Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about entitlements, those perks and privileges, usually of a material kind that are meted out by our governments to those who either have genuine needs or clamor the loudest and most persistently to get them. In the book of Revelation, the one who has overcome, the risen Messiah, offers the ultimate entitlements to those who will be like Him and overcome a world that is hostile to their faith. To each of the seven churches, Christ describes and offers a different aspect of the privileges that His followers can expect as they share His throne with Him in the coming age.

One of those awesome privileges that He promised to the Church of Thyatira is authority over the nations: “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery.’” Quoting Psalm 2:9, one of the Messianic passages, He includes His people in the exercise of divine authority. What an amazing entitlement that is!

 However, we don’t need to wait to the sweet bye and bye to begin to exercise such authority. It is even available to us now if we apply it through prayer. Through prayers of faith we connect with the One who has all power and become His partners and conduits of that power to bring healing and transformation to our world.

 Four promises of God that resonate with His authority can literally transform not only our own personal circumstances but also the situations our nations face as well. In 60 national prayer initiatives over the last 25 years, my colleagues and I have seen His authority flow through the united prayer of His people as they have sought His face for breakthrough in the challenging, even impossible situations of war, suffering, and socio-political chaos. Time and time again, we have seen the Lord break through, changing both hearts and headlines in unique and supernatural ways that only He can pull off.

 Here are the promises that I have come back to over and over again and want to commend to for your application this year:

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 - Seeking His face through prayers of humility and repentance over personal and corporate sin towards national healing and deliverance.
  
  
• Matthew 17:20 – Authoritative prayers of faith that move mountains so that nothing is impossible to us who believe.
  
  
• Matthew 28: 18-20 - Prayers of agreement in His presence that will affect Heaven and Earth.
  
  
• Luke 10:18-20 – Childlike, authoritative praying that overcomes all the power of the enemy, giving us victory over all forms of evil.

 For us all, may 2016 be a year of growth in greater intimacy with the Lord as well in the authority that flows from such intimacy. May it also be a year of breakthroughs, both personally and in the nations, as we together release our faith in Him!

 Best regards in Christ,

 John Robb, IPC Chairman

A year ago I wrote, “the world is becoming a more dangerous place in which to live than we have experienced before”. Nothing in the intervening twelve months has changed that - only confirmed it. We've watched as a modern-day exodus has unfolded before our eyes, with hundreds of thousands (even millions) of people trekking across Europe fleeing persecution, war, terror, and economic deprivation in countries of the Middle East and North and East Africa. We've been horrified – even alarmed - as multiple terrorism-inspired violent acts have been inflicted in many countries. The various terrorist groups have made their cause global. Nowhere is safe. Every nation is at risk. Islam is at war within. Most of the killings taking place are because of Moslems fighting Moslems.

But it is also true that every day Christians are being martyred or imprisoned for their faith. The spread of secularism in the so-called Western nations is also increasing the marginalisation of Christian belief and practice.   We are being portrayed as a an insignificant minority.  

Should we be in fear about the future? No! “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” There was a lot of fear around when Jesus was on earth. Yet throughout His life, God’s plan continued to unfold. A plan to demonstrate His love, to show His power (even over death itself), and to keep our minds clear.

The apostle Peter, who was no stranger to fear, wrote “be self-controlled and alert” Why? Because the devil was prowling around like a roaring lion.                        

Behind much of what is going on in today’s world is the unfolding schemes of the evil powers. We are in a spiritual battle, but God’s spirit of power, of divine love and of a clear/sound/alert mind is sufficient to combat the evil around. The devil wants to take over the world and gain worship for himself. He’s already influential in the global places of power. And he wants to take over the minds of the upcoming generation. But he won’t win.                            

Eternally, Christ has already won!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, in his new year message declared "Love is the most powerful force available to us".

That’s why the coming of Christ, who existed before the world began, was so important - He was God’s expression of holy love. God’s love, demonstrated ultimately through His willingness to die, was sufficient to overcome the power of sin and of the evil one. And God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe”, demonstrated through the resurrection, was sufficient for all of time! And only God’s presence with us, demonstrated through “Emmanuel” - God with us by His Spirit - enables us to live a fear-free life.

There is another story that is developing amidst the carnage and crisis being faced in so many nations.    

There are acts of kindness and deeds of love being carried out in Christ's name among the refugees on the borders of Europe.   Christians are at the forefront of reaching out to the refugees in all the countries where they end up. There are tent churches being established in the refugee camps of the Middle East. There are thousands turning to Christ at this time.

As Christians we are called to love not to hate; to pray for our persecutors, not to fight them; to be filled with faith in God, not governed by fear from circumstances; and to take our stand against the devil’s schemes. Martyrdom means dying for your faith, not killing for it.

Many are sensing that God is preparing us for an unprecedented outpouring of His Spirit in many nations. What we each see and know is only a microcosm of what is going on. Just as our newspapers and television channels only give us a perspective - not the total picture - of what is going on in the world, so it is in the Christian world. We only know in part and see in part. In reality God is doing far more than we have heard. In some parts of the world large numbers are already turning to the Lord.

In whatever country we live, do we have faith in a God of love, of power and immense mercy and forgiveness to do more than we have ever seen? Are we ready to pray with such faith? Can we see Him do what may seem as impossible to us, knowing, as we do, that "with God all things are possible".  

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen” (Hebrews 11.1). God has done it before - many times.   He can do it again!

Brian Mills, IPC Senior Advisor