Redemptive Genetics - 23 Nov 2004
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Redemptive Genetics by Jon Petersen, President of CityForce | ||
 "I appreciate a number of things about the approach of the 24-7 movement to citywide prayer," writes Jon Petersen in his chapter of The 24-7 Prayer Manual which has been fully revised and recently released in North America. "I like the fact that 24-7 is rooted in the local church. I like the way 24-7 marries prayer with mission. And I especially like the way 24-7 takes the past seriously without getting spooky or weird."Jon Petersen, who has worked extensively with Floyd McClung, Ed Silvoso, YWAM and 24-7 whilst living in some of the major cities of Europe, Asia and America, brings a wealth of experience to what he calls the 'redemptive genetics' at the heart of God's purposes for our cities.
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"It was Mark Twain who observed that history repeats itself. Having lived most of my life in four major cities on three continents, and having worked with leaders in many more, I’m convinced that every city has its own redemptive story coursing through its past. |
"The prayers and covenants of our forefathers wait to be fulfilled."
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However, the story has often been forgotten, the mantle of history has often been dropped by the saints of the past, disregarded in the dust of years gone by. Such stories beg to be uncovered and reactivated. The prayers and covenants of our forefathers wait to be fulfilled. | ||
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Praying with hope
As praying Christians, we often define our cities by their sin, but it is also possible - and I suggest that it is preferable - to perceive cities with hope, by exploring and unlocking the latent power of redemptive genetics.
So many of the strongholds that currently control the culture of our cities have been allowed to thrive only in the shadow of broken covenants.
As believers, we do not need to be afraid of these shadows since “he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Instead we are called to unearth the trails of interrupted goodness, the broken and unfulfilled prayers and covenants left in the soil of the past.
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 "Unearth trails of
interrupted
goodness." | ||
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I believe that it is time to reactivate the redemptive history of our cities, and I’m convinced that we will do this through night-and-day prayer, repentance, and faith." | ||
© The 24-7 Prayer Manual
Jon Petersen and his wife Mindy live in downtown Kansas City, MO. Jon teaches and advises leaders all over the world. Raised in Japan, Jon planted a church in California at the crux of the Jesus movement which greww explosively. He and Mindy raised their children in Amsterdam as missionaries with YWAM and worked into Eastern Europe when Communism fell. Today he is the President of City Force, a ministry focused on rediscovering, reunifying, and rebuilding towards God's purposes for the cities of our world.