Transforming Sheep into a Royal Horse in Battle

Zecheriah 10:3b - For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock , The house of Judah , And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.  

This is a powerful scripture regarding transformation and God's design.  It deals with a revelation of the Good Shepherd and the Lord of Hosts (Armies).  God's nature is complete!  Everything is contained in Him.  Hebrews 10:7 say " Then I said, ‘ Behold, I have come — In the volume of the book it is written of Me — To do Your will, O God. ’”. Everything is contained in Jesus and when He ascended on high He distributed gifts.  Of those five gifts in Ephesians 4:7-11 one was a pastor and another an apostle.  God designed each of these gifts to perform certain functions; one acts like a shepherd who gathers a flock, feeds them, cares for them, waters them and makes them lie down and restores their soul.  The apostle was designed like an admiral or a general who musters a troop for war.

2 Corinthians 10:3 -  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

That word translated "war" means "to execute the apostolate.". Apostolic gifts are designed to muster troops, train them and send them into battle for the kingdom or government they represent. 

I have seen a real challenge arise today in the Church as a whole.  It comes from not recognizing all the gifts Christ gave.  God designed the pastoral gift to gather , nurture and protect.  God designed another gift to mobilize and send soldiers into battle.  This is not diametrically opposed as some would think.  A revelation of God's name helps immensely.  

The word "pastor" is only used once in the New Testament.  The Greek word translated pastor is used 17 other times as shepherd of which 12 times it refers to God.  In Genesis 49:24 we see a prophetic word about Jesus presenting Him as "the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.".  God is refered to as the Lord of Hosts (Armies) over 245 times: ten times greater. 

God designed the pastor to gather and the apostle to send into spiritual battle.  If there was ever a time for teamwork and working tiger it is now.  I served in the Navy.  Guess what?   Every sailor comes from a family, spends time with their family, function as dads, moms, sons and daughters.  Yet they also serve and train as part of a unit or a team that is deployed on assignment.  There is a time and season for everything under the sun (Eccl 3:1-12).  The main point is the army comes from families.  These two things, a family and an army exist simultaneously.  

Zechariah 10 says that God, the Lord of Hosts will visit His flock.  That word translated flock comes from a root word that means "to muster a flock.". Muster is a military term.  A family dwells in a house and God has determined to turn His house of praise into a royal, a kingly war horse in battle.  

Lord I pray that you would give us a revelation of your name, your plans, your gifts and your order (1 Corinthians 12:28) and that we would "muster the flock," train them, equip them and deploy them.  I pray your Church would not only be seen as a sheepfold, or as a hospital, or as a training center where sheep are gathered, but that we'd see the Church in fullness, as a family of families, a tribe and an army to be deployed.  A people to "be sent" outside the four walls of the traditional church to do spiritual war liberating the captives of sin, setting the prisoners free through the presntation of the gospel of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Lord I pray for a teamwork among your fivefold gifts like we've not seen yet.  I call forth those apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors who will demonstrate wisdom and honor like we've not seen; that You might be glorified, that your sheep might be transformed into the royal horse in battle.