Last week we focused on our Armor as believers in Christ in defense of the schemes of the devil, against rulers and powers, against the worldly forces of darkness and against the spiritual forces of wickedness. Armor is the attire of a soldier. Paul is revealing that there is a daily battle going on and that the Body of Christ is enlisted into the Army of God. Our battle rages on in the spirit realm, against supernatural forces and in spiritual places. As the Army of God, we must know our enemy and know how to prepare and take ground and hold it.
With this in mind, let us inspect the Army to see where we are and where we need to be in this battle between darkness and light. In other words, God is preparing His Army for such a time as this. I don’t believe that any of us can deny that we are witnessing the great battle daily that Paul describes in Ephesians 6: 11-12. We must look at our daily relationship with God and our effectiveness as a Christian, then take action, with a “boots-on-the-ground” approach to spreading the Gospel. We must no longer be worried about who we are offending, how foolish we may appear to others, or how we are going to defend our self. We do not need to be discouraged but to realize that we are to share the love of Jesus and let God take care of the rest. In other words, we plant the seed and let God reap the harvest we planted.
Over the centuries we have seen division develop within the church body and between denominations. This was not how the early church was as they shared the Gospel wherever they went. God led me back to Jesus sending out the 70 in Luke 10: 1-2. He sent them out two by two to spread the Good News. He said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Like them, He is asking us to set aside our agendas and seek His will for our lives, our households, and our country. He is ready to see us refocus our energy on the battle, and not on petty arguments and divisions. He wants to see His Army unite and gain ground again. We have to get off the pew and go out to the unsaved because God desires a harvest of souls to complete the Church—the Bride for whom His Son will Rapture. 2 Peter 3:9 says “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Satan is trying to instill fear and hopelessness into us so that we will lay down our arms, give up, lose hope, stop fighting and saying, “We will just ride this out to the end.” God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and a sound mind. We are never to stop fighting or lay down our arms for any reason. We must stop listening to those who commit spiritual treason. Joshua challenged the Israelites to choose who they would serve and declaring that he and his family would serve the Lord.
God has had it with corruption. He is getting ready to clean house! Remember He says that judgment must begin with the household of faith because we are His Army and He must ready us for what is ahead. God is ordering His people to clean up, and right now we’re wearing soiled garments. He is coming back for a pure and spotless bride, so we are to come out of the Babylonian systems and strive for target-focused prayer and repentance. He is calling out a Remnant for His Name. He is fed up with our government, our judicial system, our churches…everywhere. Isaiah 61: 11 says: “For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes things sown to spring up, so Adonai Elohim will cause justice and praise to spring up before all the nations.” All the nations of the earth have their eyes on America because we have been the springboard for the Gospel to the whole world. God has not abandoned His people but I believe that soon and very soon God is going to bring order and remove people who don’t belong where they are and shuffle people around. We need to be ready for a period fraught with transition. He is calling us to pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways and He will heal our land. (2 Chron. 7:14) We must refuse to believe the lies and rise up with a shout, for this evil reign is being exposed!
As times ahead change, it will be the job of those within the Remnant to step forward and answer the call that God is placing on their lives. God will be choosing the next round of leaders in this nation. We must prayerfully wait for God, Himself, to instruct us on where exactly that places us. We are to take the Gospel to the people and not wait for people to come to us; we must be the one to go to them. Think of what the Army of God can do with all the power of heaven behind us! The face of the Church is changing. We must be flexible, and willing to change as God instructs. We must follow His voice and let go of the trivial things that have become obstacles for the traditional Church; money, attendance, programs, statistics, political correctness, etc. Our battle is not in the physical realm and material things but spiritual—pulling down strongholds and everything that the devil uses as distractions. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church! It’s time to get out of our comfort zones. We must be ready and willing to march, to leave the familiarity of our four walls and venture into the unknown for Christ. If Jesus is in you, and you are in Him, you are the Gospel! God has indeed begun a good work in our world, our country, and our Church. He will be faithful to complete it as His Word says (Phil. 1:6). God is prompting the Body of Christ, His Army, to be united and steadfast as we approach these tumultuous times, and encourages us to remember that when the world around us falters, God is in control! Read Psalm 121: 1-3.