Can You Hear The Call Of The Holy Spirit

I remember when my brother, Gary, joined the military in 1969. The government did a clearance check and as soon as Gary passed he was shipped off to boot camp. They woke him up at 3 am to take his picture and then woke him up again at 6 am to do a 16 mile walk with full pack.

My brother always has been a strong man, but when he went to boot camp they tore him apart and put him back together piece by piece so that he would be a man that was sold out to the army, country then family. Boot camp was a time to see if you were army material and if you could be trusted to put your life on the line. My brother passed with flying colors, because later in his military career he became a drill Sargent himself.

I started thinking about the five fold ministry gifts in the kingdom of God: Pastor, Prophet, Evangelist, Apostle and Teacher. The Lord and I have been talking about what is required to be used in the five fold ministry. Or for any kind of ministry for that matter.

I believe it’s a lot like boot camp. God let’s you know what he wants of you, then he starts tearing you apart piece by piece so that you will put God first and last. God will not tolerate anything or one coming before him. The only way to insure this is for us to willingly put ourselves under the Holy Spirits discipline. Unless you go through the Holy Spirit’s boot camp you can not and will not be prepared.

Many people see seminaries as boot camp. They are a great tool to learn knowledge, but they are not a boot camp in the kingdom of God.

Christian boot camp is something we have to choose to do. No person can require it of you. The Holy Spirit is our drill Sargent and life is our training ground. Several years ago I was praying and the Lord showed me a dark unending pit. He asked me if I was willing to die for him. I admit I was a little astonished at the question. So to gain time I asked do you mean spiritually, psychically or emotionally. He just said again are you willing to die for me and to jump into the pit. I took a long time to decide because I knew there was a chance that I could be found dead on the church floor the next morning. I jumped in and little did I realize that I had just handed myself over to the Holy Spirit and his boot camp. My life has been torn apart physically, spiritually and emotionally since that time and I don’t have one regret.

Many people shy away from God’s boot camp and I believe this is causing a major problem within the church. People who do not allow themselves to be trained by the Holy Spirit start out with good intentions, but they generally get their eyes off of the Lord and on to their own importance in the Kingdom of God. This is especially being done within the Prophetic. To many people forget that they are just the vessel, a mouth piece, that God uses to say what he wants his people to hear.

I am a firm believer in the gifts of the Spirit. I believe in God raising people from the dead, the lame walking and the blind seeing. What I don’t like is when I see man intervening and trying to push God’s miracles into happening. I remember reading Watchman’s Nee’s book a long time ago and a story stood out. Two girls were standing at a river and were holding a Bible. One of the girls said “ where is the God of Elijah” and they walked into a river at flood stage. They both drowned believing that God would honor their request for a miracle. Watchman Nee then said , "don’t tempt God". God will tell you when he wants something done, not the other way around. This is my personal opinion, but I believe to many people are to interested in the gold dust and feathers rather than wanting to fall on their face and crying out to God to have mercy on their souls. Coming before God in fear and trembling is the only way to enter God’s boot camp.

There aren’t as many being used by God in this country as they think they are. If I don’t see stripes on someone's back and or walking without a limp, then I don’t trust them. God’s army is a special call. It’s not for the faint hearted and it’s not for people who think that they can jump into the front lines, without training, and finish the race. Consider God's boot camp as a camp for the special forces. Once you enter the drill Sargent takes charge and prepares you for what you will have to go through down the road. Remember the whole mission of boot camp is to get your eyes off of yourself and onto the mission and the team. The Holy Spirit prepares you to be willing to pay any price, even death.

The Bible is full of people who have willingly jumped into God’s boot camp. Daniel, Joseph, Paul, Peter and of course Jesus just to name a few. Some will say Jesus, no way. Jesus fought with the Holy Spirit at Gethsemene and God gave him the grace and strength to do what needed to be done. I sometimes wonder if even Jesus, being a man, could have accomplished what he did without the Holy Spirit’s help. Daniel walked into a lion’s den willingly, Joseph served Egypt faithfully even though he wanted to go home, Paul was beaten so many times that it’s hard to keep count and Peter who denied his Lord was led to death gladly to stand up for his faith.

How many of us are willing to go that far. Christianity has been easy in this country. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I do know that if we don’t allow ourselves to join the Holy Spirit’s boot camp, we will either be off chasing gold dust or drop out because it’s more than we can bear. Join the camp. It’s hard, it’s not easy, but it’s worth the price. You get to serve as one of God’s children in the Kingdom of God. If by chance you are called to the five fold ministry, then you know you will survive because you have the best instructor God can give you and that is our Drill Sargent the Holy Spirit. Semper Fi!