 Yeah, it's gonna start in there. Okay, the recording has just started so let's just pray together and then we will get get into our lecture today and I request somebody to Just pray with a class. I'm sure the others will join us while we get started Yeah Thomas would you like to pray and help us start Father in Jesus name, we thank you for this wonderful day or not You are so good. You are so wonderful. You're a faithful God. Thank you for this wonderful time or not as we are gathered to Learn from your word father that you visit let the wisdom of the whole rest upon a study. We thank you father Help us to understand the things and father. We speak the divine wisdom and the learning of the whole One pastor Ashish father Help us to understand and to teach help us as municipal for London. We thank you. We praise you in Jesus name. We pray My All right, thank you and good morning everyone. Welcome once again So we are continuing in this course on urban church planting and Just going to go ahead and share we still in our second section in this lecture notes So we are talking about The practical aspects Last week we spent time talking about strategies for urban evangelism so we Went through, you know, how we can identify and develop different strategies We you know, and we just outlined some things that helped us think through and I'm sure you know in the days and months and years to come we will be able to Do new things I mean come up with new ideas new strategies, but these are things that That have helped us so far When we look at strategies for different age groups When you look at strategies for different areas of need in the city When we talk about strategies for different spheres of activity that means, you know, you generally be We could break things down into like seven spheres and that's what we'll talk about today We also talked about Leveraging tools are different ways that we could Different tools that we could use to reach people So and a lot of this, you know, whether you're using print news, you know newspaper social media television music performing arts Various ways we could use to reach people Now today we want to move into the next chapter, which is 13 lesson number 13 and We want to talk about the seven mountain assignment now This would be specific Sorry specifically relevant for local churches And so when you are planting a local church In an urban context in a city Or a metropolitan area or a large urban center This understanding of, you know, the seven mountain assignment will be very helpful If you are starting a Christian organization, so that's not a local church but you know some other kind of a Christian organization that is Looking at specific ministry, maybe like a youths children You know the Underprivileged work among slums or in a certain section of society so on You can still try to think about this About the seven mountains, but but I am coming more this lesson is coming obviously a little bit more specifically from local church context So what is the challenge here? What is the vision here in in this? When we think about Most cities and even you know, you can extend this obviously you can extend this even to a nation as a whole There are the influencers and decision makers Whether it's a city context or you're talking about a nation. I mean there are people Who are influencers and decision makers and this is a very small Group of people if you look at it at a national level The small group people they are they are making decisions Policies thinking through on various areas They're actually influencing or affecting the lives of the rest of the people in the country Or of course we can look at it at a state level state-wise level you can look at a city level So if you look at the city There are there are the decisions that are being made that affect the life of people of people in the city Is actually in the hands of a few people we call refer to them as influencers decision makers and The the thought here is how can we influence them? How can the church? Influence and impact The influencers and decision makers in a city or in a state or in a nation Because if we can influence and impact them we can obviously Affect many things that are going on, you know, whether in a city or a state or a nation No, so this whole part or this whole thought process actually originated back in 1975 It came out of a combination of Let's say three different leaders Were involved in in this whole Thought process this whole thinking one was Bill Bright who was the founder of campus crusade The other person was Lauren Cunningham was a founder of youth with a mission and There was also a theologian named dr. Francis Schaefer So so we're going back in time. We're going back in to 1935 And now, you know these men Did somebody ask a question, let me see Yeah, Dave you have a question Okay, okay, let me just wait on the screen here while I talk and You should be able to come in. Okay. Thank you, Dave Yeah, so, you know it back then Dr. Bill Bright Lauren Cunningham these men were leaders of Very large organization Christian organizations Camps crusade, which is still there today Is a global organization, you know reaching young people youth with a mission is still there reaching many many people globally so Very interestingly somewhere in 1935 God spoke to these three people separately And and put this thing in their heart now. How do you spoke to them? He actually spoke them in different ways and they use different language But the essence of what they said was very similar So It is reported that Dr. Bill Bright and Lauren Cunningham got together for a Meeting at a meeting maybe over a meal and each one wanted to share with the other person What was going on in their hearts and what God was, you know putting in their hearts And so when they met and they began to discuss with each other They you know, it really was the same thing. It was just that they were using different language Yes To talk about the same thing which God was speaking independently to them so there was a great confirmation and and of course then they shared it with the church at large and people have Developed it further and you know, there are certain ministries around the world who Have developed this whole concept and all idea for them, but in essence, what is it? the thought process or the idea or the concept is that if God's people can influence the Seven spheres of society so you can use the word spheres or pillars or mountains or whatever metaphor We use so it's not about the metaphor. It's just the fact that if God's people Get into the seven main streams of main areas of society and They are able to influence the culture That is the way people think the way people practice things the way people do things if they're able to be you know Influence the culture which literally is what Jesus said, you know be salt and light, right? So if God's people Get into these seven spheres of society and influence the culture be salt and light in those areas They can then disciple any nation So really they that are thinking that was other though the message that was being given was How to disciple a nation? How to influence, you know a huge a large group of people a nation or Or a city a state or a nation, you know, how do you do that? well, the idea was If God's people get into these seven spheres seven areas of society and They are able to influence culture. Of course. That means they must be salt and light It's not just matter of have being there, but it's being there and being salt and light Then we can disciple a whole nation So that was what God that was the message in essence, you know, because he used different language But that was in essence the message that was given to these men of God back then in 1975 so When you look at it from the New Testament and it is very very biblical in the sense that that's what Jesus taught us, you know He said, you know, you are Light of the world you are salt the earth you are light of the world and you know Let your light shine that let your light shine that people see your good works And glorify your father who is in heaven that people see your good things that you do and Let them glorify your father who is in heaven. This is Matthew chapter five So these seven mountains or you know, and it is using that term mountain as a metaphor It's nothing, you know, nothing spiritual about it Don't don't read too much into it. You can use different language You can use spheres or areas or segments or pillars or groupings, whatever, right? but if you look at society as a whole and We're looking mainly from a perspective of Where people engage for their? Session for the career for the vocation We can you know these sevens so society can be or these fears Where people engage can be broken down into these large Categories areas one is family. It's the institution set up by God people spend a lot of time there Then there is religion which includes the church and basically it has to do with belief systems where people worship And I believe Then there's education which is schools colleges universities all of that There is media which is all forms of communication You know, whether it's print or internet or television Then there is arts and entertainment Which can be you know, right from dance and drama and music and Sports and other you know various forms Their culture is expressed celebrated art and entertainment Then of course there is big business having to deal with economy Which will you know include science and technology and all those activities that Engage with the economy And lastly number seven is government these include the judicial Legislative and the executive branches of government So what God has put in the heart of the hearts of these men was God's people Need to be salt and light in these seven areas They need to go into those seven areas They need to affect culture they need to that means, you know So we are going in there and we had to bring Kingdom culture Kingdom values Basically, it's the biblical culture biblical values. So we have to be in there and then be salt and light And effect the culture there in these seven spheres So that they we can then you know if you can affect culture That means you're creating an environment, but you're making conducive for people to then hear the gospel and after Come to know and experience Jesus Christ and then be discipled Or be made as disciples of Jesus Christ So that was the vision that God put and that was what was communicated You know in this whole idea of the seven mountain assignment, which today we're calling it seven mountain assignment But you know in those days They just communicated the idea that the church needs to be in these seven spheres and have influence and make a difference so What what I wanted is is to understand this and Especially when we are planting local churches We need to have This picture in our minds That you know The church that we you know when we when we began this course We said we want to plan the goal is to plant churches or establish Christian ministries where It will serve to disciple new believers, but it'll also serve to influence The geography that the community and or it could be extended to a city or even beyond it's going to influence Wherever it's planted Right, so that's what we're getting at So the goal is not to just have a little church and where you know, you could have a few You know some people come and worship and you know, okay, that's good But the purpose of planting a church is so that the church can then have influence be salt and light And where it's planted and in order to do that We have to engage with These seven spheres of society so in the community So if you look at the immediate community in which the church is being planted or The immediate community in which the you know, what a Christian organization is beginning to do its work in an urban context You could easily see that These seven spheres need to be influenced in some way and so that's the challenge that we are supposed to Influence these seven spheres and ultimately of course, we're going to disciple nations That's the great commission that that's given to us And and so planting the church is working towards the fulfilling of the great commission of discipling nations so we Need to begin to think of how is the local church that you are planting and That you are, you know slowly nurturing How is that local church going to influence these seven spheres in its vicinity around where it is? I mean if it can influence the whole in the city, that's wonderful If it can get up to a place where you can influence the nation, that's wonderful But we got to start where we are we have to start You know in in in the community in the vicinity and look at these seven spheres people are engaged some may be engaged in Education There'll be people are engaged in media in arts, you know sports and all those kinds of things going on Of course, a lot of them will be engaged in economy. There'll be the government people or you know Whether it's the city municipality or in higher levels Education religion family, so we need to think okay. This is our challenge, you know as a church or as a ministry We need to be able to influence The influencers the decision-makers who are in these spheres, so we just start thinking about that But then how are we gonna do it? What is the process? Right, how do we affect the culture? How do we affect the environment? in these seven spheres, right and So here's just a quote here from Lauren Cunningham and he says Salvation comes before discipleship However Preparation comes in the soil before the seed is planted So basically, you know, you gotta people have to be saved before they can be discipled But even before they can be saved the soil has to be prepared. So that's what he's getting at the soil is to be prepared The soil is so he looks at his you know He's saying the soil means really the world be the way they see things around them the world If the soil is harder than prepared then, you know, the soil doesn't produce anything But if the soil is prepared, you know, it's going to produce now. How do you prepare the soil? It has to be tilled. It has to be watered has been nurtured and then you drop the seed and that could seed will produce Fruit it's now In so the basic idea is that we prepare the soil of people's heart by influencing the culture The and thereby affecting their worldview and belief systems so by being around them and Exposing them to biblical values kingdom culture We are in some way preparing them to receive the message of the gospel Right. So, you know, for example just an example Suppose you're, you know, you're working in an office As I believe is working in an office and in the office Let's say he's he has, you know, three or four colleagues that he's he's working closely with Let's say, you know, a situation comes where they need to do the other colleagues are planning to do something wrong Maybe they're planning to misrepresent some numbers But then he tells them, you know, hey, that's not the right thing to do Let's just be honest. Let's just be truthful. Let's just state what it is And and and you know, so what are you doing? He's affecting the culture there So maybe the three of them or four of them think that it's okay. We just, you know, make some adjustments, we, you know Manipulate the numbers and keep going places. No, no, no, let's let's do it right. So, you know, so there's a Two different cultures Meeting and the believer is then influencing their thinking in that simple example in that thinking And, you know, he doesn't need to necessarily say the Bible says, but he just affecting the culture. He's being salt and light And why is he saying that because the believer understands the biblical principle These four friends may not know the biblical principle The believer understands the principle of integrity of honesty and he's bringing that in there and And affecting culture and then, you know, they see the outcome that yeah, integrity honesty That's the way to go and and then, you know, they begin to develop respect for this believer or he says his values But that process is really preparing their hearts for something more It's preparing their hearts. I'm just giving one simple example, but like this, you know over time the hearts of people are prepared culture is affected and then When the gospel is presented, they begin to appreciate and understand what we are saying so We so that's the process we need to Transform culture. How do we do that? Just like I mentioned it to this example We have to model biblical principles. That means Vanessa V I mean all of us all of us God's people, you know, whichever sphere that we are involved in so we need to encourage God's people so in the local church as Believers are coming and being nurtured. We encourage them go into these seven spheres, right? So don't sit inside the church. You come into the church, which is good for worship or fellowship or strengthening and for being equipped So the church is serving that purpose for these believers But then they must be motivated to go into these seven spheres all of these seven spheres depending on their, you know, vocation depending on their skills and capabilities and there they need to be Encouraged to transform culture and one way is by modeling biblical principles So we bring that into the culture And Jesus, you know, put it in a very Sorry He put it in a powerful picture. He said, you know, the kingdom of heaven is like 11 Which a woman took and hid in three measures of male till it was all 11. This is Matthew 13 33 so he said the kingdom of heaven is like this, you know So it's like a little 11 So if there's a dough and you put in a little amount of 11 So today we you know, we use yeast or some something like that So if you want to prepare the dough and you put a little bit of yeast not too much It's pretty a little bit of yeast and then it affects the whole dough So it's just saying the kingdom of heaven is like that right, you put a little bit of it in something larger and It affects the whole environment, right, so we we need to Bring in these principles, you know, the principle integrity kindness justice Faith and we model it and teach it and coach it share share basically we live it out In front of people we Share it with people to whatever extent we can but we are bringing it and we're being there that little 11 that little east in that big Measure of dough, right? So that's the first thing we do. I encourage God's people to be like that And then secondly, of course, we have to let our light shine by our good works The things that God's people do Right Practical things, right? So Lauren Cunningham also went on to say this. He said use the wealth of the world to bless the world and bless it not just those in Blessing the needy but blessed to multiply it. That means, you know, in other words, he's saying look we need to Engage with the world and Bless the world, of course, we bless the needy But also to multiply what's happening multiply the resources multiply things that are happening and And that's letting our light shine by other good works, you know, so again, it can be It can happen in Many different ways But there's by starting businesses you provide an employment you empower people you get the education vocational training So in all of these seven spheres We are looking at hey, not only are we are our believers going to be there To change culture, but believers are going to be there to bless that realm to bless that sphere Where we can multiply things we can improve things we can make things better. So then we are Letting our light shine by our good works. So believers need to be equipped To do that to go be like in all these seven spheres And and and begin to influence right and thirdly, of course, we engage in spiritual transformation, you know, so we Understand that all these seven spheres the enemy also is trying to do his part of influencing People, you know bringing in things that are not right And he's trying to control people control things even in these seven spheres. So There's also a spiritual battle so which area we are involved in believers need to be taught to train on how to pray for those areas So if they're in education, okay, you pray see what's happening in the realm of education We're going to pray, you know Spiritually through prayer through intercession through the exercise of our authority and the demonstration super much a part of God You know, basically we're using spiritual weapons and we begin to affect the spiritual Spiritual transformation bring in spiritual transformation in those areas. So in education, okay, you know, maybe the school books are filled with Teaching on atheism and they are they've completely pushed God outside So there's no, you know, you know, instead of presenting Any leaving any room for an understanding of creation that's totally eliminated and you know Evolution is presented as it's the only way by which It's the only explanation for the origin of life and the origin of the cosmos And so it was hey, that's not right We need to keep space, you know, okay people are free to decide but we need to present or give opportunity for both, you know And so, you know, we contend for that we We contend for other things whether it's in education or arts entertainment or media You know, the believe believers are there and they also engaging spiritually in their circles of influence You know, wherever they are they're praying for people. They're praying for decisions that are being made They are praying for policies that are being made. So there they are actually doing it Okay, so I just want to make sure I just want to pause you just make sure that you are following me You're all okay, are you with me so far did I lose anybody is it making sense what we're talking about is is it okay? Okay, any questions to this point? I see your responses on the chat Okay, glad so I just want to make sure that you know, you're following the train of thought and you're understanding what what this this whole Area of Work involves and you know where this is going, okay, so So we've said that we've said, you know, there's the challenge before us There's a way to do this. We understand what we're trying to do but then How do we go about it? Third is the preparation that means in the local church that We are planting in the city Or at the ministry that we are doing We need to prepare the people Right. We can't just send them out and say hey go do it. Well you got to prepare them Right. So let's say you're planting a local church in a in a city, you know that eventually We have to influence the community. Maybe even the whole city Um, eventually maybe you can influence the state or even influence the government of the nation you know but to get there Every believer in the church has to be prepared Right. So what kind of preparation should we do and this happens, of course through You know the ministry that's happening in the church so through the Sunday sermons that you're preaching through Bible studies that are happening through various ways That whatever's happening in that local church or in that christian ministry You're preparing people What are some of the things first and first first and foremost? We have to prepare the hearts of the people because Going out there into these seven spheres as we're talking about it's not an easy thing And if our hearts are not in the right place uh It's really easy even for a believer To get distracted to get sidetracked and sometimes they may just You know forget about the fact that They've been sent there to influence and impact That they're they're sphere so We need to guard we need to help people gods people God the desires right Because you have to guard against lust for money power influence our desire our appetites So we need to keep our desires pure directed towards glorifying god Because for example, just think about it You know you're telling a believer. Hey, you've got to go into business and you've got to be you've got to Influence that that area for for god. Sure. He prepares himself You know, he studies he does is one of whatever education that he gets a job. He goes into business Say i'm here to influence influence this, you know my my my circle For the kingdom of god. I'm in this field of business wonderful Let's say he starts, you know working and But suddenly he you know he's being successful and he gets caught up in that Going after money and power to influence and he forgets that Hey, i'm supposed to be salt and light while i'm doing this While i'm being successful while i'm you know Being a good business person and whatever he's doing. I also need to Be salt and light So if their heart is not ready desires not You know, they do not in god desires. They could get citron Similarly with motivations, you know, why? The motivations also have to be always guarded, you know, why are you making this the why behind the decisions the choices The purposes that are being made so gods people I need to be, you know taught on how to guard your motivations and keep it godly so that You know, if you know where they're in it has to have money or other things You it's all directed towards glorifying god and blessing people right Similarly, we have to guard character, right? So we shouldn't In the process of engaging in these seven mountains. We cannot let character be diluted because then our whole You know, whatever we say doesn't hold and we we seize being salt and light So believers need to be taught, you know, so you're going to go there The curious example, you're going to go into media. You're going to go into arts and entertainment You know, you're going to be involved in there, but Don't compromise your character You know, you've got to maintain godly character that a life that is pure and Acceptable and pleasing before god. So it's not easy, especially in certain In many of these fears that we're talking about it's not easy You know, so you can imagine if a believer is in the entertainment industry Is it wrong to be there? It's not wrong to be there. It's not wrong to be in the entertainment industry. God needs people there, but It's not easy to maintain purity or maintain certain godly standards Or a believer engaging in business, you know, uh, when it when things are getting hard and tough You know A believer has to maintain his standards of integrity. Otherwise, he sees us being salt and light He loses influence the godly influence a kingdom influence that he's supposed to bring But where can his desires and motivations and character and how can those those be strengthened? The church can play a very important part in helping believers You know prepare themselves for these seven spheres so they can be salt and light you know, so you think about Today the church where the church is today and I can think about, you know, our own city bangler city And you may be able to see something similar in your city We have many believers and we have many believers in Uh in these seven spheres that we're talking about but how much of Kingdom influence is being brought in there How much of salt how many are really being salt and lights in those seven spheres You know, oh, how is the church? How are the churches in our city equipping believers to be salt and light there? Are we doing a good job? Are we really helping them? You know, so those are questions we have to ask and I'm sure we can do a much better Uh, I'm talking about, you know churches in bangler. I'm sure we can do a much better job in In helping God's people prepare to be Salt and light and thereby affect culture in all these seven spheres You know, and but that's got to be part of what we're doing when we're planting a church that that's what we want to do for believers Right, so heart preparation because that's very very very important The second part, uh, where we are going to help believers As they prepare to be salt and light in these seven spheres is the spiritual preparation I mean both are connected of course the heart preparation spiritual preparation, but this is more I'm talking about more into the the the application the applying of Biblical principles, right? So we need to teach them. Okay You know, here are the big principles that you can use in your sphere Sorry in your sphere of influence You know so a businessman, you know, what are the principles that he would need When he's engaging in business in his in his profession Somebody in education somebody in media. What are biblical principles? I need to keep in mind as they are engaging in this sphere of influence And then we need to equip them to tap into the spiritual resources, you know, how can they? Tap into the anointing of the Holy Spirit into faith Into you know to be creative and into the wisdom of God into the prophetic and supernatural In their sphere of influence, you know, and we have great examples in the bible You know, think about Joseph. We can go back in time and think about Joseph. You know, he was there in part of house He had a wonderful You know, he's his heart His desire his motivations character was wonderfully Protected he was a man Who you know, we could say he set an example for us here His heart and his character was motivations was protected, you know, he was there In part of her house. We never compromised Now he went through some challenges. He was wrongly accused. He was thrown into prison But then his day came How did it happen? because of wisdom Because over the Holy Spirit giving him wisdom. He could interpret dreams So initially he interpreted the dreams of the baker and the butler wonderful But now he's brought up to stand before part of her Pharaoh and Pharaoh say can you interpret my dream? And uh, so here is Joseph. He not only interprets pharaoh's dreams But he also gives a solution He says, okay, look, there are going to be seven years of famine But this is what you have to do in the seven years of plenty that come first Actually, he's giving him a solution for and that's going to save the whole land of Egypt the people But what is he doing? He's tapping into spiritual resources. He's tapping to the wisdom of God in order to You know, uh, do his work there So that's what we need to teach people right now many believers don't realize that You know, we can actually take the anointing of God into the workplace into these seven spheres That then when they go out there To do what they have to do, you know, whether it's education or business or entertainment or arts or media or Whatever sphere there the anointing of God is with them the Holy Spirit is with them The Holy Spirit does not leave them the you know, just because they went out of the Sunday service No, the Holy Spirit is with them Monday Through Saturday when they're engaging in these spheres And we need to equip players. Look, you can expect God to work through you To give you wisdom to give you solutions To do wonderful things Because it's true that they're going to be able to show those good works Right, but this is part of what the church plant or the local church has to do for the believers So that they can then go and influence those seven spheres Okay, I'll just cover one more point and I'll I'll pause and we'll take questions Then of course we'd encourage believers to do the natural preparation. That means Yeah, they they encourage them motivate them to develop skills and capabilities in whatever sphere that they are Engaged in encourage them to demonstrate excellence. So whatever sphere, you know, you need the natural skills the skills and abilities to Be good in your work. So they need to do that. We need to encourage them unfortunately uh, you know the church In some ways has deterred people has prevented people from pursuing Engagement or involvement in these areas, right? This is you don't get involved in media. I don't get involved in art. So don't get involved in entertainment. It's you know Uh, but we need to encourage them. Say, okay, you develop skills should be sharp in your skills Be good at what you do so that you can make a difference Okay So I'm going to stop here. We will continue this tomorrow as we talk about positioning and so on in the seventh spheres but uh any parts any questions so far Is it clear on what this? the seven mountain assignment is And why it is important for a local church or ministry that we are starting in an urban center Is it clear is um Is that okay? yeah any thoughts any questions um on this In uh relation to maybe what you are doing What you are engaging in any questions I don't see any questions and Uh, okay. All right. So things are clear. All right. Yeah fine So let's pause here. Uh, we will pick this up. Uh, I continue this tomorrow and just we'll just do a quick review and um I finished this tomorrow If you have any thoughts any questions, you know, we can Bring it up tomorrow and discuss it But I want you to think about this very seriously. How have you even now, you know, wherever you are working Yeah, how you could develop people to go and influence these seven spheres And how they can make a difference, you know, how we can be salt and light In these fears and we got to encourage them. We don't have to pull them out of it We don't have to you know, the church I'm saying the church shouldn't pull people out of believers out of it We should encourage believers Walk, you know, as Jesus said, you know, we had to be wise like serpents harmless like dolls so you go in there with wisdom and Bring about kingdom influence in these areas. So think about it In the areas that you are involved in the areas that you are doing ministry How you can encourage people and power them Okay I will talk more on this tomorrow Let's close in prayer today. Um, I just like to invite somebody to pray with us as a class and then we will dismiss Anybody could pray Thank you, Kiran Out of court, we just come before once again, you thrown for the court Help us to understand for the court whatever today long for the for the seven mountain The assignment the work for the court to your kingdom for the court's help us through you will You're more evidence and for the current keep Give more understanding and wisdom and knowledge for the court that we can receive and understand the subject and we can use to our Our city and they said for the court for the court give your Wisdom and knowledge. Thank you for the court the class thanking you sir and all the student for the court Thank you listening up there Almighty Jesus name. We pray amen Hey man man All right. Thank you everyone. We're gonna continue this tomorrow Think about this. Okay. God bless you. Bye now Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. God bless