riseup_conquer

Rise Up & Conquer All!
by Peggy Kannaday & Randall D. Kittle

Across America and around the world, much of the Church has been asleep for a long time. But praise the Lord at least a remnant of the Church is beginning to wake up. These are days in which we can see Ephesians 5 begin to be fulfilled right before our eyes.

“Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:14–21).

Rise Up!
Like a child who won’t get out of bed because it’s still dark outside, much of the Church stays in their state of slumber waiting for a light from the Lord to arouse them. But according to the above verse, they have it backwards. It is when we wake up and arise that the Lord Jesus Christ will give us His Light. Like a motion sensor light that only turns on with movement, God is calling us to hear His invitation to “awaken the dawn” of His divine illumination.

While it might be comfortable and “cozy” in our bed of complacency, our destiny lies waiting for us to fulfill … if we will simply summon the courage to get up and take hold of it. Once we wake up, the light of Jesus Christ will be manifest to us, in us, and through us — His people. We need to let our light shine outward to a lost and dying world, for this light will expose the things of darkness and remove all the “gray areas,” making a clear distinction between what is right and what is sin. “Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light” (Ephesians 5:13). Pray that the light, love, and truth of Jesus Christ will shine forth from the saints of God and be spread throughout our nation, its people, and the world.

After we, the Body of Christ, wake up and rise up, the Lord will be able to use us to redeem the time, the lost territory, and everything that has been taken or destroyed by the enemy of our souls. We cannot do this by our own abilities or with our own plans. That is why God’s Word admonishes us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit and to submit ourselves unto each other. Only a united corps of spiritual soldiers who are both submitted to and filled with His presence will be able to undo the works of the enemy and come into the joy of victory in the coming days.

Conquer All!
As the Lord’s sons and daughters, we have been given all power over the enemy. Romans 8:37–39 tells us, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through our relationship with Jesus Christ, the awoken and arisen saints of God have become more than conquerors. We can boldly do all things through Jesus Christ, knowing that nothing can possibly separate us from Jesus’ love, His presence, and His care for us.

What are we commanded to do with the supreme authority that we have been given by our Lord Jesus Christ? We are to take back the lives, the property, the territories, and the very atmosphere where the Lord has placed us.

We’re not to just sit on our hands and do nothing with the all-powerful authority that has been entrusted to us as true Christians. We are to “occupy” until the Lord returns. Occupy means to take over the pagan elements and destroy them in the spiritual realm, as Josiah did in the physical realm when he was king.

God wants us to take the territory not by physical power but by the Spirit of the Lord. As Christians, we have the power to bring down all evil spirits. We have been given “all” power over the enemy and his demons … including those humans who are being demonized.

A Day to Decide
We are in the last days, and we face the “Valley of Decision.” We need to decide today which team we are going to be part of and support. The Lord is going to seal all of His servants who have been completely sold out to Him, and they will not suffer the wrath of God when it comes. However, we are warned not to wait too long to deny ourselves, our own lives, and to take up our crosses and follow Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation and deliverance. Choose this day whom you will serve. The Church must wake up, rise up, and conquer all … making Herself ready for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dearly beloved of God, keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, and be led by the Holy Spirit, as the days will become more and more evil and the deceptions more and more insidious. My prayer for you:

Dear Father, please keep Your people in Your loving arms, and keep them safely protected from all of the fiery darts of the enemy. Please keep them in Your full armor, Lord, and preserve them blameless until Your coming.

Please move mightily upon Your Church to wake Her up, raise Her up, and use Her to conquer all evil through prayer, fasting, worship, and Your powerful Word. Strengthen Her and encourage Her to make Herself ready to meet You! In the all-powerful Name of Jesus Christ and for Your glory. Amen and amen.

Margaret (Peggy) Kannaday has worked for Dr. Yonggi Cho for some 22 years as the managing editor for “Church Growth International” which is the English outreach of The Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea.