The Lord uses the title "Lord of hosts," or "Lord of armies," over ten times more than He uses any of His other titles. He is a martial God, a military leader. In the time to come, we will see the whole advancing church taking on a military demeanor—one of such discipline and resolve that the world's military leaders will envy it. There will be basic ways that the Lord's army will be different from any other army in the world, but it will be more powerful and more effective in attaining its objectives.  

No good general waits until the battle starts to begin training his soldiers. The most successful generals in history were those who trained their troops well enough to implement strategies that were not possible for their opponents to match. The foundation for every successful force is training and preparation. I have been in many meetings with church leaders who formed grand strategies, but who had no plan for training their people to be able to implement them. They could not understand why I would not join their plan, but I do not want to waste time on efforts that are doomed to fail, regardless of how noble they seem.  

For years I have considered the weakest factor in the church to be the failure of its leaders to train and equip the people they were entrusted with. This is the Ephesians 4 mandate, and one that almost no leader today heeds. That will change. I was told years ago that a time would come when the Lord would remove every leader who did not fulfill this mandate to equip the saints, and I believe we are approaching that time.

I also believe that there are many in the church that will applaud every time they hear the Ephesians 4 mandate to equip the saints, but they will not put forth any effort to actually be equipped. They are used to spectator Christianity and are very comfortable just paying their money to watch a few do all of the work. This will also end in the future. Those who are not vitally engaged in their purpose will find themselves a part of the confusion and chaos, or one of its many victims. The Ephesians 4 mandate is not an option for leaders, and neither is it one for the people. 

As I have maintained for many years, the greatest leadership in the world is in the church. How is this? Think about it. In any other situation, whether it is in a business, the military, or any other organization, the leaders will be obeyed because of the consequences of disobedience, such as losing a job, a court martial, etc. In the church, no one has to obey the leader unless they want to. The people in the church can, and often do, just walk off if they don't like something. Church leaders must motivate their people to obey like no other form of leadership.

Of course, some church leaders use manipulation, threats, and other forms of a control spirit to do what they think is the work of God, but these inevitably end in failure. These have turned many people in the church off to any form of authority to the degree that they are hesitant to give themselves again to a deeper relationship with the church. If we have been wounded like this, we must get over it. I don't think I know anyone who has not, at times, been wounded by someone with a control spirit, whether in the church, at work, at school, or in sports somewhere. We cannot let that keep us from responding to true leadership, none of which is going to be perfect in this life.

"The Lord of hosts" is the leader of armies. As mentioned, as we proceed into the times ahead we will see the body of Christ begin to take on more and more of a martial demeanor. It will be different in many ways than an earthly, worldly army, but the preparation, discipline, and focus will become more and more like an army at war. However, the type of leadership and the weapons we use will not be carnal, but spiritual (and much more powerful). We won't be trained to take lives, but to save them.
 
The advantage we have over the leadership in the world is the quality of the people who follow spiritual leadership. As our friend Francis Frangipane likes to say concerning the church: Four of a kind beats a full house! This poker analogy does apply. It is better to have two in unity than two hundred who are in discord. However, those who continue to refuse to come into unity in the church will drift further and further from the Lord and His purposes in their lives.

Why did the Lord allow His people to be so persecuted in the beginning and allow the true seed to be persecuted throughout the age? Because it separates those whose hearts are not true. Those with every evil motive will join something that seems like a big winner, but it takes a love of the truth and faithfulness to one's convictions to join something that is persecuted. Remember, this whole age is "training for reigning." It's not about what we get here, but about eternity. Those who live for the truth set their hearts on the things that are eternal, not the temporary cares of this life. 

Those who are of the truth are in the world, but they are not of it. They are not motivated by what those whose hope is in the present world are motivated by. They live to do the will of God, to please Him in all things. Their joy is the joy of the Lord, not the recognition or glory from men. These march in line because their hearts are wholly motivated to obey the Truth Himself.

How many truly radical disciples like this do you know? Probably not many, and maybe not any. However, this will change, and already is changing. There have always been some radical disciples, but they are now increasing. They are starting to find each other and bond together as true spiritual power teams. They are starting to discern the times and prepare for them. They are not seeking careers; instead, they are seeking their callings. When you meet one of these, you will know it. They are radically different. They are true believers.

Just as the Special Forces ended up affecting the whole military, raising its standards and imbibing a spirit of excellence, the same is taking place in the church as the true disciples begin to awake and live with their whole hearts to serve and do the Lord's will. There are radical disciples who are radical in obedience, who do not live and think like others do, and who truly are not of this world. This is your calling. It does not matter if others around you are not living this way—you are called to live as a true disciple. 
 

Anyone who loves anything or anyone, including their own life, more than God, is not a true disciple. In the time to come, the true disciples will be easy to distinguish from the rest. Can we be distinguished as true disciples?

"A Note From Rick"
Please check out our new website for a video Word for the Day—same address:  www.morningstarministries.org  There are many other great features to this new site, and we will be continually upgrading it even further. And that is correct—there will be a fresh 3-5 minute video word on our new website every day. Tell your friends.