When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations — the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-- and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Deut. 7:1-6 NIV

God led Israel into the Promised Land to defeat many nations, but in particular there were seven which He specifically named and wanted deposed. These nations were incompatible with the purposes of God. There could be no compromise or treaties with them because they would take Israel away from following the Lord. He commanded them to destroy them completely and show no mercy. This might seem like a harsh measure to destroy these nations which were occupying the land. It is, however, symbolic of the resolve we must have when dealing with the “nations of our Heart”. These Seven Nations represent the motives of the Heart. God judges us by our Heart, so the motive we have for doing something is as important as what we do. Our Heart is spirit and if what we do is corrupted by the motives of the Flesh then we are like the Pharisees who are clean outside, but filthy inside (Matt. 23:27). This portion of the Process focuses on transforming us so we no longer strive to get our Heart needs met through our own works. The Father wants to meet our emotional and spiritual needs so we do not have to strive to get them met through efforts that don’t work and from things that don’t satisfy.

Motives And Needs
When we were created by God, He placed in us basic needs which could only be fulfilled by Him. The First Adam had all his needs met by God in the Garden of Eden. When the fall came, man was separated from his God and His source of supply for those needs. The Garden of Eden was described as a lush and bountiful place in which there was no need. A garden is often used as a symbol for the spiritual Heart of man. In Jeremiah 31, we are given a promise that the garden of our Heart would again have abundant provision.

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD—the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Jeremiah 31:12 NIV

The emotional/spiritual needs which God placed in us were intended to be met by Him. The Old Nature, of course, does not have access to God’s provision for these needs. As long as the Adamic Nature is alive in us, it will struggle to meet those needs by its own efforts. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being “white-washed sewers”. He was saying that on the outside they appeared to be doing all the right things, but He could see their motives for doing these things. Their Hearts were motivated to do the right thing for their own benefit. They could not give unconditional love out of a pure Heart. We may think we are doing the right thing for the right reason, but we cannot see our Heart. It is deceptive and can easily hide or justify our motive. “Good works” are considered dead, because they are an attempt by the Flesh to acquire or earn the approval and acceptance of God. But of course we can’t. Only love will justify us through grace. The Old Man cannot give or receive love. Therefore, if we are to be prepared for ministry we must first have the “nations” of our motives crucified, and allow the Father to meet all our needs so that when we minister, we can do it with no expectation of personal gain. If our needs are met, we can enter into relationships and ministry with only the motive of love. We can freely give because all our needs are met by God. When our Heart motive for ministry is love, it disarms the skeptics, the wounded, and the abused. As more and more Believers are set free of the bondage of the Flesh, we will see more dramatic healings. Diseases and conditions which rarely give way to prayer will become commonly healed.

A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbours deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. Proverbs 26:24-25 NIV

Ministry done in the Flesh appears to be good and right, but when measured by God, it is fruitless. It tickles the mind and moves the emotions, but it does not touch the spirit of man. Jesus said that giving a cup of cold water to someone out of love will not go without its reward (Matt. 10:42). On the other hand, a huge high profile ministry could be reaching millions, but it may be ministering out of the motives of the Flesh and for this there is no reward. The work will be burned up with all the other works of the Flesh at the coming of the Lord. There are no redeeming qualities about good work done from the motive of the Flesh for the person who is doing the ministry. It does not please God and there is no reward for it. God will not share His glory with another. He puts us through this Process for this very reason.

God judges the motives of the Heart. He sees what we cannot see. He sees why we are doing something. When we minister with a Heart’s desire for acceptance, respect, position, or recognition, we have our reward in this life (Matt. 6:1-2). We become what God called Israel before He redeemed her. He called her a harlot working for her pay (Hosea 9:1). We are not harlots. We are the Bride of Christ and He will save us from ourselves. Agape love is unconditional love which can only come from God. It is only available to us through the New Spirit Man which has been resurrected at the death of the Old Man. Jesus gave freely to all people without any intention of receiving anything from them in return. His needs were completely met by God. Jesus has made provision for us to have all our needs met by God, as well.

The Church has turned many people from God because the most visible ministries (on television) have been blatant about expecting to receive people’s financial support in return for ministry. How can we prove that the Church truly loves people “unconditionally” if ministry is just like any other business transaction? The shepherds are merciless in their “extractions” of money from the faithful. To even the simplest of minds, it is obviously “ministry with a motive”. Jesus disarmed people of their fears of being taken advantage of by His pure love for them. He gave to them but not because He wanted to fill His Church so He would look good, or would be able to make the mortgage payment. He didn’t heal people, then put them on a mailing list with appeals for monthly “gifts”. There is nothing wrong with mailing lists in themselves, but the motives of this kind of ministry are seriously in question. There are millions of people’s destinies at stake, and we must do as Paul did and find a way to be in a position to give freely without need for or expectation of anything in return. If the Church is judged guilty by the heathen, then how much more by a holy God?

When we are subtly and not so subtly attempting to get our needs met by our own efforts, we are always at work. There is no rest. Nothing that the Flesh can do to meet our needs will ever satisfy. The Flesh is a hard taskmaster. There is no end to its pursuits. There is never enough. Jesus said, “His yoke is easy and His burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). He is the Prince of Peace because when He meets our needs we are satisfied and at complete rest. David describes this as being like a weaned child at his mother’s breast (Psalms 131:2). He understood the contentment we feel when we have our needs met by God. There is nothing wrong with having our needs met. God created us with a hunger in our Heart so that He could meet that hunger. What is evil, however, is that when we are not completely dead in the Flesh, we will attempt to meet those needs through our own manipulation, striving, and conniving. Some people are very obvious about it, some people are very sophisticated. The more religious we get, the more we tend to suppress our real motives. We don’t hide anything from God; we only deceive ourselves.

The reaction to the Wilderness is generally fear. At Jericho a war rages between the Flesh and the Spirit which causes confusion. In the Seven Nations stage of the Process, there is a great deal of anger. Job experienced this process of sanctification and his reactions were documented by his friends. They wrote this about him:

Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth? “What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous? If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water! Job 15:12-16 NIV

This stage of the death of the Flesh is a violent, spiritual battle. The motives of man are at the core of his Heart, and to expose these deep areas of his being takes some dramatic circumstances. Invariably, this deep work causes some painful and extreme reactions. Each area is like a stronghold which must be broken down and, when finally exposed, put to death. It is the circumstances that expose our Heart that are the most painful to endure for the Believer. The Flesh does not give up easily and will fight against the humbling and exposing circumstances, trying to avoid the inevitable. The Body does the same thing when faced with physical death. When God is dealing in this area of the Heart, there will be manifestations of anger that rise up from the Flesh which can surprise and overwhelm us. This is all part of the Process. God is not offended when the Flesh manifests its hatred for Him. Even Jesus, being fully man, accused God on the cross of forsaking Him (Matt. 27:46). It is part of the process of the death of the Flesh.

He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. Psalms 66:9-12

The Needs (7 Nations) Of The Heart of Man
1. Love And Acceptance
“Without love we are nothing” is the theme of many songs and observation confirms this to be true. We were created to love and be loved. The human Heart seeks unconditional love. Teenagers rebel when they discover that their parents’ love is “flawed”. We quickly recognise the difference between what is pure love and what is selfishness, or infatuation. Nothing but pure love will satisfy our Heart, even though it doesn’t exist on this earth. People can only partially fulfill this need. No matter what we do to get love from people, we will rarely be satisfied by it. The love of the Father is so deep and pure, it not only meets our need for love, but also transforms our being. His love enables and motivates us to love others. It is love that confirms to us our worth. To God, we are of infinite value and the quality of His love tells us who we are - we are Sons and Heirs and Royal Priests of the Kingdom of God (1 Peter 2:9).

2. Intimacy
Hidden in the Heart of every man and woman is the desire to know and to be known. We long to share our lives with others who will understand us. We want to be “connected” emotionally and spiritually to someone whom we can trust with everything we are. When God created man and woman, He designed sex to be for more than procreation. He made sex to be an expression of intimacy. Sex without intimacy is an expression of the Flesh. It is lust. It is taking, rather than giving. Therefore, for sex and intimacy to be what they were meant to be, we must have the lusts of the Flesh crucified and true intimacy with God first; then intimacy is possible with others. Our need for intimacy must be fulfilled in our relationship with God so that we can approach our human relationships without being driven by need. If we can enter relationships with no expectations, we cannot be wounded or disappointed because our only purpose is to give. We can then give unconditionally. This is true and fruitful ministry. It sets the captives free because it meets their needs first, and unconditional love disarms their defences. It is this kind of ministry with which Jesus won our Hearts.

Our walk with God should be open, honest, and without deception. This is a requirement of intimacy. If we will share our most secret thoughts with Him and become fully exposed, we will enter a deeper level of intimacy. When the Flesh and its hostility to God is alive, a barrier arises which prevents us from jumping up on His lap and bearing our soul. The Flesh’s struggle to acquire intimacy must be completely destroyed in order for us to have true spiritual intimacy.

3. Honour, Respect And Purpose
”Without a vision the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Without purpose, we are unmotivated and disoriented. Most of us will turn to dissipation (wasting excesses) if we have no purpose in life. We crave honour and purpose because it gives order and meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. To discover our purpose and call is to discover in part who we are. It answers the important question, “why am I here?”. Only God can speak our purpose to us. Only He can “call us”. Only God can speak destiny to us. We could choose a career in the most humanitarian effort, and never find the Heart fulfilment we would experience when we run the race and complete the task for which we were called, by God, at the foundation of the earth. We could be successful in OUR endeavour but unfulfilled in the fullest sense at the Heart level. In God’s eyes, we would be unfruitful. Our destiny is a gift from God. In the movie: “Chariots of Fire”, Eric Liddle said, “I was created to run. It was God who made me fast, and when I run I feel God’s glory.” Eric was in God’s ministry, not his own. Our Heart lusts after the adulation of people. Until we are dead to this desire for honour and respect of people, we cannot fully receive the honour of the Father. Our reward for completing our call will be God honouring us before all the throngs of Heaven with “well done good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21 NIV).

In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” Rev. 5:12 NIV

Jesus completed the task for which He came to earth. He humbled Himself even unto death and defeated Death (the Flesh), the Devil and the world. He was worthy to receive from the Father the seven “rewards” of Revelations 5 verse 12. Jesus was worthy to receive honour because He completed the purpose (call) that was set before Him. Honour and respect are linked to our purpose. We must have a purpose and we crave, out of our very nature, to be good at something, and to be honoured and respected for it. It is not wrong to seek honour. It is good in itself, but it is how and where we receive it that makes it either evil or good. God calls us, and He gives us gifts and talents which enable us to do our ministry and to be honoured by Him for our obedience. If in our Heart we use our talents and gifts to feed our need for honour and respect, rather than to serve the Father, it is spiritual adultery.

4. Power And Position
When God created the earth, He gave man dominion over it. He was empowered to rule the earth and all that was in it (Genesis 1:28). God did that to meet man’s needs for power and position. When God gave man this responsibility, He also gave him the power to rule. Nothing makes a person more “sick” than to have a responsibility and not the power to be responsible. Man was created to take rulership over his domain. This is not presumptuous. It was how he was made by God. A simple expression of this is the common desire for home ownership or enterprise. It gives us authority over our domain. In the business world and in the world in general, it is obvious what the work of the Flesh has done. The manifestation of greed and fear, manipulation and all forms of wickedness are rampant everywhere. They are the manifestations of the illness and self-destruction of humanity. The work of the Flesh brings pain, suffering, sickness, and destruction wherever it reigns. God’s intention is to empower us with the Holy Spirit. He has given us power over all the works of the Devil, sin, sickness, death, and over the whole earth.

5. Provision, Wealth, And Prosperity
The need for provision, wealth, and prosperity is operational on all three levels of a human being. We require provision for our needs on the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimension. We cannot provide for ourselves. God must make provision for us on all levels, for us to have abundance, and to go forward in our calling. It is out of our prosperity that we can minister. We have a requirement, therefore, for His provision and an intrinsic desire for abundance. The Garden of Eden was the ultimate in abundance; it was God’s provision for Adam and Eve’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Unbelievers seek this same abundance. The world holds a misguided belief that if we make enough money we will be happy. If we believe the folly that money will satisfy, then why do we never have enough? Does anyone win the lottery and refuse the money because they already have enough? It will never happen. Will more money make us more happy? No, this is the lust of the Flesh. It can never be satisfied, and it never satisfies. It is a substitute for the wealth found only in the Spirit of God. Many Christians live with one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in the world. We are compelled to pursue the wealth of this world. In our business life, we may operate with more integrity than the world, but our goal is the same - increase, expand, get more. The lust of the Flesh for wealth is greed. Greed is never satisfied. When Christians seek this abundance in the Flesh, it is “religious greed”. Even ministries manifest this drive to become bigger, and to do more, and it is not the Spirit in most cases. It is the lust of the Flesh. Jesus promised that we would be fruitful to the point of abundance, if we abide in Him (John 15:4). We don’t have to do anything but obey Him, and He will do the rest, through us.

6. Home And Security
One of the main elements of the promise of the Promised Land was that it was a place of rest and security. There were no wild animals to fear, nor would there be any hostile nations who would threaten Israel (Deut. 25:19). In order for us to be at rest, we must not have fear of attack or calamity. We need a place of safety and retreat. Jesus said; “come unto me and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) There is no rest in this world. Crime, natural disasters, and accidental tragedy are commonplace. There can be no security for those who do not know the “keeping power” of Jesus Christ. Our Heart must be transformed to know that nothing can separate us from the love and protection He has for His people. The Heart of Flesh cannot receive the love which assures us and brings us to peace. We cannot blossom in our giftedness or move forward in our call if our primary relationships, our home, and our church are not safe places. When our Heart is transformed, we are no longer vulnerable to the fear of attack and accident because we know in our Heart that we are completely in God’s hands.

7. The Will
God has endowed man with the inalienable right of choice. We were created with the need and power of self-direction. Whole nations have languished when their right of personal choice has been taken away by oppressive governments, as was the case in the Soviet Union in the past. As dangerous as it was, God created us to have choice, even in the Garden where every need was met. But the power of choice is both a blessing and a curse because we were created with a will. We can be self-willed and unyielding, or surrendered to God. If we do not have our will surrendered to Christ, we will go astray from Him. If we give up our will and allow God to direct us completely we will find life eternal and abundant, and that it will produce fruitfulness for the Kingdom through the Holy Spirit. Some people “lose it” when they are out of control. This is the fruit of the unredeemed will. It causes pain for those around them. When Jesus came to Gethsemane, He reaffirmed His surrender to the Father. “Not my will, but thy will be done” (Luke 22:42). When we come to Jesus for salvation, we surrender to Him not only as Saviour but also as Lord. The Process is tumultuous. It is difficult to fully explain the Process in specifics because God does His work of redemption differently in each person. The needs of man are at the very core of his being. They are part of his spirit, and they can only be met spirit to Spirit. The Father is our source for all our needs. He is “life” which flows to us because of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

The Flesh motives are an abomination to God. He hates them, because they keep His people from His provision. When His people are cut off from His provision, they attempt to get their needs met by their own efforts, which leads them to evil. The conquering of the Seven Nations brings provision, rest, and fruitfulness in Jesus Christ.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalms 1:3 NIV

Jesus Acquired For Us
Jesus’ death acquired for us the “legal” right to the promises and provision of God. We are saved when we claim those promises, made by Jesus, as our “right” to eternal and abundant life. In order to enter salvation, a spiritual death occurs. We must be humbled and come to the realization that only Jesus can save us from our “hell”. This humbling is a death of the Old Man’s pride and independence and rebellion against God. Each area of salvation that the Holy Spirit will lead us into will require a death. Some deaths are more difficult than others. In some areas of our lives, there is a generational history of grace, and in other areas there are generations of no grace due to sinful attitudes which have been handed down parent to child. When the Holy Spirit is putting to death an area that has been under grace, it is much easier to respond to God and allow Him Lordship over that area of the Heart. It is still a death but it is not as difficult. However, when a “nation” of the Heart is being conquered, it will cause “extreme” reactions.

When Jesus died for us on the cross, He acquired all of the needs which were mentioned before. The acquisition of our need is demonstrated by Jesus giving up this area of His life (death) so we can receive His provision. By doing this, He acquired the legal right for us to receive what He died to provide. It does not mean we automatically receive it. We just have the right to receive it.

Jesus took on the Adamic Nature at the cross and died for the redemption of all men. He gained Lordship over the Flesh in every area, thereby acquiring for us the right to meet these needs by the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture gives a view of Jesus’ death and our promise.

1. Jesus acquired for us Love and Acceptance.

Jesus’ death: “....My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46

Our promise: “...nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing shall separate us from the Love of Christ.” Rom. 8:39

2. Jesus acquired for us Intimacy.
Jesus’ death: left the intimacy of the Trinity in Heaven.
“For I have come down from heaven.....” John 6:38

Our promise: that we may become the Bride of Christ
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Cor. 11:2 NIV

“...Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Rev. 21:9 NIV

3. Jesus acquired for us Honour, Respect, Purpose:
Jesus’ death: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isa. 53:3
Our Promise: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,....” 1 Peter 2:9

4. Jesus acquired for us Power and Position:
Jesus’ death: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ......he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-9
Our promise: “He has give us power over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing by any means shall hinder us.” Luke 10:19 NIV

5. Jesus acquired for us Provision, Wealth and Prosperity:
Jesus’ death: “...though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, that through his poverty you may become rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9 NIV
Our promise: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NIV

6. Jesus acquired for us Home and Security:
Jesus’ death: “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matt. 8:20 NIV
Our promise: “In my Father’s house there are many mansions ......I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

7. Jesus acquired for us our Will:
Jesus’ death: “...not my will, but thy will be done.” Luke 22:42
Our Promise: “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:2 NIV

Our Ministry
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8:34, NIV

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 NIV

Not only is the process of sanctification our preparation for ministry, it IS our ministry. We cannot be a disciple of Jesus unless we are prepared to take up our own cross and die as He did. We are called to follow in His footsteps. We are called to do what He has done. Jesus had His needs met from God, but for the sake of His ministry to this world, He gave up His provision and died. By doing this, He acquired for us provision for our needs. Our call to take up our cross and follow Jesus is a call to the cross. It is not a physical cross of physical death because the authority to defeat the Adamic Nature has already been won. Our death will allow us to acquire blessing and grace for others. This is our ministry to the world. If we lay down our life (die) for the sake of others, we can acquire grace (through our humility- death) for those to whom we are called to minister. If we give up our life and die to the Flesh, we shall find it and be like Him.

Our Cross/Our Preparation for Ministry
The following is our call to death and the promise made to those to whom we are called to minister.

1. The Cross of Love and Acceptance:
The Believer’s Death: And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matt. 10:21

The call to fruitful ministry: This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:12 By this shall all men shall know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35,

2. The Cross of Intimacy
The Believer’s Death:, And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Matt. 19:29
The call to fruitful ministry: For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:2, That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 1 Cor. 12:25-27,

3. The Cross of Honour, Respect and Purpose:
The Believer’s Death: We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 1 Cor. 4:10,
The call to fruitful ministry: “ye are honourable, but we are despised” 1 Cor. 4:10

4. The Cross of Power and Position
The Believer’s Death: If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. 1 Cor. 9:12 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Cor. 9:22 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:10
The call to fruitful ministry: For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 1 Cor. 4:20

5. The Cross of Provision, Wealth and Prosperity:
The Believer’s Death: As sorrowerful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing yet possessing all things. 2 Cor. 6:10,
The call to fruitful ministry: Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Acts 3:6,

6. The Cross of Home and Security
The Believer’s Death: Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 1 Cor. 4:11,
The call to fruitful ministry: For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. Mark 9:41

7. The Cross of the Will:
The Believer’s Death: You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36, NIV
The call to fruitful ministry: The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever. 1 John 2:17 NIV

The Cross
The cross is a place of pain and suffering. Job suffered and came to a revelation of who God was. (Job 42:5) He also learned His ways of doing things. He faced those who in their arrogance thought they knew God and what was going on with Him. They condemned him. Their redemption was in Job’s prayer. He had acquired the grace for them to enter a new truth. He suffered so they could both come into new truth. Paul’s suffering and death of his Flesh was for the sake of establishing the gentile Church. Death is the start of new life. It acquires the grace necessary to enter new truth and new life. Jesus was different than the prophets of old. He brought not only truth but also grace. It is through His humbling and death (acquisition of grace) we can enter truth. Our call to be like Him starts with our own humbling and death. The work of a prophet is to point the way and to intercede for the Church to acquire new truth and spiritual authority by grace.

The Army In Boot Camp
It is difficult to anticipate what God is going to do, but it would appear that He has called a great number of prophets into the Wilderness. Many of these have been in the Process for many years. They have been called to proclaim prophetically the “call” to the Church that it is entering the season of refining. The Process typically takes many years to complete. It is unclear how God will accelerate the Process but He is going to escalate the number of people who are in the Wilderness and the rate at which they move through the various stages. It would appear that this is the season of God calling people out of the world’s system and into the Wilderness. Believers everywhere, knowingly or unknowingly are talking about the Wilderness from an experiential point of view. This was not true 10 years ago. Today, however, the Process is a real experience for many of us. We are in it, whether we understand it or not. A year before I entered the Wilderness, a friend had a vision for me. It was of a plant growing in the desert. There was no source of nourishment yet it was surviving very nicely. I believe many people will be called out of their jobs and “places” to follow the Holy Spirit through the Wilderness and into a spiritual Promised Land. They will minister to the Church and the world with an exciting and powerful authority which in the past has only rarely been seen. These people will be the most unlikely people for this ministry by the Church’s standards. They will, however, carry with them such a mantle of authority they will be accepted. They will be part of God’s restructuring of the Church which will become a true representation of the Body of Jesus Christ. The prophets of old suffered persecution and humiliation and so will these “Forerunners”, but it will not stop them. There will be chaos and turmoil in the Church but in what appears to be conflict and disorder, God will reform His people and His Church. In spite of the chaos, it will be a glorious time where Jesus will take His Lordship in a more complete way over His Church.

Our Threefold Redemption
Sanctification is an ongoing process. But there are specific times and seasons of an intense work of the Holy Spirit. These seasons are identifiable, usually in hindsight, but nonetheless they are distinguishable, specific, and systematic. We are called to be redeemed in three areas of our life, the first being our relationship with the Father; the second, our ministry to our family; and third, our ministry to the Body of Christ and to the world. When the valiant men finally defeated the Seven Nations, their wives, children and livestock were the benefactors of the abundance of the Promised Land. They fought and defeated the nations on behalf of their families and their possessions. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Eph. 5:25) The husband is the High Priest of the home and he is called to die in his ministry to his wife and family so that they can enter into the abundance of God. The wife is called to die in order to have a fruitful ministry to the children. Because we are Kings and Priests we are called to die and acquire grace for those for whom we are called to serve in Christ.

God is building an army of Believers who are dead to the works of the Flesh. They will have the full armor of Christ which is spoken of in Ephesians 6:11. All of the armor described there is the armor we acquire when we allow the Spirit to bring death to the Adamic Nature in us. We are enabled to walk in the Spirit and thereby not fulfill the lusts of the Flesh. We are endowed with authority to pull down strongholds. We can do ministry from a Heart motivated by pure love. We will find our personal peace, identity, and prosperity in Christ. We have learned warfare against the Devil and his works in the world. Now, we must learn how to defeat the Flesh. When the Flesh is dead, the Devil will have nothing with which to tempt us. Riches, fame, and success, are no lure to the one who has given these up, and who is free of the love of them. In the heat of the battle against the works of the Flesh and the Devil, there will be nothing that he can do to defeat us. Jesus started a spiritual revolution which has continued and prospers to this day. His death has brought new life to billions of people. The Church is called to be like Him. He is preparing millions of sanctified Spirit-walking-warriors on the earth for the final hour of this world as we know it. No devil in hell, nor work of the Flesh will be able to stand before that army of God. He will redeem us. He will armor us. We will know the intimate fellowship of Christ in our suffering and death. He will captain us, just as He came to Israel in the Wilderness as the “Captain of The Lord of Hosts” (Joshua 5:14). We will be the fruitful vine who abides (lives) and draws all our sustenance from Jesus (John 15:4-8). We will be the spotless Bride of Christ who has been fully prepared to rule and reign with Christ in the Age to Come. We will be fully His, and He will be fully ours. We will be worthy to receive all rewards from the Father because we have overcome the Flesh, the Devil, and the world. (Rev. 11:18).

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Rev. 17:14 NIV

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matt. 22:14 NIV