The LORD of Hosts - The word hosts is a translation of the Hebrew word sabaoth, meaning “armies”—a reference to the angelic armies of heaven. Thus, another way of saying “LORD of hosts” is “God of the armies of heaven.”
Now, a goodly portion of the church has taken that meaning carnally and picked up where the OT left off, believe that the warrior characteristic of God is a mandate to carry on earthly wars, defeat militarily the enemies of Israel, subdue evil by force, take dominion and prepare the earth for His coming.
In light of scripture that accurately defines our weapons; they are not carnal but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds and with the strategic objective to defeat evil via the preaching of the gospel to all nations, which is the precursor to His coming. How is the church actually using it's weapons?
I've heard of those who claim to Gods generals but are they really utilizing the weaponry available to fight the powers and principalities or are they esteeming themselves?Mark 13 5-13 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
I have some background in military tactics, taught infantry tactics so I have some understanding of how an entire army works in unison to achieve a mission, the infantry man has artillery support to soften a position before going face to face, may call in air strikes on a target prior to engaging closely, etc. What I don't see in the church is any coordination of the resources (gifts). I see "intercessors to the nations", that sound all big deal and stuff but have they ever confronted the powers and principalities at the local wal-mart in coordination with evangelists who will come in and clean-up? Any ideas here on how a church could not only fully recognize and develop the gifts and callings in a particular body and then actually coordinate and rally those resources to do much, much damage to the enemies camp?
Jesus Christ is the commander in chief of the armies of the Lord. We are His body but is the hand even attached to the arm when it comes to the mission, reaching a lost and dying world?