City Appointed_Winning a City for God Read online

  “The countdown has begun,” said the angel, “That strike signals that our time is short. You have been called to fight with us to prepare Riverdale, your city, for an appointment. Right now there is both an attack mounting, and also an opportunity. An opportunity has arrived for many in this city to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour and find salvation.”

  “An evangelistic crusade will begin in the evening, three days from now. An evangelist will deliver a message that will bring deliverance. For this message to be powerful and effective, the Triaxial Identifiers of the city must be aligned. Riverdale must be ready, but right now it is not.”

  The angel paused to walk over to the edge of the roof. He stretched out his arm to indicate to the seven where to look. He began to point out various locations over the landscape. “The Triaxial Identifiers are the three axes from which the city takes its reference. One axis projects from the Throne of the city, which is the seat of authority, and runs along the line of the river. The second projects from the Elemental Stone, which controls the atmosphere, and runs perpendicular to the throne-line, thus dividing the city into quarters. The third originates from the Altar in the heart of the city where the two other axes intersect. The Altar holds the Mission of the city. From this altar, the Mission Axis extends straight up into the sky.”

  As the seven looked, they could see the faint remains of what must have been the axes. A soft blue glow which seemed to rise out of the river ran through the city. Another very faint red wall of light extended in the opposite direction from where the angel had indicated the Elemental Stone to be. ‘Where’s the third axis?’ thought Liberty, ‘There’s no visible evidence of the axis that should rise from the centre where the other two intersect.’

  “We need to win these three back, the Throne, Atmosphere and the Mission of the city. With these three in alignment, the skies become clear, the truth will shine, and people will accept the message. Life and freedom will come to these people. The time is ‘now’ for this place, and the window will be open only for a short period. After that, grace will subside for a while. But now there is a momentum of grace, and the wave of grace is about to break. If it breaks and the people are not ready, the wave will break upon an empty shoreline and will drain away as if it had never been. Then will be the wait. The next wave could arrive this year, it could arrive next year, or return in ten years, it could even be a whole lifetime before it breaks again. Do not fail this mission because this is your opportunity.”

  Liberty felt awed and honoured to be in this position. ‘This is my opportunity to make a difference and play my part in history.’

  The commissioning angel continued, “We are angels and can only fight when Christians supply faith. Without faith, we cannot win against our enemy. The Holy Spirit has selected you faith-filled ones to form a fellowship that will bring freedom by breaking the strategy of darkness that the devil has been planning and building for the last fifty years.”

  “Satan has chosen to set up his place of power from here, and his demons have nearly prepared the way for him to do so. To win this city, the enemy must have the Throne, he must have the Atmosphere, and he must have the Altar which holds Riverdale’s mission to the world. Every city has a throne, an atmosphere and a distinct mission to the world that is unique to that city. With these three under his control, he will mount an attack to plunge Riverdale into darkness, a darkness that could last decades, even centuries. Currently, Riverdale represents a quarter of a million people, each created uniquely, each very dear to the Creator, each that God has given his life for.”

  There was a lot to take in, but the seven of them were enabled to follow and understand the commissioning. After all, the commissioning was for them.

  “Your fellowship will be divided into three, each with one objective.”

  “Caden, Tristan, and Jack you must reclaim the Atmosphere,” said the angel as he raised his arm towards the west. “The Atmosphere is important because it influences the lifestyle and the decisions of the people. The air that they breathe sways their actions moment by moment. It affects everybody, from those who govern the city, all through society, to the decisions that children make on the playground at school. It is true that Spirit-filled believers create their own atmospheric conditions, but their influence can either be multiplied or hindered by the greater surrounding climate. The Atmosphere has set a countdown, and you must complete your mission before time runs out.”

  “The Atmosphere is determined by the ‘Elemental Stone’ set high up in the mountains to the west of the city. Normally you should be able to see it from here and from almost anywhere in the city, but the cloud cover is currently too thick and dark. The demons are smothering it until they can gain full control of its power and radiate distorted light over the city. Every city has a primary element, like a personality, which transmits from the Elemental Stone. The primary element of your city is ‘Creativity.’ The enemy seeks to gain control so that the city becomes a place of creative evil. As you know, Riverdale produces much music, various art forms, architecture, infrastructure solutions, business ideas, inventions and the like. You must gain control over the stone so that this city can bring glory to God through creativity. Jack, you will guide Tristan and Caden through the city as you navigate the best route to get to the foot of the mountains. Tristan, you will lead the climb and Caden, when the time comes you will know what to do. Once you have reached the stone, then place your hands on it in agreement and declare truth over it. Setting the Elemental Stone free is your mission.”

  Next, the angel addressed Layla, Trinity, and Samantha, “The Throne is your assignment,” he said as he raised his arm to the north. You must find and fight your way to the throne which sits on a bridge above Grace Falls on the north side of the city. Whichever power sits on the Throne commands the laws that govern this city. Even though God’s people personally live under the laws of grace, love, forgiveness, blessing, prosperity, and favour, if these attributes govern the whole town, Christian and non-Christian alike will live in the environment of blessing. This city will become a source of supply to the entire nation. The enemy plans to cripple this city and then raise up one or two humans whom he can influence to bring about his purposes. It is his intention to bring harm to this nation. His motivation has never changed, it is to steal, kill and destroy. You will have aid on your journey to the throne. Angels will help you. They will place around you momentary cloaks concealing you from the enemy, giving you just enough time to get closer to your goal.”

  “Already a weak demon sits on the Throne reserving it for the higher power that will come to claim it. You must wipe out the presence that currently sits there. You will have weapons. Once you have eradicated the demon on the Throne, the glory of God will fall from heaven and take up residence there once again.”

  “Once the three teams have completed their assignments, the city will be free; darkness will move out and search for a different place to take up residence. Where the darkness goes is not your concern. Your mission is your city.”

  Liberty looked around as the others considered the gravity of their missions and realized that she was the only one whose name wasn’t acknowledged. Tristan and Caden were looking a little unsure. Jack seemed peaceful enough. Trinity and Samantha were looking at each other with raised eyebrows, communicating that, ‘Oh, this is big!’ They also were both trying to hide a smile because they couldn’t help but feel called and equipped for the task. Layla was also looking around to check out the reactions of the members of the group. Her eyes fell on Liberty.

  ‘Well, whose team am I on?’ thought Liberty, ‘I’m the only one left. Surely I can’t be on my own for an assignment, a team of one isn’t much of a team!’ She looked up at the angel with questioning in her eyes.

  13.

  Mission of one

  Finally, the angel looked at Liberty, “You will be on your own.”

  “Great,” muttered Liberty who didn’t want to be left out. The
other six heard what she had said. One of Liberty’s enduring childhood memories was going to bed by herself. Her younger and older brothers had shared a bedroom, and they would stay up and talk. She would hear them through the walls talking and giggling and arguing. Then mum would tell them to, ‘be quiet and go to sleep!’ Her mum and dad had decided that boys and girls should be in separate rooms. The only problem with that is that she never had anyone to talk to in bed. But this was when she started to discover that she could speak with the Holy Spirit and he would talk back. Even from the age of six, she knew when the Holy Spirit was communicating with her. Again, she was back to being by herself.

  “You are the most equipped of all of us,” said Trinity.

  “What? Why?” said Liberty surprised by the comment.

  “You shine brighter than the rest of us. Didn’t you notice?”

  “Oh!” Liberty looked at herself, and it did appear that she had extra detailing in her armour and yes, perhaps her glow was slightly stronger than the others.

  “I felt intimidated when I saw the rest of you,” she said, “I didn’t notice too much of what I looked like.”

  “All I can say,” said Samantha, “is that when I saw you, I felt even more confident that we had an awesome team!”

  “Thanks,” said Liberty, now a little self-conscious, being the centre of attention. But she straightened up and looked at the angel again who had been patiently waiting as she was coming to grips with the fact that she would be working alone.

  The angel spoke again, “The best chance you have to gain access behind enemy lines and make it to the altar is alone. Two or three of you will not make it through unnoticed. You must be agile and slip through gaps and openings that we make for you. There will be angels working with you, but you may not see them.”

  Your first task is to find the ‘Mission Keys’ of Riverdale. Without those keys, the city will drift from its purpose. The enemy will be able to distort its path and even use its strengths to invite darkness to envelop the land.”

  Liberty wanted to ask what she should do with the keys once she had them but the angel’s gaze had Liberty’s eyes locked on his. She couldn’t break the gaze even if she wanted to. She stood, almost mesmerized by his appearance and forgot to ask the question.

  “This is your task, and you alone must complete it. Once you have the keys, you will know what to do. Do not let them out of your sight. Currently, your city has forgotten its mission to bring glory to God through creative art forms that will influence your nation and other countries of the world. When all of you succeed in your assignments, this mission will be resolved.”

  The angel then broke off his gaze and surveyed the group. He addressed the entire fellowship, “Each of you must maintain some awareness of the progress of the other two teams so that you can pray and combine faith when required. If you are listening to the Holy Spirit, you will sense his promptings to pray. Make sure you heed these promptings as they could be a matter of success or failure, life or death.

  Be very careful, if you die in this vision, it will end for you and your objective will be lost. All three objectives must be fulfilled to win your city; otherwise, it will be left open for attack. We have only one opportunity available to us, and it may not open again for years, or ever.

  The outcome is not a certainty because it doesn’t just depend on you alone. It also depends on those who are prompted to pray for you from the surface. Your mission will not be disclosed to the surface because obedience and faith are required to bring victory. After that, the Holy Spirit will reveal to those who have partnered with us, some of the impacts of their involvement. The Bible says, ‘But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.’ It happens afterward. First a person steps out in faith, and the after that the veil is taken away and the results can be seen.”

  14.

  On the move

  (Mission Liberty)

  The angel handed Liberty a locator that she secured to her forearm with a strap made of robust leather. A lace crisscrossed the holes that were punched into the edges of the leather so that the ends could be drawn together and tied to the underside of her arm. The exposed side of the strap had a jewel-like dome protruding from it. Through the protective dome, she could see a digital map of the city. The layout, indicating her position, would help direct her to the keys. She was also given a pack to carry the keys once they were in her possession.

  Liberty was first to set off.

  She ran down the stairs and made her way to the entrance of the building. She stood in the doorway and studied her locator. The device displayed a map lit in green wireframe to indicate roads and buildings. The image dynamically scrolled on the screen as she moved, with her position always marked in the centre of the locator. Beside the screen were a couple of buttons. She pressed one of them, and it gave a zoomed-out view of the city. She noticed an orange glowing point on the screen. She tapped the surface of the dome close to the orange point on the map, and it magnified to its general location. From what she knew of the city, it looked like the keys were around the area of the old library. ‘This must be where I’m heading,’ she thought. As she tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear, she pressed the other button on the locator which immediately produced a soft light that radiated from the dome. The light wasn’t very intense. ‘That’s not going to help me much,’ she thought.

  Liberty headed towards the library, keeping within the shadows cast by the buildings that lined the streets. Only now did she wonder why the city was so sparsely populated. She hardly saw any people or angels or demons. ‘Maybe things are being filtered out for me; only seeing that which I need to see,’ she reasoned. Liberty decided to quicken her pace. She broke into a jog. Feeling good, she tested her skills. Coming up on her left was the entrance to a large hotel. In front of the double doors was a flight of concrete steps framed between sloped metal rails that ran down each side of the entrance. As she approached the steps, she pushed off the ground with her left foot and landed high up on top of the first rail. In one smooth movement, she pushed off with her right foot and landed in the middle of the staircase. She then ran a couple of steps, jumped up on to the second railing, spun around in a half turn and did a backward flip off the rail, landing gracefully on the other side. She did a half spin to face forward again and saw a row of bushes that lined the sidewalk, she ran and dived over them, combining a twist and a forward flip as she sailed through the air. She landed in a roll and finished in a crouched stance on the other side of the bushes, with her fingertips splayed out on the concrete to steady her landing. Maintaining her crouched position she looked up to assess her surroundings again. Feeling equipped and capable, she allowed a smile to broaden across her lips. Her eyes twinkled, they were windows through which could be seen a glimpse of stars at the outer edges of a galaxy, spinning somewhere deep within her. She set off again.

  The hotel stood on the corner of a crossroad. Liberty came to the end of it and turned into Banks Alley. Banks Alley was a short-cut she would often take whenever she was walking from home to the train station. She did this frequently as she would visit her gran and grandpa who lived 20 minutes away by train. It was a convenient shortcut to take because the end of it was only a few minutes from the station. This time she was running down the alleyway for a different reason, not to catch a train, but to save her city. The gravity of her mission sent a shiver through her. She did her best to shake it off the feeling as she neared the end of the alley.

  Just before she got to the end of the narrow path between the buildings, about to step out into the open, a large shadow passed overhead. Liberty quickly jumped up a small flight of stairs into a doorway and pressed herself against a wooden door in an attempt to conceal herself from the creature above. The door was hard, and the stonework of the wall next to it was cold. Droplets of sweat started to bead on her forehead. ‘Has it seen me?’ she thought. She inched her head out into the open to see if it had passed. The skies were clear. She
crept towards the end of the alley which opened out on to Princess Street, usually a busy road in the heart of the central business district. She peered around the corner, and her eyes widened as she saw a monstrous dragon a short distance away that had landed in the middle of the street. With its wings splayed out, their span nearly touched the buildings on both sides of the road. The grey lizard-like creature looked fearsome with thick hexagonal scales locked tightly together across its body. A row of raised horns protruded from its back and ran down to the end of its tail. Its wings stretched wide, revealing an underside that exhibited bright orange streaks that traced around the edges of its scales. Its proud face looked ferocious, displaying an evil intelligence that made it look formidable. The dragon’s landing caused dust to rise from the streets. The dust was stirred up and swirled around its thick legs and bulging belly. Liberty looked closer and saw that the clouds were falling from the dragon itself. Liberty realized that the dust clouds were not from the street, but that she was looking at the tangible presence of the dragon, rolling like mist off its back. Its presence could be seen and felt. But the aspect of the dragon that sent chills down her spine the most was its eyes. They blazed a fiery, piercing orange. Nothing could escape its gaze.