The Grassroots Army of God
I pastored a church in Colorado when the prayer movement and restoration of the prophetic was beginning. As with any “new” understanding, these restored activities began with some extremes. That’s why we have the phrase, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
Some in our congregation felt the assignment to become watchmen intercessors. As God showed them things, however, through dreams, visions and so on, many didn’t know what to do with the information. Consequently, they would approach me, sometimes even during worship, informing me of various “pictures” - perhaps that they saw a demon in the sanctuary. They, of course, wanted me to cast it out; or maybe have the entire congregation do so! MANY pictures, “words from God,” colors, numbers, verses, etc, were given to me in this fashion from my “watchmen.”
I finally told the Lord, “Some of these intercessors are driving me crazy. They’re weird, out of balance, a nuisance.”
His response was unnerving, “And whose fault is that?” He said. “Their hearts are good; you just haven’t taught them how to be watchmen - how to interpret the prophetic, what to do with what I show them. Blame yourself, not them. You can either shut down what I’M doing, or you can teach them until they are qualified.”
The workshops began soon thereafter.
Many believers are not used by Holy Spirit because leaders don’t trust and/or train them. And the Kingdom of God suffers greatly because of this. Today, Tom Schlueter addresses this subject for us.
“A general without an army is not a general.
“In a recent conversation with Dutch, we were discussing the fact that in order for the nation to come into its full destiny and transformation, we must have a trained, Kingdom-minded spiritual army in each state. Not a natural army with natural weapons, of course, but one consisting of believers who truly believe God wants to transform our nation.
“Years ago, as I served with several nationwide prayer networks, the Lord gave me an impression, ‘The strength of a nation is in the strength of the states.’ Our nation, as a constitutional republic, is ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ However, we have witnessed this understanding, and the ‘rights’ it produces, diminish and almost disappear through the gradual takeover by a strong, over-lording federal government. We must see this reversed. Sadly, a similar thing has occurred in the church. Believers have been relegated to a watch-and-see role, the vast majority observing from the sidelines as only a few, usually from a hierarchical structure, do the work of the Kingdom. This is not God’s plan. Just as the strength of our nation is in the states and the people - not a central government - the strength of the church is in the entire body of Christ.
“Based on my conversations with Dutch, the Lord kept bringing my opening phrase to me - a general without an army is not a general. We need the army! What has caused this lack of involvement on the part of many?
“I believe we have many in the church and, yes, even in the prayer movement, who believe they do not fully qualify to be part of what God wants to do in their state and our nation. Many pray in their prayer closets or church groups, but have felt uninvited and untrusted in efforts for their city, county, parish, or state. This has caused them to feel unqualified, and this has been exacerbated as leaders in their city, county, state, or nation avoid using them because they also feel people are unqualified or unvetted. The result: we have small ‘qualified’ teams operating in their sphere of influence, but no army forming out of the grassroots. I realize there are times, just as in military strategies, to send small teams to carry out certain assignments. But more often than not, we have made that the ONLY plan for ALL assignments. We must begin to recruit the grassroots saints God has anointed to be His ever-increasing army.
“A few months ago, as I was looking out the front picture window of our home, the Lord asked me a simple question, ‘Tom, have you considered the blade of grass?’
“I replied, ‘Well, Lord, I don’t know. I am assuming I have, but you obviously have a message for me.’
“He did, and it was very clear, ‘You cannot have a grassroots army unless you consider every blade of grass as important.’
“I have applied this principle as I lead the Texas Apostolic Prayer Network. And in doing so, we have witnessed a mighty army form in Texas, with 10,000 connected intercessors covering our state. Holy Spirit wants this to occur where you live.
“Like so many who feel ‘unqualified,’ I used to feel the same way. I grew up as a Spirit-filled Lutheran pastor, which is an oddity, but was totally unfamiliar with intercession, the prophetic, and the apostolic. The more I read about these topics, the more unqualified I felt, since I was serving a small Lutheran congregation of 50 people here in Arlington, Texas. I could not comprehend how I might be used as an instrument in what God wanted to do in our state or nation.
“I literally felt as though I was on the outside of an invisible circle - or perhaps I should say inside a circle - and would never be able to fully engage with what was going on outside my city. I did grow, however, in my understanding of intercession and began inviting other local intercessors to join me in praying for our city. I had read powerful books on intercession written by Dutch Sheets, Beth Alves, Jack Hayford, Jim Goll, Cindy Jacobs, and others, and embraced the fact that I was an intercessor (even though most pastors avoid that label). Then the Lord downloaded a 2-part revelation to me, which changed everything. I write about in my first book, Return of the Priests:
‘God showed me that intercession is not just a special gift or anointing. Intercession is a position. God desires that we intercede or pray for others in whatever place or position He has appointed for us. A woman, in her position as mother, will pray for her children. A man, in his position as father, will pray for his family. A person, in the position of employer, will pray for those who work at his or her company. People, in their positions as citizens, will intercede for their city or nation. God showed me that Jesus was in the perfect position of intercession as He hung upon the cross. Jesus prayed from the cross, but it was not His prayers that saved us. It was His position of intercession - between God and our sins - that saved us from the judgment we deserved.’ [Italics are mine - Dutch]
“This revelation exploded in my spirit. I realized I was in a position no one else was in…and so are you. The Lord revealed that we are to take responsibility for our ‘positions’ or spheres of influence, praying that those people and/or places become fully transformed by God. See your position as a prized possession.
“A while back, I was contemplating the fact that my wife and I do not own one square inch of land in the state of Texas. We have often thought and prayed about purchasing land, but every time we tried it was blocked. I spoke to the Lord about this - almost complaining to Him - stating that He’s given me responsibility for this state, but I don’t own any land in the state. His answer was simple and profound: ‘I have given you Texas as a possession.’ What a revelation!
“Prioritize what God has assigned you. I remember an instance in my life as I was growing in my understanding of intercessory prayer. I was complaining to God that requests on my prayer list were not being answered. I had four or five things I was passionately praying for on a regular basis, but wasn’t seeing any answers. His response to me was, ‘Tom, number one on your list is number four on mine.’ Ouch! It was then that I realized I needed to start listening more to God regarding my ‘Position.’ What did He want me to pray? What did He want me to release into my family, my church, my city, or state or nation?
Part two of the revelation was that our ‘position’ is the place from which we carry out our role as priests, representing Christ and His salvation to others. We are all priests of God. This is stated emphatically in Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9, and Revelation 1:5-6. Therefore, EVERY person redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ is called to the redemption and transformation of the world we inhabit, not just a few, select people.
“It was through this 2-fold revelation that the Lord started erasing the invisible line or circle I mistakenly thought was there. He brought me to the place where I could become the influence He desired me to be in my own sphere or position. Holy Spirit wants to do this for all of us. He has called us, placed us, and desires to qualify us, teaching us to become effective for Christ.”
A fancy-dressed, uppity tourist from a large city was visiting a small, seemingly insignificant country village. Seeing one of the lowly, plain-dressed locals, he asked in a condescending tone, “Were there any great men born here?
Not in the least intimidated, the village resident replied, “Nope. Only babies.”
No one is born a great intercessor, nor are they born with greatness in any other calling or activity. All of us are born as babies, but with great potential. With training and effort, we can grow in maturity and become proficient - qualified! - in our God-given assignments. You are needed in this Kingdom army!
Pray with me:
Father, please awaken leaders, and awaken the sleeping army. Motivate the members of the body of Christ to value and fulfill their individual roles, and motivate the leaders to train and release them. Forgive us for any way in which we have devalued our brothers and sisters.
As we paint our state borders, anchoring and protecting our nation, encourage all to participate. Every prayer is needed and is important to You. Build such a strong prayer grid over America that no evil can penetrate it. In Christ’s name, we pray, amen.
Our decree:
We decree that millions of believers will find their place as intercessors and watchmen in our land and around the world.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.