“In this season, I am raising you up to be a victorious people, who are looking only to Jesus as your model for living. It is a training to be a warrior, a preparation to be a bride. You, My special warriors, are being called, appointed, cleansed, and prepared to represent Him to a world that is completely out of answers. You will give those who will listen the only answer - Jesus. You will also present to those who will not hear, the One who will seal their doom; that is also Jesus. Jesus will be seen to either be accepted or rejected. The preparation for your presentation is taking place in you this very moment. As this training for My kind of presentation is being accomplished in you, another wonder is also happening. You are being prepared for a wedding feast. You will notice a shift in your motives as this second phase transpires. You will be well aware of the war that is at hand, but you will be looking only to Jesus while it takes place. That may seem simplistic, but it is paramount to your place with Me. The ability to see the need to be at war is an elementary stage of preparation. Almost anyone who observes daily happenings can do so.
“Implementation can take many forms, some of which are not My kind of warfare. True preparation, however, involves becoming like Jesus. In doing so, you also become ready to meet Him because you will be like Him. Your progress is marked by how little you focus on the war at hand, knowing that I will handle that; and how much you long to be with Him, while you engage in the battles all around you in His power. That heart position separates those who have fully submitted to My kind of training, and those who have stopped short. You, My fully equipped warrior bride, will soon long only to be with Jesus; but you’ll also be willing to remain at war for His sake and His glory. The battles that rage all around you will simply be catalysts used to cleanse your garments, rather than to strengthen your resolve to win. I love who you are becoming!”
II Cor. 2:14-16a AMP
14) But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victories] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
15) For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which] exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:
16a) To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh].
II John 4:4 AMP
Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
In this world, there are players who determine how most of the world runs. Players are continually positioning themselves to be seen, heralded, and brought to the forefront in everything they do. They are usually strong, popular, visible, and appear to be in control of every aspect of their lives. They look and smell successful.
The training to become a player in life is rigorous and all-consuming. To really enter the game, one must consider the game as all important. To win the game, family, friends, and fellow players must be secondary to whatever it takes to succeed. There can be no compromise; second place is not an option. After the game is over, most players find themselves in need of attempting to pick up the pieces of their lives and mend the relationships that were destroyed during the game.
The training to become a real “player” in the kingdom of God is the antithesis of what is called “winning at life.” The goal of the true servant of Jesus Christ is to decrease and have Him increase. His priority is not so much what he can accomplish, but his ability to submit and have Jesus’ life accomplished in him.
All training for “players” in the kingdom of God is designed to crush the life out of the player, so that the life of the King can replace it. Submission must replace strength, independence must give way to obedience; and self motives fall to the honor of seeing Jesus glorified everywhere and in everything. True success in the kingdom of God happens when the person in training disappears completely and the Son of God is all that is seen in his life. Quietly, without fanfare, a “player” in the kingdom will go about the business of his appointed role, lovingly observed by God; but ignored and scorned by the world.
Wanting to see no good in the world’s ways anymore,
Jim Corbett
