Jesus was crucified between two thieves—yesterday and tomorrow. One of these was in bondage to his past—things he had done. The other was in bondage to the future—asking Jesus to remember Him when He came into His kingdom. While on the cross, Jesus honored the second thief’s amazing faith but corrected his understanding. He said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Many can only see Jesus in the past, the biblical, historical Jesus. Others focus almost entirely on His coming again.

Almost daily, there is evidence that the foundations of world governments and institutions are crumbling. In biblical prophecy, the primary cause of what is called, “the great tribulation” (see Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14), which will come at the end of this age, is the result of human problems exceeding human remedies. With this increasing shaking, questions are being asked with increasing frequency: Should we work to help shore up these foundations? As the salt we are called to be, should we help to preserve them?

We are still speaking in generalizations, but let us back up a bit and think about what the army of God will look like when it is fully equipped and ready for battle. To really understand it, we must first understand how it will relate and not relate to a human army. First, let’s list just a few general similarities:

Ways that God’s army will be like a human army:
 

Last year I was given a dream in which I saw a cloud of death sweeping the earth. To escape this cloud, I had to enter a house, which I knew was the house of the Lord. When I got to the door, even though I knew I had the key to the house, I could not find it quickly enough, and the dream ended with me frozen in panic. This dream, along with other words and visions that I received from the Lord, gave me an urgency to encourage all believers to find their place in His house, the church, without delay.

This year we have been devoted to understanding the coming kingdom of God and the many ways in which we are preparing the way for the Lord by building a highway. This highway has been under construction since the church was born on the day the Lord walked the earth and began calling those who would follow Him. To perceive this highway, we must have an expansive vision. Once we begin to see it, we will see it almost everywhere and will be astonished at how great and expansive it is. This is the heart cry of Psalm 90:16-17:
 

The next “work of the flesh” noted in Galatians 5:20 is “sedition” (KJV). This word is also translated “rebellion” or “division.” Its implication is more than just resisting authority, but also to incite others to rebel or turn against authority. This is, of course, what all rebellion eventually does.

This week we will address a couple of basic principles on how we can make disciples of ethnic groups, and teach them to observe all that the Lord commanded. I will use the African ethnic group in what we address here, mostly because they are the ethnic group that I have a heart for, and have therefore studied the most. Even so, these principles could relate to any people.

         Last week we began to look at what it means to be a disciple. In biblical times, being the disciple of a noteworthy teacher was one of the highest honors one could receive. Because the quality of the disciples reflected directly upon the teacher, teachers would seek the very best and brightest as disciples, and most would only consider members of the nobility. Therefore, when the Lord commanded His disciples to go and make disciples, this was a truly remarkable commission.