The church is called to be the bride of Christ as well as an army. As we approach the end of this age, we will begin to take on more of the nature and demeanor of both. This is hard for many to understand because the bride is to be feminine, and the martial nature of an army is more masculine. However, we will take on both of these natures at the same time, and it will greatly strengthen the health and effectiveness of the body of Christ.

Before continuing with this thought, we need to understand that men are called to be devoted lovers and worshippers of God. Likewise, women can and are some of the greatest warriors. Even so, one basic strategy of the devil is to blur the distinctions between men and women, trying to make the women into men and men into women. There are differences, and these differences must not be compromised. The great female warriors can and will be feminine. The great male worshipers can and will be masculine.

What I am about to share is a generalization. Therefore, it is neither totally accurate nor accurate for all churches, but presently, even though the church is led mostly by men, its nature is more feminine. This is why more than 70 percent of the church is composed of women, and many of the men who are in the church today are not really connected in their hearts. It is not just that women tend to be more spiritual than men, though this in fact may be the case, but most men just do not relate to the church in its present form, are bored with it, or just feel out of place. However, as the church takes on more of the martial nature for which it is called, men will flock back to the church.

As the church begins to take on more of its martial nature, the feminine nature that will also grow as the church prepares to be the bride of Christ will help keep it in balance. Just as King David was one of the greatest warriors in Scripture, but also one of the greatest worshippers, the church is going to grow up in both of these aspects. They will fit together perfectly just as they did in King David. This is why we started Worship and Warfare Conferences many years ago, and they remain some of our most powerful conferences.

I have studied the military and military strategies for many years because I was shown that the body of Christ at the end of this age would become the army that it is called to be. As we have discussed before, God uses the title “Lord of hosts,” or “Lord of armies,” more than ten times as much as all of His other titles combined. He is a martial God, and we must understand this aspect of His nature and how His people are going to begin to conform to it. How this practically relates is a very important issue for those who will be prepared for the times.

We must understand that there are many ways in which human martial demeanor is not the same as God’s martial demeanor. As we read Isaiah 55:8-9,
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God’s martial nature is much higher than man’s martial nature, but there are also ways that they are alike. These, too, we need to understand.

For example, the ways that our human martial nature is different from the Lord’s is that human armies are devoted to destruction and God’s army is devoted to construction. Human soldiers are taught how to kill and to take the lives of their enemies, while God’s soldiers are taught how to give life and even to lay down their own lives for the sake of their enemies. One way that they are alike is that both armies are built on discipline, obedience, and the resolve that when given an objective, you pay the price required to accomplish it.

There are also similarities in strategies between human armies and God’s army. One is the most basic military strategy called “concentration of forces.” This is the strategy of concentrating forces at a point in the enemy’s line in order to create a breakthrough. Once a breakthrough in the lines is accomplished, then the enemy must retreat to keep from allowing the opposing forces into its rear area, destroying its supply lines and surrounding its frontline troops. Concentration of forces has been the most successful military strategy, and the reason for most of the decisive military victories in history.

Contrary to this, in military history the strategy that has been the least successful and has often led to decisive defeats, has been the attempt to spread the forces out and to fight battles on too many fronts. Now let’s apply this in a practical and personal way.

Most of us still have a couple of hundred things wrong with us that need fixing. It is the devil’s strategy to get us to try to fix all of them at once. However, just as the Apostle Paul wrote, “but one thing I do” (see Philippians 3:13). If we were to concentrate on a breakthrough in just one area, we would probably realize a quick victory and begin to see one breakthrough after another come as we concentrate on them. Soon, whatever footholds the enemy had in our own life would give way.

Now let’s think about how it might relate to the church as a whole. Presently, the church is fighting battles on too many fronts to count. What would happen if we started to concentrate on just one or two of these areas? We would probably realize swift victories and see big advances begin. Right now the church is so divided that it is hard to imagine the kind of unity that this would require, but the foundation of this unity is now beginning.

We must also consider that if the enemy is attacking on more than one front, we often have to fight on more than one front. However, Christians would do well to learn from these tactics and strategies. Some of the greatest victories in military history were achieved by wise generals, ignoring the enemy’s attacks and concentrating their forces to attack the enemy in an unexpected place and way that was not expected. When we start moving from triumph to triumph the way we should be, we will not be continually reacting to the enemy, but we will be the ones setting the agenda with our attacks on the strongholds of the enemy, and he will be constantly reacting to us.

First, we must resolve that we will retreat no further—we will not give up any more territory to the enemy, and we are going to start taking back territory that has been lost. In many countries, the church was far more effective being the salt and light that it was called to be fifty years ago than it is now. In fact, we have probably lost more ground in the last fifty years than in the previous five hundred. We cannot give up any more ground, and we must retake what has been lost. We must solidify the gains, occupying the land taken, and then keep going.

As we are told in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” The Lord’s kingdom is going to come to the earth, and His will is going to be done on the earth, just as it is in heaven. We are here now to help prepare the way for it. Our ultimate goal must be big, but we must also be practical and able to concentrate on the next step. It is time to see some victories. When the church starts to behold a few breakthroughs and victories, Christians everywhere will arise, gather in unity, and fight the good fight of faith.