City Appointed_Winning a City for God

by Michael Burrows

  “Layla!” shouted Trinity, recognizing her friend.

  Layla breathed out a half breath to still any nonessential movement in her body. She focused on the occupant of the throne. The scene before her reflected off the wet glassy surface of her eyes. The atmosphere over the falls was dark. The wind had picked up, and it was cold. Thick cloud cover had swept in, and it had started to rain. The noise of the enemy faded into the background as she concentrated on the one shot that she was about to take. She could hear her heartbeat slowing in her ears. Layla’s gaze narrowed a little. She took one last moment to aim, then released the string of the bow from her fingers. As the arrow was set free, the string twanged back into position, Layla’s outstretched arm remained stable pointing toward her target. The arrow shot dead straight from the bow. The stabilizing feathers brushed the surface of the wood of the bow as the arrow slid past with deadly accuracy. The arrow sailed through the air with the momentum of faith behind it. It cut through raindrops, pierced the mist, and plunged into the stomach of the one on the throne. The demon slumped forward. The heavily jewelled crown it had been wearing fell from its head and clanged on to the bridge at the foot of the throne. The demon slowly tipped forward under its weight and tumbled to the ground. Moments later the demon faded out, its influence erased from the realm.

  The ranks behind the throne let out an awful moan as they instantly felt the sudden loss of their leader. Howls and groans went up from the hordes. From her vantage point, Layla surveyed the battleground. She saw a heavily armoured demon stretch out its arms, tensing its muscles, roaring like an angry lion. It was clutching a chain with a spiked ball with one hand and held a shield with the other. As it stood, parts of the demon began to dissolve into flakes, like burnt paper being whisked away by the wind. The body that had once held up the armour strapped on to it was hollowing out, and pieces of armour and weaponry fell to the ground. The ball and chain dropped to the gravel. Without a master, the weapon became as useless as scrap metal in a forgotten junkyard, isolated, and never again used to engage in battle. Across the entire army, each demon was erased like fallen leaves swept away by an Autumn breeze. Enemy dust rose into the darkened skies as the plain emptied out. Soon just Trinity, Samantha, Trillion and Seraph were left on the deserted battlefield with Layla still standing on the edge of the cliff from where she had shot the arrow.

  The throne began to regain its golden colour and shine. As the throne shone brighter and brighter, the waters beneath it were restored to their original deep blue colour. All of a sudden, a rush of sapphire-blue flooded the waters and cascaded over the falls. A rich sapphire hue rushed through all of the water channels in the city. Rich blue pathways cut through the city and seeped into the waters under the ground. A wall of blue light reached skyward and intersected the Elemental Axis in the centre of the city.

  Trinity and Samantha raced along the edge of the river towards Layla. They embraced each other tightly, praising God for their safety and for winning the throne for their city.

  Trinity, Samantha, and Layla from their location at the throne saw the red flash from Razor Peak and the skies clearing. They raised their arms in joy.

  “Yes! Victory!” shouted Layla, “They must have done it!”

  The boys could neither see nor hear the girls but saw the sapphire glow of the throne over the falls.

  “Check that out!” exclaimed Tristan.

  “Ha! They’ve secured the throne!” shouted Caden and slapped Tristan a high-five. The axes could clearly be seen, reaching high into the sky. The red axis ran west to east, intersecting the blue axis running north to south.

  All eyes then looked towards the centre of the city wondering about Liberty and her mission, praying that she would be successful. Hers was the last part of their collective quest.

  34.

  Beyond the Vision

  (Mission Liberty)

  Liberty stood with her back to the door gasping for breath. She had made it into the inner sanctuary, to the very centre of the foundations of the city. By the grace of God, she had made it! As her breathing calmed, she took the time to study the new environment that she had just entered. The sanctuary was massive, the size of a football field. She saw the altar, a sole object, situated in the middle of the expansive floor space. The altar sat on a hexagonal platform that stood ten feet high. Six steps on each side of the platform led up to the altar. A dusky light shone directly down upon it.

  The vault was cold. A thick mist covered the floor almost to Liberty’s knees. Higher up, wisps of mist hung in the air. The ceiling of the vault was a huge canopy of rock arching over to form a dome above the altar. The light upon the altar came from a thin cross of light cut through the middle of the ceiling. It was too dark to make out much more detail than that, but as she traced her gaze down to eye-level and her eyes adjusted, she noticed shadowy openings into the sanctuary like stadium entrances, spaced evenly around the perimeter.

  There was a lot of open ground to cover. Her foot was throbbing. ‘It’s time to have real faith!’ she thought. ‘Nothing can stop me from completing this quest. If God is with me who can be against me!’

  Liberty looked down at her boot that was shrouded in mist and spoke to it, “You will not cause me pain! Pain, you have no place here in Jesus name. Foot be healed. You will hold together until I complete this mission!” Liberty decided to give no more thought to her wounded foot. She had prayed and that was enough. She didn’t even let a hint of feeling sorry for herself creep in. Too many people fall in to that trap and take too long to get out of it. Faith is a decision, a decision to be victorious, a decision to be free.

  Liberty turned her thoughts back to the sanctuary. She would be in plain sight. But her mission felt achievable now that she could see the altar. Liberty tensed, ready to make the final dash for the completion of her assignment. Liberty took a last look, scanning the area. The sanctuary was empty and quiet. Stepping out in faith, she made a run for it. Nothing else could be heard apart from the tap, tap, tap of her boots striking the floor. The rhythmic tapping of her footsteps echoed around the vault. A single soul, crossing a lonely expanse, running with fluid motions like an athlete, intent on winning a gold medal. At that moment nothing else mattered.

  Suddenly demons rushed out from every opening into the sanctuary, savagely focused on her demise. Liberty continued to run but the enemy was closing in, they were coming in too fast. Hundreds were pouring into the sanctuary like an army of ants covering the ground in blackness. Her once clear path of opportunity was closing to a narrow gap. Soon she would be surrounded. How could she possibly defeat so many? How could the mission closing in so quickly when she had come so far? Her faith was still holding at this, the final hour. More and more demons rushed in like a flood.

  “Liberty,” she heard clearly. A verse dropped into her heart.

  ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!’

  ‘That’s it!’ she thought. Instantly it became alive within her – a ‘rhema’ – a direct word from God. ‘God, you can do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine.’ She claimed the victory in her heart. Right then, as she reached a point of revelation, her surroundings changed. The ambient light that lit the sanctuary drew in towards her. It was like an implosion of light, with her in the very centre. She grew to eight feet tall. Her strength, agility, and understanding heightened to that of a fully released child of God, freed from earthly limitations. Time stood still, allowing this revelation to penetrate every part of her being. She transformed.

  Another verse flashed into her mind.

  ‘And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.’

  “I am seated deep within the centre of the heavenly realms. I am above this battle. You have no substance,” she declared to the enemy who shared her s
pace.

  Liberty saw that the demons and her surroundings were able to be swept away. They are all just forms of mist. She then understood that her mission was not at all ending in defeat. The mission itself wasn’t what it seemed to be. For all of them, for Tristan, Caden, Layla, Samantha, Trinity and herself, the mission was not a journey through the battle-field of a city, but rather a journey into themselves. The journey of discovering and releasing faith. God had triumphed over the battle before she was even born. Jesus had won the victory at the cross, and all she needed to do was to enforce his victory through absolute faith and obedience.

  As a child of God, she could partner with God just by standing firm. Through this partnership, she could command her environment to conform and align to the will of God.

  Liberty questioned, ‘God are you wanting me, enticing me, daring me, even expecting me to move the fabric of the universe around me? Is all of this temporary and malleable?’

  As her reasoning continued, she became more confident in what she believed. ‘Our boundaries are not set by time and space, but by our faith in what God can do. Jesus taught that with a simple command, a mountain could be lifted off its foundations and cast into the sea. Matter can be displaced. Jesus himself commanded the storm to cease, and taught that she could do the same. Nothing would be impossible for her. The physical laws are under the jurisdiction of the people of God. ‘Time’ was even reversed by God, through Isaiah, in Hezekiah’s days.’

  ‘I have been born into the environment of faith. Angels and demons are not born into that realm and therefore have not the ability to bend the laws. But because I am in God’s image, seated in heavenly places with Christ, I can influence even where angels and demons find their limits. Thank you, Lord, for revealing this to me.’

  Liberty immediately saw the opposite perspective from what she had seen all along, the secret to winning her city! When she had first stepped into the spirit realm, she thought that earth was subject to the atmosphere of the spirit world. But her perspective now reversed. She had thought that what happened in the spirit affected the surface. But the greater truth is that the realm of angels and demons look to the church to see what the church will do. The spirit realm waits to see whether a Christian will step out in faith or hold back in fear. Whether there is confidence in the Lord or doubt, determines what is permitted and what is forbidden in the local atmosphere.

  ‘His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms...’

  Liberty realized that the entire spiritual realm of her city looked to her, waiting, would she have faith or would she allow the enemy to smother her. It is people, God’s sons and daughters, who primarily determine the atmosphere around them. They lead, the spirit follows. They either give power to the light or strength to the darkness. The surface is the real battleground. It is in the hands of God’s children.

  Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, conquering the enemy. Because Jesus won the war, he has given Christians the ability to win their battles. These battles are won by Christians on the surface first; then the spirit realm can act within the parameters set for them by the release of faith.

  Liberty realized that the victory was already in her heart. Her enemy didn’t stand a chance against her. She had faith, she had a revelation, and the Spirit of God within her.

  All these thoughts exploded in her mind as the revelation unravelled in less than a second.

  Her eyes blazed with blue fire. In each hand appeared a sword, lit with glowing verses of scripture engraved along the blade. The scriptures were like thin flames of fire that danced across the surface of each blade. She stretched her arms straight out to the left and right. Liberty saw through the fabric of the vision and into the creator’s architectural framework. Her surroundings changed, from the grey that she had been traveling through, to a stripped-back, open white canvas with black lines and curves detailing the structure of the room and of the demons that were assailing her. A more pure reality. She saw every detail of the dimensional space of her surroundings in crystal clear focus like looking at intricate sketches of black on white. In an instant, she saw the framework of every foe all at once.

  Liberty sprang forward moving her arms in beautiful arcs with graceful, powerful movements, slashing countless enemies. Her blades stretched out to unnatural distances, decapitating scores of enemies like a giant sickle harvesting a field of wheat in a single stroke. Every movement, purposeful and precise. Arcs of light accompanied her movements as she spun and slashed her way towards the altar.

  ‘Still got a lot of ground to cover,’ she thought, ‘I don’t have time for this.’

  In one graceful leap, she soared high over her enemy and cleared the remaining distance as if given the ability to fly. As she glided through the air, she released the swords from her hands with a flick. The swords spun to the ground, discharging arcs of light in all directions, flattening the enemy. While in the air, Liberty slid her backpack over her head. As the pack sailed in front of her, the keys slipped out, and she caught one in each hand.

  The mist rolled away from her as she landed at the base of the steps. Just then, a bright blue beam of light cut through the room and shone across the altar. Then almost immediately, a deep red beam of light cut through the sanctuary from the opposite direction and intersected the blue beam at the central point of the altar. She knew instantly that these were the Elemental and Throne axes released to life by the other teams. Two slots on the top of the altar opened up.

  Without hesitation, she walked up the steps and slid the keys into the slots. A release of energy splayed out, washed down the steps and as it hit the floor, shot upwards like an upward waterfall completely engulfing the altar, the stairs, and Liberty. It was a burning pillar of energy drawn skyward. The sound was like a raging ocean with the breakers smashing into a rugged coastline. Liberty remained with her hands on the altar steadying herself in the midst of the eruption. As she stood within the stormy pillar, fearful demons were being drawn into it as if a vortex had taken hold of them. Demons got vaporized as they came too close. Any loose stones or bricks from the wall of the sanctuary were dislodged and hurtled towards the centre of the expanse. The entire vault looked like it may implode as anything that was not anchored securely was ripped from its place. All remaining demons got erased from the realm.

  As the energy stabilized into a pillar of smooth light, the echoes of the initial explosion faded away. The light then expanded to fill the entire vault. Liberty felt warmth all around her as if submerged in warm, soothing oil. All became peaceful. All became still apart from the steady surge of the pillar in the centre of the city.

  Liberty stood alone, in the silence. She then dropped to her knees, suddenly exhausted, and thanked the Lord for completion.

  35.

  Completion

  (Mission Liberty)

  The mission was complete. Above her head, Liberty heard the grinding of stone on stone. She looked up and saw that the roof was dividing into quarters, sliding outwards. The cross-shaped opening was widening. As more of the night sky became revealed, light from the altar burst upwards in powerful waves of energy. Flashes of light ignited the skies above. The central column looked as bright as the sun. After a few moments her eyes grew accustomed, and she was able to gaze into it.

  Out from the central column, rivers of light flowed upwards towards the heavens. The rivers curved and arced through the skies. As they ascended, the curves and bends in the rivers released sparks and splashes of colour. The splashes formed geometric patterns at various elevations, accentuating the vastness and depth of the skies above the city. Patterns crisscrossed each other forming cascading fractals. Rivers of glory lit the clouds, filling the sky with magnificent ‘archi-texture,’ an ‘atmos-fusion’ of spiritual and natural, representing the partnership of men and women with God. Droplets of glory rained down on the city, alighting on the inhabitants.

/>   From Razor Peak, Caden and Tristan saw the brilliance.

  “She’s done it!” cried Caden, “She got to the altar!”

  Suddenly a moment of revelation dawned on Tristan, ‘Those are my colours – the blue and the red that I see in my visions!’ he thought.

  From Grace Falls, Layla, Samantha, and Trinity followed the glory trails with their eyes. The brilliance reflected off their armour. Their eyes shone as they gazed at the exploding light in the skies. Smiles lit each of the girl’s faces as they stood captivated by what they saw. It was evident that Liberty had succeeded.

  Layla didn’t speak; there was nothing to say. Her soul felt refreshed and energized by the glory that rained down. As the droplets splashed on her head, drenching her hair, the rain seemed to seep into her being, trickling down her insides, watering her soul. She basked in the glory, delighting in the beauty of a city, drawn into alignment under God.