Territory and Jurisdiction
Wednesday 21 February 2024
Wednesday 21 February 2024
These two words are going to help us focus our prayers.
Jurisdiction - links authority and place. Have you ever seen a film set in USA where someone is trying to cross the state line to the next state, so that the police chasing them will have to stop? The state police only have power to give orders in their state.
Territory - a specific place connected to or belonging to a particular country or person. On wildlife documentaries, we see certain animals having an area they defend from others.
For a moment I want to step back and think about our vision and motivation for praying. In the house of prayer we have often come back to the question ‘what is the prayer that leads to revival?’. We want to see many more people coming to Jesus than we see at present. We have heard of times in history where whole communities were impacted by an awareness of the presence of God and returned in large numbers. What prayer leads to this?
A simple answer is the prayer of 1 Chronicles 7 - If my people.. will humble themselves and seek my face and pray and turn from their wicked ways I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.
But we also know from Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against.. the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Paul calls us to put on the armour God gives so that we can stand our ground. We sometimes use the phrase spiritual warfare - what is that, how do we do it?
Here is a thought - if a crocodile is fighting a lion where does he want the lion to be? The crocodile would like to entice the lion into the water. Similarly the enemy would like to distract us into the water, away from our territory (the place where we have authority from God). So let’s not get distracted and fascinated by demons and the world of the enemy. It is important for us to know where God has called us to be - he gives us authority and we can stand.
Think of the lion roaring on its own territory. Owning it. Royal. Similarly, let the brightness of the presence of Jesus in us shine out as we sit in our own territory. This is why we spend time in prayer, worship, consecration, fasting, contemplation - all these practices make us brighter and more glorious because they help us remain in Jesus and be full of Him. We have been studying Is 60:2 - Arise! Shine! For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and think darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. I believe our main strategy for spiritual warfare is to be so full of Jesus that the enemy can’t stand the brightness of his presence!
So our strategy for spiritual warfare is to know the territory Jesus has given us, where we have jurisdiction. We continue to live our lives rooted in him and his glory is shining out of us and the enemy is displaced by the brightness of the glory of Jesus.
I had an encouraging time this week getting to know James from Café 153 (Kings Church, Lordswood). I hadn’t said about the thoughts that were brewing in me about territory and jurisdiction, but he shared how God has given him a passion for the area around the café. ‘This is my patch’ he says. He related how when he was younger he was part of a gang and they fought for their patch. Now he feels a similar thing, but for the Kingdom of God.
Often in the house of prayer we have had pictures of fires like beacons burning across the city. We could call these watch fires. People are gathering to watch and wait for Jesus. He is in us, of course, but we are keeping watch in our area to declare that he is lord and he is our hope. To put our faith in him and pray for our area. This week when I was praying I felt a reminder to keep the watch fires burning.
Q1 - where is your patch? The area God has called you to. The territory over which you have jurisdiction. Don’t get distracted from this.
When we pray for churches, let’s ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal to them the territory he has given them and the jurisdiction they have to pray and serve him there.
Q2 - how can you ‘keep the watch fire burning’ in your patch?
When we pray let’s ask for a greater revelation of the glory of the Lord, and the brightness of Jesus in us. Let’s adore and worship Jesus and allow our passion for Jesus in Southampton to grow.