Winter, Disillusionment, and Some Perspective

I was out on our front deck recently, overlooking our snow-covered, barren yard.   Life over the last 18 months had finally caught up to me. The reality of never having our Latvian daughter in our home was tough to bear.  The picture of what life will be like with our new son moving forward has become a thorn in my side. I have never known 'tired' like I know now.  At my most recent low point, I was gravely disappointed that the Mayans were wrong.  But echoing in my head repeatedly is a phrase that came to my friend over 2 years ago as we prayed together, "Focus on the bright spots."  I continued to look out on the dead of winter that had set in.  I thought to myself ,"Bright spots?"  The young blueberry bushes caught my eye.  They looked like little sticks jutting out of the ground.  Dead.  Much how I felt.  Dead.  As I looked around, I lamented to the Lord, "Yuck, everything is so dead.  It's so cold."  Silence.  I continued, "Not everywhere in the world has this ridiculous cycle of warmth and cold.  I'm not much for the cold.  Bright spots?  Where are these bright spots?"  Then in the midst of the chill, "It's the season.  Life comes in seasons.  Those blueberry bushes aren't dead - their roots are deepening and strengthening.  Though it looks unfruitful, this season is preparing them for a fruitful spring.  Seasons.  Knowing the seasons is important.  Preparation."  I was overwhelmed with the sense of us being in that season.  I don't feel fruitful.  I feel dead.  The words of Jim Palmer still haunt me.  Do I *really* want to know this God of ours?  I'm in the midst of real pain, real hurt, real life beyond my suburban, western, posh life.  The wearing out tactics of the enemy were working.  I wanted to run as far as I can from this mess.  Winter.  Yuck.

Another voice continues to echo in my soul.  I remember calling my friend Jim with a sense of panic at week one of bringing home our son.  Our conversation went something like this:

"Tom, don't focus on your circumstance.  Focus on what He is doing *in* you and *through* you during this time.  That's what He's in the business of doing - He doesn't care about your comfort, He cares about your heart."

Hrumph.  I knew that, but at the same time, I didn't really know that.  That doesn't sound like rainbows and unicorns.  I wanted rainbows and unicorns.  Not really.  I was prepared for a work, messy work, just not this work.  This is a lot of work!  Different work.  I was ready to build a bridge over the Jordan - I had planned a beautiful bridge...unfortunately, we arrived at the Red Sea.

The conversation continued:

"You prayed for something - you brought this on yourself, you know?  What did you pray for?"

"Well, we prayed that the Lord would break our hearts with what broke His and teach us to love like He does."

We both chuckled.  He said, "Well of course! He answered that one, didn't He!?!  And I bet somewhere in there you prayed to sharpen your spiritual warfare skills, too.  Battle-time, buddy!  Saddle up!"

Recently we spoke again.  His word for us, "Remember in the Word, when the disciples were frustrated that deliverance wasn't coming with a particular child, Jesus told his disciples 'this one only comes out by prayer and fasting.'  I think he may be telling you '*these ones*' - you ready?  People like you, who endure this race to the end, write books to tell others how to walk with Him and to war in the Spirit to win these battles.  This is the stuff testimonies are made of."

I don't want to write a book.

Faith.  Trust.  This I am learning - I am not in control of the outcome, nor are good outcomes a guarantee.  He's in charge of that.  My disappointment comes at the distance between expectation and reality.  Circumstance isn't what is important.  It is what He is doing in the midst of circumstance. 

Setting deeper roots.  Preparation.

I continue to fertilize with the Word, trying to see what it says about deliverance and "this one," and how others found victory who have gone before us.   I have never been entrenched in spiritual battle quite like I am now.  The victory is ours; can't come soon enough!

Moving the Mountains

I felt like the Lord gave me revelation through the scripture about 'moving the mountains' which would be encouraging to all those who are standing and praying for His bride.

And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” (John 2:14-17)

I wrote about this account, using Mark 11, in another post entitled Changes in the Church. Much of the church today has this similar issue - we are buying our peace (doves) by throwing money in an offering plate or purchasing books or chasing conferences, rather than going to the Source - our Father. I'm not saying these things are bad, but when they eclipse our devotion to or our recognition of the source, this is a problem. The Spririt will guide us into all truth - He will do it, not man. But I don't want to get off track here - I want to look at this passage in context - why the withered fig tree beforehand? What does moving mountains have to do with figs? What does overthrowing the tables have to do with all of this?

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. (Mark 11:11)

This was curious to me - He went in looking (watchfulness), but the hour was late and left. To me, Jesus himself went in to survey the scene - to see the state of the then present reality of the temple. This is where we are today - many of us see the state of the church and see all of its dysfunction, missteps, misgivings, and pitfalls. We've surveyed the seen, but now what? The dry bones know they're dry. We must not fall into judgement and grumbling, but what can we do?

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-14)

What what does the fig tree have to do with all of this? He cursed the fig tree along the way, and it was out of season....why?

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2)

He's looking for fruit, in and out of season. Whether the church is in right order or not, we must be in right order with Him individually, both in and out of season. It isn't the church's fault we're not moving in all that we are called to. The other aspect of this is this instruction doesn't sound very glorious nor fun, but this is our charge - with longsuffering!

Then we see Jesus going into the temple and taking action, overthrowing the tables. He quoted Isaiah 56, but I want to give that passage some context here.

“ Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:6,7)

His house shall be called a "house of prayer" - this speaks of the house for today because he speaks of the "foreigners" - that is us as gentiles who are grafted in. These ones He will "bring to My holy mountain." The temple in that day did not resemble a house of prayer, nor did it look like a holy people.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:20-26)

Jesus entered the temple to partake of fruit and found none. To the people who inhabitted the mountain, He spoke to the mountain and said for it to be rooted up - He overturned the tables and chased the money changers away! The temple was defiled - He identified the root and spoke to the mountain. We, too, must uphold a standard of His holiness, but without standing in judgement and falling into spiritual pride, believing we are "holier" than that of those still left in the church. We've been given grace, we must show grace. We must forgive and be longsuffering - this is why I believe Jesus followed the teaching on standing in faith with a word about forgiveness of others. For fear of extending this into the length of a book, I'll finish with this: we need our brothers, we need to invest in discipleship, and not leave others behind...we need each other in order to fulfill the callings and purpose on our lives - even Jesus submitted to the ministry of John the Baptist.

We must stand on His word, He is returning for a pure and spotless bride. He is looking to us to stand in faith, and move the mountains!

Prevailing Prayer

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2428&forum=34

I thought I'd pass this along - I was really blessed by the account of the power of prevailing prayer, and their desire to gather the 2's and 3's...

Stand!

As part of our Friday Night Watch on 4/23, I felt the Lord give me a series of scriptures. As I looked them up, they all had a prevailing theme - stand! Each also had a secondary theme, which I will get into later...

The story of Mary in Luke 1:26-38 shows the angel of the Lord coming to visit Mary and making a promise to her - she would birth the Messiah. We're familiar with the story - quite crazy and extreme...unbelievable even. Her response, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Let it be to me according to your word - this needs to be our response! The Lord has made some promises to all of us with regards to our own personal lives, our children, our communities, our cities, etc. We must stand on these words!

"Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.' Be sober, be vigilant (watchful); because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." (1 Peter 5: 6, 8-11)

First off, let me note here the importance of humility. This is the Lord's work, and not our own - so as we take a stand, we stand on His Words - they are His works and not our own. The devil "walks about like a roaring lion" - he tries to bully and scare us into doubt and unbelief. After we have suffered, we are strengthened and established - we can stand. We tend to avoid suffering and try to "stand" for something we can wrap our natural minds around - something easier to grasp...but that's not what the Lord is after. Peter says to be vigilant and sober minded, other translations say to be alert or watchful. Why?

"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!"(James 5:7-8)

This was especially meaningful for us as the Lord has been reiterating how the watch is like plowing. When a farmer plants seed in the ground, he does so expecting a harvest. If he plants tomato seeds, he expects to reap a harvest of tomatoes. But he also should expect to have to wait patiently - for the season of the harvest. He may also have to water, for there maybe a dry season or drought to endure. There also may be many weeds popping up trying to choke out the plants and prevent fruit. It is much the same way with us. The devil claims a drought and things will look bleak, maybe even wither or look dead, or maybe doubt will creep in thinking you didn't plant those seeds at all, maybe you're just not a good gardener, etc., etc. - we must wage war against these things and take these thoughts captive. We must continue to work the soil, till the ground, water, weed and prune our "spiritual gardens".

"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. " (Ephesians 6:11-13)

We must recognize who and what we are warring against. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood - not people - but rather the spirit behind them at work. I find it interesting here in verse 13, "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 " - after having "done all" - stand. Keep standing! This is the faith the Father is looking for throughout the earth!!!

"So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." (Mark 11:22-25)

Here we see again - "does not doubt!" This is so important - to stand on these things and not waver. But here we see the secondary theme behind all of these scriptures, which intrigues me - And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Stand praying, seek forgiveness...

Each of the scriptures above had something to do with our relationships being in right order as we "stand". Jesus said when we're to stand praying, forgive. Peter said to walk in humility, but also stand in the faith, knowing our brotherhood endure these same kinds of trials - we're not alone, and we're not better than anyone else. Also, we see the humility of the younger to the elder - why? Chances are, the elder has lived through it - learn from it! We don't endure "super-trials" because we're these 'spiritual giants', better than every other believer. We need to submit to one another and learn from one another. James exhorts us not to grumble, while Paul wrote about the battle being spiritual and not flesh and blood. It seems so easy to fall into the snare of thinking more highly of ourselves then we ought, and grumbling about our brothers and sisters...if we are going to stand in faith, we need to stand together, expecting our adversary to come and subtly draw us into judgement, pride, grumbling, or isolation. Stand!

Example of the Functioning Church

This is a lengthy passage, but I feel that it shows us some patterns to follow in the church and the body of Christ. I believe this passage is a reflection of how we are to operate. Because of the length, I have broken the passage up - the following is taken from 1 Chronicles 20:1-30:

It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

A vast army was coming against Judah. Looking back to Genesis, Ammon and Moab represent some perverted sin:

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. (Genesis 19:36-37)

The men of Mount Seir (Horites, Esauites, and Edomites) made their homes by chipping away at rocks (Deut 2:12) in the mountainside, then the Ammonites and Moabites would come in and inhabit those openings. The same thing is happening to us today - the enemy is coming against us, trying to chip away at the rock of our salvation (bitterness, unforgiveness, pride), then trying to inhabit those areas with perversion, lust, envy, and whatever other sin that can come in.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Here Jehoshaphat acknowledges who he is, and who God is. Truth is reality - their reality was they were doomed. So are we. Without Him, we can do nothing. We must come to Him as a child - it is His good pleasure to be our salvation! Just as Judah humbled themselves, we must humble ourselves and pray. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (1 Chron 7:14)

Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

They all met together and sought the Lord. I find it interesting the author noted "the little ones" - this is an aside, but there is a place for togetherness with family before the Lord. As they sought the Lord, the prophet spoke, giving a word of faith for victory. We have overcome - by faith we believe and hope for that which is unseen.

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.

After receiving the word of the Lord, the Levites lead the people in worship. They praised Him as if victory was already at hand! What overcoming faith!!! They didn't get bogged down or overwhelmed, they blessed Him and worshipped Him in the midst of their trial.

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

They believed in what the prophet spoke. We need the prophetic ministry in our churches. I believe a time is coming when our very lives will be at stake - we must believe in the prophetic, we must desire to move in it, and we must trust in it. We are to "test all things." That doesn't mean discount all things. We need the prophetic ministry in these last days. The Lord is shaking us now to prepare us and perfect our gifts.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the LORD,
For His mercy endures forever.”
Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Jehoshaphat selected a worship team. They entered the people into intercessory worship, and the enemy fell. Worship is a strategy for warfare. The Lord went before them and turned the enemies on one another.

So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

As with seemingly all of the victories of His people, there was a great spoil. I don't believe we're going to go around killing people, but I do believe we are going to see spoils coming into the church as we begin to overcome in our spiritual warfare. The wealth of the gentiles is coming. They had watched until no one was left from the enemies camp - that is where we need to be - no toleration for anything not of the Lord. And as they enjoyed their victory, God gave them rest all around. That is His desire for us - let Him go before us, and as long as we are walking with Him, we will enjoy His rest and peace upon us.

Strategy for Battle for Our Cities

There seems to be a stirring in the body of Christ. We are begining to thirst for more of the Lord and desiring to be in His presence more and more. As part of that, we are begining to press in more to heavenly places to discover what is keeping us from that open line of communication with the Father.

2 Chronicles 20:1-20 shows us a battle that was about to ensue against Judah. "It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat." The people of Mount Seir made their homes by chiseling away at the rock in the mountain sides, and then the people of Moab would make their homes their. The Ammonites and the Moabites represent sin and perversion. They originated from Lot's daughters who conceived their children with their father while he was drunk. The same thing is happening today - there are so many things that try to chip away at our rock of salvation, and then tempt us or distract us. Once we are distracted, sin sets in. We live in a day where many things chip away at our rock - TV, magazines, work, entertainment, activities, even church. It is coming at us from all sides it seems, but I believe the Lord is allowing this to give us spiritual eyes to see the battle at hand, and to teach us to fight. We see in verse 2 that "some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria and they are in Hazazon Tamar' (which is En Gedi)." They were keeping watch and saw the enemy coming. The watchman were on the walls and awake to see the vast army coming. We, too, need to watch, but also heed to others as they watch and share what they are seeing in the spirit. Jesus said,

"Watch therefore, for you do not know what day or hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:42-44 NKJV

We must be watching for the Lord and ultimately keep our eyes on Him, but we must also know the battle that lies before us.

"How can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house." Matthew 12: 29 NKLV

We must keep watch and pray in order to identify and bind the strong man. We see in 2 Chronicles 20:3, this is what Jehoshaphat did - he inquired of the Lord and proclaimed a fast. Through this, "the people came together from every town to seek him" (verse 4). There was a coming together of the body - they recognized the reality of the onslaught of the enemy, and realized the only victory over this vast army was through God giving the enemy over to them. These were overcomers - Jesus said we are more than conquorers in Him, and we are overcomers through Him. After they prayed (verses 6-12), it says all stood before the Lord - children included. I don't want to veer too much here, but children were included in this as well - our children have the same Holy Spirit as we do - they need to be included in prayer, worship, and the like. In verse 15, a Levite (worship leader) stood before the group and prophesied not to be afraid or discouraged, but that the vast army would be defeated at the hand of the Lord! He said to stand firm and to take up their positions, but that the battle was the Lord's, and the Lord would deliver them. Even in the midst of the battle, we must be steadfast in our faith. It is by our faith that we overcome. As they set out for the battle the next day, they stood and worshipped the Lord with Thanksgiving as if the battle was already won! For many reasons, I see too many intercessors downtrodded and beaten up. I, too, was feeling like I was in a bunker for many months, even years - never advancing; feeling like everything around me was falling apart or blowing up. We must never lose focus on Him - many times we focus on the battle, or our wounds, or our circumstance or any number of things that distract our focus from Him. After they gave thanks and praised the Lord, the Lord sent confusion into the enemies' camp (v22) and they destroyed one another. "When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it." This is amazing! We will see and are begining to see this plunder. Obviously today we aren't doing this by natural means, but rather in the heavenlies through our prayer, intercession, and worship. As we begin to win these battles, we too are going to see a plunder. Paul said we are to "wrestle principalities", but as we gain victory, needed resources will be released into the church for the good of His people. It also says that "the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel." People will see the Lord in us and see our peace in the midst of trials, and see the fear of God as we fight. It goes on to say, "Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around." I could go on and on about the "rest of the Lord", but I'll just say this - we are coming to an age where we will have to battle to find rest - we will no longer be able to continue to avoid battles to find a counterfeit peace - the peace will elude us unless we take the yoke of the Lord and overcome. It is through the overcoming life that we will move from victory to victory, and rest in Him.

In summary, we see here a picture of what the church should look like in these last days. As the vast spiritual army comes on all sides, the Lord will reveal strategies to overcome. He will reveal Himself through however He chooses - we must be in tune with the Father to see what he is saying and doing. Jesus said He only did what He saw His Father in heaven doing. As we do that, we will see the enemy brought down as the "God of peace will soon crush satan under our feet." Not only do we need to be in tune with the Father, but we need one another in the body of Christ. As we see in this story, the Lord used many people to reveal what He was doing for His people. Likewise, in these last days, we will be laboring together, building upon one another's work rather than doing seperate works or our own thing or treading over the same ground over and over again. This collaboration will be necessary in order to forcefully advance the kingdom of God. Keep soldiering on!