Dear saints,
We will read an excerpt from The Prayer Ministry of the Church at the start of the prayer meeting. These will be included in the announcements going forward. The reading except for tomorrow’s prayer meeting is below.
Matt. 18:18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.
Matt. 18:20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.
THE EARTH CONTROLS HEAVEN
In verse 18 the Lord says, “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” What is special about this verse? The special thing is that there must be a move on earth before there is a move in heaven. It is not heaven that binds first but the earth that binds first. It is not heaven that looses first but the earth that looses first. After the earth binds, heaven binds; after the earth looses, heaven looses. The move in heaven is controlled by the move on earth. Everything contrary to God has to be bound, and everything in harmony with God has to be released. Everything, whether it is something to be bound or loosed, should have its binding or its loosing originate from the earth. The move on the earth precedes the move in heaven. The earth controls heaven.
We can see how the earth controls heaven from a few cases in the Old Testament. When Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites won every time he raised his hands, and the Amalekites won every time he lowered his hands ( Exo. 17:9-11 ). Who decided the victory at the bottom of the mountain? Did God decide or did Moses decide? Brothers and sisters, we have to see God’s principle of work and the key to His move. God cannot do what He wants to do unless man wants it. We cannot make God do what He does not want to do, yet we can stop God from doing what He wants to do. The victory was decided by God in heaven, but the victory was decided by Moses before men. Truly, God in heaven wanted the Israelites to win, but if Moses had not raised his hands on earth, the Israelites would have lost. When he raised his hands, the Israelites won. The earth controls heaven.
Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” God has a purpose to increase the number of the house of Israel so that the Israelites would increase like a flock. Those who do not know God will say, “If God wants to increase the number of the Israelites like a flock, He could go ahead and do it. Who could stop Him?” But this verse says that God must be inquired of first before He will accomplish it for them. This is a clear principle: Even though God decides on a matter, He will not do it immediately. He would increase the house of Israel only after they inquired of Him. He wants the earth to control heaven.
Isaiah 45:11 has a most peculiar word, “Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Brothers and sisters, is not this word most peculiar? Concerning the sons and the work of His hand, God says that we can command Him. We would almost be afraid to use the word “command.” How can man command God? All those who know God realize that man cannot be haughty before Him. But God Himself says, “Concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” This is the earth controlling heaven. It does not mean that we force God to do what He does not want to do. Rather, it means that we can command God to do what He wants to do. This is our position. After we know God’s will, we can say to Him, “God, we want You to do this. We are determined that You should do this. God, You must do this.” We can utter such strong and powerful prayers before God. We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in this age. In this age all His work is based on this position. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it. Although the earth stands in the second place, at the same time, it also stands in the first place. The earth must move before heaven will move. God wants the earth to move heaven.