As I was praying the other day I heard the Lord say tell my church it's time for her to come to herself.
I questioned the Lord what do you mean by that, he took me to the Scriptures concerning the prodigal son.
He reminded me how the prodigal son had left his father's house had spent all that he had on riotous living on worldly living, sinful living.
He found himself in the pig pen desiring to eat the same thing as the pigs. then he came to himself, this means the person he was acting like, was not the person he really was.
Then I heard the Lord speak the words the church triumphant.
I immediately realized what God was saying. Acts chapter 1:8 but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come up on you and you shall be witnesses and to me both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and then to all the other most parts of the earth.
Luke 10:19 behold I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and overall the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
1Jn 4:4 ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is He that is in you then he that is in the world.
One more Scripture Joshua1:3&5 every place that the sole of your foot should tread upon, that have I given you as I said in to Moses. There shall not any man be able to stand before the all the days of my life, as I was with Moses so I will be with the, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
I may not be a Hebrew or a Greek scholar but even I can understand from these verses that God identifies his people as winners as over-comers as triumphant as victorious. The will of God for His Church is victory, These verses of Scripture and many other scriptures like them paint the picture of the Holy Ghost filled fire baptized church marching in victory, treading down anything that stands in the way.
We are not just survivors trying to hold on and hang out till Jesus comes. We are not just a few leftover beaten down warriors trying to hold the fort till Jesus comes and saves us.
We are not the few, the week, the discouraged, the defeated just trying to keep our heads above water just treading water until we die.
Somebody said: yes brother we know we're going to win in the end, I've read the back of the book and we win.
And I say thank God that's true, but don't skip the whole book just to get to the last chapter, because this book from Genesis to Revelation is a record and testimony to the overcoming victorious lives of God's people, and it is our manual for strategy and warfare and victory over all the power of hell.
I know we know these things but sometimes we let them slip, so let me remind you (the blood of Jesus is just as powerful today as it was today it was shed and flowed down his body and pooled at the foot of the cross.)
We must lift the banner high and we must sing the victory march (there is power in the blood of the Lamb wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb) The blood of Jesus is not just a defense against the attacks of the enemy, the blood of Jesus is our spiritual battering ram for busting through the gates of hell and setting prisoners free.
I know it may sound old fashioned but the Victorious overcoming army of the Lord is a people soaked in blood. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath the flood lose all their guilty stains.
I look around at many of our churches and they are anemic, (they're weak blooded) they have a blood deficiency. There's no blood in their preaching, no blood in their songs, no blood in their testimonies, no blood in their veins. And they wonder why they don't have victory in their lives and they wonder why they don't have any power and they wonder why the devil doesn't listen to them and they wonder why they're not impacting anyone for the kingdom.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame them by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. The life of the flesh,(the life the body is in the blood).
The life of the body of Christ is in the blood.
Jn 6:53 Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Our only claim to victory over the devil and the powers of darkness, is the blood of the lamb.
We're saved by the blood
We're healed by the blood
We're delivered by the blood
We're justified by the blood
We're protected by the blood
And we overcome by the blood
We are not here on planet earth just to survive and maintain.
We're not here to blend in.
We're here to take over. (The kingdom of God is come The rule, the authority, the dominion, the power of God is here in the earth right now. Lu 17:20-21 The kingdom of God cometh not with observation that you should say lo here or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is within you.)
When the church is walking in holiness covered by the blood fire baptized in the Holy ghost, she is the greatest force in the earth.
They have tried to burn it out, flood it out, beat it out, kill it out: But the blood washed church is still alive and she is still marching forward, and she is still shaking the gates of hell.
It has been said that queen Mary of Scotts said of John Knox (I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.)
I want you to understand that the church is a force to be reckoned with.
Too many times the picture we get of the church is like the game we played as kids when all the kids would pile on top of one kid, (dog pile) and that poor kid on the bottom would be struggling just to breathe. But that's not what the bible teaches us.
If there was a game that was more biblically correct it would be (king of the mountain).
The bible says: We are the head and not the tail, the lender and not the borrower, we are above only and not beneath.
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
There's the secret to the triumphant victorious church. (it' the power of another) it's the power of the greater one in us.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Through the power of the Holy Ghost the greater one lives in us.
Greater than what? Greater than he that is in the world... He that is in the world is the devil He goes by a lot of different names (drug addiction, pornography, lust, sickness, disease, poverty, lack, depression, suicide). It doesn't matter what name he goes by (the greater one is living inside of you). He is greater than heart trouble, cancer, sugar diabetes, kidney trouble, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, (God is greater) and he is in you.
The church is supposed to win, It's unnatural for the church to lose It's unnatural for a child of God to live a weak, discouraged, beat down life.
We were created to exercise power and authority over the enemy. We are commissioned to cast him out, to deliver the bound and the oppressed and set the captives free.
Mk 16:15-18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. [16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [17] And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; [18] They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
I know that if you judge by what's happening in the world today you would say these are dark days, and I will agree with you. But I can't stop there: It doesn't matter how dark and how evil these days are (This is the Church's finest hour) This is our time to shine, this is our time to stand up and speak up for righteousness.
Isa 60:1-2 Arise shine, for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
We are the church triumphant and we are taking our place, and we are taking our position, and we are reigning in life by one Jesus Christ.
