The Body of Christ stands poised at the verge of the greatest move of God in the history of humankind. Each of us should expect swift and radical change. We do not have time for another trip around the mountain. We must enter into the promises of God today.
Recently, God spoke this very encouraging statement to me: “…this will be the season that My people begin to believe what they know. My Word will move from the head, to the heart, to the hands.”
As we begin to believe and then act on what we know to be true, His Word, we will begin to awaken to God—to awaken as warriors who contend for intimacy with God, purity and faith, and who overcome the enemy.
No matter how confused and confounded we have been in the past, this is the day we can end the wilderness wanderings and awaken:
“Therefore we make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9
Awaken…to Boldness for the End Time
Listen with your whole heart: this is the time for warriors to arise. The Spirit of God is calling forth the dread champions. Now is the time to shake yourself, stand-up and believe that the proclamation found in Micah 3:8 is true for you personally:
“Truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD…”
Heaven is speaking these words to you personally: Don’t Lose Heart! Be Encouraged! Victory Is Yours! Advance! The cry of “No hesitation!” has gone forth from heaven.
What is our response to be? We are commanded to be confident, brave, strong and very courageous (Joshua 1:7). We are to arise, believe the Word, act on the promises of God and walk in dominion power daily. Why? The Holy Spirit who lives within each one of us is much, much greater than the evil spirits at work in the world (1 John 4:4).
Boldness and courage are not optional. Throughout Scripture we are reminded that we mustbe bold brave and very courageous (Joshua 1:7-9). In Deuteronomy 20:1, we are encouraged not to let what we see cause us to fear. Our confidence is in God and His abiding presencewith us (Deuteronomy 31:6).
We are in the end-time harvest when the seeds of both good and evil are coming to full fruition. It is time for every believer to experience a true demonstration of the power of God’s Spirit day by day. The end-time Church will be a people of God’s undeniable power (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).
This is not a time to be weak and wavering, but to be extremely bold and brave—to awaken to Christ in us, the hope of glory—because the end is nearer than we imagine.
Awaken…to Pursue Purity
In many places on the earth, God’s people are stirred to pursue true purity, with a longing to not allow anything in their lives hinder their walk with Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 7:1 is a very important verse for this period of time:
“…Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
God is calling all overcomers to arise, walk with clean hands and a pure heart and draw ever closer to our Lord in this season of no compromise, in order to move in power and take the Kingdom for the King.
I am weary of seeing the plans and purposes of man. I long to see the mighty acts of God and pray that the entire Church would be hungry and desperate to see the works of the Lord. How will this happen? The Spirit of Truth is calling us to come closer than ever before, to draw near to the Lord.
The cry has come up before the God’s throne: “Oh that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!” (Isaiah 64:1). Ask the Holy Spirit to remove any hindrance standing in the way of your total surrender to the will and way of God.
Join your heart with the plea of Psalm 90:16–17 and pray:
“Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us…”
No one will have an excuse. The way is clear and any one of us can advance higher. The invitation is extended: “Come up here…” (Revelation 4:1). A door is open in heaven, and when we answer the call to enter, we will be able to see Him more clearly and hear more distinctly.
This intimacy with the Lord will equip us to advance in the anointing on our lives and experience the fulfillment of our divine call as warriors.
Awaken…to Prepare for War
The subject of conflict and conformation is not popular in our day; however, we must give heed to these extremely sobering words in Joel 3:9-10:
“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.”
Without question, we long to see the fulfilling of the glorious prophetic promise revealed in Isaiah 2:1-4, when the warriors of God will fight no more because the Lord has established His reign on this earth. We are taught that in those days the warriors will forge their swords into plowshares and never again learn war.
While this future peace is rightly yearned for, the Lord’s commission for His saints now is just the opposite. Today, God is calling us to learn war His way. Proverbs 24:6 declares,
“For by wise counsel you will wage your own war. And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.”
In Matthew 11:12, Christ Jesus states that the kingdom of heaven is established by bothfaith and force:
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
We are to contend for the faith. This warning is addressed very specifically in the book of Jude:
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
This Greek word epag?nizomai, translated contend, occurs only once in the New Testament here in Jude. It is a term used by Greek historians to describe physical battles. The Lord is exhorting us to contend earnestly for the faith as if we were fighting a war.
Awaken…to Drive Out Evil
Ponder this principle: the New Testament clearly teaches that Israel’s violent history recorded in the Old Testament is “an example…written for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:11). In Scripture we learn God sets the pattern “the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then thespiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46).
Scripture also reveals that Israel was instructed by God to drive out the evil hordes. Just as Israel violently drove the Canaanite from the physical Promised Land, we, too, are called to drive out every evil force from the spiritual Promised Land.
Don’t misunderstand: I am not writing about guns, bombs and bullets—but about true spiritual authority, the authority commissioned to those who have a holy heart, clean hands and a righteous life-style (Psalms 24:3-4). Our weapons are prayer, fasting and consecrated, holy living. We are given extremely clear instructions concerning our method of warfare, to put on the complete armor of God so that we might be able to withstand all the attacks of the devil. Meditate on Ephesians 6:12:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Paul teaches that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places, in 2 Corinthians 10:1-6:
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
Awaken…to Act on His Promises
The apostle Paul instructed us to walk purposefully toward one true goal—the upward call of God (Philippians 3:12–16). This is not a time to wander around the mountain of defeat and unbelief; we are to believe the promises of God and act on His Word, even if our feelings or circumstances contradict His Truth.
Now is the time to act on the Word, not just to think about the Scriptures. Rather than just being content to sit and hear, we must become activators of the Word (see James 1:22). Never forget that God has promised that: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” (Isaiah 54:17). How do we act on this promise? When we cast all of our cares on the Lord, cease from worry and striving, and rejoice that He has already won the victory!
May we all be able to echo with Paul this triumphant testimony revealed in 2 Timothy 4:7-8:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
The warning is extended in a profound way in Romans 13:11-14:
“Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).
The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.
Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of] day, not in reveling (carousing) and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery (sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy.
But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature]to [gratify its] desires (lusts).
I want to assure you that we are fighting from victory, not for victory. Our foe was totally defeated. Christ Jesus accomplished this for us on the Cross!
This truth is amplified again in Colossians 2:13-16:
“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
I so appreciate the way Eugene Peterson in the Message Bible states this passage:
“Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.”
You can walk in full confidence and boldness, knowing that greater is He that is within you than all the forces of evil about you (1 John 4:4). Beloved friend, your struggle is not with people or circumstances, but with the kingdoms of darkness. Let this promise gird your heart Isaiah 41:10:
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Even in the midst of pressures and problems, warfare and turmoil, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, fires, tornados and political upheavals, we can maintain abiding peace as we focus on Christ the King. Isaiah 26:3 (in the Amplified Bible) assures us:
“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You”
Warriors, awaken to the peace and joy of victory! The end-time harvest is at hand!
