Maidstone Church Unites in Prayer

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Daniel

When Jesus told Peter “…I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it”, he launched a movement – his people, his ‘Ekklesia’ as he called it – designed to take on the gates of Hades and take ground from the enemy.

This was reflected many years earlier when the psalmist prophetically wrote, in Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head… it is like dew…” [in other words, it’s refreshing!] “…for there the Lord commands the blessing: life forever.”

And this refreshing blessing is what we are seeing in Maidstone in this season: God’s people working together. It’s been growing over recent years as God has put it on the hearts of people praying over our town.

One of the ways we see this is with the deepening of relationships among Church leaders. A couple of weeks ago I visited a monthly Church leaders’ breakfast in Maidstone, and it was so powerful: church leaders were presenting and sharing together on tools they were using to lead people to Christ; and on practical ways they were mobilising prayer. This is a significant breakthrough, for leaders to share together with a common vision.

And through these strengthened relationships have come new initiatives, like:

  • Touch Maidstone, a website that communicates all the practical community work that the whole Church is doing;
  • The Maidstone Covenant – a covenant agreement among so far around 20 church congregations and ten cross-church organisations, where leaders have agreed to covenant to fellowship together, pray for each other, and work alongside each other to serve the town;
    * And now, through these relationships, The Waypoint Project – a project where the Church in Maidstone works together to reach the lost and ‘point them to Jesus, the way’.

So as the body of Christ, we are taking ground from the enemy! The enemy’s territory is division, suspicion, and jealousy… these things do not look good on the bride of Christ. But the word of God tells us that every time God’s people live together in unity in our town, God commands a blessing!

I believe that one reason this blessing is at work now in this season is because people have been praying over Maidstone. And now is the time for us to pray more! To drive back the forces of darkness over our town so that Jesus can transform lives through His people, the Church, His Ekklesia.

So this is an invitation to pray! I’m working with Lesley Ludlow from Holy Cross Bearsted to head up the communication around prayer initiatives over Maidstone around the Waypoint project, and I’d like to invite you to join our Waypoint Prayer email list.

  • Opportunities to pray include:
  • Prayer gatherings:
    • Monday mornings, 7am in Mote Park
    • Monday 13th March 10am-12 Coxheath
    • Quarterly prayer walks (our next: Easter Monday, 8am)
  • Pray on your own or with others
  • Arrange your own prayer gathering
  • Adopt your street, school, business in prayer

To hear more about praying for Maidstone and receive reports and invitations to pray, sign up to the Waypoint Prayer email list.

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Peace is Taking ground

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Daniel

In our weekly prayer meetings – a gathering of a few people from across the Church in Maidstone, who meet at the start of each week to pray for Maidstone, the UK and the nations – we are excited to see what God is doing right now among His people. Over the past few years we have seen a gradual but very noticeable growing in relationship across the Church – Church leaders strengthening relationships with each other, working together for Maidstone, and God’s people working together in all sorts of ministries to bless people and meet their needs. This is what worshipping together looks like – when we work together for His glory!

In this morning’s meeting we prayed for others who are also praying; for those who are leading initiatives to work (aka worship) together, such as the Waypoint project; for those reaching out to build relationships with our town’s civic leaders, and leaders of other faith groups. These people are on the front lines as Jesus’ Church (what he called his ‘ekklesia’, his people) advances on the gates of Hades and takes ground from the enemy (See Matt 16:18).

And the ground we take is in the heavenly realm; it is spiritual ground. Every time unity among God’s people is strengthened; every time we build peace with others in the community; every time we bless instead of cursing, the enemy (the thief who Jesus said comes to steal, kill and destroy) loses ground.

As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12, we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Rather, as he says in Romans 12:18, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone”.

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Business for Christ meet at FAST, Brogdale Farm on a wet July afternoon

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Daniel

Usually at Business for Christ we meet early for breakfast, however this month it was Tim Biddlecombe, who runs FAST at Brogdale Farm, who hosted an evening meeting and provided a delicious BBQ for us.

A tour around the National Fruit Collection during our Summer BBQ meeting hosted by Fast Ltd

Around 20 of us enjoyed a time of fellowship followed by a talk by Tim about what goes on in his business and Brogdale farm. I’m certain that I’m not alone in saying it was incredibly interesting and educational. Did you know that Fast Ltd are responsible for the maintenance of the National Fruit Collections at Brogdale, Faversham, in partnership with The University of Reading on behalf of Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The collections are of national and international importance and consist of over 2000 different varieties of apples which is almost half of the world’s 5000 varieties. Tim, who has been in the industry for over 30 years is a walking encyclopedia and is clearly highly respected in the industry.

We gathered around him to pray for the continued vision of FAST and for the industry as a whole.

After a delicious BBQ and loads of sumptuous cherries and strawberries fresh from the farm, we ventured out in the rain for a short tour of the orchards.

What struck me most was the length of time it takes to trial, develop and grow apples that we just walk into any shop and buy. It’s ironic that the business is abbreviated as Fast Ltd which stands for Farm Advisory Services Team, when the meaning of the word fast couldn’t be further from the reality.

Perhaps a lesson in one of the fruits of the spirit – patience! This is something that farmers understand and it would be good for us who live in this instant society to bear in mind.
From a business point of view, what we are sowing today could take many years to bear fruit – we should not grow weary whist doing good for in due season we will reap our harvest, if we don’t lose heart.

Many thanks to Tim and his fellow workers for a great evening.

Written by Phillipa Gill, who runs Curves Maidstone South

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By faith and works: How David overcame Goliath

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Daniel

Last month we looked at the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11, who lived in faith in the promises of God, and whose faith was tested in very real ways as they walked it out. In our monthly meeting for marketplace ministers in Maidstone, we are walking out our call into the marketplace together, standing in faith with each other and being encouraged as we hear testimonies of what God is doing. As we do so, and as we apply God’s word, it is clear that achieving our marketplace dreams is a matter of both faith and works.

We have a very practical gospel! We know from James 2, that faith without works is dead. As James says, it is no use us saying to a brother or sister in need, “go in peace, be warm and filled” if we do not do something to provide what they need. We cannot simply say that we are trusting God to provide for the poor, and not be willing to get involved in that provision ourselves.

So also, when it comes to the dream God puts on our hearts, we must be prepared to get our hands dirty and go out and pursue it, in faith. We act, because of the faith we have, as James says. Our dream is not achieved merely in our own strength, yet we must believe that God will use us to achieve it.

Consider David, who had been anointed by Samuel as the King of Israel, yet served as a shepherd. David held the dream of God’s call on him in his heart, even though his circumstances did not look promising. His brothers did not share his dream, when they went to battle and were among the Israelite army that stood petrified before Goliath the giant.

God had already equipped David for the battle with Goliath, through the years in the field looking after his father’s sheep. And we know from God’s word that David was full of the Spirit of the Lord (1 Sam 16:13). Yet he still had to make the decision to step out in faith and stand before Goliath, something that nobody else in the whole Israelite army was prepared to do. And when David carried out this very practical act of stepping forward, trusting the Lord, God worked a miracle.

When David stepped out in God’s power, God worked a miracle.

David operated in the context of a vision he carried in his heart that was bigger than the circumstances he found himself in. He had no doubt in his mind about how this battle would end if he stepped out in faith. We too must step out into the thing that we’re dreaming for, if we are to see our marketplace dream fulfilled.

Stepping out in faith really does mean doing just that: stepping out. It is not enough for us to sit at home and pray about it. Jesus spent intense time with his Father, but he also walked out, step by step, the full path to achieve the purpose for which He was sent. And as he walked it out, God the Father’s purpose was achieved. It is the same with us.

Practically, how do we do this? Firstly, be clear about the vision. When we met as Marketplace Ministers this month, we shared with each other our marketplace dreams. If you were not with us, I encourage you to identify the dream God has put on your heart and to share it with another believer who will stand in faith with you.

Secondly, we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, by faith. I believe that it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to integrate faith & works effectively. Allow the Spirit’s leading to guide you.

So do not allow your dream to be about faith alone, without works. What actions do you need to take; what are the next steps? If you do not know, seek God. Expect to walk it out in the power of the Holy Spirit, and ask God to show you how. Then take action!

Marketplace Ministers is a group of Christians who are based in marketplace roles (including in the workplace, business, government, education, and healthcare). We meet in Maidstone on the third Tuesday evening of each month, to hear from God and walk out our calling together in faith. If you are in a church congregation in or near Maidstone you would be welcome to come along too – get in touch to find out more.

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Good news to the poor

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Daniel

One of the things that stands out about a business person led by God, for whom God is king, is that they carry His kingdom into the places where they operate. And we know, as Jesus said, that the kingdom of God is like yeast in dough (Luke 13:21). It has an effect on the environment in which it is placed, working all through it.

The thing about a yeast in dough is that it doesn’t simply co-exist in a foreign environment. It actually changes the dough through a chemical reaction.

So if in our businesses, and through our roles in business, we are carriers of the kingdom of God, then we can expect God to use us as agents of change in the environment where we operate.

Now, what will be the evidence that we are making a difference in the world around us? Here’s one major way: the elimination of systems of poverty

Jesus said that he was anointed to bring good news to the poor: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

I believe that the good news of the kingdom of God for the poor is not merely that their needs are met while they continue to live in an environment of systemic poverty; that the church provides for the needs of the poor – although this is certainly important.

The really good news is when we touch the systems around us that keep people in poverty, to bring about change; and to break generational cycles of poverty. That is what the kingdom of God tastes like!

This is the kind of impact that is being made through the work of Kings Reach, an alternative education provider, family and community support centre that hosted our Business for Christ meeting in Maidstone this morning. Kings Reach is working with young people and families in vulnerable situations to bring them hope, vision and skills through education and counselling. Here we see a kingdom enterprise that is truly yeast in the community, in local government, education and families. Here, people’s lives are changed by the kingdom of God at work.

Business for Christ meeting at Kings Reach in Maidstone

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Realizing your marketplace dream

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Daniel

In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul outlined some practical guidelines for marketplace ministers:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 3:22-4:6 NIV)

Paul is writing here to Christian households, and to slaves and masters. He tells them how to behave toward each other. And then he goes straight on to say ‘devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful‘. I suggest that this instruction is clearly for the same readers Paul has just been addressing.

Being watchful in prayer

If we are to be watchful in prayer, we must be aware of what is around us, in the spiritual and the physical realms; we must see the need so that we know how to pray.

As marketplace ministers we are perfectly placed to be watchful. The felt needs of our community, town, and nation are expressed to us every day. When we see our roles as marketplace ministers to be watchful and thankful, it will affect how we listen and respond to conversations, news reports, local government, and everything around us.

Can you think of a time when you have become aware of a need in the marketplace of some kind, that you could pray about? Have you ever shared that need with others in the church, to stand in faith together?

Reconciling our roles

When we successfully reconcile our roles in the marketplace and the church to see them as one and the same thing, it can transform the way we think about our work and the way that we do it. I recently illustrated this to participants in our Business for Christ meeting, showing a progression that a Christian in the marketplace might go through, to start to touch the environment around them with the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can see this illustration and read my explanation of it here.

Your marketplace role in context

The illustration below might also be a helpful way to see how the principles we have covered so far apply to your marketplace role.

Here we see, across the blue section at the bottom of the illustration, various marketplace roles. This is not an exhaustive list, of course – there are many more. These roles are interconnected and have an impact on each other. Business, for example, has an interest in or connection with education; government has an interest in local business; and so on.

Across the top, in green, we see the heavenly realms, where we are seated with Christ (Eph 2:6) and where we know that our struggle, or wrestle, is (Eph 6:12).

Now, connecting these two is the church, illustrated in purple – seated in heavenly places and operating practically in the physical realm. As marketplace ministers, we touch every area of the marketplace. We operate as peacemakers (Luke 10:1-9) and we change the spiritual climate (Luke 10:17-20).

As we operate day to day in the marketplace setting, we do so in the power of the Holy Spirit to touch people, systems, cities and nations.

Meanwhile, because of our connection with the marketplace, we are able to gain insights into the needs around is in our places of work, our city, region and nation. This enables the church to be watchful as it prays (Col 4:2), aware of the needs around it and praying for those in authority (1 Tim 2:1-4), so that we might live a peaceful life (note that this reconnects us with our role as peacemakers).

So, through the church, the kingdom of God is at work in the marketplace. When we pray “your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven” we can be sure that we have a part to play in this!

I encourage you to apply these principles and see your marketplace role in this context. Do you have a dream for your role as a marketplace minister? What is your biggest challenge to achieving that right now?

Our walk of faith

One thing we can be sure of is that the walk of faith is anything but mundane! I love how the writer of Hebrews reminds us of so many heroes of our faith and what they went through for the sake of the promise that they hoped for.

“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…”, he writes (Hebrews 12:1), referring to Abel; Enoch; Noah; Abraham; Isaac; Jacob; Joseph; Moses; the people of Israel; Rahab; Gideon; Barak; Samson; Jephthah; David; Samuel; the prophets. By faith, he writes, they…

  • conquered kingdoms
  • administered justice & gained what was promised
  • shut the mouths of lions
  • quenched the fury of flames
  • escaped the edge of the sword
  • their weakness was turned to strength
  • became powerful in battle
  • routed foreign armies
  • women received back their dead, raised to life
  • were tortured and refused to be released
  • faced jeers and flogging
  • were chained and put in prison
  • were stoned
  • were sawed in two
  • were put to death by the sword
  • went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated
  • wandered in deserts and mountains, in caves and holes in the ground

Because we have that cloud of witnesses, he writes, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

What an encouragement to persevere! Now, what is the race marked out for you? What is your dream for where God has called you? I encourage you to seek God for that dream. Spend time with God on this, let Him put His dream for you on your heart. Write it down.

We’re walking this out together. Being a ‘Marketplace Minister’ is about NOT living in the mundane, just like those witnesses didn’t. It’s about walking out God’s plan for you, the race set out for you. And it’s about doing that together, encouraging each other, learning and growing.

So seek God. Expect Him to put a vision in your heart. Trust Him to lead you. And share that dream with others so we can stand in faith together with you.

 

 

Our next meeting details

So far this year in our Marketplace Ministers meetings, we’ve looked at three key areas:

  1. Your role as a marketplace minister, where we saw that your place as a member of Christ’s body, the church, extends to that marketplace role you are in day to day, and this is where you can be highly effective as a marketplace minister.
  2. The battle is in the heavenly places, where we looked at the biblical principles that put our marketplace role into the context of the heavenly realm where we are seated with Christ.
  3. Our role as peacemakers, and we saw peace as our offensive weapon against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

At our latest meeting in April, we built on these areas to develop our vision for how God can use us to touch the people and systems around us in our day to day roles.

Our next Marketplace Ministers meeting is on 15th May 2012, 7:30pm at Raigersfeld Barn. Make sure it’s in your diary, and why not invite somebody else you know in the Marketplace who might also be encouraged to come along?

I look forward to seeing you then!

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Business for Christ at Kings Reach, Maidstone

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Daniel

One of the best parts of being involved in Business for Christ is meeting marketplace-based Christians and getting to know how God is using them to minister in our local community. When I recently visited Kings Reach, an alternative school and family support centre based in Maidstone, I was inspired to hear how they have been changing the lives of young people and families while supporting local government targets for young people.

So I’m especially pleased to invite you to our next Business for Christ meeting which will be hosted by Kings Reach on Wednesday May 2nd, at 07:00am.

Join us at the start of the day over light refreshments, for a time of fellowship and sharing with other local Christians in business from across the local Church, and discover the work of Kings Reach for yourself. You will meet Stewart King and members of his team, and I will invite them to share some current vision and areas that we can pray for together. Then we’ll pray together for the work of Kings Reach; and for each other’s role in the local marketplace.

Venue: Kings Reach, St Hilary’s House, Reculver Walk, Maidstone ME15 8SW.

There’s a map to find Kings Reach here (and if you met with us at Curves Gym some months ago, it’s just around the corner from there)

Date: 2nd May 2012

Time: 7:00 – 8:30 am

Please let me know if you intend to come, so that we have an idea of numbers. To confirm your place or for more information contact me by reply.

I look forward to seeing you there,

Daniel

Why not share this invitation with other Christians in the marketplace who might like to meet with us. To stay informed about all we’re up to at Business for Christ and Marketplace Ministers, subscribe to receive email updates.

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Reconciling the Church and the Marketplace

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Daniel

A important aspect of our vision in Business for Christ is the reconciliation of the Church and the marketplace. Why does it need reconciling, you might ask, since we know that members of the Church operate every day in the marketplace?

The reconciliation that needs to take place is one that transforms the way we see the marketplace – not as an evil environment in which we merely survive, but rather as the heart of our nation, cities and towns and an environment Jesus died to redeem and we are called to disciple. Yes, we know that currently the gates of Hades are entrenched in many parts of the marketplace, but praise God the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church!

An illustration

Here’s a way of looking at the relationship between the Church and the marketplace, and the role of marketplace Christians:

The bottom and the right hand side of the illustration represent the marketplace, the environment where we work and operate. The top and left hand side represent the Church, which we might associate with faith and our spiritual life. And the first problem is that this is exactly the trap we can so easily fall into: if we keep these two aspects of our life separate – our work and church life, considering one to be purely physical and the other purely spiritual – then we miss the point of both.

God’s purpose for Christians in the marketplace

Now, we see that many Christians who are in business or the marketplace go through several phases as they gain a revelation of God’s purpose for them. Ed Silvoso describes these phases in his book, Transformation, and they are illustrated starting at the bottom right of the illustration above. Here we see a Christian in the marketplace. Perhaps in survival mode, this person goes to work, or runs a business, and can’t wait to escape at the end of the day and to reconnect with the rest of the Church on Sunday or at a midweek meeting, to be refreshed and ready to face the world again.

Many of those marketplace Christians are at the next stage, where they are applying biblical principles in their day to day lives. If they lead a business, for example, they understand that the bible contains practical principles for daily living and marketplace life, and they apply these principles at work.

I would suggest that this second stage is also where most of the world’s ethical businesses are. Most listed companies, and many privately owned companies, would seek to operate as good corporate citizens. The principles that they apply to do so can be traced back to biblical principles such as those for leadership, fairness, finances, looking after the poor, or caring for the environment. Personally I have found little of value in the business books of the world that has not already been quoted by one of the biblical prophets, by David or Solomon, Jesus, the Apostles, or elsewhere in the Bible.

Operating in the power of the Holy Spirit

Now, at the third stage (the third box from the bottom on the right hand side of the illustration), the life of a Christian in the marketplace starts to take on an exciting edge as they operate in the power of the Holy Spirit. To do this, they must have moved a long way from the ‘survival’ mode of the first stage, to see that God wants to be part of what they are doing day to day. I have written before about the power of doing business in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the ultimate stage is when a Christian recognises that their role in the marketplace is to be part of the body of Christ, bringing about the transformation of the community – such as their school, industry, neighbourhood, city, and nation.

Planting Transformational Marketplace Ministers

Meanwhile, at the top left of the illustration we see a Christian who is in the Church and has a particular vision for the marketplace. This might be somebody who has a heart to embark on a new career, or to start a business, or who is about to start a university course, for example.

I have illustrated this left hand side progression to demonstrate the opportunity that exists to equip people in the Church for effective marketplace ministry roles, without them having to start right at the beginning of the marketplace path outlined above. In order for them to approach the marketplace with purpose, and to rapidly reach the same place of transformational effectiveness, the opportunity is to equip them for marketplace ministry from the start.

This is why I am so excited by initiatives like the Young Entrepreneurs Business School being established by Jubilee Church, which hosted our Business for Christ meeting in March. What an exciting opportunity for those with a heart for business to become marketplace ministers, fully equipped not only with the practical tools to establish and build a business but a clear vision for their spiritual role in this too.

The practical and spiritual working together

So when we bring this all together we see that whichever approach we take, the reconciliation of Church and marketplace will result in what we might call a ‘kingdom business’ or ‘transformational company’ or a ‘marketplace minister’ (whatever term we use doesn’t really matter), part of the body of Christ with Christ as the head, transforming the community, playing a role in the body through areas such as identifying and sharing the needs of the community; praying into areas where they have been given authority; developing marketplace relationships; or playing a role in finances.

With the reconciliation of the church and the marketplace, we will see the practical and spiritual at work together; as we operate by both faith and works to see our nations discipled.

The role of finance

Finally, a word about finances. I mentioned ‘playing a role in finances’ last in my list of areas where marketplace ministers might operate in the Church. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the primary role of Christians in business or the workplace is to raise finances to fund those ‘in the ministry’. Having a generous heart and a biblical approach to giving – something we see in both the Hebrew people of the old testament, and the New Testament Church – is a very important aspect of our walk in the marketplace. But in my experience, it is rarely the primary purpose. Get this wrong and we risk missing the huge potential that is realised when we see our marketplace role as ministry in itself.

Standing in faith together

So, as we meet together at Business for Christ, we journey together, learn, seek God, encourage each other and stand in faith together. I believe you’ll grow in this as much as you want to. Ask God to show you more of His purpose for you in the marketplace.

If you’re in or around Kent in the UK, why not join us at one of our next meetings or events?

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Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Daniel

Last month, we looked at how the battle is in the heavenly places. This truth is fundamental when it comes to how we operate as Christians in the marketplace. Our real challenge is NOT that pile of filing on our desk; that brimming email inbox; that cashflow problem on our bank statements; that difficult customer. Rather, remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12-13).

Knowing that the battle is in the heavenly places is essential to our understanding of our role as marketplace ministers. It will affect how and why we pray for the lost.

For a refresher on this, see last month’s update. Now, in that context, we move to the next level: our role as peacemakers – a thread running throughout the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the early church and the New Testament.  To get started, watch the 30-minute video below of Ed Silvoso teaching about prayer evangelism. Then read on to apply this here and now.

Watch this 30-minute lesson on prayer evangelism (source: transformourworld.org)

I see two key things standing out from the teaching above, that we can put into practice right now:

1. How we pray for the lost

In 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Paul urges Timothy that prayers be offered for everyone – for kings and all those in authority. This is a great place to start praying if you are in the marketplace, since the sphere of influence God has given you is likely to bring you into contact with, or awareness of the needs of, kings and people in authority.

In Maidstone we start each week with a prayer meeting early on a Monday morning to do just that (it’s open to anybody, so if you’re local and you’d like to join us, get in touch!). You can do it too – with others; on your own; at work; at home; as God leads. Do it in the place He has put you.

2. Being peacemakers

Paul continues in 1 Timothy 2 with his reason for praying for kings and those in authority …that we may live a peaceful and quiet life. There’s a hint here of the theme of peace that is found in the New Testament, and this particular word ‘peaceful’ used by Paul in this passage is often translated as ‘tranquil’, implying that when we pray for people we will create an atmosphere free from commotion.

Now let’s look at something Jesus said about our role in this: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). This phrase, ‘sons of God’, comes up again when Paul says in his letter to Romans, that “creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God”. It’s exactly the same phrase in both passages – the greek huios, a mature son reflecting the likeness of his father, and theou, translated ‘of God’. The phrase comes up several other times in the New Testament to describe those who have received Christ, but Jesus himself made the connection with being peacemakers. Can we conclude that creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the peacemakers, then?

Or let’s look at Jesus’ gift to His disciples in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” Was that peace just for us, or that we might pass it on as peacemakers? It’s worth noting that Jesus then goes straight on to talk about our fruitfulness as branches of the vine in John 15.

Peace: a powerful offensive weapon!

It is easy to think about peace only as a passive, inward-looking state of tranquillity. But I would suggest that peace is in fact a highly powerful and effective offensive weapon against the gates of Hades! We know that the church is to attack the gates of Hades since Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18 “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”; note also that in the next verse Jesus goes straight on to talk about the heavenly realm when he says “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.

Why is peace such a powerful offensive weapon? I believe it is because peace is all about reconciliation. We’ve already seen that reconciliation to bring unity is at the heart of the Gospel, as Paul explains in detail in his letter to Ephesians.

In Ephesians 2:17-20, Paul says that Jesus put to death the enmity between us and the law to bring us to God, and that “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near… Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”

So Paul says that part of Christ’s work to reconcile us to God was to preach peace.

Peace to this house

It’s no surprise then that in Luke 10 we see Jesus sending out a team of seventy disciples ahead of him, and the first thing he tells them to do on entering a house was to say “Peace to this house”. His instructions can be summed up in four steps, as outlined in the video teaching above:

  1. Speak peace
  2. Eat and drink what they give you – that is, fellowship with them
  3. Heal the sick there – meet their felt needs
  4. Proclaim the kingdom of God

A very important question for us to consider is whether Jesus’ instructions to the seventy disciples in Luke 10 were a one-off phenomenon, or do we see the same principles at work elsewhere? Let’s take a look:

Did the early church speak peace? This was at the heart of the gospel. Paul says that we should wear as shoes “the readiness of the gospel of peace” as part of the armour of God in Ephesians 6 – we walk as peacemakers.

Did the early church eat with people who were not yet believers? Certainly, in fact Paul teaches the Corinthian church how to do it in 1 Corinthians 10:27-33.

Did the early church heal the sick, and pray for people? We know that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul (Acts 19:11).

Finally, do we find the proclamation of the kingdom of God in the New Testament? Yes, Jesus himself said that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14).

The answer then is clearly that we do see the principles Jesus outlined in Luke 10, at work throughout the New Testament and the life of the early church.

Change the spiritual climate

Now, how will you apply this where God has called you to minister? Start by speaking peace, with the assurance that this is a weapon that will change the spiritual climate in your place of work, neighbourhood, school, or city. And then be ready to move in with fellowship, healing, and proclamation.

Our next meeting of Marketplace Ministers is on Tuesday April 17th in Maidstone. You are welcome to come along – contact me to find out more.

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Three areas of Godly purpose for Business

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Daniel

If God has called you into business, there are all sorts of ways He might use your role in the marketplace. In my own experience, it’s not always how I think it will be. God has opened up doors for me to serve in the world of education, sports, the arts, business, healthcare and government through my role in business, that I could not have imagined or planned.

If you’re seeking God about how He will develop your role in the marketplace, or about the role of your own business for His kingdom, considering the following three areas might be helpful:

  • Relationship purpose: How will your relationships inside and outside the business make a difference for the kingdom of God? God may use your role in business to lead you into unique relationships for His glory: “Do you see a man skilled in what he does? He will stand before kings…” (Proverbs 22:29)
  • Community impact purpose: I was once with the leader of a major government-funded organization when she challenged every member of one of her global teams to ask themselves, “How is what I am doing going to change the world?” It’s a great question to ask ourselves, too, as people called into the marketplace by the One who has called us to disciple nations.
  • Financial purpose: How will your business make a difference with its finances? Ask the Lord to show you deliberate, proactive ways in which He wants you to use finance for His purposes, which might be both inside and outside of your business.

Most importantly, I have already written that we must do business in the power of the Holy Spirit, or else we miss the primary thing that differentiates a business with God at its centre – a transformational company – from those around it.

At our recent Business for Christ meeting at Jubilee Resource Hub in Maidstone, we saw examples of all these things at work – the church at work in the marketplace, building relationships through initiatives like Celebrate Maidstone, making an impact in the community and training up young people to do the same through business in the Young Entrepreneurs Business School, and deliberately using finance to advance the kingdom of God through the establishing of new businesses with the Jubilee Enterprise Foundation.

Business for Christ at Jubilee Resource Hub

It was an exciting morning of vision sharing and another glimpse of some of the amazing things God is doing right now in our region as the Church moves in the marketplace.

Our next Business for Christ meeting is on April 4th, at Raigersfeld Barn, Mote Park. Join us then to connect with other Christians in business as we share testimonies and resources, and pray into the local business community.

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