Isaiah 60:1-3, 17-22 says, “1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising…17For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. 18Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.”

 

This is the end result of the activation of redemption. A city is redeemed! Once His Word is in your heart and proceeds out of your mouth, you arise in the light and glory of God! You do not sit on a padded pew as a benchwarmer, but you go to work for the kingdom of God, and you do so during a time where gross and thick darkness is upon the face of the earth. But as your rise to the occasion, people out of covenant will now enter covenant and be saved while those in political positions and authority will humble themselves in the sight of God! An upgrade happens in the economy as God gives more than we bring to Him. It is no longer about coal mines shutting down but new business and resources being established or reestablished in our community as a primary result of revival. Our officers walk in peace and our government officials abide in righteousness. Violence, devastation and destruction no longer exists within our borders as the crime ratios go down, such as in the case in Batesburg, South Carolina where Damon Thompson and many are carrying revival throughout the community. The city made the front page of the paper because the crime rates dropped 50%! We will become a fortified city where salvation is our walls and gates is our praise. What you see is flood walls to protect Pineville, but in the spirit, salvation is our walls, meaning that there is such a blanket of conviction covering and a holy fire burning in this city that when people pass through this city an awareness of God arises and people are drawn to the smoke of His presence. Praise becomes our gates to where negativity cannot exist within our borders. We will not have to wait for the sun to shine or the moon to give light at night, but God Himself will be the light of this city. All of our people will be righteous as this land will belong fully to us. This area will be the work of our laboring in the harvests for the glory of God. To the world we may seem like a small group, but we will become a family and a mighty nation as the LORD brings it to pass, and now is the time! Yes, this is heaven on earth, and we do not have to wait till the second advent for this to happen. While we are here and breath is in our body, we can become a city of lights, whose builder and maker is God! We can redeem this city! This is more than a set of goals. This is a divine mandate issued and presented on the hinger of the intercession of a group of people who are willing to sell out to God!

 

One man who redeemed his city, or better yet nation, was Moses. Moses, who was a stammering-tongued man raised in the idolatrous house of Pharaoh but feared to return to Egypt because he had murdered an Egyptian in defending a Hebrew, made excuse after excuse as to why he could not go to Egypt, but he was called to redeem a nation that was bound in Egyptian bondage for 400 years. He would go before Pharaoh with the signs and wonders of heaven following him, demanding Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Redemption was within him! He finally let the children of Israel go free when the last plague came upon the land of Egypt through the death of the firstborn. All of lives of the firstborn of Israel were protected when the death angel seen the blood of the Lamb upon the side posts and upper door post. Israel was redeemed through the blood of the Lamb, bringing a curse upon Egypt will protecting and preserving God’s covenanted people into a place of deliverance and freedom! If we want this city redeemed, it is time to return to the blood of Jesus Christ, which speaks life to those who plead it!

 

Even after being delivered from Egyptian bondage, even so much that their enemies were drowned in the Red Sea, never to be remembered again, Israel would find themselves in moments of murmuring and complaining, even to the point where God would rather establish His covenant with just Moses and wipe these ones out. However, there redemption was sealed through Moses’ intercession, which turned away the anger of the LORD. Eventually, they would enter the promised land, and I do believe they inherited their promise, which beforehand was filled with curses and giants until they took over, because of Moses’ intercession and faithfulness. Right now, it may look like our region is in turmoil, but we have hope, and our hope is not in this election in November, but it is in Jesus! Pineville may look like a wasteland filled with curses and giants, and you can see yourself as grasshoppers taking on an impossible task or a promise flowing with milk and honey. Just as Jesus saw no intercessor, we must realize that if no one else is interceding, we will intercede, standing in the gap and making up the hedge for a generation. Your prayers speak volumes to God as He is moved by the unity and faith of our youth. Every major revival had one common denominator: prayer, in particular from young people. Why are we not stepping into our divine role? Why not here? Why not now?

 

Rahab redeemed the time, Boaz redeemed a generation, and Moses redeemed a nation! If Moses could redeem a nation, why can’t we redeem a city? We are called to do all three. It is time for the redeemed of the LORD to say so (Psalm 107:2). It is time of the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart to be acceptable in the sight of our LORD, who is our Rock and Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). The Spirit of the Redeemer is inside of you. Do you believe? We have not been raptured out of here yet, and we have work to do. Some are just wandering through life, waiting to die so they can get their crown. You, on the other hand, are called to leave a legacy for revival that is perpetually carried from one generation to the next. Our mark is not in how eloquent we preach, how often we attended church, or if we sung on the praise team. It will only be marked in prayer! Let’s intercede. Let’s fulfill the image of Christ with our helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, cloak of vengeance and robe of divine passion. Let’s fortify this city with the walls of salvation and gates of praise. Now is the time to return to the altar!