This morning in prayer God gave me a kind of snapshot picture, of a brief moment in time that I believe shows where we are right now. It was similar to one I had a couple of months ago, in that it centred on Jesus, as captain of the army, mounted on a horse with His banner of love flying for all to see. The difference this time was that instead of there being one Bride galloping to be with Him, the other main focus was on the army of many, many individuals who had all responded to His rallying cry and were assembled in ranks alongside Him, waiting for His command.
And I believe this showed the mighty remnant who have been paying attention in this season, have heard the call to leave behind our old worldly living and to commit our lives to advancing the Kingdom. That this has been our season to leave behind our old attitude of staying in our homes and buildings like spoiled little children demanding that He come and bless us where we are and meet our needs and bless our ventures. And it’s time to respond to the call to be soldiers for Christ – to put His needs and ventures above our own. To seek first HIS Kingdom.
And He took me to 2 Tim 2:4 – “No solider in active service gets entangled in the [ordinary business] affairs of civilian life; [he avoids them] so that he may please the One Who enlisted him to serve”
and Matt 6:33 – “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) his Kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right – the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also”
That latter verse in particular is a well-known Scripture that most Christians can quote, but in this season there has been such a clear wake-up call to the Western Church to alert us to the fact that we have NOT been living it. For centuries we’ve been seeking first our comfort, our opinions, our preferences… and God’s Kingdom has kind of been tacked on the end – if it doesn’t interfere with our own plans too much, that is.
And now it’s time for us to pursue it with a fresh focus and revelation on what it means to seek FIRST GOD’s Kingdom – to lay down our lives like the men and women who responded to the call to sign up when the World Wars started. It wasn’t a hobby – they weren’t tacking a meeting or two on to their usual lives, and doing their best to get as fit/ live as disciplined as a soldier. No their entire lives were given over to pursuing a single cause – in their case resisting the enemy troops. In our case advancing God’s Kingdom.
Our needs just happen to get met while we focus on what God wants.
In the above picture that God gave me I didn’t get a sense that we were assembling for war – though we all know spiritual warfare is very real and will inevitably be required. It actually felt more like we are receiving the commission to advance His Kingdom by preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom everywhere (like Jesus in Matt 4:23) and resisting the enemy in our submission to God (James 4:7).
But it wasn’t so much about what is coming next, just an acknowledgement of where we are now: assembled alongside our King, having heard and responded to His call to lay down our lives for the Kingdom. Interestingly the army didn’t look kitted out in armour, more like an army of ordinary people – some tired, some dusty, some a little out of shape. But still we had gathered, and all had a fire in their eyes and a focus on Jesus, with a determination to follow our King.
Through lock-down we’ve experienced a season where God has been loudly and clearly calling His people to return to their first love, to turn away from half-hearted religion, and to consecrate themselves in lives truly dedicated to God. I believe that season is coming to – if not already at – an end. God’s remnant has heard the call and responded, and we are now assembled, ready to be commissioned and sent out. And God is pleased to use us, whether we feel ready, qualified or not. He’s not looking for those who are skilled, only those who are available. And by volunteering, we are now qualified.
I’ll be honest, as I wrote this down this morning, I was confident I was hearing God, but a little nagging voice questioned if I was just jumping on the bandwagon of a prophetic word that I had come across the other day on Facebook. It was given by a prophet previously unknown to me, but I felt it was of God (link here for anyone who can access Facebook). Anyway I wrote down what God had showed me, and would probably have left it in my journal if it weren’t for what happened next. I turned to my daily Bible reading and happened to read the following from Psalm 110:3 –
“Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness” (NKJV)
In the middle of a Psalm about the Messiah’s Kingdom Reign is a little verse that says God’s people – His army – will willingly make offerings of themselves for service to Him, holy and prompt to respond in the day of His power.
Be encouraged, people of God. You may feel dusty, tired, or out of shape, but the important thing is that you have heard the call to lay down your life for His Kingdom, and have responded willingly. Through our weakness His strength is revealed, and the day of His power is at hand!
In the Secret Place 
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