Matthew 16:18
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
This message uses the powerful parallel of the US Military forces (and the oath taken to defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic) with the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is God’s Army. In 1978 the Draft for the Armed Services of the United States of America ended and we went to an all volunteer system. Since then, .5 of 1% of the total population have served in the Armed services. Therefore, 99.5% of the population has not served in the military but are protected by the .5 of 1%. Now, that’s the Lord. That’s amazing! That’s supernatural divine protection! Praise God! The hand of God was all in the birth of this nation. The US Constitution is the the foundation of our liberties. If we take the Constitution and make it of no effect,, there is essentially no nation: only lawlessness and chaos. Likewise, the Church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is removed, there is no church. But indeed, He is not removed and we are the Church. Like Jesus, we are to stand in the midst of our generation. We do not just come to a church building, we are the Church (Romans 12:1). The world is watching. What do they see when they see us (at home, at school, at our jobs, in the community)? We are frustrated and complaining? Are we speaking as they are or are we speaking faith and hope? Are we serving as the light of Christ that we were called to be? Many dreams have been dashed because So many have satisfied themselves instead of sacrificing themselves.
The message goes on to explain and encourage us to operate as the Army of God. One of the last points Pastor McKinney makes, references the mountain. We are not to just seek mountain top experiences with God. They are good but understand its not just what we see on the mountain but what we do when we cone down. When you feel that your faith is wavering, go hide yourself in prayer before the Lord. If we do not do that, we will have a tenancy to lean on people instead of God. Go still away with God. When you cone out, come out ready for inspection as a soldier would. Lord we want to be ready for inspection in God’s Army… Rapture Ready!!! Amen.
This excerpt was taken from Pastor McKinney’s Message Notes. For the full message, please go to our Periscope page (RLFC1).
