STANDING IN THE GAP FOR THE CHURCH

Forty days of focussed prayer and fasting 20 June – 29 July

FAITH FOR A CHURCH, FAITH FOR A CITY

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Eph:20-23 All this energy issues from Christ; God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
'Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be Done'

Wednesday 20 June 2007

Devotion - Day 1

“Jesus Christ the cornerstone of the Church”

Mat 16:13-18
And coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples, saying, who do men say Me to be, the Son of Man? And they said, some say, John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter (petros –pebble/small rock), and on this rock (petra-massive rock) I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Contrary to popular opinion the church of Jesus Christ is not built on the apostle Peter but on the revelation that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God.

Eph 2:19-22
Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom every building having been fitly framed together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.

Christ is that capstone, the keystone, or the headstone in the temple of God. Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:1 1). Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Christ is the one who will bring completion to the Temple of God and it is by Him that all things consist (Col. 1:17; 2:9).

There is no question that all of the twelve apostles in the New Testament had a distinctive place in relationship to the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). It was their teaching that was going to root and ground the Church (Acts 2:42), but what did they teach? What principles did they establish? The apostles in the New Testament Church laid down the first principles of the doctrine of Christ (Heb. 6:1-2). They were faithful in the beginning stages of laying the foundation, and because of that fact their names will be written in the foundation stones of the Holy City for all eternity (Rev. 21:14).

As we stand in the gap for Doxa Deo in prayer and intercession during these next 40 days let us pray for Jesus Christ to remain the central focus of Doxa Deo and for a continued and growing revelation that He is the Christ the son of the living God.

Let us surrender anew and afresh to His Lordship and pray for the grace and wisdom to serve His purposes in the city.

Posted by Doxa Deo Blog-Admin at 05:52

2 comments:

Nicki Bleeker said...

"Christianity began in Galilee as a fellowship of men and women centered on Jesus Christ. It went to Greece and became a philosophy. It went to Rome and became a institution. It went to Europe and became a culture. It came to America and became an enterprise. We need to get back to our roots."

20 June 2007 at 06:42
Don Price said...

Nicki, thanks for the quote. Let's pray that we as a church focus on the Centrality of Christ. Had a good time early this morning praying primarily for all those that have signed up to pray. I am very encouraged by the numbers involved - up to 12 on some days

20 June 2007 at 06:58

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