I Am A Soldier in the Army of the LORD

Allied soldiers storming the beach at Normandy on D-Day, WWII
I am a SOLDIER in the ARMY of the LORD.

Jesus said, "Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves," Luke 10:3. Lambs among wolves? That speaks of the most hostile environment - an environment of blood-thirsty enemies.

"He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me," Luke 10:16. DESPISED. He warned us that we would face those who would despise us, and reminded us that the REASON they will despise US, is that they despise GOD! God's enemies will become our enemies.


Make no mistake about it. This is war. This is Heaven against Hell. This is all that is GOOD against all that is EVIL. This is no game, no party, no recreation room. This is war.

Herod tried to destroy Jesus Christ as soon as He was born (Matthew 2:13). He killed an entire town-full of innocent babies. That is how diabolical and heartless this war is. DON'T THINK that Satan is LESS diabolical or heartless today. He is not.

In the days of His ministry on earth, Jesus repeatedly faced attempts to destroy Him.

"The Pharisees went fort, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might DESTROY him," Mark 3:6.

 "The Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might DESTROY him," Matthew 12:14.

"He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to DESTROY him," Luke 19:47.

"The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and DESTROY Jesus," Matthew 27:20.

Jesus knew what He was up against. He said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to DESTROY: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," John 10:10.

He forewarned us, "Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved," Matthew 10:22.

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake," Matthew 24:9.

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you," John 15:18-19.

John knew why Jesus came to earth in the first place, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL," 1 John 3:8.

Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost, but He also came to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the Destroyer
His Soldiers are SENT to destroy the works of the Destroyer

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you," Luke 10:19

"These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they CAST OUT DEVILS; they shall speak with new tongues," Mark 16:17.

If you are a true Christian, you WILL face adversaries. Hell has a target on you. You will be attacked. When you took God's side, you inherited all His enemies. But that's all right, because it is the nature of the Spirit-led life. This IS spiritual warfare. Don't ever forget it.

Winston Churchill once said, "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

Every saint of God who ever lived has faced great tribulation in his day. Expect it. Deal with it.

Hell sets traps for God's people. If you live long enough, you will be caught in one. But God delivers His people, even from the jaws of death. Remember Calvary.

"If it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God," Acts 5:39.

"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect," Hebrews 11:32-40.

Here is the end of the matter: Jesus is coming. He will both destroy all His adversaries in that day, AND reward all those who have fought in His Army.

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth," Revelation 11:18.

THEREFORE, Saint of God...

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses," 1 Timothy 6:12.

"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.

I'm a soldier in the Army,
And I'm marching, claiming victory.

I will not give up. I will not turn around.

I'm a soldier, marching Heaven bound.

Go. Fight. Win. In Jesus' name.

 

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God's War Is Infinitely More Exhilarating Than Sports

The saint of God's exhilaration while engaging the forces of Hell in spiritual warfare, standing relentlessly for Truth in the face of Hell's most vociferous, pernicious lies, and taking hard blows from Truth's most malicious enemies, is an exhilaration that infinitely exceeds the rush of a football team against a receiver, the scramble of a basketball team for a goal, or the passing of a baseball over a fence.

The Early Church cast out devils, raised the dead, rebuked sicknesses and diseases, and preached amidst a great froth of controversy while being opposed and threatened from every direction. Yet they rejoiced to suffer for the cause of Christ, and defied every attempt to silence them in their crusade for Truth, righteousness and holiness.

Any man or woman who is fanatical about flesh-and-blood sports, while disinterested in great Biblical, doctrinal and spiritual controversies has been blinded and anesthetized by carnality, and does not realize that Satan has effectively derailed them from their divine purpose.

Jesus came to seek and save them who are lost, and destroy the works of the devil. The Church must take up His Sword, the Word of God, and engage His adversaries in His name. We are called to be soldiers in the army of the Lord. It should be our great joy to fight His battles. Little David took great delight in taking down Goliath, "the uncircumcised Philistine" who was the iconic adversary of God's people. There are plenty of giants now standing in the battlefield railing against God and His people. "Is there not a cause?" Go. Fight. Win. In Jesus' name.

"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.


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The Way Church Used To Be

I remember when people came to Church, not expecting a high-powered concert, but a hard-core sermon from the Word of God. The service was dominated by a full hour of strong, fearless Bible preaching. Worldly, carnal people were convicted of their sinful ways and went to an altar to make tearful consecrations to quit their sins and do the will of God.

Christians didn't smoke, drink, dance, cuss, dip, carouse, go to ball games or theaters. They did not wear revealing clothes. They carried Bibles, read them, marked them and made notes in them. They prayed, went to prayer meetings, Bible studies, and Church fellowships. They visited the sick, the shut-ins, the jails, and the nursing homes.

Nowadays, tears and repentance are non-existent in most Churches. In their place is Harlem-dancing and rock-star worship. They scream and chant wildly about their sports teams, they rave about the latest block-buster movies, they know every hit song by every wicked entertainer on the scene. They wear as few clothes as the law will allow, they drink alcoholic beverages, use four-letter profanities with impunity, and commit sexual sins that would have given former generations a heart attack. And they still call themselves Christians.

"Ichabod" - meaning "the glory of the Lord is departed," is written over the door. Sin is welcomed and never condemned. The promises of God are offered recklessly without covenant like free ice cream and candy. The grace of God is trampled under foot. The longsuffering of God has been pushed to the breaking point, and judgment is right around the corner.

Unless Christianity quickly falls on its face in brutal confession of its sins, and in most humble repentance and turning from its wicked ways, the wrath of God will soon be poured out with nothing withheld.

God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," James 4:8-10.


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The Heresification Of Pentecostalism

The Pentecostal movement is experiencing accelerated heresification due to the introduction of non-Pentecostal influences, both in the pulpit, in its leadership positions, and in its general membership.

(Heresification: the permeation of heresy into a belief-system.)
Christianity is being defined today, not by Holy Ghost-filled men of God, but by "Christian" corporate trainers and leadership gurus who do not believe in or practice the Pentecostal experience. The larger part of them actually refute Pentecostal doctrines. That cannot possibly be good for Pentecostalism.

The pulpits and platforms of Pentecostal Churches are being hijacked by messages and methods that were not hewn out of the Word of God, but which were easily cut-and-pasted from non-Pentecostal resources. We have become self-indicting suckers for sound-and-light shows, high-tech multi-media, and state-of-the-art gadgets and methods. NONE of these things can possibly improve upon the supernatural power and presence of Almighty God. It is a great delusion and a great deception, and despite my passionate desire to prevent people from being seduced into it, what I say here is unlikely to stop anyone from being destroyed by it - unless they have a very sensitive heart that genuinely does not want to be deceived.

We also kid ourselves to believe that ANYTHING produced by the carnal mind can help God save the world.

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63.

THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING!

In the Early Church, even the DEACONS had to be men "full of the Holy Ghost," (Acts 6:3). NOW, we have national and international leaders in the Church who do NOT have the Holy Ghost, and many who actually refute the Baptism of the Holy Ghost!

If you want to see God work majestic things in a Church, then focus on attaining to a majestic relationship with God through prayer, fasting and study of the Word of God. Do NOT turn to the beggarly elements of the world in an effort to improve the Church. It simply does not and cannot work that way.

Any time you incorporate the world, the flesh, and the devil into the work of God, it can only be counterproductive, no matter how stunning the visual and aural effects are. Fabulous music and award-winning oratory can never replace the authentic anointing and blessing of God upon the uncompromised preaching of His Holy Word.

It is high time for Apostolic Pentecostal Holiness preachers and believers to slam the door in the face of non-Pentecostal, non-Holiness influences that are with lightning-speed taking over the forums and venues of Pentecostalism - and DISPLACING authentic Pentecostal preaching as it does.

Unless we shut out the non-Pentecostal voices with haste, the Pentecostal Church as we know it will soon be a much larger NON-Pentecostal Church.

If Pentecostalism cannot survive on its own merits, it certainly will be no more pleasing to God by introducing non-Pentecostal elements to put it on life-support.

We have been duped into believing that we need a catalyst from the outside to accelerate our growth. The more the Church depends on non-Pentecostal methods and messages, the less influence the Pentecostal message has. It is only a matter of time before the Pentecostal Church will think it has no need at all for true Apostolic doctrine, the Pentecostal experience or Holiness living.

The so-called catalyst is actually not a catalyst. It is a deadly poison.

The Pentecostal Church of the Book of Acts was entirely supported by the preaching of the Word of God with the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost. It is unthinkable that God would, in these last days, abandon anointed preaching and supernatural ministry for academic, corporate, or institutional processes. The Church is only legitimate when its message is pure, holy and doctrinally correct. God consigns NO MANDATE for wrong doctrine, false doctrine or doctrine-less preaching.

We do not need smoke and mirrors. We do not need executive-run Churches. We do not need more highly-trained leaders who are ignorant of God's Word, who do not have a divine call into ministry, or who do not live with conviction holy, godly lives. We need spiritual ministry that only comes from God.

I KNOW I am not wrong about this. I have, in my 45+ years of ministry, run the entire gamut of religious fads and fashions, and have consequently witnessed the complete transformation of Christianity from something that was holy, sacred and supernatural into something that is industrial, mechanical and entertaining.

It is time right now to stop the heresification of Pentecostalism.

Go back to the Bible. Get back on your knees. Fast and pray for a fresh visitation of the supernatural power of God. It will come.

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