The emergence of an exceeding great end-time army

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier ~ 2 Timothy 2:3-4.

Preamble:

Today, our world is going through a period of turmoil and great drought, and there is a loud universal cry in every heart. However, quite unfortunately, many of the people crying cannot even articulate what exactly they’re crying for.

I have no doubt in my mind that this cry is for supernatural assistance and for the hope that’s available only in the gospel (Roman 8:19, 22). This hope is tied to the infinite power of the Holy Spirit,to bring help to our needy world (Ephesians 5:18).

Happily, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s chosen place of strength and mighty force upon the earth. Christians are anointed to contend in the spirit realm, to rescue mankind from the obnoxious grips of evil (Matthew 10:7-8; 1Thessalonians 1:5).

When the Spirit of God releases the seed of life and power upon believers, they stand in His grace and on Christ the foundation. They stand by faith in Him, and in the house of God. They also stand firm as an "army of faith", fighting against sin, Satan, and the world.

All genuine Christians are reckoned as soldiers of Christ, and Christianity is a war against the host of darkness (2Timothy 2:3). Paul said, "for we wrestle... against principalities and powers" (Ephesians 6:12). He also said, "the weapon of our warfare are not canal but mighty to the pulling down of stronghold" (2Corinthians 10:4).

Please note that it’s called the “our warfare”, not our “picnic” or our “fun-fare”! We are soldiers of the Cross, and we must continue to act as such, otherwise we shouldn’t expect to win the prize(2Timothy 2:1-5).

Sadly, our formidability, our uniqueness and our defense lines as “soldiers” of the Cross are oftenbreached so easily, because many of us prefer to live like “civilians”.

We must keep in mind that Jesus Christ is ourCommanding Officer (Hebrews 2:10). He is counting on us, and we cannot afford to let Him down. We must be faithful to Him, being very resolute in His cause and constantly fitting ourselves for battle (1Chronicles 7:11).

There’s Hope In Your Future!

Now, no matter what the enemy has done to you, there’s still hope in your future (Job 14:7). When men, no matter their depth of hopelessness, are quickened by the Spirit of God, "they stand upon their feet" (Ezekiel 37:10).

In Ezekiel 37:1-12, the dry bones of Israel were gathered together by the power of God, and made whole again. Skin and flesh covered them, and the spirit wind was then blown upon them. They eventually became “an exceeding great army”; very many, quite formidable in their postures of offensive defence, and fully readied to neutralize satanic threats.

What? Out from the valley of dry bones? Dry bones are relics of death’s irreversible devastation; no created power could restore them back to life! Notwithstanding, God restored them by His Word, His breath and the quickening power of His Spirit.

The vision is an evergreen encouragement to anyone going through a season of despondency. Even in the midst of captivity or prolongeddispersion, full restoration and complete recovery remain within reach.

If out of the valley of dry bones, God raised an exceeding great army, and if He reversed death’s irreversible devastation, there’s hope in your future. If God rescued and restored Israel from that terrible degree of degradation, there’s a certain hope in your future!

Whenever God intervenes, He restores our losses, renews the spoilt, rejuvenates the exhausted, and rebuilds the dilapidated. And, when He does, things become even better than they were before the degradation!

Job, at a time, lost everything; but when God intervened, he got double for all his losses. The Amalekites spoilt everything for David in Ziklag; but when God intervened, he got more than he lost. Again, when wine finished at a marriage feast in Cana, and Jesus came into the picture, they had better wine at last.

Today, we are covered by a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6; 12:24). Even if our senses cannot handle certain faith realities, we must be wise enough to leave such in the hands of the Omniscient and Omnipotent God, who can do anything (Luke 1:37). Our faith must always leave the question of possibility to rest with God, with whom nothing is impossible (Deuteronomy 32:39).

Fitting Ourselves for the Lord’s Army!

Today, it’s common knowledge that armies of nations generally maintain certain well-held standards, through sheer discipline, diligence, essential trainings, focus, obedience and patriotism.

In secular militaries, nobody will recruit or arm you until you prove fit and capable, both intellectually and physically, via meticulous screening and rigorous trainings. This is to ensure that you drop the civilian mindset and put on the military attitude.

Even more, in the Church, we mustn’t ever forget that we’re signed up for spiritual warfare, and need to be equipped with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit to fight our battles of faith.

A well trained and disciplined soldier never jokes with his uniform (2Timothy 2:4). Hence, as Christians, our character, outlook, dressing, attitude, thinking, speech, dreams and mindset must differentiate us from the world. We must be utterly obedient to Jesus Christ. Whatever He tells us in His Word, we must do.

Moreover, our patriotic inclinations must never be in doubt. The Church of Jesus Christ in any geographical delineation is expected to positively impact her systems, governance, growth and development (Matthew 5:13-14).

We also have the sole responsibility of bringing people to the consciousness of God and of the invisible world, releasing our spiritual energies to re-engineer societies. We must be united, and passionately love each other; not stabbing one another in the back, but speaking with one voice and sound biblical standardization.

Beloved, soldiering is a life-contract! Signing up for Christ is agreeing to fight the fight of faith, and being ready to lay down our lives for Him if need be. The Christian soldier must be ready to give everything he has for the cause of the gospel. Nothing should be allowed to separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

We are the Lord’s end-time army. We must give it all it takes to hold our grounds of faith for Christ. Forcefully advancing evermore to take more territories for Him, we must go up at once with the everlasting gospel of salvation, restoration and total recovery.

Let’s all get back to our spiritual duty posts, fighting faith’s fight in prayer and living as ambassadors of heaven on earth, keeping our guard, proclaiming the goodness of God in our generation, claiming and reclaiming territories for Christ. Yes indeed, because the Word always works, you must win all the way through, in Jesus name.

Meanwhile, beloved, if you’re yet to accept Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and personal Saviour, do so today and enlist in His end-time army, walking true to His Word. As you begin to chase after God like never before, your destiny can only march forward to glory and inexplicable wonders.

God shall give you testimonies of landmark impacts that will soon shock your world. Your story will take your peers by storm, and daze all those who have, hitherto, looked down upon you. You won’t miss it again, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Happy Sunday!