In this folk, only a very few had a piece of armour on
them. Identity of this group was not clear, not even the more visible few
standing by the banner. This was so because they kept drifting from one banner
to another.
Fighting constantly broke out among members of this army
especially the recruits, leaving many with bodily injury now and then. The
Generals were more pre-occupied with talking about selves and thereafter
engaged one another in a brawl. Pronounced among them also were erratic
decisions, confusion and stagnation.
On these soldiers were seen dull and tattered uniform,
almost all the soldiers had wound on one spot or the other. Only a few soldiers
attempted to march.
INTERPRETATION:
This third group of army denotes a set of believers whose
identity in the spirit realm is not only faint but also unstable. Tattered and
dull uniform shows this group comprises of people who are far off from truth
and righteousness, whereas they are busy claiming to be on the right path. The
Generals alone having pseudo weapons, speaks of the leadership of the church
toeing the path of delusion and self-righteousness, thereby endangering the
future of the flock.
Self-will gives room for pride, stubbornness, extreme
carnality, headiness and individualism. Little wonder, this army experienced a
high dosage of in-fighting, rancor and disputes. Quite a number of them had to
cope with injury now and then.
This army of God’s people allows much of the flesh and
ambition to becloud their view and understanding of God’s purpose and
destination. They are known to be God’s people more by name or mouth and not by
work or fruits.
Above all, a tattered army is by all standard weak,
unkempt, and low in morale. It is ill-motivated, fractured, and unfit. It lacks
courage, cohesion and agility.
As at … When Rick Joiner saw this vision, God informed
him that the First Army group explained above was not yet in place then but to
be in future, and that the First and Ultimate Army of God were to be recruited
from the other two imperfect army groups.
Bro. Ademola Akinyemi believes these prophetic visions
were being fulfilled at this time.
For a Christian to be in the Lord’s ultimate Army (which
is God’s desire), Akinyemi identified certain attitudinal dispositions that
must be done away with. These include self-righteousness, self-will, pride,
fear and self-interest, all of which are prohibited by the scripture for anyone
willing to journey with God.
In Matthew 24:4-6 “And Jesus answered and said unto them
‘take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in my name saying ‘I am
Christ and shall deceive many, v6 And ye shall hear of war and rumours of wars;
see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet”.
“God is waging war against His opponents in us” disclosed
the preacher noting emphatically such opponents include fear, ignorance, envy,
arrogance, pride, religious mindset, self-righteousness and others. The war, he
said was within the man to dethrone attitudes born of the spirit of the flesh,
so as to enthrone, in the man, a new nature born of Christ.
The time has come for brethren to be perfectly equipped
with the armour of faith Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally my brethren, be strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour
In his teaching at the Christian Leadership Upgrade,
pastor of the Third Temple (Church of The First Born), Bro. Wole Olakunle
identified two types of war within man. These are –the wars against the devil
and the flesh.
God permitted Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to
chastise His people (Isrealites) till they had learnt their lessons and made
adjustment. “There are wars ordained by God for you to go through until you are
trained and made ready for His purpose” declared Pastor Olakunle adding God
might place His own under a task master for a particular purpose. Under such a
situation, prayer, no matter how intense, would not be answered, and the
trainee would remain there till God’s purpose was accomplished.
The wars
predetermined by God for His own people were meant to equip them for leadership
role. Leadership on the other hand, calls for patience, long-suffering,
knowledge, wisdom and perpetual obedience to God's voice. All these virtues or
qualities, according to Pastor Olakunle could not be cultivated or imbibed
without waging war beforehand against the nature that opposed them.
''There shall be wars and rumours of wars" being the
theme of this (pioneering) edition of the Christian Leadership Upgrade was
intended to sensitize believers in Christ and in particular, the leadership to
the emphasis of the spirit of God at this point in time. As leaders, Pastor
Olakunle asked ''what have you been doing with your sphere of influence? Are
you known more of imparting people with information on sporting activities or
with the knowledge of Christ?
(To be continued)
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