| Although Jesus won for us the victory, principalities and powers seem to be winning in almost every region of the earth. May I suggest this is the case because most Christian soldiers are functioning like civilians in the midst of spiritual war?! For starters, some leaders aren’t properly equipping people on Sunday for Kingdom Advancement Monday through Saturday. On the other hand, some believers, although equipped on Sunday, put their civilian clothes back on after they leave the church building. They don’t do much with what they receive. And others only engage in warfare when their personal well-being is at stake, when their physical health, finances or relationships seem to be under attack. They fight for their survival or personal comfort. They’re really not thinking of others. But God is raising up His army which consists of spiritual generals who equip the soldiers in their battalion with the clothing, weaponry, ammunition, training, marching orders and strategy to victoriously advance the Kingdom of God throughout their region, refusing to allow any demonic interference in this assignment. God’s army isn’t trying to defeat the devil. The devil is already defeated! We have been made to sit with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers. In fact, principalities and powers were disarmed and made a public spectacle of by Jesus Christ Himself on the cross. The law was ammunition that demons used to keep people in bondage but Jesus used to law to bring people to Christ, the end of the law. Unfortunately, many believers have Re-armed principalities and powers by going back to the bondage of law, opening the door for competition (friendly fire), division and other fleshly activities that cause soldiers to be entangled in civilian affairs. Bottom line is CASUAL CHRISTIANS BECOME CASUALTIES OF WAR! Our casual treatment of spiritual warfare, our casual treatment of the cross of Christ and the blood he shed, our casual commitment to the things of God, all raise the white flag of surrender to the enemy. But what we should be doing is surrendering our lives as a living sacrifice to the One who died for us, welcoming His Lordship to take over new territory in our hearts and lives every day. As groups of believers begin living this DAILY lifestyle of welcoming the Kingdom of heaven to increase in their lives, momentum is built that begins to shift a culture. As Christian civilians begin to wear their Soldier gear every day of the week and no longer live with a survival mentality which fosters an atmosphere conducive for OFFENSE, but actually live on the OFFENSIVE to purposely advance Kingdom influence everywhere they go, Kingdom culture gains momentum in a region. When the army of the Lord truly takes the Great Commission (our ultimate marching orders) seriously we stop thinking and living selfish lives that treat God like Santa Claus instead of our King. We realize we were created for His pleasure, not the other way around. We begin to live our lives as Kingdom ambassadors who release His love and power to people all around us, instead of just claiming our rights as Kingdom citizens. We begin to love others like He loved us by laying down His life for us. |
