Matthew 28:19-20 NLT
19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
The early church was birthed after 120 unified believers prayed together for 40 days, asking God to send the promise of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus told them that when the Holy Ghost came, He would convict of sin, righteousness, & judgment, & on the first day of the Spirit’s arrival, Peter’s bold preaching resulted in 3000 souls being added to the church.
Immediately after this event, the believers exhibited two distinct ways of meeting together:
In the temple & from house to house (Acts 2:41-46). What we can safely conclude is that they also Evangelized because the Word states that God “added to the church daily.”
The small group setting as described in this passage of scripture was clearly the place of “winning, connecting, training, & sending.”
The very foundation of the vision (Principle of 12) is rooted in prayer. Jesus Himself used prayer as the instrument of success in all that He accomplished.
In numerous passages of scripture, Jesus stated that He did nothing on His own (John 5:19, 30 & 8:28), & He consistently spent time alone with the Father (Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:12, 46).
In the same way we can do nothing on our own. We must connect to the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer if we are to experience fruitfulness in the vision.
Today we will look at the power behind every aspect of the vision to “Win, Connect, Train, & Send.”
I. WIN – Acts 1:8 NIV But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…
A. The “prayer of three”
i. Ecclesiastes 4:12b NLT “Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” There is power present when three believers join together to see the lost come to Christ.
ii. In the “prayer of three” Three people each submit three names of lost individuals to one another. (homogenous) The three believers take all nine names & saturate them in prayer daily.
iii. The success of this is totally dependent upon the prayers of the three. The three stands in the gap & believe for individuals to come to cell when invited. They also ask the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers to these lost souls & be willing to go themselves.
iv. Finally, the three engage in spiritual warfare for the ones they are praying for. They bind the “strong man” & loose the liberty of the Holy Ghost in souls of the lost.
B. Net Meetings
i. Romans 10:14 NLT But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
The Net Meetings give the lost a chance to hear about Christ in a relevant way. Drama, skits, music & word.
ii. Before every Net Meeting every person a part of a “Prayer of Three” should meet for prayer & intercession before the meeting. They pray specifically for the following three things:
a) The Anointing, or power of the Holy Spirit to be present.
b) The Deliverance of the lost from demonic strongholds & oppression.
c) The Harvest of souls to come in.
iii. All during the month each “Prayer of Three” group
chooses a day or several days to fast & pray for souls that will be attending the next net meeting.
C. Celebration Services
i. Our church intercessors pray 30 minutes before each service, asking God for souls & for conviction to be present to break the powers of darkness over the lost.
ii. The whole church is involved in praying during altar call, releasing the anointing on those leaders who are praying with the people in the altar.
D. Cells
i. Each week cell leaders pray for their cells to be places of harvest. They ask the Lord to draw the lost to their cells. Cells must be evangelistic or they will die.
ii. In addition to praying for the lost, cell leaders pray for the needs they know about in the cell members.
II. Connect – Galatians 4:19 NLT But oh, my dear children! I feel as if I am going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.
A. The person assigned to Connecting prays for the success of the follow-up of the New Believer. He asks the Lord to help him bring this person to the knowledge of Christ.
B. He intercedes for the new believer to receive a revelation of his need to deal with the issues in his life.
C. He also commits to pray for the new believer to submit to the cell leader as he guides him in the steps to being formed in Christ (Journey to the Cross, Journey through the Cross, Journey walking with the Cross).
i. During the “Journey to the Cross” (Pre-Encounter) the person working to connect them to the body of Christ (church) pray for them that they yield to the Holy Spirit & be transparent.
ii. “Journey through the Cross” (Encounter) leaders fast & pray three days before the Encounter. We will also know about all other Encounters coming up & we are responsible to bathe them in prayer as well.
iii. During the “Journey walking with the Cross” the cell leader & Post Encounter instructor pray that the new believer understands the work that the Holy Spirit has done in his life.
a. In each class the laying on of hands & prayer for the impartation of strength to live a life of freedom occur.
b. They also address & pray for the daily needs & challenges of the new believer.
III. Train – John 8:31 KJV Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed…
A. Level 1 Discovery (SOL) “Finding the Rock”
i. This helps the student focus on developing a firm foundation for his life & family.
ii. The instructor in Discovery prays that the students develop consistency in the word & in their lives. This has to be the major focus of the instructor.
iii. He also wages war against discouragement as the students begin inviting their “Prayer of Three” to cell group.
iv. He prays for them to view making disciples for Christ as a “call”, not a “work”, thus ensuring that they will have a passion for souls. (Remember work is optional, the Call is not!)
B. Level 2 Discovery “Staying the Course”
i. This launches the students into a lifestyle of compassion & conquest in the vision of the “Principle of Twelve”
ii. There should be intercession by them & over them to impart the vision through the teaching of the word.
iii. Excitement to see God use them to open their cells is prayed for & imparted.
C. Level 3 Discovery “Reaching the Summit”
i. Here we are assisting the student in developing solid
principles of leadership for a lifetime of fruitfulness.
ii. Confidence, boldness & assurance is prayed for as students begin to prepare for different areas of leadership.
iii. Fruitfulness is asked for & believed for.
iv. The instructor encourages students to pray for God to give them their Twelve. (Talk more about this later)
v. The instructor also asks God to give them wisdom in developing their “twelves” in the spirit of unity.
III. Send – Matthew 28:19 NLT 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
A. The Summit (Re-Encounter)
i. At the Summit, a “prayer of commissioning” occurs, with the laying on of hands & new leaders are sent forth in the body to work for the Kingdom!
ii. There is also the “prayer of empowerment” for them to be fruitful & multiply.
iii. These are the steps that every leader in Destiny will go through in order to serve on our Leadership Team!
B. Cell Launch
i. Intercession is made for the establishing of the cell. Prayer goes forth for God to give fruit that will remain.
ii. We then pray for God’s blessing to be upon the cell from the start.
iii. Everyone will not start a cell immediately. Some people take a while before they feel they are ready.
C. Principle of Twelve
i. The prayer of John 17, particularly verse 18 – 20 NLT (As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19And I give myself entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours. 20"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony.) becomes a heartfelt prayer for unity.
ii. Prayer is made that the members of the Twelve will walk in love & compassion for one another!
iii. Prayer is made that God will transform the members from twelve people to a TEAM.
iv. Prayer at this level should be that the heart of the Pastor is being imparted to all those on his team!
