Ekklesia

EKKLESIA—WHAT AND WHY?

When Jesus surprisingly used the word “ekklesia,” to describe what we now call "church" the people of His time understood he was referring to a secular institution where Roman citizens conducted governmental business for their emperor, NOT a religious institution! So, when we gather an ekklesia, the focus is on conducting the business of the Kingdom of Heaven…bringing on earth what is true in Heaven, as Jesus said in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 8:10, …”Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

God is calling his people to step into the power of agreement as the Ekklesia of God that Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 16:18 He was building.

It is vital that we understand the ramifications of the entity Jesus called His Ekklesia and its power to transform society as we function in this legislative capacity to bring the reality of the Kingdom of heaven in earth.

In Matthew 16:19 Jesus follows up his Ekklesia announcement with his amazing promise:

“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; whatever you by nerve shall be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.“

This statement begins to reveal the power that Ekklesia has to agree with and mirror what is in heaven on earth.

Jesus repeats the same promise in Matthew 18:18. And then in the two verses that follows He adds incredible insight into how ecclesia will best accomplish this legislative function of agreeing with heaven’s agenda:

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, is shall be done for them by my father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

Here Jesus gave us the secret of Ekklesia’s power: The power of agreement which is best done in smaller groups!

—HOW?

We believe that God has given each of us abilities in our vocations and in our talents and gifts; unique abilities that bring us into different arenas of culture.

Gathering in groups of typically anywhere from 2 or 3 to 15, we are intent on convening to pray and conduct Kingdom business, as we get to know each other’s assignments. We know that our purpose is to step into the gates of influence in future and destroy the counterfeit gates of Hades and take ground for the Kingdom of God!

BREATHE IN…

When Ekklesia gathers together in these small, powerful groups, we legislate Kingdom business as it ought to be on the earth through prayers of agreement. These prayers of agreement are aimed especially for our country, our families and our unique assignments. We realize the results of prayers of agreement more and more as we see our spheres of influence mirror more and more the goodness of heaven.

BREATHE OUT…

The next step of breathing out involves Ekklesia, the empowered body of Christ, naturally moving into their places of influence. Here the prayers of agreement are given feet and walked out as we step into real-life situations, bringing His ways, His nature, His principles, His keys and His functionality into all aspects of society.

This is what, beginning with Lance Wallnau and Johnny Enlow, is now referred to as the seven mountain mandate (see item #4 below in the Guidelines): the Ekklesia operates in agreement together, contending for a breakthrough in each other's lives, areas of influence and vocations.

Then, as the members of the group go out into society, they begin to see the Kingdom of God become real in their lives and the lives of those whom they love and influence.

Can You See it? Can You Envision it?

I know this will sound utopian, but with the eyes of Holy Spirit, we can see an Earth where everyone is ruled on the inside by the King and His Kingdom: no murders, no lying, no stealing, no adultery, no greed, only the rightness, peace and joy of God’s Kingdom?

God’s plan flows out of His purpose. The plan of God will unfold and succeed as He continues to gather, build, and mobilize His Ekklesia on Earth. In Romans, Paul explains that this is what the world is longing for: “...the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons (and daughters) of God...that the creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19, 21, NASB).

Awake sons and daughters of God! This is where God is heading, and we are being summoned to accept our assignment: His rule and His government in us to bring the freedom and the glory of the culture of Heaven on the earth in our area of influence.

Areas of Influence!

Ekklesia manifests the glory of God in aspects of the secular, or outside world. As members of Ekklesia gather in Kingdom authority, God’s glory as culture will manifest on the outside in their vocations, recreation, relationships, and all other aspects of life. We showcase not only WHO God is but HOW He operates. In our government we showcase the King; in business, we showcase the Provider; in our arts and entertainment we showcase the Creator; in education, we showcase the Teacher; in media and information we showcase His goodness; in science, we showcase His intelligent design; in medicine, we showcase the Healer; in families, we showcase the Father’s love; and of course in the church, we mirror the Redeemer. This is the seven mountain mandate!

Guidelines and Practices of Ekklesia

The key components of Ekklesia are a small but focused group of believers (12 or less) that are called together by the Holy Spirit to convene and conduct Kingdom business in the assignments that God has given each one in the seven areas of cultural influence.

These mobile, micro-churches, or true Ekklesia, are believers that are locked together, pressing in and displacing the counterfeit influence of the gates of hades. When Jesus used the word gate, it meant the place of influence in a city, so He was declaring that these gates influenced by hades would be displaced and replaced by His Ekklesia, bringing the very culture of Heaven here.

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