The church militant

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

As I have so recently written, we have entered into a hyper-active phase of the Church. We are, quite literally, living out the pages of the Book of Revelations now in our daily lives. We are seeing the preparations for the unveiling of the Anti-Christ. The world stage is now being rearranged much like a live theatre – we have passed from one act to another. The players from the previous scene have gone silent and everything we have seen so far has lain out the storyline and we now are preparing for the final big scene – the crescendo. Soon all will be seen and known, followed by the final curtain.

Except this is no play at the local theatre. We are not idly sitting back eating popcorn at the movie house. This is not a weekly test of the Emergency Alert Broadcast System. If you cannot sense the electricity in the air, I pray you ask God to re-awaken your spirit. I have had the old Bill Gaither song “The King is Coming” playing on repeat in my head the past two or three weeks. If you are unfamiliar with the song (or just haven’t heard it it in years, here is the link to it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EaYRmSKm98c?si=hBzEjoyyNgw2TPwl).

The Bible tells us no man knows the day nor the hour when Christ shall return – that is true. However, Paul writes in I Thessalonians chapter 5 that, while the world is asleep in their darkness (of understanding and perception), we are not children of the dark – but of the light. Those who walk with God and are sensitive to His Holy Spirit walk in the light that the day of the Lord shall NOT come upon us as a thief in the night. We shall be watching and waiting – vigilant of the times around us. If you have been in church more than a few weeks you have heard the message of the soon return of Jesus Christ. I’ve been in and around the church for sixty-plus years now and have heard it since infancy. My parents and ancestors have heard it preached for decades – nay, centuries. Yet now we see the final pieces coming together and the message has been emboldened by the appearance of recent current events.

This is why, brothers and sisters, many of us have been put back on the Potter’s wheel, this is why so many of us are passing through the fire, this is why so many speak of feeling as though they are drowning but can’t explain why. We are being tried again in the fire, remolded for fresh service, we are being re-equipped for service. The services we have rendered in the past have been those of an occupying force. We have had the privilege of holding ground that was won by the past battles. I, personally, have had the honor of serving souls won by those who have gone before me. We, as a Church, have been in a serving model. We have fed the saints, we have clothed the saints, we have sheltered the saints – all of which are honorable and good. But now we are being enacted as training units. We are being refitted for a new (actually it has always been our duty) calling. We have enjoyed years of being a peacetime Church but now the call has gone forth to become a wartime Church. And this is for all the marbles.

I have a fascination with the Mafia. Studying their story one sees cycles of violence followed by years of calm. The leadership that carries out the violent periods rarely is able to rule during years of peace. It’s just not in their nature. The same is true of the military. We often see great generals during wartime achieving great victories; however, once the battle ceases they are rarely equally as great in peacetime. They are often labelled as weak peacetime leaders. Two such generals come to mind: Eisenhower and Patton. Eisenhower was a great military leader during WW2 and commanded the U.S. Forces in the European theater with great respect. But when he returned to the States and was elected President he presided in weakness. He still accomplished many things, but the fire was gone. He was out of his element. Patton (one of my military heroes, by the way) walked with a heavy boot wherever he went. He was tough, he was unorthodox in his command style, and he was a crusher. Leaving the military, he soon died (according to historical accounts) of pneumonia – a result of being hit by a car. He came in hard and went out just as hard. His purpose had come and gone.

The same holds true of pastors. There are hard-hitting pastors (David Wilkerson, for one) who was in full-time battle configuration his entire ministry. He successfully passed that torch on to those in his ministry and they continue to this day in combat mode. Then there are peacetime pastors – still effective in their own rites, yet not necessarily taking ground from the enemy. Both are needed and both are following their mission. The time has come, however, for the battle-ready, the hardened and trained, fully-equipped combat pastor to step to the front. We read the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:12, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Jesus was preparing His followers for a period of Church explosion and growth such as had not been seen before. Jesus knew what His disciples would face, He knew the pressures they would be under, He knew the violence they would have to confront. He was calling them to action – to go into battle formation.

And so the Spirit is calling you and me today. We must prepare ourselves for the storm that is coming. If we wait until it begins, we are already doomed. Study the scriptures. Pray as never before. Begin yielding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Learn to instantly obey His commands. Put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation daily. Learn how your spiritual equipment works. Begin feeling comfortable in full combat gear. Arise, Church, and become a mighty army.

Be blessed.