Survival Strategies In The Last Days
There are things that are coming upon the earth. People, communities, and nations may not survive, but God's people will be strong. We will survive and we will have the strategy to survive because we have the Spirit of prophecy that prepares us for where we are going and what we are to do.
When we have knowledge, we can position ourselves for power and success.
According to the Bible, there are four attacks that will come against the church and against you. The devil knows that his time is up and he knows that he is going to be bound for a thousand years and that after that he will be thrown into the lake of fire. He wants to take as many people with him and that includes you and me.
We have to make sure that he does not do that to us. In the last days, there are going to be seducing spirits that will be unleashed against God’s people.
Seducing spirits can make you fall. They will come against the integrity of your life, the reputation of your name, your marriage, your business, and the Biblical standards that you set for your life.
Seducing spirits break down your standards. They are doctrines of devils. It is so important to have the Holy Spirit because God is our reality check that lets us know whether the truth of God's Word is being spoken.
Those who fall for these doctrines of devils and follow after false gods do not have a close relationship with God. Today more than ever before, we need to walk in the Spirit so that we can expose the plans of the enemy.
There are spiritual deceptions and there are false teachers. These false teachers look anointed and seem like they follow Christ. They look like they represent Christ, but they are the anti-Christ. The Bible warns us that many anti-Christs will rise up in the last days and they are going to come from the ranks of the church. These false teachers cannot seduce God's people if they come from outside of the church. They know the Christian language and culture and can use all the right words, but they can easily lead us to the wrong place.
1 John 2:20 - But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals truth and error. That is why we need the anointing. We need to be saturated in the anointing. We must be filled and continually filled with the Spirit. Why? Because we need to be sober, wise, and taught by the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the only One who is able to expose false teachers.
These false teachers are sent by the devil and are very clever and skilled. They are able to sway communities and take the hearts of God's people and lead them to the wrong place. That is why we need the Holy Spirit.
One of the things that are driving a negative atmosphere in the last days is the financial problems experienced world-wide. No one on earth is immune to these effects. If we do not have a financial plan that is linked to a Kingdom financial mindset, we are not going to survive. If you are saving your money for a rainy day, those savings will not mean anything because they are going to be worthless. You need to have Holy Spirit directed and inspired financial strategies that come through supernatural living.
There are three kinds of atmospheres in the last days
1. Great fear
Today people and communities live in fear and uncertainty.
Luke 21:26 - …men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
God’s children who walk in the Spirit should not live in fear because we do not have a Spirit of fear. When the Helper is present you will not have fear, but faith and supernatural power. We cannot survive in our own strength and when God’s power is manifest in our lives, we will not worry about tomorrow.
Our financial provision is not going to come from a worldly source but from a heavenly source. Start learning to trust God now for supernatural provision. Do not rely on any other source and do not rely on your own ability to provide for yourself. Rely of God. Make sure He is your source. As you fellowship with the Spirit, God will give you supernatural plans to survive and these strategies will be hidden from ordinary people who seek our natural solutions.
The secret of survival in the last days is in the heart of God and these secrets are revealed through the Spirit that is within us. Do not neglect the greatest power and presence that resides within you. You could be missing out of the greatest blessings and quality of life while you stress and worry about tomorrow.
Start living by faith today and begin to believe for God's provision today, because it is going to help you tomorrow.
Matthew 6:26-27 - Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
2. Great wrath
Revelation 12:12 - Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."
We can already see unusual tragedies happenings in the world today as well as strange weather that is causing tremendous harm and damage to communities and entire nations.
We witness these events almost every day as we watch television broadcasts and can see these events unfolding before our eyes. Yet the worst is still to come.
3. Great tribulation
Matthew 24:21 - For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
The Bible tells us that there is going to be a great tribulation in the last days that will see great sorrow and suffering on the earth with as much a third of the world’s population being killed.
God’s people will in all probability not be here during the tribulation, but the coming expectation is leaving its effects on the lives of people today with many kinds of attitudes which we can identify in our generation.
• Scoffers
• Lovers themself more than God
• Absence of natural affection
• Covetousness
• Boaster
• Proud
• Blasphemers
• Disobedient to parents
• Unthankful
• Unholy
• Traitors
• Lovers of pleasure.
• A form of godliness with no power
A mighty army
God is about to empower the church who will come together in unity and will work together apostolically to bring in a supernatural harvest of souls in every nation and their future will be decided on the streets.
Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
This event must still take place and will come about once the offices of the apostle and prophet are restored to the church which will bring the five-fold ministry together. They will equip the believers and organize the church into a strong fighting force. The saints of God will go out in power and bind the strongman over each and every nation and rescue the unsaved from the clutches of Satan. God is preparing us for a worldwide harvest of souls that are ready to hear the gospel. The gospel is the power of heaven that saves nations.
Revelation 14:15 - And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
This is a prophetic word for the church today. The gospel is the last sign that has to be fulfilled in the last days. The glory is coming upon the church and the gospel will be preached to every nation. The gospel is about to be restored.
We have a lot of work to do in order to fulfill God’s end time plan.
The army of God refers to the people that are going to work for God in the last days.
Acts 2:17-18 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
God is going to use four types of people in the last days:
1. Sons and daughters
God is going to use men and women who are filled with the Spirit of God and who are submitted under the authority of God’s earthly leaders. If we are not hearing from our earthly leaders, we cannot hear from God and therefore cannot be regarded as a son or daughter. To be a son or a daughter is a powerful concept that God is revealing more and more in this season.
We must follow leaders who are anointed and know the plans that God has for these times and who teach the truth.
2. Servants and handmaidens
We are not called to be served but to serve. Jesus went to dirty stinky places and washed feet. If we are not prepared to follow His example, we will not be sent out.
Jesus went to places where the religious elite did not want to go. God has not saved us to be elite but to serve. The greatest leader is one who serves.
The Kingdom message is powered by love and if we do not love people, we cannot serve them.
3. Dreamers and visionaries
God anoints our imagination and speaks prophetically through dreams and dreamers.
We need to be open to what God is saying through visions and dreams. God can lead us through the dreams of other people. God’s end-time strategies will be directed partly by dreamers and visionaries. Do not despise old people, because they are anointed to dream.
4. Prophetic ministries
God is going to anoint young people who will prophesy. Do not laugh when your young son or daughter begins to prophesy.
Make sure you allow your children to be part of the church program. Do not leave them at home when you go to church. They carry the prophetic Word of God within them. That potential should be nurtured.
Be careful how you treat Christ’s church and leaders because your young child is listening to every word you say and their destiny and input can be corrupted.
Hannah gave her only child Samuel to the Lord as soon as he was weaned. How did she do that? She took him to a physical place which where God was worshipped and handed him over to an imperfect religious leader, Eli.
God did not speak to Eli, but spoke prophetically to Samuel. Never underestimate what God can do. We parents tend to over-protect our children. Make sure they are part of God’s end-time plan by allowing them to be part of the program of your local church.
They may only be one, two, or three years old. Make sure they accompany you to prayer meeting. They may be tired and fall asleep, but their spirits are awake and they can hear everything that is going on. When someone is praying in tongues, there is a good chance that they can hear the voice of God’s Spirit speaking mysteries to them.
Jeremiah was in his teens, but spoke prophetically to kings and nations.
Stand
Ephesians 6:13 - 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.
Make sure that you are spiritually strong in these last days because the devil is using every trick possible to discourage God’s people and make them ineffective for His Kingdom. Do not allow him to determine your future.
1. The cares of this life
You cannot fight God's battle with Him if you are carrying the cares of this life. Today, Christians carry too many burdens which limit their ability to advance the Kingdom of God.
2. The deceitfulness of riches
It is so sad to see how people spend their entire life chasing after riches and when they die, somebody else enjoys what they have lived and died for.
Chase after God and the things of the Kingdom and you will have everything.
3. Weakness of the flesh
Control your whole body and do not allow the devil to temp you. Walk in the Spirit and apply these principles:
• The spoken word
• Personal prophecy
• Know God's will
• Guard your mouth
Be a good soldier
2 Timothy 2:3 - You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Tough times are coming, but God’s people must be prepared and refreshed. Remove all the things that weigh you down and be ready to advance with God’s plans and strategies. Do not become bogged down, snagged up, and immobile. Be ready and able to move with God no matter what He tells us to do. We need to be spiritually fit in order to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
1. Be a follower
We need to follow anointed earthly leaders. Pray and ask God who you should follow and then stick with that person and that ministry for the long term.
We need to follow someone we respect and we must also respect the vision they have for their church.
2. Know your rank
God places us in different positions. For example, some are administrators while others are teachers. We all have different gifts which are all powered by the same Spirit. We have different ranks in God’s Kingdom but we know where we are in the pack.
3. Follow orders
In order to do our part in God’s Kingdom, we must receive instructions from our leaders and we must learn to carry them out obediently with a positive attitude no matter what those requirements are.
God wants us to follow His plans through His leaders without making an issue about everything. Just do it even if it does not make sense to you. God knows what He wants.
4. Be familiar with your commander’s voice.
The people who followed David knew his voice and knew what he wanted. Learn to know your leader and what they want. There are lots of voices in the world today which can cause confusion. Do not be influenced by all the others voices in the world, because they are not all from God.
5. Be familiar with your weapons.
We have powerful tools. The weapons of our warfare are powerful and mighty for pulling down strongholds. We have the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We have God’s Spirit which empowers us and ensures nothing and no one can come against us.
The weapons that God has given us are useless and ineffective if they are applied against flesh and blood. They are spiritual weapons and powerful in spiritual warfare. We do not have to be afraid of the devil because he a defeated foe and is no match against God’s weapons.
2 Corinthian 10:4 - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
6. be familiar with the strategy of the enemy
The following passage of Scripture clearly summarizes the strategies of the devil:
John 10:10 - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
What is the devils plan for you? It is to steal from you, to kill you, and to destroy your life. Do not allow him to do this to you. Only you can stop him.
Christian’s lives should not be in ruins. The devil has no right or authority to beat you up. You have the right and authority to stop him in the name of Jesus. Stand up, dust yourself off, learn from your mistakes, and be ready to win the next round.
1 Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
