City Appointed_Winning a City for God Read online

  “As I was reading the Bible this morning, God highlighted a verse to me from Isaiah:

  “By the way that he came he will return;

  he will not enter this city,”

  declares the Lord.

  “I will defend this city and save it,

  for my sake and the sake of David, my servant!”

  “I felt like God was saying that our city is on the edge of a breakthrough, but also in danger and that we should pray.” As Samantha spoke, she felt excited and nervous at the same time. She was aware that forming the words and releasing them audibly, made her accountable to her words. Could it be that God had chosen her, at this time, to alter the destiny of her city? As she considered these thoughts, she continued to speak, “I felt Him say that if the two of us would lift up our city in prayer, that He would bring change and that He would bring victory. I also felt an urgency, that the timing of the Lord is close and that we should do it soon.” She took another sip from her coffee cup and waited for a response.

  Trinity smiled, “Want to know what verse God showed me this morning?”

  “Absolutely not. Kidding, yeah of course I do.”

  Samantha and Trinity had the same sense of humour.

  Trinity continued, “OK, this is the verse:

  ‘By faith, he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’

  God told me that this is his city and that he loves it. He also said that he has called a person to come and speak to our city and that timing had something to do with it too.”

  “Not surprising,” Samantha laughed, “I heard that you’ve got skills. You know, that direct line to God that you have going on.”

  Trinity smiled and nudged her friend, “Well I heard that you have a red phone in a secret compartment under your bed, and when God has got something important to say, that he calls you first!”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” Samantha joked, “and when I talked to him this morning on that ‘red phone,’ he said that he was thinking of asking you to be his Personal Assistant. He wanted me to ask if you would mind going up to heaven a couple of times a week to get the latest news to bring back!”

  “OK, I’ll go as long as you come with me and show me the way.”

  “I would like to, but only the most gifted ones are allowed into the throne room.”

  Trinity smiled, then they both burst out laughing together.

  “You know what though,” said Samantha, drawing the conversation back in again, “I heard that an international guest evangelist is coming to town next week from overseas. I think that God wants us to pray for him.”

  Trinity recognised that ‘look’ of discernment in her friends eyes as they narrowed, and knew that Samantha had heard from the Lord. She was so grateful for their friendship.

  The two of them continued to talk and laugh together. By now, after all this time, Trinity and Samantha were not surprised at how often God spoke to both of them in specific detail about people and events and what he was going to do. God had called them to pray together on a regular basis and more often than not, they ended up praying for Riverdale, praying that God would accomplish his purposes in their city.

  Just then a professional looking girl came out of the cafe looking a bit confused and lost.

  “Hey, are you OK, can I help you?” called out Trinity in a cheerful voice.

  “Oh, I’m just new to town, and I need to get to Fairway Street,” said the girl.

  “Well, that’s not far away, we can take you there if you want. We are going that way in a few minutes.”

  “That would be great, thanks so much.” she said relieved, “I’m Layla, by the way.”

  Layla had just stepped off a link-bus from the airport and went straight in to the nearest coffee shop to wrap her hands around a flat-white and to get some directions. The city was new to her, but she liked it already because it reminded her of where she had grown up when her sisters were all still at home. Her oldest sister took up an acting opportunity overseas while her two younger sisters acquired scholarships to study in different parts of the country. Layla, still young in her Event Management career, found great satisfaction in running large events because it suited her ‘maximizer’ personality and she enjoyed leading a team.

  ‘These seem like friendly girls,’ Layla thought

  “Hey Layla, I’m Trinity, and this is Samantha.”

  “Hi,” said Samantha, “Pull up a chair, if you would like.”

  The girls talked for a few minutes as they finished their coffees and gathered their bags to leave. As they got up, Trinity noticed a ‘Specials Board’ advertising an iced coffee with a twist of caramel.

  “I’m getting that next time!” she stated.

  “Mmmm, looks good!” said Samantha.

  Trinity also noticed a service area beside the cafe that seemed to lead under the street. ‘Strange that it’s not locked,’ she thought. She saw the padlock lying on the ground.

  “Hey Sam, do you think we should close that service area with the padlock? Looks like it’s fallen off or something.”

  “Nah, just leave it. Someone might be down there. You don’t want to lock the servicemen in.”

  “Yeah, I guess so, best not to interfere.”

  As they walked past the service area, Layla accidentally kicked the padlock that was lying on the ground as she walked. It scooted along the footpath and slid under the bushes. Hearing the noise it made, but thinking she had kicked a stone or some trash, Layla continued chatting to the other two girls.

  As they were walking away, a serviceman came out of the entrance and went to close the door to lock up. He scratched his head and scanned the ground for the padlock. He stood there for a few seconds, shrugged his shoulders and walked off towards his van, leaving the door closed but unlocked.

  The girls walked together for a couple of blocks and turned into Fairway Street.

  “This must be my stop,” said Layla, “thanks so much.”

  They were outside one of the largest churches in the city.

  “Are you going in here?” Samantha pointed to the double glass doors.

  “Yeah, I’m just meeting one of the leaders.”

  “We are Christians too! Is this your church?”

  “No, but I’ve been asked to help project manage a big revival meeting that is happening next week at the stadium. If you guys are free, you should come.”

  “Sounds great!” said Trinity, “We were just talking about it. We’d love to come.”

  “Excellent! Starts Monday and goes through every night next week. I’ll get you some front row seats, and we can sit together if you want.”

  “It’s a date!” Trinity replied. “See you Monday night!” as Layla walked into the building.

  “There is something cool about that girl,” said Trinity.

  Samantha agreed, “I feel a real connection with her. It must be the Holy Spirit. I’m glad we are going to be catching up with her next week.”

  7.

  Vision

  That evening, the skies were still mostly clear apart from a few clouds that had started to gather on the horizon. The night was warm and still. Lights were being flicked on in houses about the city as people went from room to room, settling in for the evening. Other lights flicked off as people left their homes for a ‘night on the town.’

  9pm. All was quiet on the street. ‘I guess everybody must be in town tonight,’ thought Liberty. She was often out with her friends on a night like tonight catching a movie or hanging out at a café or the mall, but this night she felt compelled to stay in and spend some time with God. She made herself a cup of tea and composed herself to pray.

  9pm. Caden knelt down to pray in his bedroom as he often did.

  9pm. Tristan lay down in the hammock hung by the pool on the back deck of his ho
use, to gaze up at the stars and listen to music for a while.

  9pm. Trinity and Samantha began to pray together in Trinity’s lounge room.

  9pm. Layla sat on her couch and picked up the Bible to catch up on her daily devotional series that she was currently reading.

  9pm. Jack sat at a lookout gazing out over the city lights. He could see the airport runway lit up. His thoughts directed heavenward.

  In various locations around the city, each of the seven entered into the spirit. Each was unaware of what was about to take place to them and for their city.

  Liberty began, “Lord, I lift this night up to you...” The presence of the Lord filled the room, and a vision began to unfold in her mind. With her eyes closed, she saw golden clouds billowing into the lounge from where the walls met the ceiling. It was like the clouds had been blown in from some far off distant place beyond earth’s borders, and into her world, her time, and her habitation. Angel-Light circled the whole room, ducking and diving amongst the swirling cloud formations. As she breathed in, her lungs filled with glory, and she sensed the overwhelming love of God towards her. She also felt the joy of the Lord and began to giggle.

  “Thank you, Lord, for being here with me tonight.”

  She didn’t want to open her eyes for fear of losing sight of the misty gold surroundings that tumbled about her. But she felt such a strong urge to open her eyes. As she did, she found that she was still able to see in the spirit, that her surroundings were still of cloud and glory. Then something even more amazing happened – the walls of her house fell away. Without the confinement of the room, the glory clouds spilled out over the ground and dispersed as they rolled away from her. Not only was there no longer any room, but there was also no longer any house either. Nor were there any other obstacles obstructing her view from being able to see the entire city. It was like she had been elevated to the vantage point of a high lookout and had an open vista in every direction. She saw her city through the lens of the spirit.

  Natural colourings faded and soft orange and yellow hues washed over the buildings, the streets and the parks. The city looked like what you might expect on the night of a bright giant red supermoon. Deep shadows crisscrossed with eerie light highlighting roofs, bridges, and the high points of buildings.

  She fixed her gaze upon the several bright spots in the city that blazed with blue-white light. These five primary light sources were distributed evenly across the landscape. The blaze points were bright at the base and extended straight up into the sky like brilliant pillars that reached to the heavens. The light that rose from the bases tapered off at the top, reaching high beyond the clouds to many points like majestic castles with pointed spires. White snowflake-like shapes rose from the base of each blaze point like sparks flying upward from within a fire. The blaze points were buildings. Liberty knew her city and realized that these were churches. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed similar, smaller bright spots, some moving and others stationary. Perhaps these were houses, outreach venues and Spirit-filled people going about their business. She also noticed that she seemed to be standing in the path of a faint blue strip of light running from the North to the South of the city, where her house used to be. The strip of light continued as far as she could see off to the North. As her eyes continued to absorb more detail, she also noticed a faint red beam of light running from East to West, thus dividing the city into quarters.

  As the seven looked out from their various vantage points, they became familiar with the spiritual landscape of their city.

  Even though the humans were currently unaware of the others that had also entered into the realm, their arrival was immediately felt by other creatures in the realm. Heads turned. Something had changed.

  “No!” spat a demon, “He has allowed some of them in!”

  An angel stopped in his tracks. “It is time,” he said under his breath.

  8.

  Messenger

  Liberty stood speechless. Her mind was working hard.

  ‘What!?’ Liberty thought. ‘Am I... is this...? Where am I?’

  Then all of a sudden, her familiar Angel-Light shot out from behind. The strands of light wrapped themselves into a form in front of her. The light intensified and spun faster until the individual strands could no longer be distinguished and a flash filled her eyes.

  An angel stood before Liberty.

  The brilliance lifted, first revealing his boots scorched at the edges. These boots had been planted on the surface of fiery stars, as he had witnessed constellations form around him by the hand of the Creator. The brilliance continued to lift. She could see the richly ornamented hem of his robe. It was drawn diagonally across his body from left to right. The fabric of the hem was woven from the strands of stars and the threads of the origin of galaxies. Half way up his thigh, the hem was worn. The scuff marks and loose fiery strands were the evidence of epic battles and far off conquests. His days had skimmed the surface of some millennia but had been deeply anchored within others, holding his ground until the will of God was dispatched and rolled out over that time and place.

  He was a deliverer. A deliverer of messages, a deliverer of victories, a deliverer of revelation.

  He stood like an ancient pillar, draped in a robe which cradled fragments of eternity within its folds. The shadows of the folds reached far back through time and space. The highlights of the ridges sparkled with life from another place. If one looked deeply enough into the robe, beyond the outer beauty, one would be able to reach into the depths of the mysteries of God revealed in just one detail of his garment. An expression of the expansive awesomeness of God revealed by a pocket of creation. Every detail, a wealth of revelation of Jesus himself.

  His face was carved from the experiences of a thousand lifetimes as he had passed through ages and had remained faithful.

  His long hair, splashed across his forehead, had been blown by the icy storms of angelic battle and also whisked by the breezes of the upper vaults of heaven.

  The angel’s purpose was layered, perhaps eternal. His name was unique, summoned and commissioned from within the council of the holy.

  Compared to God this being, as majestic as he was, was just as a grain of dust floating within the vastness of a spinning galaxy.

  Even as he looked at her, his thoughts were in other places, on other worlds, across time and other trans-dimensional planes.

  “Do not be afraid,” he said in a deep voice that echoed around her ears. His words seemed formed from an ancient language that she would not have been able to understand had she not been personally invited into this vision.

  “You have been chosen.”

  “I have? For what?” whispered Liberty, trying to maintain a clear stream of consciousness. Her throat was dry; she felt the hairs on her arms rise and her limbs offered no movement. With feet frozen in place, Liberty flicked her eyes left and right keeping her head fixed towards the angel. She felt trapped within her body. The angel reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder to steady her. Peace drifted through her like an early morning mist settling on a grassy meadow.

  “My name is beyond understanding, but you can call me Falcon. I am here to brief you.”

  She felt renewed strength, and the angel stepped backward. Liberty’s body loosened, and she felt the ability of movement flow into it again.

  “A personal awakening has bloomed within you because your city has been aroused from its ancient dormancy. God has chosen you and called you here to bring change. God has been preparing you in advance. Your dreams have given you a future glimpse of your quest. There are others like you who have entered this vision, this reality. Together you will draw your city into alignment and save it from an attack that could plunge it into the deepest darkness.”

  Falcon had a knowing look in his eyes. He waited to see that Liberty understood what he had said and could comprehend, at least a little of where she was. Studying her face and concluding that the message was received, h
e nodded his head and allowed a brief smile. The angel then lifted his eyes to gaze across the city. Something off in the distance seemed to arrest his attention.

  As Falcon turned, Liberty gasped as she saw his magnificent huge wings extending from the folds of his heavy grey robe. The long, silky feathers held an iridescent shine. As his wings quivered with life, traces of blue-green light slipped down the feathers. Two swords, each with a richly ornamented hilt, crossed his back, fitted with belts. As the angel moved away from her, his robe splayed out. She caught sight of armour in exposed places, but otherwise concealed by his robes. The angel advanced a couple of steps, then leaped into the air with tremendous force leaving Liberty a little shaken for a moment.