The world of business, education, and government is the marketplace. If you are an employee or an employer, your workplace is a part of the marketplace; if you are a student, your school is a part of the marketplace. The marketplace is the heart of a city; it is the source of a city’s life. To change a city, its marketplace must be changed.
The greatest spiritual battles are not fought within the four walls of a church building. If your church is a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled church, demons are not there in large numbers. If demons are around, they are just spectators. They don’t control your pastor. They don’t control your church. Why? Too much light is there. Jesus is Lord there. Your church is under the control of the Holy Spirit.
The greatest spiritual battles are fought in the marketplace. |
The greatest spiritual battles are fought in the marketplace (e.g., in unredeemed corporate boardrooms). Demons are concentrated there, and Satan executes his agenda for controlling the world there.
Jesus is Lord of the marketplace. |
In the past, the Church relinquished the marketplace to the world. The Church should not have done so because Jesus is Lord of the marketplace. In Luke 10:2, Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” According to that verse, Jesus is Lord of the harvest. The harvest is the world outside of the Church. The harvest, therefore, includes the marketplace. So Jesus is Lord of the marketplace. It belongs to Him. Wall Street is His. Harvard University is His. The Supreme Court is His. If you are an employee or an employer, Jesus is Lord of your workplace; if you are a student, Jesus is Lord of your school.
The Lord has a strategy for establishing His kingdom in the marketplace. He has purposefully positioned believers to implement His strategy. Think for a moment: Who are more strategically positioned to affect the marketplace: pastors of local churches or believers working in the marketplace or going to school there? The answer is believers working in the marketplace or going to school there. Does that description fit you? If your answer is yes, then you are one of those who must implement the Lord’s strategy. He has assigned a specific portion of the marketplace to you, and He is depending on you to establish His kingdom there!