The Spiritual Warfare Of The Church As The New Man
Message Six
The Prayer of the Age to Fulfill God’s Economy
and the Sacrifice of Praise to Display Christ’s Victory
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come; And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church—Eph.1:20-22
Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name.—Heb.13:15
Word of Appetizer
What is the prayer of the age?
The prayer of the age is the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ, as the one new man, the prayer that exercises the authority of Christ as the ascended Lord and Head of the Body to fulfill God’s economy. When we pray according to what the Lord has obtained in ascension, we may pray, “Lord, we do not go along with the present situation; as Your Body, we take the ground of Your ascension and claim Your lordship over the present situation.”
Spiritual Burden
A person who praises God transcends everything to glorify God and display Christ’s victory; may God gain abundant praises, even the sacrifice of praise, from His children.
The Revelation of the Truth
The prayer of the age is the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ, as the one new man, the prayer that exercises the authority of Christ as the ascended Lord and Head of the Body to fulfill God’s economy; to enter into this kind of prayer, we need a heavenly vision to see something that is far beyond our natural concept.
Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children: Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name. Praise is the way to display Christ’s victory and overcome spiritual attacks.
The Experience of Life
Prayer signifies spiritual warfare, but praise signifies spiritual victory; whenever we praise, Satan flees.
The loudest praise comes very often from the ones who are passing through hardships, adverse environments, and downtrodden feelings; this kind of praise is most pleasing to God and is blessed by Him.
Practice and Application
“We need to see the vision of the ascended Christ and learn to pray the prayer of authority. We must realize the facts, take the ground, and claim what the Head has obtained and attained. This is the prevailing prayer of the church. This is the prayer of the age”.
We should praise the Lord all our life; we should sing praises to our God. Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.—Eph.1:22-23
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.—Acts.2:36
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.—Matt.16:19
I The prayer of the age to fulfill God’s economy.
- The prayer of the age is the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ, as the one new man, the prayer that exercises the authority of Christ as the ascended Lord and Head of the Body to fulfill God’s economy.
- We need to see the meaning of the ascension of Christ: The ascension of Christ indicates that the entire work of redemption has been completely accomplished. The ascension of Christ indicates that the lordship of Christ has been established.
- We need to see the church’s position as the Body of Christ; because the church is the Body of Christ, the position of the church is exactly the same as that of Christ; since the Body is one with the Head, the position of the Body is exactly the same as that of the Head.
- We need to see the authority of the church as the Body of Christ: The authority of the Body is the authority of the Head exercised by the Body.
- We need to see the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ: we claim what the Lord has obtained and attained:
Key Verses (2)
But You are holy, You who sit enthroned Upon the praises of Israel.—Psal.22:3
And they said to Him, Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings You have perfected praise”?—Matt.21:16
- Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children:
- The highest expression of a saint’s spiritual life is his praise to God.
- God’s throne is the highest point in the universe, yet He sits “enthroned /Upon the praises of Isreal”
- God’s name and even God Himself are exalted through praise: David praised God seven times a day; the Christian life soars through praises; We should praise the Lord all our life; we should sing praises to our God.
Key Verses (3)
Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name.—Heb.13:15
And about midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them.—Acts.16:25
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them to sing to Jehovah and give thanks in holy array as they went out before the army and say, Give thanks to Jehovah, for His lovingkindness endures forever. And when they began to shout in song and to praise, Jehovah set ambushes for the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were coming out against Judah; and they were struck.—Chron.20:21-22
- Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children:
- Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name.
- Praise is the way to display Christ’s victory and overcome spiritual attacks: prayer signifies spiritual warfare, but praise signifies spiritual victory; whenever we praise, Satan flees.
- “About midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them”.
- Please note the words when they began; this means that at the very moment when everyone was singing praises to Jehovah, He rose up to smite the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir; nothing moves the Lord’s hand as quickly as praise.
- A person who praises God transcends everything; he overcomes continually by his praise; To praise is to glorify God.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 In order to enter into the prevailing prayer of the church we need to see a heavenly vision.(Eph.1:17)
(Please give a general explanation on the four major points of the heavenly vision)
T2 . The ascension of Christ indicates that the entire work of redemption
has been completely accomplished.(Heb. 1:3; 10:12)
(Please explain the significance of the ascension of Christ)
D2
T1 the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ(Eph.1:19-23)
(Please explain the difference between the prayer of individual believers and the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ.)
T2 We claim what the Lord has obtained and attained.(Eph.1:20-21)
(Please explain that by examples that how can we learn to claim what the Lord has obtained and attained in our prayer.)
D3
T1 according to what the Lord has obtained in ascension(Eph.1:20-21)
(Please explain that by examples that when we see what the Lord has obtained in ascension, how will we pray to deal with sins, weakness, worldliness and sickness.)
T2 We need to see the vision of the ascended Christ and learn to pray the
prayer of authority.(Matt.18:18)
(Please explain that to fully enter into this kind of prayer what are the two
things there are that we must realize)
D4
T1Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children(Psa.22:3)
(Please explain that the highest expression of a saint’s spiritual life is his praise to God.)
T2 David praised God seven times a day.(Psa.119:164)
(Please explain that God’s name and even God Himself are exalted through praise.)
D5
T1 The nature of praise is an offering, a sacrifice(Heb.13:15)
(Please explain that in experience that the loudest praise comes very often from the ones who are passing through hardships.)
T2 Paul and Silas offered the sacrifice of praise in the jail(Acts 16:25)
(According to Acts 16:25 Praise is the way to display Christ’s victory and overcome spiritual attacks.)
D6
T1 If you cannot pray, try to praise.(Acts 16:25)
(Please explain that in experience that we do not praise when there is no burden; we praise when the burden becomes too heavy.)
T2 Much warfare can be won by praise.( 2 Chron. 20:20-22)
(According to 2 Chron. 20:20-22 nothing moves the Lord’s hand as quickly as praise.)
