• Recruited
  • Before the foundations of the world. Ephesians 1:4 he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love
  • In our mothers womb Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 49:1
  • While we were yet in our sins. (Romans 5:6-11)
  • Called and drawn by God John 6:44
  • At the right time
• Inducted –Federal law requires everyone who enlists or re-enlists in the Armed Forces of the United States to take the enlistment oath.
  • Baptized in water and the Spirit Matthew 28:19
  • Receiving the Holy Spirit as an earnest Ephesians 1:13,14
  • Becoming Sons and Daughters of God, subjects of the Kingdom John 1:12,13
• Trained
  • Taught by the Holy Spirit 1 John 2:27
  • Taught by trials and sufferings James 1:2-4 (esprit de corps group spirit; sense of pride)
  • Taught by the elders in the faith Ephesians 4:11-16
  • Taught by obedience though and through suffering Hebrews 5:8 *Jesus’ example
• Commissioned
  • Disciples given “Great Commission” to preach the gospel of the Kingdom throughout the world. (Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) varies)
• Equipped
  • Weapons II Corinthians 10:3-4 (Kathairesis destruction/extinction)
  • Signs and wonders follow verifying the word Mark 16:15-18,Acts 4:30
  • God equips us for the work He commissions us for
  • Spirit guides us into truth, directs, shows us things to come John 16:13,  Isaiah 30:21 (errors to the left)
  • Spirit gives us word to speak Matthew 10:19,20  1 Corinthians 2:4
  • The scriptures our guide II Timothy 3:16,17  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
  • Elder members of the body as guides
• Deployed
  • Everyone a mission field determined by God Acts 1:8 ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
  • Jerusalem
    • The home front
    • Churchianity
  • Judea
    • Believers who need the their faith fanned
    • Babes in Christ
    • Those wandering from the faith
  • Samaria
    • The so-called heretics, apostates
    • The pseudo-Christian faiths (JW, SDA, Mormons)
  • The ends of the earth
    • The unsaved
    • The new age, the Muslim, Hindu, animist, pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, the atheist/agnostic
    • or those with no religion at all
• Promoted
  • Humility rather than aggressiveness or a competitive spirit is rewarded
    • Luke 14:11, For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled. And he who humbles himself shall be promoted.
    • James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will promote you.”
    • 1 Pet. 5:5-6, God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
  • Self-control
    • 1 Corinthians 9:24,25  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible
  • Endurance
    • Endurance and patience are attributes of a winner
    • ”The race is not given to the swift nor the strong but to those who endureth to the end.” ??? no such bible verse, but
    • Ecclesiastes 9:11 11 ¶I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
    • Zechariah 4:6: … Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
  • Obedience
    • I Samuel 15:22: And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
    • 1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
    • God does the exalting (Thou shalt toot thine own horn lest it shall  be tooted not)
    • Joshua 3:7  “And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.”

• Commended
  • II Timothy 4:7-8  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing
  • God is glorified in promotion: Revelation 4:9-11  9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
  • Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24
  • Matthew 24:14:And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

]]> http://expectedend.com/2008/11/22/soldiers-in-the-army-of-the-lord/feed/ 0 http://expectedend.com/2008/11/16/mens-moment-encouragement/ http://expectedend.com/2008/11/16/mens-moment-encouragement/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:30:19 +0000 allen http://expectedend.com/?p=118 Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold,
and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength,
and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet,
and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Habakkuk 3:17-19

I watch in amazement sometimes at the things professional athletes are able do with their bodies when the situation calls for it. To the runner’s left is the sidelines, to his right and in front of him are defenders, dug in and with outstretched arms. The runner with the ball then leaps up and over the defenders into the end zone. Likewise, in basketball, I’ve seen  players dives for  loose balls:  leaping over the scorer’s table and into the stands. Momentum carries him forward, yet the player avoids stepping on spectators or tripping over seats, rails, or steps. The amazing agility athletes possess  is  due to their natural athleticism and, more importantly, the years of practice and drills. When the need arises, atheletes are able to make their bodies do what their mind decides must be done in the present situation. And their bodies perform because they are disciplined.

Habakkuk makes a bold declaration of faith in the Lord. In good times and in bad times, he determines to rejoice in the Lord. It is easy to rejoice in the Lord when things are going well. But when bills are due, the economy is bad, little Jaquan or Quandrica wants a laptop or iPhone for Christmas and the money is not there: It is hard for the praise to come out. It gets stuck in the throat somewhere.

Perhaps there is a need to practice praise, practice rejoicing. Paul says to “Rejoice Always, again I say Rejoice!” We should strive to make praising, rejoicing, and thanksgiving a  constant part of your life. We should discipline our minds to  bless God continually for small things and big things. We should practice rejoicing in the Lord for the victories we experience daily and for all the times we are delivered out of tough situations.  We must train our minds  — our praise and rejoicing  muscles so to speak — to be able to spot all the big and small ways we are blessed each and every day.

Making rejoicing  a regular practice will help us see that day by day, we are becoming more agile, our reflexes sharper, our peripheral vision wider, and we become more able  to handle sticky situations which use to defeat us in the past. We are able to act Godly and victoriously in any situation. We become confident – not in ourselves  — but in the fact that God is our strength and he will make us as agile and as fast, and as alert and as strong as a deer, so that we are able to avoid the tricks and traps of the devil. We are able to climb over mountains which would have limited, frustrated, or crushed us in the past. We will be able to over come in the midst of worlds troubles because our foothold is sure, our faith is strong, and our God is our strength.

We need to learn to see Him. We need to learn how to be conscious of His presence and His workings at all times. A phrase some Christians use is “Practicing the  Presence of God.” The following are some verses which can help us detect our Lord and increase the strength and accuracy of our “Godar.”

• Genesis 17:1: God is behind me.
  • And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
• Deuteronomy 13:4: God is before me.
  • Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
• Psalm 91:1 : God is above me.
  • He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
• Psalms 40:2 Beneath me as my rock
  • He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
• Genesis 6:9 &  Genesis 5:24 , Revelation 3:4:God is beside me.
  • And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
  • Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy
• Psalm 16:8 : God is on my right.(south)
  • I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
• Job 23:9 : God is on my left (north).
  • On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
• Psalm 34:7 : God is all around me.
  • 7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them
• Colossians 1:27 : Christ is in me.
  • To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

(adopted from http://www.ministrylive.org/index.php/2008/09/15/practicing-the-presence-of-god/)

If we know that God is:

• Before us
• Behind us
• Beneath us
• Above us
• To our right
• To our left
• With me and,
• Within me

We can understand what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 1.6:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

And also Philippians 4:6,7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

We don’t realize how special we are to God. We don’t fully appreciate how He is at work in our lives 24/7/365 tweaking us,  teaching us, loving us, molding us, shaping us, conforming us, and even singeing us till we reach our expected end – when we become full-fledged sons and daughters who look like him, talk like him, and act like him.

He accomplishes this through many means:

• Guidance through His word (Rhema, illumination, revelation of scripture). When we get that flash of insight as to how this scripture applies to our life.
• Other believers, preachers, teachers, prophets, and angels who guide, goad, and sometimes rebuke us.
• Sometimes He puts obstacles in our way which force us to take the necessary detours.
• Finally God shakes us up.

During the shaking it seems our world is falling apart and God is far from us. Sickness, financial strain, issues with our marriage, our children.  The car breaks down or the roof leaks. Someone we love dies, etc.

It may not seem obvious to us that God is at work in our lives. We make a bad decision such as buying a  house we can ill afford, quitting one job for a better one, taking a short cut home from church then all hell breaks loose.

Here is an example of a decision gone bad. In 1st Chronicles 21:15, King David decides to take a  census of Israel. David had been warned against doing so by his commander, Joab – not a particularly spiritual person -  but the king goes ahead. This decision by David leads to the death of tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

God shook David, but he didn’t destroy him. If we look at  Psalm 30, we see that God’s chastisement of the king was not with out effect.  Certain ungodly attributes of David were shake out and destroyed. He was shaken that only his God-like characteristics might remain. Psalm 30 shows the following transformations:

• Psalm 30: 6,7  Self-sufficiency was shaken out so that faith and reliance upon God remained
• Psalm 30: 9-11 Pride was shaken out so that humility before God and man remained
• Psalm 30: 12  Self glorification shaken out that sincere praise and gratitude remains.

When God shakes it seems that our world is falling apart, but He shakes only that the true you remains. The real, unshakable  you which remains is a man or woman who manifests the fruit of the Spirit. Not clones, but  unique, individual expressions/reflections of the divine.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: Galatians 5:22,23

And knowing this, let us welcome and rejoice in the shaking when it comes – and it is coming.  But don’t despair. When the shaking comes we should remember what David said in Psalm 30: 5:

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning