City Appointed_Winning a City for God Read online

  “Well, why doesn’t God just clear the way for us?”

  “Because the currency of heaven is ‘faith.’ God doesn’t break his laws and rules that he has set to govern all things. He doesn’t need to because they are perfect.” Trillion paused, “I can explain more, but time is short, we have talked long enough. Come, we must go.”

  Meanwhile, on the surface, Drake called an emergency meeting. Even though he wasn’t mayor yet, he still held some degree of influence with various members of the council. It was an unusual time to meet on Saturday night, but Drake was infuriated that a Christian crusade was going ahead in the middle of the city for the whole of next week. The Christians also didn’t inform the transport authority about the congestion that it would cause. The four council members sat around a table with demons perched on each of their high-back chairs, unseen by the men. The beast’s claws sank deep into the leather, and they permeated the room with the foul odour of deception.

  “Those Christians think they can do whatever they want. We can’t let them cause chaos in downtown mid-week. Give them Sundays, but not mid-weeks too!” bellowed Drake.

  “It’s outrageous! They don’t have consent,” said Portman.

  “Well actually, they do have consent,” said Chester holding up a document, “The whole thing went on file a month ago, and when we took our time in responding, Linda, I think her name is, came in herself last week. But I sent her away empty-handed promising that I would get the final signature she needed. In truth, it only needs the one signature, but I’m with you about these Christians wanting to run public events.”

  “So she doesn’t have the document?”

  “Nope, this is it.”

  “No other copies anywhere?”

  “The only one,” smiled Chester holding it up, “and I may well misplace it in the shredder.”

  “Great! That was easy.” Drake stood to leave, “We’re done here.”

  “What’s that smell?” said Phillips who hadn’t spoken much during the exchange.

  “Don’t know. I like it! Thank you, gentlemen,” said Drake as he walked out of the room. Wafts of deception continued to permeate where they had met.

  As the men were leaving the four demons, half smiled, half sneered at each other.

  “Go and report it,” said one demon to the other, “and don’t mess it up, you fool.”

  The creature growled and rose to leave. As it rose, its claws tore more of the leather. The leather on the backs of all the chairs had criss-crossed claw marks all over them; evidence of many a council meeting. The slashes in the backrests weren’t visible to the natural eye. Though, if someone knew what they were looking for and were in tune with spiritual things, they might be able to detect faint markings. Just as the eyes are windows to the soul, so too are they outward windows, giving a person the ability to see much of the spiritual landscape, even though overlaid by the natural.

  This meeting was bad timing for the girls who were preparing to walk the gauntlet of angels and demons through the foyer. The three girls concealed themselves in their angelic cloaks and quickly stepped out into the open. They moved promptly towards the entrance. Just then, four angels emerged, walking towards them. Layla, who was out in the lead, looked straight ahead. The four seemed to be on assignment with a look of resoluteness on their faces. As Layla passed the closest one, the angel turned to look at her. Layla maintained her gaze straight ahead. She kept walking, using all her willpower not to turn and look at the angel. She heard no commotion behind, but remained on edge with a heightened sense of awareness, hoping that Samantha and Trinity would follow suit.

  The three came to the gates and passed under the high canopy of carved stone. Six large pillars on each side, stretching from floor to ceiling, lined the wide opening. It looked like a structure from ancient Rome, but with the touch of the divine. It was a thrill to be walking through such a magnificently crafted environment. Layla allowed herself a quick glance up at the architecture. ‘I suppose all man-made structures have the touch of the divine,’ thought Layla, ‘We’re made in the image of God after all. But this seems to be perfect in design and form.’

  The foyer was a throng of angelic and demonic beings. Layla’s heart sank as she saw the challenge before her. They each, in turn, crossed the threshold and stepped out into the crowd, heading straight for the centre of the foyer. Layla maintained her straight path adjusting her speed to slow down or move more quickly so as to avoid bumping into anyone. She found it hard to judge distance because all was a wash of movement around her. After some time she thought, ‘Am I in the centre of the room yet?’ She realized as she walked that she lost all sense of time. She had no idea how long she had been walking. ‘Have I just started or have I been going for ages? I must be about in the middle by now.’ She scanned for the archway and caught sight of it over to her right and adjusted her course directly towards it. Layla looked dead-ahead, avoiding eye contact with any being at all costs.

  Samantha could feel a trickle of perspiration running down her neck and back. She also realized that she had been holding her breath. As Samantha walked, her breathing settled into an even rhythm. Getting almost halfway through the foyer, she noticed that some demons shuffled out of the way as they came into proximity. All the beings seemed to be pre-occupied on their missions and especially the angels.

  When Trinity, who was last of the three, got half way through the room, something terrible happened. As she looked over toward the archway on her right, she was unintentionally jostled by a demon on her left, who shoved her into the path of another demon. The collision knocked her off balance, and she took a couple of steps backward. The demon immediately hissed at her, giving her a huge fright. She raised her right hand up to eye level, shielding her eyes from looking at the creature. The demon hissed again. She drew her sword and gripped it tightly in her left hand, but kept it low to the ground so as not to directly challenge the demon, rather warn it to keep its distance. Angels and demons stopped in their tracks and turned to look. Tension filled the air around her. She slowly lowered her arm and her gaze to avoid catching anyone’s eye. All she could see were legs, boots and the hems of robes. Her friends were now far ahead, not daring to look back at the commotion behind them. She could see some of the angels nearby place their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to draw.

  ‘This is intense,’ she thought in a mild state of panic, ‘God, I’m going to lose this.’ She stood, immersed in the situation, unable to run, unable to look, unable to think. Just then a portion of the Bible came to her mind. She remembered Peter walking on water. He began well, but then he started to sink because he realized that he was doing the impossible, walking on water. But the truth was that Peter wasn’t walking on water, he was walking on a miracle. In the midst of the miracle, he lost focus and looked around him and could only see the water. The waves intimidated him, and Peter began to sink. He cried out to Jesus to save him. Jesus caught his hand, raised him up out of the water, and walked back with him the rest of the way. She was now in the same dilemma. She had been walking in the miracle, but now the situation overwhelmed her.

  She whispered, “Jesus, save me.”

  21.

  Underground

  (Mission Liberty)

  Liberty decided to walk around the perimeter of the open area, staying close to the walls, rather than walking through the water. At least that way she had the wall as protection and wouldn’t have to defend on all sides from an attack.

  As she walked, she raised her arm towards the wall and held out her hand, running her fingers along the stonework. As she did, she noticed inscriptions engraved into the stone. They were all written in some angelic language. She studied them as she walked and discovered that she could read what they said.

  The first title read: ‘Francis Martin – 1964 - founded ‘The Life & Health Centre.’

  Below was the inscription: ‘As Mayor of the city and a devoted believer in Jesus Christ, Francis Martin, using personal f
unds, founded ‘The Life & Health Centre’ to provide healthcare and mentorship for troubled youth. This centre helped hundreds of young people find their way back to a healthy lifestyle, positive outlook on life, and many opportunities that propelled them into their calling. In particular Kenny Dorsa, who at age eight was caught breaking-and-entering, and by fourteen was wanted for more serious crimes. Within ten years of being taken in by the Centre, he became one of the most effective church leaders that this city has ever seen.’

  ‘What a powerful testimony,’ thought Liberty. Revelation rolled into her mind, ‘These are the stories and acts of many people, recorded on stone, making up the foundations of this city.’

  Each inscription was a moment in time, engraved on a single block, memorialised as an instance when a person did something so significant that it shaped the future of the city. These blocks were all around her holding up Riverdale. Having noticed the ones next to her, she looked around as far as the eye could see and saw that every single block that made up the foundations had an inscription on it. ‘These are amazing snapshots of history. I must have time to read a couple more,’ she thought.

  Title: Amber Burgess – 1992 – Began Full-Vert.

  Mother of four began an outreach to the skateboarding community called ‘Full-Vert.’ Amber saw an opportunity for the ministry because her son had a passion for skateboarding. Amber set up outreaches, competitions, and exhibitions featuring famous Christian skateboarders. Within the first two years, she found herself with twenty-five volunteers, many of whom had become Christians under her ministry. A further fifty skateboarders had also become Christians through Full-Vert outreaches.

  Title: George Stone – 1943 – Lived for Christ

  He gave his life for the cause of the Gospel.

  ‘That one is short. I guess God knows what he did and probably God is the only one who needs to know the details.’ Liberty began to think about the stories of people who had given their lives for the cause of Christ. ‘The blood and the sacrifice of many individuals,’ she mused. Liberty felt a renewed surge of purpose, ‘I must complete my mission. These people have not given their lives in vain.’

  Liberty picked her way around the perimeter, staying close to the wall. There were various platforms to navigate and loose rock in places. Every so often she would stop and listen. The background sound of dripping and distant rumbling noises of what sounded like cars driving overhead, but she heard no other signs of life.

  ‘No other signs of life,’ came a whisper beside her. ‘No other signs of life,’ she thought. Her footing started to slip on the gravel. She frantically reached out her arms for something to steady herself. There was nothing to anchor her. She reached out in vain, only to grasp handfuls of air. Her boots continued to slide on the gravel as if she was on the edge of some steep mountain about to fall into a deep ravine.

  “What’s going on?!” she cried out in a moment of panic. One last slide on the gravel caused the earth to fall away, and Liberty fell into blackness. Nothing but darkness surrounded her. Though she was rapidly descending through some massive expanse, still reaching out as far as she could for anything to hold on to, she felt no rush of air from below that one would expect as she fell. Liberty realised that she no longer had any kind of falling sensation, it was more like floating in an endless sea. She hung suspended, in empty space, between nowhere and somewhere else. She realized that she felt eternally distanced from life and any other person. She was alone, an immeasurable distance from the surface. Her soul had slipped into a lifetime of solitude.

  ‘It’s only a lifetime,’ she thought, shrouded in depression. Liberty looked out at nothing; all was empty, a relational being without a single soul aware of her existence. She reached out her hands for something to touch, but still, they waved through emptiness.

  “I am without hope. I am without life,” she said. As she floated in space, she drew her knees up close to her chest into a fetal position and waited for nothing in particular. Then, after an undetermined length of time, her mind embraced a single spark originating from her spirit. The spark rose like a glowing ember in the midst of the darkness.

  “What is that? It’s a little spark. Where did that come from?” she pondered. ‘It’s like a tiny firey flower with flaming petals that enlarge like flames and then retract again. It moves like it is alive. It is so beautiful; it gives me hope,’ she thought with a smile.

  “Without hope? No, that’s not right,” she corrected, “I have hope, I have life.” Within the depths of her spirit, she felt the small warm glow of presence of God. It was distant, but it was there. As she focused on the spark within, on the hope, the spark flickered brighter, and she felt the warmth.

  Then a rush of anger erupted from within her, “I’m being deceived,” she yelled out, “Get me out of here!”

  Suddenly the blackness receded in all directions. The deception ended and she returned to where she had been standing. Her feet were planted firmly on the gravel and beside her stood a demon shrouded in a cloak holding a vase. A white mist was rising from the vase, intoxicating the air around her. Immediately Liberty, with an angry growl and teeth gritted, sliced her blade upwards through the air, relieving the demon of its life. As the beast fell, she brought her sword around and slashed it again. This time the demon was sliced completely in half, and the remains of it fell onto the stones at her feet. The vase fell from its hand and smashed on to the ground, spilling its milky contents all over the gravel. A cloud from the substance that was inside the vase hung around her ankles like dry-ice. Momentarily the demon lay lifeless, then dissolved in a pool of bubbling acid. The cloaked figure faded into nothingness and the air around her head cleared.

  ‘That was horrible,’ she thought as tears began to fill her eyes. She brushed them away. ‘Totally unexpected! God, please make me aware of the different attacks of my enemy.’

  The Holy Spirit spoke to her spirit, ‘I am always with you. I have given you gifts and abilities, but don’t even trust in those. Trust in me and acknowledge me in all things and I will make your paths straight.’

  Liberty barely understood what had just happened, but now realized that fulfilling her quest would require complete trust in the Lord.

  ‘There is a lesson in everything,’ she thought, ‘On this spiritual plane which I find myself on, there is a battle to be fought with the blade in my hand and also with the thoughts of my mind. Teach me to maintain my focus on you, Lord.’

  22.

  Ice

  (Mission Boys)

  Pastor Shearman had had a busy day having led an extended staff meeting and making three pastoral visits. He arrived back at the church to finish off a couple of emails and to pray out the day. He felt the prompting of the Lord to go into the sanctuary. Shearman loved to go into the main auditorium of the church when no one else was there. Tomorrow it would be jam-packed for three services, but right now it was quiet, and there was always a sense of the presence of the Lord in that place.

  Shearman stepped on to the stage and gazed out over the empty seats. He felt honoured to be in full-time ministry, serving the people that God had given him. The church had started as a small house group that he had been asked to lead. Before too long, the house became too small to hold such meetings, and four of them decided to rent the local hall each week and call it ‘church.’ From there, ‘the rest is history,’ so they say. The church grew to over 500 in five years, and due to an offer of land, Shearman decided it was time to build their building. Now, two years on from the completion of that project, he had his sights set on building another facility closer to the middle of town where he knew the ministry would continue to expand and grow.

  As Shearman stood, sensing the presence of the Lord, he looked across to the keyboard that was on the left side of the stage. He decided to play a few notes.

  Shearman was a seasoned keyboardist. When the church started, back in the early days, he would do everything. After setting up the chairs and greeting people at the
doors, he would lead the worship, read out the notices and preach the sermon. These days, because he had built a great leadership team around him who were all gifted in their various roles, he was able to focus more on what he wanted to do which was to preach and to strategize about the direction of the church. It had been two years since he had lead worship.

  As he played a worshipful tune, Tristan’s face flashed across his mind. Tristan was an active member of his church, looking after the youth and half a dozen small groups. Shearman had also invited him to speak a few times at their youth conferences.

  He felt compelled to pray for Tristan. As he worshipped, he prayed the blessing, protection, and anointing of God over Tristan’s life. Caden’s face also flashed across his mind. Caden was a part of the worship team and played guitar most Sundays.

  ‘I better get serious,’ Shearman thought, ‘There may be a whole lot of people the Holy Spirit wants me to pray for tonight.’