And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: — Joel 2:11a

The army of the Lord is an army that will only take orders from the Lord.  This army will not move until it hears the voice of the Lord.  The voice of the Lord will lead and guide this army to know where to invade and when to invade.  If this army moves and attacks on its own, it will fail.  Notice, the voice of the Lord goes before this army, not after it.  We do not attack and invade and then try to hear from God-–His voice goes before!  You must position yourself to be in a place to hear His voice.  You must be under generals in the army who have a direct line with God.  Trust the Lord and trust His leaders in this day and hour!  You are currently in boot camp, becoming strong in spiritual warfare.  You are learning about your weapons, how to invade and how to defend.  You are engaged in little opportunities to take ground–-one saved here, one healed here, one delivered there.  But soon the invasion will escalate; it will no longer be one person at a time, but whole cities, states, and countries will be overtaken by the army of God.  It is going to take more than just excitement, more than just one spiritual touch—it will take an ability to hear the voice of the Lord.  The Commander is talking, giving orders:  are you listening?

And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army:  for his camp is very great:  for he is strong that executeth his word:  for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? — Joel 2:11

The army of the Lord has been in training for years.  It is now the time for action, the time for invasion.  We will be led by the voice of the Lord, and we must be able to hear Him clearly.  After hearing His voice, you then must obey, or execute, His Word.  You must be willing to go where and when He says to go, and to stop when He says to stop.  It is not your responsibility to understand His orders, just to obey them and carry them out!  The more you know His Word, the more you will recognize His voice.  Many things that we will be commanded to do will not be able to be rationalized by our natural mind!  Just hear the commandment voice and execute His commands.  If He says “give,” give.  If He says “pray,” pray.  If He says “speak truth,” speak it!  No one knows spiritual strategies better than the Lord Himself.  Invade when you don’t feel like it, go when it doesn’t appear like it’s advantageous, speak when you are uneasy about speaking.  He has given us power (authority and anointing) through His Word and His Spirit to tread on serpents and scorpions.  To tread is to advance!  To tread is to go forward in the midst of serpents and scorpions.  Who can abide in the day of the Lord?  He who hears the Lord’s voice and executes His commands!

...he offered them money,  — Acts 8:18b

The power of God, the anointing of God, the Holy Ghost, cannot be bought.  Simon wanted the anointing so badly that he offered the disciples money for it!  Many people live without the results of the anointing because of self-works.  They try to pray enough, fast enough, read enough, to impress God so He will anoint them.  But you already have an anointing (1 John 2:20, 27)!  If you are going to fast, you do not do it to get the anointing–-you fast by the anointing.  You do not pray to get the power, you pray with the power.  You do not read the Word to get the anointing, you read the Word in the anointing.  Anything you do without the anointing being involved will just be a religious exercise.  You have an anointing!  Now put your trust in the anointing that you have.  Simon’s sad mistake was that he wanted the power of God without allowing God to change his heart.  He wanted the power of God so he could give out that he himself was some great one, so the people would say that he was the great one of God.  What do you want the power of God for?  For what purpose do you desire it?  It should be a desire to help others and set them free!  The power is for service to others, to minister to others, not so you can be some well-known, big-time Christian.  There will be promotion in the anointing, but it will be a God-promotion, not man’s promotion.  Desire the power, but keep the right motive for the use of the power–-to heal them all!

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. — Luke 5:16

Long before the house was filled in Luke 5:17-26, long before the power of the Lord was present to heal them all, Jesus had withdrawn into the wilderness and prayed.  If Jesus had to withdraw and spend time with the Father and pray, how much more the Church today.  There are many in the wilderness, in communion with the Father, preparing to come and bring the power of the Lord with them.  They are not well-known, they are not on TV every night, but they are positioning themselves in the anointing of God.  Jesus commanded us to go to a secret place, close the door, and pray in secret, and the reward, or the results, would be seen openly.  Many want to be seen openly, to be well known, to be famous in the body of Christ, to be known as the great power of God, but have failed to enter in, close the door, and spend time with the Source of that power.  They desire to have earthly connections rather than to make the connection with the Holy Ghost.  In that secret place, the Spirit of God will change your heart through prayer and the Word.  He will nurture in you the right motive and the right attitude for a life in the anointing.  Your reward will not only be your reward but will also help and benefit others around you.  Many desire and want the reward, but many do not want the closet or the shut door.  What you do in secret-–will be seen openly.