.............................................................................................................................................6

5. THE FATE OF THE WORLD IS IN THE HANDS OF THE CHURCH.....................6 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................6

Illustration 2 - One Day at a Time........................................................................................................................6

1. INTRODUCTION
God has vested in us his believing people on earth authority by which we may determine the destinies of nations and governments. He expects us to use our authority both for His glory and for our own good Derek Prince

2. AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST
2 Cor 5:18-20 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

Role of Ambassadors
Ambassadors represent the interests of their government on foreign soil. As ambassadors of Christ we have been sent in an official capacity by our natural government (the kingdom of God) to represent its interests on foreign soil. The normal practice of governments at war is to first withdraw their ambassadors. Therefore, our remaining on this earth means that God is still forbearing this worlds sin and there is still time to preach the gospel. Source: David Y Cho: Prayer Key to Revival

Our Dual Citizenship

Phil 3:20 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Every Christian has dual citizenship. a. By natural birth, he is a citizen of an earthly nation and he is subject to all the ordinances and requirements of his nations lawful government. b. By spiritual rebirth, through faith in Christ, he is also a citizen of Gods heavenly kingdom. As a citizen of heaven, the Christian is subject to the laws of the heavenly kingdom, but he is also entitled to share in its authority. We are Gods ambassadors placed in different places

Our Dual Task

1 Pet 2:9 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; a. We are kings - rule b. Priests - standing in the gap for others

Story of Evan Roberts No Short Cuts

There are no shortcuts when it comes to revival. The church desperately needs revival, but it is not going to come by quick and easy methods. Evan Roberts prayed for eleven years before the Welsh Revival broke out,

and his ministry during that remarkable time broke him physically. More than one hundred thousand people were converted to Christ during that mighty awakening, but it was not the result of manufactured meetings (they were spontaneous) or manmade promotions. True revival goes deeper than that. Warren Wiersbe, God Isnt In a Hurry, (Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI, 1994), p. 14

3. BRINGING GODS RULE INTO SITUATIONS

Psalm 110:1-7 1 The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." 2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! 3 Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, you have the dew of Your youth. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; he shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill the places with dead bodies; he shall execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head. Psalm 110 is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. It shows how our authority can be used in intercessional prayer. As we are kings and priests, verses 4 & 6 show the same for Jesus Verse 6 Here Jesus is pictured as the supreme ruler of the earth Verse 4 Jesus is pictured as a high priest according to the spiritual order of Melchizedek Verse 1 Here Christ is the King, but when we look around us it does not seem like all his enemies are a footstool for his feet. Verse 2- This verse shows how Jesus is going to do it. Also it shows that Jesus ruler ship is unique in that he rules in the midst of his enemies. Jesus does not have enemies in heaven so this must clearly refer to the earth. David as king in the middle of his enemies had a physical throne. Jesus is in complete control without the possession of the physical thrones of power in this earth. a. He is going to extend his sceptre b. Sceptre - Mark of Gods rule and authority c. Moses and his rod - he was able to do miracles - divided the sea bring Gods judgment Verses 2 & 3- These verses shows how we as Gods ambassadors are to be his instrument in bringing his rule. a. Zion - The Church is his instrument that bringing His rule. The rod, which in scripture is the sign of authority, comes out of Zion, the name used for Gods people. The rod is not stretched by Christs own hand, but is sent forth out of Zion. The rod of Christs authority, exercised in his name, is sent forth through the prayers of the Christians. In every direction that the rod is extended, the forces of evil are compelled to yield, and Christ in turn is exalted and His kingdom advanced. b. Gods troops will be willing in that day Matt 11:12

12

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

IF WE DONT PRAY, GOD WILL NOT ACT. WHEN WE PRAY WE RULE WITH HIM Quote 1 E.M. Bounds Gods greatest movements in this world have been conditioned on, continued and fashioned by prayer. God has put Himself in these great movements just as men have prayer. Persistent, prevailing, conspicuous and

mastering prayer has always brought God to present. How vast are the possibilities of prayer! How wide its reach! It lays its hand on Almighty God and moves Him to do what He would not do if prayer was not offered. Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of His saints, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results. The only limits to prayer are the promises of God and His ability to fulfil those promises.

Too Busy To Pray?

1. Angels did not receive this honour 2. Only the redeemed sons and daughters of God 3. When we refuse to pray it is like a slap on Gods face. Quote 2 John Bunyan He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day. - John Bunyan

Secret of the Korean Church

David Yonggi Cho freely acknowledges that the phenomenal growth of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul has been as a result of people dedicating themselves to prayer and that what has happened in Seoul can happen anywhere, the secret being that prayer is the key Twenty years before Yonggi Cho started the church in Seoul, there was a lady interceding for that area. She actually saw the church as the largest in the world like Simeon and Anna who knew that when they saw Jesus when he was only eight days old would be the Messiah of Israel. Source: David Y Cho: Prayer Key to Revival Nothing can take the place of prayer - it is the breath of the Church. Lack of prayer means lack of dependency upon God i.e. Pride Quote 3 Andrew Murray Gods child can conquer anything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian or to hinder him in the use of it? - Andrew Murray THE DEVIL TREMBLES WHEN HE SEES THE WEAKEST SAINT UPON HIS KNEES

4. SALT OF THE EARTH

Matt 5:13 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Illustration 1 Sodium Chloride (Salt)

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach it offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloridecommon table saltthe substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called the salt of the earth, and were able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. David H. Johnson

Salt Gives Flavour

Job 6:6 6 Can flavourless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

a. Our function is to give flavour to the earth. b. The one who enjoys this flavour is God c. Our presence makes the earth acceptable to God. d. This happens only when the Christian is in tune with the heavenly Throne - prayer Our presence on earth causes God not to destroy this sinful earth. as He did Sodom and Gomorrah. God places on us the responsibility for withholding final judgement, giving man the time to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as Saviour Source: David Y Cho: Prayer Key to Revival

Salt Restrains Corruption

Before the days of refrigeration, travellers had to cover their meat with salt to insure that it would not spoil. Abraham and Sodom In Abrahams time it has been estimated that the population of Sodom was 10,000 people. Thus God would have preserved Sodom if there was a righteous man for every 1,000 people. There are approximately 20 million people in Sri Lanka and using the same ratio, this means that 20,000 righteous people are required to preserve this nation. Esther Here is described the greatest crisis that has ever confronted the Jewish people in their entire history up to the present time. Hitler had only one third of all the Jews at his mercy. The Persian emperor had the entire Jewish nation A decree went out that they were all to be annihilated on a certain day. The name of the man who was Satans advocate against the Jews was Haman Haman cast lots (occult practice) to determine the day that should be appointed for the destruction of the Jews. He relied on unseen spiritual forces to direct him in exterminating the Jews This placed the whole conflict on the spiritual plane; it was spirit against spirit Through Haman, Satan was actually challenging the power of God Himself Esther understood that the conflict was on the spiritual plane and therefore responded likewise by fasting three days and nights Result was that the whole policy of the Persian empire was completely changed, in favour of the Jews. Haman and his sons perished Mordecai and Esther became the two most influential personalities in Persian politics Jews in every area experienced a unique measure of favour, peace and prosperity Nehemiah He pleaded for Israel and was heard by God Daniel He pleaded for his own people and was heard by God As the salt of the earth it is our primary responsibility to pray and if we keep praying then Satan will be kept away

The consequence of Failure

Matt 5:13 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 1. Good for nothing a. If you are not praying then you are not good for anything b. Good preaching and witnessing cannot do it but praying

2. You have not done your duty and will be thrown out Ezek 33:3-9 3 'when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 'then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 'He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.' 7 "So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 "Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. The blood of the wicked that die will be laid at our door. 3. Trampled by men Men become the instruments of Gods judgement upon a saltless, apostate church. If we fail to hold back wickedness through prayer and our presence our judgment is to be handed over to the same forces If we heed the warning of Jesus and fulfil our functions as salt in the earth, we have the power to prevent being overcome with evil. But if we default from our responsibilities and suffer the judgement that follows, the bitterest reflection of all will be this: it need never have happened

5. THE FATE OF THE WORLD IS IN THE HANDS OF THE CHURCH

Who holds the key for the salvation of the world? The Church holds the key for the salvation of the world Does man have a free will? a. Behind every man who got saved is, somebody who prayed b. For those whom the Church travails in prayer are saved

Watchman Nee and the prayer list (200 people, all of whom were saved) The dying girl who wanted a list of names to pray

George Muller who made a prayer list for 100. Out of which 99 got saved and the last person got saved at his funeral

CONCLUSION
Illustration 2 - One Day at a Time
Once there was a rich man who had a son to whom he promised an annual allowance. Every year on the same day, he would give his son the entire amount. After a while, it happened that the only time the father saw his son was on the day of allowance. So the father changed his plan and only gave the son enough for the day. Then the next day the son would return. From then on, the father saw his son every day. This is the way God dealt with Israel. It is the way God deals with us.