MGA - From Civilians to Soldiers

2 Timothy 2:1 - 5

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”

The above scripture clearly divides the church into 2 groups; the civilians and the soldiers. It is clear from Paul's writing that resistance, opposition and warfare are an integral part of the Christian journey. It is a reality that Christians cannot avoid, hence he admonished his young disciple Timothy about its importance in his life and those he taught.

So the call to mobilise the present church into an army of God means the radical shift and conversion of civilian Christians into soldiers of Christ. This is a tough challenge because it means the absolute death and crucifixion of self and its countless desires as well as the activation of a fighting spirit, which most Christians abhor. Though self-denial and embracing the cross are the most resisted truths in the word of God, they are the fundamental and essentials of the Christian faith that produces authentic and militant believers; as opposed to the self centred, issue-oriented and civilian majority in the church of Jesus today.

More then 80% of the global church is in the civilian bracket and 20% or less are either soldiers or becoming soldiers of Christ. The dominant seeker sensitive, over sentimental and contemporary gospel being preached today is the breeding elements of civilian Christians. Truly we are what we eat! If we live on compromised, watered down gospel that appeals more to the soul and flesh, we will produce Christians of that soul and flesh nature. These soul and flesh Christians are the ones who will run from conflict, resist change and have no appetite to fight the enemy of their blessings, destiny and purpose.  They crumble under pressure.

Paul said to Timothy that he must endure hardship like a good soldier. It's a warning to every follower of Christ that hardship will be our constant companion and only those conditioned militarily in Christ will endure. Since the civilian Christians are of a greater percentage than soldiers today, it's no wonder unbelievers are not rushing to God – for who in their right mind wants to be part of something weak, powerless and incapacitating? Was God eternal intent for His church to be like this? No! The soft and defeated image of the church is not the work of the Spirit but Christianity defined by the flesh and ingenuity of man. Right throughout the scriptures we see God’s might and power falling on broken and hopeless individuals who shook their world and transformed generations. This was the definite pattern and DNA of the church from day one. Now we are becoming baby sitting, self-aggrandising centres rather than slaughter houses where the flesh of humanity is cut away for the formation of a militant church. Unless the church deliberately shifts from civilian affairs to authentic Christianity, we have no power to shake and change the world with the greatness of God and the power of the gospel. This power is locked up in the intricate and multilayered civilian activities that we have mistaken for anointed and God honouring services in our churches.

How then do we increase soldiers for Christ today and reduce the civilian population in the church? The following recommendations will greatly help:

1.        Leaders must fear God above the people and live to please Him above the demands of the people

2.       Programs in our churches must be tailored to honour God first and bless people after. Not elevating the need of man above God’s.

3.        Uncompromising and unadulterated word of God must be preached and not just good sermons to tickle the itchy years of the hearers

4.       Christians must hunger for the best of God and be willing for the mutilation of the flesh, self and its desires that hinders militancy

5.       The church today must hunger for a fresh baptism of the militant spirit of the book of Acts so that our present world would be shaken

6.       The body of Christ must radically shake off religion, tradition, culture and worldly corruption and realign with heaven’s blueprint and plumbline for a new outpouring of new wine and fresh oil.

Be blessed,

David Vaka

Mobilising God’s Army

Breakthrough Church Springfield (BCS) and Breakthrough Nation (BN) have entered a serious season of mobilising our people into a mighty force for Jesus. There are promises, purposes, destinies and land (spiritual and natural) to apprehend that God has ordained for His church and individual Christians. But it requires a certain calibre of people of a ruthless and violent nature. Millions of Christians are content with mediocre spirituality, average church involvement and run-of-the-mill service unto God but are missing out on His best and full plan for them. They are saved, part of a local church, give tithes, offerings and engage in ministry only enough to satisfy their moral obligation and senses. But this has become the biggest barricade to the thrilling and adventurous life in God.

The world would have been a different place altogether now if Christians all around the world were mobilised to execute violently God’s purposes and their God given dreams; to possess their promises and to take back cities and nations for Jesus unashamedly. This would transform the global church into life giving centres pulsating and teaming with a myriad of kingdom activities hence releasing divine and positive waves of change across communities, cities and nations. Bright lights of transformative power would constantly emanate from the house of God that would scatter darkness and establish a God consciousness and kingdom reality in the earth. However, the lack of God’s divine influence and rule in the affairs of man is because His body the church, is stuck in mundane and nonchalant church activities rather than breaking out on the face of the earth in joyful and aggressive implementation of His will and purpose.     When God called Israel out of Egypt, He called them with a promise to enter Canaan a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey, but occupied by many ‘ITES’!

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites”—Exodus 3:8

The Israelites broke out of Egypt triumphantly as a militant force according to the bible but lost their military edge and spirit along the way and their journey turned from a couple of days to 40 years! In addition to that, the entire generation that came out of Egypt died in the wilderness together with their leader Moses.

The cause of this tragic end was that the Israelites forgot that the promise land could not be taken any other way but militantly because the ‘ITES’ were controlling it and would not give it up without a fight. God deliberately left the ‘ITES’ there for Israel to drive out with His power, demonstrated through their radical obedience. God put His promises for Israel in the enemy’s camp and it was part of His plan all along so that His people would not only possess the promises but also crush the enemy of God and Israel once and for all. Nevertheless, Israel recoiled from being the disciplined, regimented, military force that they were when they left Egypt. And for 40 years God tried to realign and mobilise them into the correct military formation appropriate for the taking of Canaan, but to no avail.  At the end, God scattered their bodies in the wilderness and raised up another generation under new leadership with a fighting spirit to crush the ‘ITES’ and possess the land flowing with milk and honey once and for all.

The global church of Jesus is now in the same predicament that the Israelites were under Moses. Many have come out of their Egypt joyfully and triumphantly but they have been seduced to soft, effeminate and compromising Christians incapable of busting into their promises in God. Now God is commanding the radical mobilisation of His church from a civilian life and existence, to becoming soldiers of the cross. Millions of God’s people globally are meandering in the wilderness of monotonous church programs, religion and shallow Christianity.  They have not taken a step towards the promise of a spacious land flowing with milk and honey; a promise that can only be apprehended militantly because the ‘ITES’ (Satan and his demons) are its present occupants. God has promised the church total possession of the earth and everything thereof, but Satan who’s currently holding its keys will not relinquish them without fierce confrontation. His illegal occupation of planet earth was overthrown 2000 years ago but the church has not been deliberate and consistent in her God given authority in Christ to forcefully take back what belongs to God and His people. Today, God no longer winks at the ignorance of His people and is trumpeting the mobilising of a militant church with a stomach to fight, conquer Canaan and put the ‘ITES’ to utter destruction.  This is the only way for the church to be the church as God intended!

David Vaka