THEME:
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: ………..Mat 24:6
DATE:
June 22nd, 2013
Lagos.
The armies of God were a people of uncommon courage,
bravery, forthrightness. To have courage however, you must be upright in
character, for according to him, “It is character that gives voice”, without
upright behavior he explained, a man could not have a voice among his
brethren. Reuben, he said, was the
first son of Israel but lost the rites and privileges of that position due to
poor character. For sleeping with his father’s wife, Reuben lost his
pre-eminence and consequently bequeathed the role of the second fiddle even to
the generations after him. Conversely, Joseph, also a son of Israel in the 11th
position got promoted to the position of a prime minister or ruler over Egypt
and indeed over nations because of godly character found in him.
God is changing the strategy of His dealings with His people at this time. The army of one-man “General” and others being mere subjects or recruits was currently being replaced by God observed the man of God. Men who are selfless, disciplined, upright, humble, unmindful of ranks, accommodating, resilient and unassuming were being brought together by God to take the people across and beyond Jordan.
Men consciously committed to the leading of the Holy
Spirit, not driven by desire for comfort or glamour but by the hunger for the
will of God; not willing to drain and exploit the people but to assist and
nurture them into God’s purpose were beginning to heed God’s clarion call for a
change.
To etch in his exposition, Akinyemi alluded to a book
written by Rick Joiner in …… In the book
entitled-The Final Quest- God showed Joiner a vision of three types of army on
earth depicting the state of the church or God’s people in the universe.
THE FIRST GROUP
The first set of army seen by Joiner was fully dressed
up, smartly kitted and perfectly equipped. It had 12 divisions, each headed by
a senior officer. There were different cadres of officers and also of other
ranks.
This army was fearless, strong and healthy. Among them,
there was no consciousness of ranks or position. Both the men and officers were
united, bonded in oneness and did relate as friends unconsciously. Their
marching was of one sound and at the same time. It was accurate and error-free.
There were no traces of pride or ambition within or among them. They exercised sound
and right judgment over issues and always refrained from condemning instead,
restoring one to the other.
INTERPRETATION
That being fully dressed implies that the group and its
members have a clear and distinctive identity in the spirit. In other words,
spiritual standing of each of the members had been proven and ascertained as a
people without compromise. To earn a place in this group, the enemy must have
tested the person thoroughly. There is no entering into this group by accident
or incidence of a mistake of identity. Within this group exists no
discontentment over ranks or position, the ones in higher rank do not oppress,
ignore or disdain the ones in lower ranks. In fact team spirit is very high
among this army of restoration.
THE SECOND GROUP
Weapons for battle were not enough among this group just
as the members were not fully kitted. There was no ambition within its ranks
except among the Generals. Rank consciousness was palpable at its topmost
cadres and the soldiers were not as colourful and sharp as the first group.
Many had not a full set of arms and so were some without weapons. Their banner
was smaller in size than the first army group. There was strong determination
and purposefulness in this army. Their willingness to go to battle was visible
but their focus could not be sustained to a reasonable level. Sense of harmony
was depicted in their marching order but not translated to other areas of being
together. Team spirit was hindered by uncaring attitude, selfishness and
jealousy.
INTERPRETATION
This army could be described as one not fully
combat-ready. Its rank and file is permeated by such dangerous and weakening
elements as selfishness, crave to out-do one another and discontentment.
Being not fully kitted and armoured, indicate that their
identity and spiritual positioning are blurred by tendencies and attitudes
prohibitive to righteousness. In plain terms, this group is ill-equipped for
the task ahead. Its members though have the potential for exploits could not
advance to the place expected of them due to distraction, ulterior motives and
individual differences.
Rank consciousness among the Generals is a symptom of
pride and pomposity. Ambition within the top echelon of the army is indicative
of the willingness to set aside God-given goal or desire for another.
THE THIRD ARMY
This army consists of only two classes of people- the
Generals and “recruits” or beginners. Available weapons were found only with
the Generals, and they were dummy weapons. The Generals flaunted these dummy weapons
with high sense of pride and feigned confidence as if it made them special or
strong in any form.
The starters or “recruits” were particularly saddened by
two main factors. First, they knew that the weapons with the Generals were not
real and as such, could not be useful. Secondly, they desired one with real
weapons whom they could follow, but found none.
(To be continued)
(To be continued)
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