Stuck in Mud or Soaring as Eagles
by Ron McGatlin
In the old days of my youth in Texas, many roads in rural areas were dirt or graveled. In parts of the world, they still are that way. In a rainy season it took a certain skill, developed by experience, to navigate the mud and ruts without getting stuck or sliding off into the ditch on either side of the road.
The trails and roads traveled by forerunners in the frontier of transitioning into the kingdom of God are yet unpaved and can be seriously difficult at times. Traveling alone or with one or two others, a forerunner can acquire skill in dealing with the miry mud and pitfalls of preparing a road.
It is much more difficult to attempt to lead a group of busses loaded with people through the undeveloped roads and trails of the kingdom frontier. Their previous lives on the paved streets of Babylonian cities did not prepare the bus drivers for the difficulties of moving through the unfamiliar unpaved roads toward the kingdom of God lifestyle. The road to New Jerusalem, the City of God, can be much more difficult than the religious routines of the paved streets ofBabylon.
The job of forerunners and pioneers in the transition to kingdom is to build up a highway for the people to travel on through the wilderness and desert areas to the kingdom of God life (Isa 62:10).
My heart aches again and again as I witness good people seeking to navigate the trail of forerunners getting stuck in the mud or sliding off the road into the ditch.
Much of the problem is that they usually have a heavily loaded trailer hitched to their small vehicle. Mostly their trailers are loaded with people, possessions, and keepsakes (traditional ways) from their past lives.
Often they are trying to drag people who do not want to go and will not go on this forerunner journey. They soon become stuck in the mud and waste great amounts of energy in spinning their wheels. Yes, they have a powerful engine of Spirit-led desire to make the journey out of Babylon and into New Jerusalem, the real kingdom of God. However, they have no traction to move the loaded vehicle from being stuck in the mud of their unwillingness to leave things that they do not really need in the kingdom and the people who are not willing to go.
Natural Human Compassion
Through misguided human compassion they believe they that must not leave anyone behind on this journey. They cannot see clearly through the fog of natural compassion. They do not know that the best thing they can do for everyone involved is to respond to God’s call and move forward toward the kingdom, to establish a road and eventually a highway for the people coming after them.
The first century disciples left their businesses, lands, and families to follow Jesus toward the kingdom of God. Even Jesus left His disciples temporarily dashing their hopes and dreams of kingdom. However, He left them with the promise that He would come again for them to abide in Him and He in them to establish the kingdom of God on earth.
Not everyone must be a forerunner. However, those who will be must leave their past life and receive the fullness of kingdom life now in Christ and Christ in them.
"Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." ~ Jesus
Do not be deceived.
We must lift up our eyes to the hills (the higher places of God) and receive His help to cleanse our hands and ascend the hill of the Lord (Psa 24). Do not be deceived; we cannot drag anything that defiles into the New Jerusalem life of the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 21:27). Even more importantly, we cannot go ourselves if we stay with them.
No sexually immoral person will make this journey. Liars, cheaters, thieves, unbelievers, manipulators, extortionist, murderers, and those who take simple people and naïve children captive shall not make this journey. No one with other gods in their hearts will make this forerunner trip into the fullness of the kingdom of God. Those who cannot leave their religion and release to God their possessions, businesses, and families cannot be forerunners.
We cannot look back.
"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." ~ Jesus
Forerunners must not be distracted by natural civilian things. All else in life is secondary at best. Looking back will disqualify us from moving on into becoming mature sons of the kingdom of God now. How much more does reaching back, for any reason, prove us to be unfit for the kingdom?
Only by the Spirit can these things be done.
Utter dependence and reliance on the Spirit of Christ in us by the Holy Spirit is the only way to be and to do the things before us in transitioning to the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. The grace of God flowing by the Holy Spirit is the empowerment to will and to do the supernatural work of moving from treading in mud to soaring in the Spirit as eagles.
If the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us to lift us to the supernatural spiritual reality of being as Christ is in this world, we can soar as eagles. The supernatural transition can be much faster and easier – a light burden and easy yoke, by the Spirit.
This journey will not be without opposition. Wild beasts will stalk us throughout the journey through the frontier. However, in Christ and Christ in us we are more than conquerors and fully overcome. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We must ignore the wild beast that stalk us and seek to distract us on our journey. Focus on the Lord and ignore the evil spirits and those driven by them around us. If we focus on the evil ones, we will lose our focus on the Lord and the journey into His kingdom. We will find ourselves again stuck and spinning our wheels in mud or sliding off into the roadside ditch of distraction.
I believe there are a lot of road-building kingdom people reading this who are on this journey that are now gathering into troops of a militia type army of forerunners to lead the worldwide body to fully cross over the Jordan and possess the promised land. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. ~ Paul
It is my opinion, that there has never been a more extreme and potentially productive season in history regarding the reality of the kingdom of God from heaven on earth. This is not a time for pondering or indecision in spiritual weakness or hesitation. Rather, it is a day for clearly hearing by the Spirit and quickly obeying with boldness the leading of the Lord of glory.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” ~ Jesus
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.
Ron McGatlin
www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net
