Built for war

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:15-17)

In front of our house, we have a lamp that has a light bulb with a darkness sensor. Whenever it gets dark, the sensor detects the darkness and the light bulb turns on automatically. I believe that the people of God ought to be like that light bulb. Whenever we sense the darkness around us, the sensitivity that comes from the Holy Spirit should detect the darkness and cause us to shine brighter than we’ve ever been. Jesus even said that we are the light of the world. We are not called to hide the light to shine in the midst of darkness. When darkness escalates, God’s plans will accelerate. Christians were created for the darkness. When we’ve cross the line of eternity and we go to heaven where there’s light, there is no darkness at all. But when we’re on the other side of heaven, we are living in a place of utter spiritual darkness. The moment we are born again, the light of God invaded our inner sanctum and we don’t get to choose to be the light of the world or not, but we do have the choice to go into hiding under a bowl or go public and begin to shine.

In was in the backdrop of great darkness that Jesus came into the world. A prophet prophesied that “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.” Jesus was the dawn of a new day. Jesus entering into human space was an all out declaration of war against the devil and his demonic forces. For the first time in history, demons could not remain in people, sickness began to leave people’s bodies, the lepers began to be cured and dead people rose again from their graves. No such was every witnessed in Israel. A new day had dawned.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

After coming out of the wilderness having won the Devil at the showdown in the wilderness, Jesus come out in the power of the Holy Spirit and the first words that came out of his mouth were: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” If you poke a business man, business ideas, stock tips, real estate, finances will come out. When you poke Jesus, his main theme of his messages were concerning the Kingdom of God. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” The overflow of Jesus’ heart was the Kingdom of God. We can see that Jesus was mission was clear: To set the captives free.

Jesus was the prototype of a Christian. Often times, we’ve relegated the Christian down to someone who goes to church on Sundays, sing some songs, listen to a sermon and then go home. For the extra passionate Christians, they would go on mission trips every summer. If they’re dedicated then during the winter as well. But if God could have his way and give us the definition of what it means to be a Christian, I believe he would say, “Jesus.” Sometimes in Christianity, Jesus is the best kept secret. It’s so easy to live out the definition that makes sense in our own minds, but I’m convinced that Christianity is so much more than just Sunday Christianity, it was about being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29).

5 Marks of a Disciple of Jesus:

1. Prays for Revival (Matthew 6:9; Mark 1:35)

2. Preaches the Gospel (Matthew 4:17)

3. Makes Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22)

4. Works Miracles (Matthew 4:23-25)

5. Goes to All Peoples (John 4; Matthew 28:19)

We were built for war. God has called us to go and as we go, make disciples, but sadly, the majority of Christians have stayed with their talents, treasures and time. Jesus modeled for us on how to be the light in the midst of darkness. Even when John the Baptist gets beheaded (Matthew 14), Jesus didn’t lead a revolt against the government, rather the went to a desolate place and we can imagine him praying. After that, he begins to lead a revolt against darkness and pulverizes the darkness by healing the sick, feeding thousands of people and walks on water to give faith to His disciples.

God clearly calls us to walk like Jesus, but He wants us to do it awakened to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).

There has been movements of God’s Spirit down the ages. First, the Holy Spirit came into man, but man forfeits his fellowship with God and the Holy Spirit vacates man’s inner sanctum. Then we see the Holy Spirit moving into Moses’s Tabernacle, then into the Temple and then in Jesus. Jesus’ body was broken so that we can be cleansed to receive back the Holy Spirit into our being.

Giving imagery of when God breathed into Adam, in John 19:19, Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus’ body was broken so that we could be built up in Him and receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Paul continues on this thought process of us being a temple by revealing mysteries of how we can build up our spiritual walls of this temple. He uses the Greek word, ‘oikodomeo,’ which means "to build,” a word used when building a house.

“The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself..”

1 Corinthians 14:4a

January 28, 2020, God gave me a dream where he said, “I’m going to change the expression of Christianity in your generation. Prayer, Church and Evangelism will become one expression [paraphrased]. Will you build me a HOUSE - A HOUSE that contends against evil and confronts wickedness in your day.

I believe that God wants to raise up the house personally, locally, nationally, and globally. Personal edification will lead to corporate edification. The secret of the revivalists was that they lived in unbroken communion with God. God wants such union with his people that we will truly become one with his nature. “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). He has not only wanted to get rid of the sin problem and the sin burden and the sin guilt, but he wanted to be able to partake of the life and nature of God. John G. Lake said, "The secret of Christianity is in being. It is in being a possessor of the nature of Jesus Christ."

Building up the church 

When we are edified personally, and we become the inhabitation of God, corporate building will come automatically. Once the Holy Spirit takes resistance and has a surrendered vessel to work through, He begins to express Himself through His people. When people in the early church gathered to worship and fellowship, I can imagine the excitement they had as the Holy Spirit took over their meetings. The book of Acts reveals that many marvelous acts and miracles took place, because people were so saturated in the presence of God. The presence of God didn’t just remain in their meetings, they took the gospel to the streets and they lived out what Jesus died for. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, it changed them forever. They became courage lions for God. Too many in the church have become do docile and domesticated like lions at the zoo. The cage has so conditioned us to be silent and passive concerning the issues in our culture that we’ve come domesticated cats, instead of fearless lions.

The early church may not have a been a perfect church, but they were fearless. They didn’t waste their anointing. They were filled with oil during their meetings and they began to burn once they came out of their meetings. When they would pray, the whole room would shake. Persecution didn’t stop them, it only fired them up even more. They counted it a joy to be persecuted for their Lord. For many in the church, the culture has so crept into the four walls that we are pumping out politically correct civilians, not passionate soldiers.

I believe we need to see a reformation in the way we do church. We go to church, only to get filled and never allow the Holy Spirit to have expression through us. This is a great tragedy. This was the disciples’ prayer after they got persecuted for preaching and healing the sick.

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31)

The early church was a force to be reckoned with. We must be careful that we didn’t join a corporation, a nice well-oiled machine that just carbon copies worldly people, but a spiritual army base that disciples people to become blood-washed, Spirit-filled, gospel preaching, fire-breathing soldiers of Jesus Christ. If our churches are not making disciples, we need to change. The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. If you discover that your church is dead, dismount. Start over. Get back to the drawing board. Get back to the basics. Deny what you know and follow Jesus.

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. (1 Cor. 14:4)

One of the best ways to build oneself up is praying in tongues. Paul said, “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit” (1 Cor. 14:2). He also said, “Now I want you all to speak in tongues” (1 Cor. 14:5). He continues saying, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Cor. 14:8). I believe 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 contains so many gold nuggets of wisdom and Paul’s secret to his powerful ministry. So many revivalists in church history attribute the fruitfulness of their ministry to the gift of speaking in tongues.

Paul reveals that when one speaks in tongues, it releases mysteries in the Spirit. There are many times throughout my life that I can attest to this truth. When I would pray in tongues, I would get certain thoughts, insights and images of people. When I would obey those promptings, there would always be a move of God. Paul also revealed that he wanted “all” to speak in tongues. This means that he expected every born again believer to pursue this gift and exercise it. Paul prayed in tongues so much that he had the audacity and confidence to say that He spoke in tongues more than anyone else. He must have prayed in tongues so frequently that even on our good days, he spoke in tongues more than you. This ought to light a fire within us to desire after this gift.

Paul is arguably of the greatest missionaries of all time. He impacted 30 million people in 15 years. He discipled many and signs and wonders followed him. I believe that this chapter reveals one of Paul’s secrets to the success of His ministry.

Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit came to reveal the mysteries of what’s being spoken by Him and the Father, future plans and guide us into all Truth. I believe that in these last days, God is restoring the church back to being desperate for the presence of God - namely the Holy Spirit. Satan has brought about so much controversy in the body of Christ over this one simple gift, because he knows how powerful praying in tongues can be. When we pray in tongues and God reveals his plans, and his purposes to us, that means the body of Christ will rise up like an army that’s filled with His Spirit and do great exploits against the devil. The devil will use deception as well as “cessationalism” to sedate the body of Christ and render it powerless. As long as the devil can convince the church not to access the Holy Spirit through praying in tongues, we will remain in the flesh and never access the Holy Spirit within our temples.

Corey Russell said, “we have a trillion dollars in our bellies, but we only access 2 cents a day.” We’ve got the most powerful being in the universe. Jesus came out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit and He moved in the power of the Holy Spirit in his praying, preaching, making disciples, working miracles and impacting thousands, not only Israelites but also for the Gentiles. Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and eagerly desiring and exercising the gift of the tongues is a non-negotiable aspect of the Christian life.

Mike Bickle, who is the leader of the prayer movement called IHOP, who came from a conservative religious background, went to a meeting at a charismatic church and began speaking in tongues during an alter call. He was exciting to bring others to this meeting, but his leaders stopped him saying that tongues was not biblical. Mike was shocked, but out of his respect for his leaders, he believed them and decided that speaking in tongues must be the greatest deception and the greatest heresy in the Body of Christ.

So he made it his aim to talk everybody out of believing and exercising this gift. He would debate publicly over this issue at college campuses. But when he lay in bed at night, he kept thinking of Paul’s statement in First Corinthians 14:18. This drove Mike crazy. As he meditated on Paul’s statement, he was struck how busy Paul would have been as a missionary, yet he found time to pray in tongues for hours!

Finally several years of preaching and wrestling with this issue, he decided he would try praying in the Spirit every day for 6 months and then evaluate the fruit. By the end of the six months, he was utterly convinced that praying in the Spirit was a gift given to believers by God to strengthen them and empower them in ways beyond the natural realm.

So many revivalists in church history have attributed their success and fruitfulness in ministry to the gift of praying in tongues. Since praying in tongues is essentially praying in “harmony” with the Holy Spirit, this gift is so intimately connected God’s presence within us. Praying in our known language is powerful, but what is more harmonious than intelligible words is praying in the spiritual language that comes from within, not from our minds.

The fact that God began the first church through speaking in tongues ought to reveal to us the importance of this gift. God in his wisdom chose the foolish things to confound the wise. It takes humility to look foolish in front of people. He safeguarded the church from pride by giving us this gift to exercise, so that we remain humble, child-like and surrendered to the Holy Spirit. A life in the Holy Spirit must become the very platform in which we engage in every spiritual discipline in the Christian life. Without the Holy Spirit, everything thing we do will feel empty and we’ll come up short every time. Before we thrust ourselves into action, we must ensure that we are fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. Without His presence and power, we will not be able to create any lasting fruit.

Paul’s testimony is not the only testimony of the power of tongues. The same witness exists in recent history. John G. Lake, a missionary and revivalist who moved in powerful signs and wonders, declared that “tongues has been the making of my ministry.” It is said that Smith Wigglesworth, a great leader of the Pentecostal revival in the late 19th century who was noted for his healing ministry, spent a least an hour every morning praying in tongues.