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May 21, 2005
"When the Lord
Builds His House"
by
Francis Frangipane
Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
www.frangipane.org
comments@frangipane.org
 It
is possible for Christ's church to be so properly aligned with heaven that the Spirit
of the Lord actually displaces the powers of darkness over our cities. To the degree
that the church is so joined to God, the Lord's Presence guards the city: crime
and immorality proportionally decline; revival begins to spontaneously break out.
But be forewarned, only if the Lord builds His house will He then guard our cities
(Psalm 127:1).
The Corporate, Citywide Church
"And the house, while
it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither
hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built."
I Kings 6:7
During these past years God has had His church
"at the quarry," shaping the leaders, preparing their hearts to become part of the
house of the Lord. Under the hammer of the Word, many pastors and lay people have
had their rock-hard religious and doctrinal opinions shattered. God has been reducing
their definition of Christianity to the biblical proportions of simplicity, purity,
and devotion to Christ (see II Corinthians 11:3). At the same time, the Lord has
also laid His axe to the root system of jealousy and selfish ambition (see James
3:16).
All across the world holy men and women of God are being fitted together into a
living temple for the Lord. Burning in their hearts is a new vision for a united,
citywide church. Together with their congregations, these servants of God are building
their churches, not upon the typical American base of self-promotion and human enterprise,
but upon a substructure of corporate, citywide prayer and Christian love. With great
passion and deep humility, their singular goal is to see Christ Himself formed in
the church (see Galatians 4:19).
In so doing, they are laying the foundation for
the house of the Lord. It is a testimony to Christ's wisdom and power how graciously
these "living stones" accept one another and fit together. The Scriptures tell us
that when Solomon built the house of the Lord, "there was
neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built"
(I Kings 6:7).
These men and women, often of very different church backgrounds, are finding themselves
kneeling in one another's buildings and praying at each other's side. Their common
prayer is that the Almighty might unite them in Christ and finish the house of the
Lord -- that Christ Himself might heal their cities.
God will answer their prayers. The house of the Lord is beginning to emerge upon
the building site of the praying, citywide church. The time of devastation and shaping,
of being hammered and cut to size, is nearly over. The day of power is at
hand.
The Obedience Of Christ
This is not a work born out of compromise. It would be an error to assume the goal
of this moving of God was unity. No, our objective is obedience. Out of obedience
to God in prayer and true desire to be Christlike, a new meaning to unity has come.
Our focus is upon Christ. Paul instructed the church to take
"every thought captive to the obedience of Christ"
(II Corinthians 10:5). The areas of our thought-life which are not captive to
Christ, are the areas where we are losing our battle against hell. But when our
vision is focused upon the Lord and becoming like Him in obedience, the conclusion
of what Paul spoke shall be fulfilled: "And we are ready
to punish all disobedience whenever your obedience is complete" (II Corinthians
10:6).
It would be presumption to speculate on all that this verse means. We know that
Paul was not referring to flesh and blood; he was not warring according to the flesh
(see Ephesians 6:12). The implication here is that when the obedience of the
church is made complete there will be an unleashing of the mightiest display
of spiritual power the world has ever seen.
This revelation of power was not attained in Paul's day. The provision was there
in that the prince of the world was "judged," "rendered powerless" and "disarmed"
at the cross, but obviously, "all disobedience" was not punished in the first century.
Let us ask the Lord Himself: Is there something yet to come forth through the
obedient church that will bring judgment upon spiritual wickedness and disobedience,
which will also deliver many cities?
When The Lord Guards The City
"Unless the Lord builds
the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the
watchman keeps awake in vain." Psalm 127:1
Before we discuss this verse, it is important to
explain a particular characteristic often found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Often
the Old Testament writers communicated truth by repeating two views of the same
thought. We see this especially in Psalms and Proverbs. An example would be:
"With the fruit of a man's
mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his
lips." Proverbs 18:20
The same concept is presented twice in two ways.
Another example is:
"I will open my mouth
in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old." Psalm 78:2
Truth is conveyed utilizing a poetic rhythm that
is both beautiful and functional -- a way to compress two corresponding thoughts
into one idiom.
In this regard, when the Psalmist admonishes, "Unless the
Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the
city, the watchman keeps awake in vain,"
he is saying the same truth in two ways. The work of the Lord is a bridge connecting
these two thoughts: the house He builds will stand; the city He guards will be protected.
How can the Lord guard the city? The house of the Lord is a house of prayer; intercession
brings the presence of God into the city. Let me say this another way: When
the Lord builds the house, then the Lord will guard the city. The specifications
of His building plans require His people to be praying, loving, and investing themselves
into their cities, empowered by His anointing. The house of the Lord will change
our communities!
Jesus confirms this in His promise that "I will build My
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18
KJV). He is stating that when His house is built in obedience to His Word, the
strongholds of evil over individuals and cities will be broken.
When there is revival in a city, what happens to the powers of darkness in the heavenly
places? Where do they go? The answer is: they are displaced by the fullness of
God's Spirit in the regional church! Paul tells us that it is "through the church"
that the manifold wisdom of God is revealed "unto the principalities
and powers in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:10). And what is happening
in the spirit realm? The church is blessed with "every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3)!
The prevailing influence upon society in this case comes from heaven; the Lord guards
the city!
When the church is not built according to Christ's directives but remains selfish
and divided, the principalities and powers have access in a greater degree to the
souls of men. In such cities, spiritual wickedness guards the city.
One does not have to be very discerning to see this is true. On your next drive
from the country into a city, you will notice a distinguishable cloud of oppression
as you enter the city. That invisible barrier is the range of influence of the ruling
spirits which weigh on the community. The demonic power of that area is the "strong
man, fully armed," who "guards his own homestead"; whose "possessions are undisturbed"
(Luke 11:21).
But when the church is obedient to Christ, it will be united with other believers
and unstoppable by the powers of hell. Through the church -- its prayer, love and
action -- the Lord will guard the city.
Whatever You Bind Will Be Bound
Let me explain the interaction between the spirit world and the thoughts and actions
of men. As I see it, the spirit realm can be accessed and occupied by either angels
or demons, depending upon the attitude of man upon earth. Although the earth is
the Lord's, He put all things under man's feet; that is, under man's responsibility.
When Satan tells Jesus that all the world and its glory
"has been handed over to me" (Luke 4:6), he is
speaking a half-truth. The world has indeed been given to the devil, not by God,
but by man!
We have wrongly assumed that the devil has divine approval to attack our neighborhoods
and cities. Satan has access to the domain of darkness, but he can only occupy those
areas where mankind, through sin, has allowed him.
Thus, Jesus tells the church, "whatever you shall bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven" (Matthew 16:19; 18:18 KJV). Notice that Jesus gave the same
instruction for two seeming different situations. The context of Matthew 16:18-19
deals with the devil, while the focus of Matthew 18:15 is sin. These realms are
interconnected. The sinfulness of mankind -- his evil thoughts, words, and actions
-- is itself the very shelter of the devil over our cities! Since this is true, then
righteousness in the church proportionally displaces the devil in the spirit
realm, offering Satan no hiding place. He may tempt, but he cannot abide. Indeed,
when the church truly draws near to God, the devil flees.
A New Vision
If we work together to build the house of the Lord, our strengths will be amplified
rather than diminished. One of the pastors in my city has been used by God to picket
abortion clinics and stores which sell pornography. Before the churches began to
pray together, the most people he ever mustered for a protest was 120. However,
because a larger number of churches united with him in prayer, over 4,000 people
came to stand against abortion! Since that time, the local television and newspapers
have been far more sympathetic to the cause of the unborn.
Where the churches are united, the benefit upon teens will be wonderful. Imagine
how it would be if there were a citywide youth group where large numbers of Christian
teens could meet and unite. Older teens could develop leadership skills and pastoral
care over younger teenagers.
Without limiting their overseas missions, pastors are realizing the first
mission field they need to support is local. Ministers in churches are beginning
to build together, training individuals from their congregations to go to other
churches in the city where together the entire local Christian community is being
built up.
Ultimately, how will the house of the Lord differ from current Christianity? Although
the Lord has visited the church with revival in the past, He will dwell in power
in His house! Healing and deliverance will be commonplace; holiness and grace will
fill the atmosphere. Where the house of the Lord is built, the protection of
the Lord will be felt.
A Living Testimony
Our ministry is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When we first started praying together
with other pastors and intercessors in the city, the state of Iowa was experiencing
an 11 percent increase in violent crime. During this same time, however, in Cedar
Rapids violent crime decreased 17 percent. FBI files confirm that Cedar Rapids
became the safest city of over 100,000 people in the United States that year. In
spite of the enemy's counterattack, Cedar Rapids remains one of the safest cities
in the nation. We continue to experience many wonderful and significant breakthroughs
in our city.
To the degree that the Lord's house is established in our cities, lawlessness will
proportionally decrease. The time is soon upon us when, unless we are building the
Lord's house, our labors may actually be in vain. But the Holy Spirit's encouragement
to us is unwavering: When the Lord builds the house, then the Lord will guard
the city!
Lord, thank You for Your dealings in my life. Thank You for shaping my heart to
fit in with other believers in my city. O, God, increase Your work in this region
until Your entire church is one body, one force, one weapon in Your hand against
evil! Build and then enter Your house, Lord Jesus. Open the door of Your house,
and step onto our streets. Guard our cities with power. In Jesus' name, amen.
by
Francis Frangipane
Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
www.frangipane.org
comments@frangipane.org
Adapted from The House
of the Lord.
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Francis Frangipane's Itinerary:
May 26-28, 2005
MorningStar Spiritual Warfare Conference
Charlotte, NC
Visit www.MorningStarMinistries.org
for more information.
A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2005
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations
were taken from the NASB.
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"With
all the tensions and conflicts in our world, it is easy to be distracted from the
primary focus of the church, which is the Presence of God. The Presence of God is
to Christians what the Promised Land was to the Jews -- our 'Promised Land' is God
Himself. If we find His Presence, our evangelism will reach the lost and our nations
transformed. This book will revolutionize how you view the end times and rivet your
heart upon attaining Christ's likeness." -- Francis Frangipane
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