There is an army of believers being gathered and equipped in these days who will be skilled in all the weapons of spiritual warfare. They will be those who have understanding of the times and insight into the ways of God concerning Kingdom conquest. Their discernment in spiritual things and submission to the leading of the Spirit will give them great advantage over previous generations of warriors both in the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.
To become enlisted in this end-time army one must go through the boot camp of the Holy Spirit and have all the carnal ways of warfare burned out of him or her. No allegiance to the flesh can be tolerated, or defeat in the heat of battle will be inevitable. God has give the Spirit's power to burn all the fleshly desires out of these "front liners" and baptize them totally in His fire.
Matthew 3:11, 12 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace, yet the only thing that burned was the cord that kept them bound. God's fire sets people free. When we are free of self, free of the lusts and carnal desires that weigh us down, then the life of God can freely flow through us. When the baptism of fire burns through us, it will eliminate all the soulish and selfish clutter so that we can be victorious over the fiery darts that come against us.
1 Peter 4:1 "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin . . . "
As we allow the Spirit of God to burn all the fleshly chaff out of our lives, it will result in a death process. A funeral for the flesh will take place. Then God will have us right where He wants us.
God is not interested in performance or outward shows. when an individual develops a disciplined lifestyle of setting himself apart from the world to seek the Lord, the fire of God will be present both to destroy and to build. The Lord told Joshua to tell the people of God, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow I shall do signs and wonders among you." The word "sanctify" means to set apart.
A good soldier does not entangle himself with the affairs of this world. 2 Timothy 2:4. He is one that sometimes must endure hardship (vs. 3). A good soldier is under authority and seeks to pleas the one who made him a good soldier. It can be so easy to give in to the will of the flesh or go the way of the world. When we turn to God with all our heart, making a determined effort to seek Him and His wisdom, He will keep us in the hour of testing.
The enemy's plan is to take something and makes it into absolutely nothing. Notice it's exactly opposite from God, where God takes nothing and makes it into something. He (the enemy) selects people with the greatest talents and abilities, convincing them to use those talents for their own glory. He convinces them to waste their lives just making money, knowing it will never make them happy. Being full of hate and jealousy, he takes it out on the Church. He wants us to make the same mistake he did so that we will be pulled down with him.
He is trying to afflict the Church with spiritual AIDS. Aids attacks the immune system of the body so that the affected person cannot ward off sickness. Spiritual AIDS makes one so weak that he sits back and allows the devil to run right over him.
The "A" in spiritual AIDS is for "accusation." Satan is trying to weaken the Body through the spirit of accusation and condemnation, making us feel unworthy. He is a liar, for there are no unworthy vessels among us, even if we are earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7). Every person who has been born again has been made beautiful in God's eyes.
Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
The "I" in spiritual AIDS stand for "intimidation" or fear. Satan has implanted various fears in to the Church. The fear of the unknown, the fear of stepping out of the boat, the fear of doing something we've never done before are a few of them.
The "D" in spiritual AIDS is for "deception." If deception can creep into your life, it will steal the anointing. Satan deceives us into believing we can have one foot in the world and the other in the Spirit. It doesn't work. There can be no compromise in God. Compromise leads to confusion. If you are confused, it may be because you have left your first love.
Jesus said to Peter, "Peter, do you love Me? if you do, then feed My sheep. Do you love Me? if you do, then feed My lambs." When we love God we want to serve Him. That is a natural product of our love.
The "S" in spiritual AIDS stand for "self-exaltation," or pride. Pride, the Scriptures tell us, "goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). God is looking for broken vessels. God can flow out of us when it doesn't matter if we are recognized and we want Jesus to be glorified.
We desperately need God's presence and the manifestation of His glory in this life. When your husband, wife, children, or relatives have left you alone, you need the presence of God. After you've lost your job and are lying awake at night, you need the presence of God. when you want to be used of God and no doors seems to be opening, nothing seems to be working, you need the presence of God manifested to you. You can't afford pride. It will cut you off from His presence. Keep pride out---whatever the cost. Keep it out!
