I knew several months ago how serious this journey with the Lord was to be. For the first time, I sensed by faith the permission to utter these words: “I will crush the head of the serpent through the power of Jesus Christ.” The first time I spoke these words, I knew the magnitude of their meaning as I trembled inside. Through the many situations that the Lord has kept me safe, and the vision I had over a year ago, my confidence in Christ is continuing to build. Luke 10;19 NKJV, Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Hallelujah praise Jesus! Through faith in Christ, the victory is already won. Before I returned this time, I made up some T-shirts.
Basically on the back, it says “warrior, active duty, assignment: serpent crusher,” and the Bible verse. I will include some pictures that better describe it. My sense was that only those that understand the cost of displaying such a shirt should be allowed to wear them. If we are not fully surrendered and obedient to all the commands of Jesus, we should not put them on. By faith, I believe something in the spiritual realm happens when we wear the shirts. Those that are willing to pay the price will be protected. Those that wear them and are not willing to pay the price will not be protected.
Because of many new and deeper things I have been exposed to, my faith is increasing rapidly. Also my disdain for the enemy and all his cohorts is also increasing rapidly. Righteous anger is mounting inside of me as preparation for war looms heavy. By faith many of the weapons that will be used in battle are being revealed to us. Pastor Joe Sweet started a series on being a warrior. We went out to his church in Lancaster, California and attended the school of prophets. This is just another marvelous example as to how God is coordinating all of His people through the power of the Holy Spirit. It would literally take me writing a book to explain everything that has happened in the last few months. I must share how another weakness was revealed in me and was put before the altar to be dealt with.
For decades, I was driven in this world and it was common to work 80+ hours a week. Many years I had the responsibility of managing people. Efficiency and productivity were always primary goals. I had no tolerance for laziness or excuses and without a doubt became quite a task master. The reason I am stating this is because I wanted a framework to be established of how I was viewing things. Our main location in Blantyre has been overstaffed and even Tony himself mentioned a few months back about reducing the number of people. So when I arrived here and saw the condition of the facility and knowing the number of people that were here to take care of it, I was pretty disappointed. None of the positions are volunteer positions either. I would watch a group of three or four do a job of one. I would watch a 20 minute job take two hours. I would watch trash lay on the ground and be walked by, by everyone, and no one would pick it up. I even saw people falling asleep while they were on the job.
Initially I tried to help people constructively be more efficient in their efforts. The more I tried, the more it seemed as though they were not listening. I would instruct on the simplest things several times and it still was not done correctly. To me it seemed as though they did not really care. I thought we were serving God here and there should have been a significantly greater effort. What began to happen is that when I looked at people I would view them by their insufficiency and not as a child of God. My peace in the Lord was now slipping away and I could not understand why.
Then one morning just before the change in my heart, things suddenly became clear to me. I was reminded of this struggle I had for many years regarding the lack of love for people. Because I had not had to deal with managing people for several years, I had forgotten most of my faults in this area. Then I began to realize that the problem was not with the people, it was with me. God had put me in a perfect storm of circumstances to deal with this issue. In our morning prayer gathering I tearfully asked forgiveness from everyone. Peace returned to me as I started seeing everyone as the family of God. Upon reflection my actions were very disturbing to me. How could I have taken the bait of such a simple trap and allow myself to have feelings, unloving.
Then everything flooded into my mind. The words that I am speaking about, being a warrior and the shirts that I am wearing are making quite a bold statement. God reminded me how crucial it is to walk in love and peace at all times and in all ways. True strength and power from on high absolutely requires it. My actions are now going to be judged at a higher level because the position God has allowed me to have. God’s Echo is teaching pastors how to better shepherd their flock. We know that pastors are held to a higher accountability and now we are teaching them. Please help us Jesus. Acts 20;28 NKJV, Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.
Full well knowing the great price that our Savior paid, I would be a fool not to take it very very seriously. I thank God for revealing this dormant weakness in me. Almost instantly it seemed as though people were beginning to work more diligently. They began to pick up trash on the streets. They worked at a local park cleaning and beautifying it. The facility looked much better than it had ever appeared. I was even able to help without a critical spirit. My unloving attitude seemed to magnify everyone’s actions or lack off. By asking forgiveness and responding in love, things changed all around. Praise Jesus for His endless mercies.
