In these end times, I believe God’s word for us today is “NO MORE!” No more gray, no more lukewarm, no more self-serving faith, no more blindness to spiritual warfare, no more abusing and being abused, no more ignoring and/or being controlled by strongholds and lies we believe about ourselves and about Him.
God is raising up an army – one that is powerful, focused, and ready to release His plans and purposes in these end times. As Moses parted the Red Sea, I believe the Lord is parting the body of believers – separating those who are armed and ready for battle from those who are not.
He’s asking you today … Are you in? Are you ready for battle? And if not, what can you do to get ready?
1. Be Set Apart
It is becoming more clear with each passing day that God is calling us to be set apart in these end times. In my own life, God has repeatedly impressed Isaiah 52:11-12 upon my heart, and it has become my very personal and very urgent new “life verse:”
Is 52:11-12
Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
If you are to carry the sacred vessels of the Lord, you need to be pure, and in these end times, I believe these “vessels” include: His Word, prophecy, truth, righteousness, fruit of the Spirit, healing, restoration of the Feasts and Jewish calendar, all that supports and aligns with His strategic plan for the future and His Millennial reign (see Ch. 7 of my book Unshaken). He will tolerate “no more” an army made up of individuals who believe in Him, but are not purified and ready for battle. For example, those are controlled by fear, stress, unforgiveness and other negative emotions; and those who are unable or unwilling to “see the unseen.”
2. See the Unseen
Now more than ever, God is calling you to see the unseen. In fact, it’s key to your very survival in these end times! Whether it be in the political realm in Washington, in your marriage, families, workplace, churches or congregations – it’s imperative that your eyes are open to see the unseen battle behind the scenes of life’s relationships, interactions and situations. Behind every conflict, negative emotion, or difficult situation lies an unseen spiritual battle. If you cannot, or choose not to see it, then you will falsely label others or your situation as “the enemy,” and react to what you can see “in the flesh” with“fleshly” responses (or weapons) such as: fear, intimidation, stress, frustration, deception, avoidance, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, rejection, shame, blame, or self-condemnation (just to name a few!).
It’s critical to recognize that all of these “fleshly” responses or weapons give the enemy ground or authority in your life. Picture, if you will, an unplugged appliance – perhaps a vacuum with it’s power cord pulled out of the wall. It no longer has any power, it cannot make any noise, it cannot move around or go anywhere, it can do nothing. However, if you take the cord and plug it back into a wall socket, it “comes to life.” It becomes filled with power and energy.
The same is true in the spiritual realm! Yeshua defeated Satan. He and his demons had their plugs pulled out of the wall per se at the cross. However, you plug those cords back in the socket and give them power and authority in your life whenever you fear, stress, etc. Again, this battle is going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether or not you choose to be aware of it.
In closing, I encourage you to pray to God each day:
– that He would help you to “see the unseen” throughout the day in all interactions and situations!
– that you would be able to partner with Him to release HIS plans purposes throughout the day!
– that He would shine His light and show you any lies you’re believing about yourself or about Him that are giving the enemy (the father of lies) power and authority in your life!
God is calling up an army who is committed to keeping the enemy’s power cord “unplugged,” and who is willing to respond to life’s challenges not with “fleshly,” but with spiritual weapons of warfare. Are you in? Are you ready?
