Followers of Christ need a bigger vision of what church is all about, says Dutch Sheets.
Sheets, author of Authority in Prayer: Praying with Power and Purpose, says the Bible views the church as more than a collection of individuals, caring for each other.
He declares that the church has been given authority to spread God's kingdom throughout the world and in every aspect of life. And prayer is a key instrument in achieving this goal.
Most believers recall Jesus' words in Matthew 28: 18-20: "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you."
But most of us - myself included - have put this "Great Commission" on the back burner. Mentally, we have turned this over to a few gifted evangelists or missionaries.
Instead, we have focused on ourselves, trying to build strong communities of local believers. That is indeed a vital part of being the church. However, that is only one aspect of what God wants.
Sheets says that in the original Greek of the New Testament, the word "ekklesia" which has been translated "church" is an "assembly of people set apart to govern the affairs of a state or nation - in essence a parliament or congress".
"When Jesus said he would build his church, he was without question speaking of a body of people that would legislate spiritually for him, extending his kingdom government (rule) over the earth," writes Sheets.
As prayer warriors, followers of Christ work with God to extend the kingdom in all areas of life.
Sheets tells of a World Vision development project near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1989 where they noticed the villagers worshiped a huge tree which they believed housed demon spirits. The World Vision team recognized this stood in the way of the love of God bringing local people into his kingdom.
They recalled Jesus' comment in the Luke 17:6 that if his disciples had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could tell a nearby tree to be uprooted and thrown into the sea. So, they prayed along those lines as the villagers watched in the coming weeks.
Six months later, the tree's leaves dried up and finally it collapsed into the river. The villagers were astonished, declaring that the team's God did it and 100 villagers became believers.
Sheets mentions other striking stories to support his contention.
He says Christians are not to force their faith on others. But they can pray and be open to sharing their faith.
"We are not merely human," writes Sheets. "We are supernatural sons and daughters of the Most High God, filled with his Spirit and anointed to rule."
He states emphatically: "If a society or culture remains the same after Christ's church shows up, then the church is not being the church."
That is quite a challenge to us as followers of Jesus.
Sheets, author of Authority in Prayer: Praying with Power and Purpose, says the Bible views the church as more than a collection of individuals, caring for each other.
He declares that the church has been given authority to spread God's kingdom throughout the world and in every aspect of life. And prayer is a key instrument in achieving this goal.
Most believers recall Jesus' words in Matthew 28: 18-20: "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you."
But most of us - myself included - have put this "Great Commission" on the back burner. Mentally, we have turned this over to a few gifted evangelists or missionaries.
Instead, we have focused on ourselves, trying to build strong communities of local believers. That is indeed a vital part of being the church. However, that is only one aspect of what God wants.
Sheets says that in the original Greek of the New Testament, the word "ekklesia" which has been translated "church" is an "assembly of people set apart to govern the affairs of a state or nation - in essence a parliament or congress".
"When Jesus said he would build his church, he was without question speaking of a body of people that would legislate spiritually for him, extending his kingdom government (rule) over the earth," writes Sheets.
As prayer warriors, followers of Christ work with God to extend the kingdom in all areas of life.
Sheets tells of a World Vision development project near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1989 where they noticed the villagers worshiped a huge tree which they believed housed demon spirits. The World Vision team recognized this stood in the way of the love of God bringing local people into his kingdom.
They recalled Jesus' comment in the Luke 17:6 that if his disciples had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could tell a nearby tree to be uprooted and thrown into the sea. So, they prayed along those lines as the villagers watched in the coming weeks.
Six months later, the tree's leaves dried up and finally it collapsed into the river. The villagers were astonished, declaring that the team's God did it and 100 villagers became believers.
Sheets mentions other striking stories to support his contention.
He says Christians are not to force their faith on others. But they can pray and be open to sharing their faith.
"We are not merely human," writes Sheets. "We are supernatural sons and daughters of the Most High God, filled with his Spirit and anointed to rule."
He states emphatically: "If a society or culture remains the same after Christ's church shows up, then the church is not being the church."
That is quite a challenge to us as followers of Jesus.
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