There is an army gathering like no other that the world has ever seen. It will be both an irresistible force and an immovable object. Where it marches, it will conquer. Where it takes a stand, it will not be moved. That it is now gathering is one of the great signs that the end of this age is at hand, and the King will soon come to establish His kingdom. It is time to prepare the way for the Lord.
Those who are mobilizing to help prepare the way for the Lord are the ones who see Him. They see what others cannot now see. If we truly see Him, we cannot help but to bow the knee to Him. If we truly see Him, we will obey Him. That is why we often see the term “the obedience of faith” (see Romans 1:5, 16:26) in the New Testament.
Many claim that Christianity is the most arrogant of all the religions because we claim to be the only way to be reconciled to God. The truth is that if God sent His own Son to provide the way for us to be reconciled, and we reject Him, believing that we can get there on our own merit, wisdom, or strength, and do not need His provision, then we are the most arrogant of all creatures. The greatest arrogance of all is to not bow the knee to Him. Christianity is in truth the most humble of all of the religions, accepting and acknowledging our need for Him as our Savior and Lord.
The great army of God is now being mobilized in thousands of locations. It is going through basic training. The great emphasis upon the basics of faith is from the Holy Spirit. If we are not strong in these, we will be weak and easily defeated. However, those who have a strong foundation will soon have much built upon it. We are going higher. All of the gifts and ministries of the Spirit will go higher. The authority that He will entrust to His faithful ones will greatly increase this year.
Walking in leadership in His church is a most serious matter. To be entrusted with God’s own children cannot be taken lightly. If I entrusted my children to someone to take care of them, and then came back and found them sick, hungry, and filthy, I would not be happy! It is the ultimate honor and privilege to be entrusted with the Lord’s own children, but it is also the ultimate responsibility. It is crucial that His people are prepared for the times. There will be a new resolve, a new seriousness, coming upon His leaders this year, but the result of this will be a great strengthening of His people.
We are exhorted in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.” The judgments pronounced against false teachers and false shepherds are much more severe than those pronounced against false prophets. Of course, we don’t want to be one of them either! Therefore, we must be devoted to truth, integrity, and settle it in the beginning that if we have been entrusted as a shepherd of the Lord’s sheep, we will lay down our own lives for them. We will resolve to only provide them with the very best spiritual food and training.
This year we will see increasing signs that a recovery of basic honesty is transforming science. We will also see this in the church as well. There are many doctrines that whole movements are built on that have no basis in Scripture, but are rather built on human preferences, in reaction to disappointments, or other problems in the church. These, too, will start to flow back toward the mainstream of the River of Life. We need to build bridges between the common ground that we have with other parts of the body of Christ, always treating those who are at least embracing the basic doctrines of the faith as sons and daughters of the King who deserve the greatest respect.
I was once walking around Buckingham Palace in London when I heard the Lord speak to me and ask what I would say if I ran into the queen. I braced myself because I thought this question was to prepare me to actually meet her and I did not know the protocol. I resolved to simply treat her with as much respect as I knew how. The Lord then said that I must always remember that the church is His queen, and to always treat her with the utmost dignity and respect. I got the message. Even if you do have to bring some correction to a queen, you do it with the utmost dignity and respect—she is the Lord’s own bride—His Queen!
It is an unfathomable honor to be a part of the church—how much more so to be one of her ministers, her servants. She may have many problems right now, but she is still His bride that He loves. She will become increasingly awesome as these times unfold. God is in her, she is the temple. As Einstein considered it an endeavor worth his whole life to be able to comprehend even a tiny portion of the reason that manifests itself in nature, we have been given much more than that! The prophets of old longed to see just a tiny portion of the knowledge of the mystery of God that has been given to the least of the saints. We are also told that this great mystery is the union of the Lord with His bride, the church. This great mystery will now capture more and more hearts, resulting in its manifestation in His people.
The bride is also an army. She is an awesome queen! She is glorious and beautiful, and growing in passion for her King. Even so, she will likewise be growing in a fierce irresistible devotion to truth, and the biblical standards of morality and integrity. She will know how to keep her vessel with the honor and dignity that the true royalty in the earth have. She will walk in “the beauty of holiness” that is so compelling that the rest of mankind will begin to marvel at her, and be drawn to her and to her King.
Let us resolve this year to honor God with our devotion for having received the gift of salvation, to be a part of His bride, and to be alive in the greatest of all times to serve Him. He has saved His best wine for last. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will begin to stand out in radical contrast to those who do not. We must have the courage to be different, radically different, never compromising the sure Word of God and His ways. If we do not stand out, then we are not standing up for the truth. This year the great separation, the great distinction, will become increasingly clear.
One way that this distinction between the true servants of God and the pretenders will be manifested will be by the spiritual food that we eat. It has been said that an army marches on its stomach, or that it has to be fed to have the strength to march. This year even better, richer, spiritual food will be provided for the army of God, and those who are in it will partake of it daily. Those who do not will begin to weaken and fall behind.
Only those who devote themselves to growing in the Lord actually grow. They care enough to seek Him and to seek spiritual food that He provides for them. Those who do not care enough to do this will fall increasingly behind this year. They have set their own judgment by what they really worship and give themselves to. This year the great distinction will become more clear, and every day the distance between those who truly follow the King, and those who do not, will become greater. Where will we be?
Does that sound too hard? Too serious? We had better get used to it. The spiritual drill sergeants are being released to get the army ready for battle. The less you like your drill sergeants when in training, the more you will love them when you get into battle. Like it or not, the battles are looming. Those who are obedient are assured of victory, but those who do not follow the King will pay a most terrible price. Follow the King!
