THE POINT OF THE MYSTERY

If we are too sure either way, whether man can lose his salvation or not, we have missed the point entirely. The point is not whether it can be gained or lost, but that men have been given choice, and that God is sovereign. Seeing as men can only take care of choice, we must do what we can, and since man can only understand a little of sovereignty, we must comfort ourselves with what He has revealed of those workings, but also realise that some of those very things are hidden from us, and very intentionally so. In the end the seeming dilemma is solved by upholding both truths; we must be chosen and also choose, and however that works with God, in the unseen and in the heavenlies, let that be up to Him, but however that works with us in daily life, with those things we know to be up to us by conscience and by decision, let that be our duty, and not excuse ourself by thinking we have no role or part to play. Faith can only be given by trust, but it can only be known by us through the fruit of the choices we make.

THE STRUGGLE AND REWARD OF GROWING UP

Eph 4v12: 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

We often get weary of the fight and struggle that often exists around really coming to know what is true and what is false. There are so many opinions out there that often the blinders go up, and we believe ignorance is our best weapon in order to remain founded upon what's true. While selective ignorance is sometimes wise (i.e. why would you listen to someone who preaches a false gospel?), total ignorance is extremely foolish. God has given the VARIOUS gifts of the Spirit (which means there should be more than 1 person we listen too), not only that we'll become mature in knowing Him, but also that we'll no longer by tossed back and forth by the waves of so called 'knowledge' that is bandied about so loosely and indiscriminately that people either just accept it because it seems to agree with their feelings and their view of the world, or reject EVERYTHING in order to remain what they think of as 'secure.' But notice here, and this is the real encouragement for us, is that if we really do accept the gifts as God gives them (Apostle, Prophet, Pastor etc), and go back to the Word to check whether the things they say are true, we will no longer have to fear becoming tossed here and there every time someone opens their mouths- we'll know what's true. 

The design of the gifts is not to make us feel insecure about our faith and knowledge of Him, but rather to have us GROW UP in our faith- and yes, this is surely a process. I don't know anyone who would say growing up and maturing was a piece of cake. It was often a struggle to really become an adult. But after time, and effort, we all truly become adults because we knew that we must (and that it was inevitable)- we must be equipped in order to live and operate effectively in an adult world. And just like preparation for the adult world, God gives the gifts so that we'll be prepared and equipped for the spiritual world, a world where He wants us, not only loving others and Himself, but also wisely operating in the gifts and calling He has given us, again for others and for His work and glory. 

Lastly, we must realise that growing up spiritual is INEVITABLE. Whether it occurs in this life, or in the next, when perfection comes the Word says, imperfection will disappear. There would be nothing worse in this life in that as a child we would grow up in year, but never in wisdom, knowledge or understanding. We would effectively be illegitimate and immature adults; children who walk about in an adults skin. There are those for whom, unfortunately, this exists in real life, but also spiritually too. Often they don't even know it, and this is the saddest and most dangerous reality. While the sun shines and all the world is happy, this seems fine to them, but when the night comes, watch out, only by the grace of God will they remain walking with Him. However, in all likelihood they will experience much more grief, struggle and pain working through a much tougher maturing process than they would've ever had to otherwise. And at the very worst it seems that perhaps they would harden their hearts against a God they don't understanding, and the end results of that I think we could all guess at.

THE GOOD KIND OF COMPROMISE

Often, it is not two people agreeing on any doctrine that is beneficial when there is a sincere disagreement of what the Bible says, but rather the airing of both sides of opinion that make for a sensible middle ground. It is often the case, not that two extreme opinions are wrong, but that both provide a revelation of what really is true. The trick is to realise this is the case, and so not side on doctrinal camps for the sake of it, as though 'winning' was beneficial at all, but to realise that often God gives revelation to different people so that a truer jigsaw puzzle of truth can be realised and benefited from. Just as there are different gifts that God gives for different purposes, so there are differing revelations that are given, not to fight each other, but to fit each other. And the glue that can bring these pieces together is mutual respect, honour and love, even in the midst of respectful disagreement. There is more that unites us as Christians, than divides us. And there is even more that can be brought together of many opinions and views about the Word than we realise, all it often takes is for both parties to realise that there often does exist a middle ground of truth, that even when taken, doesn't compromise that truth, or any foundational truths.

AN ANCIENT FLAME

It used to be that the Word and the power and person of Jesus was enough, now there are many opinions, many doctrines, many programs, many devices, and an endless amount of books and teachers that offer revelation at a price. The biggest shame is that to some extent, there is some good in those things, and yet all these things mostly miss the point of what they aim at because they fail to understand that all things revolve around, not glorying in men, or their giftings, but glorying in Jesus Christ alone. The saints of old didn't need Christ plus anything, instead, they preached Christ minus everything and inspite of everything that stood as a witness against Him. Because of this, what God wrought through such men was a flame of fire and power that blew across nations, lit up hearts and burnt away the stubborn wills of blind men. God set the torch of His Spirit in the upper rooms of men's lives, because such power resided in the undiluted Word and whole counsel of God. God's men used to know that Jesus was enough, and His grace sufficient, ah, that we would remember and recall their path, that we too might know what they knew.

KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD

Knowing the will of God is not a passive thing. You must ask, seek and knock for it. You must wait for it and when it is given, think on it. You must talk about it and learn it from the Word. You must hear that still small voice and read the signs of the times. You must walk and talk with Jesus and also study to show yourself approved. You must not be lazy but be diligent and to do all these things,

 you must first wait for the Spirit of God to stir your heart with passion and grace, and to stir your hands to action. Knowing the will of God doesn't come without patient endurance. Knowing that will isn't always perfect and complete, but relies completely on faith, and humbly on what God chooses to reveal. The will of God comes via revelation and His understanding, and our understanding must be laid aside. Knowing the will of God comes through the difficult process of humbling ourselves, for God gives grace to the humble. And yet even after all those things, the will of God comes only by His good grace and will, only by His power and purpose, only in the midst of His presence, and only according to His good pleasure. However, gloriously and amazingly, the will of God has already been revealed in the whole counsel of God, and is waiting for us in the Word of God, the perfect revelation of His will.

SUBMISSION TO GRACE: ACTION & INACTION

Submission to grace does not just mean that we do nothing, that is a fatal error many are propagating in today's Church. To submit to grace is a two-fold thing- both of inaction and action; firstly, it is to allow His power to work through us, and yes, not work in our own strength to achieve anything, whether it be righteousness or good works. However, while we are not to strive in our own strength, and this covers the 'inaction' part of submission, the 'action' part of submission is that part whereby we do something in order to rely on Him. This 'doing' is quite straight forward, and repeated at length in both teaching and practical example in the Word, most specifically in Jesus' life. This doing is 'prayer'. It is prayer by which, we not only recognise the grace given to us already and are thankful for it, but also agree with the Lord that it is by prayer that the Lord has chosen to impart such grace, and even special instances of grace, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' That is why Paul wrote so often to Churches saying that He prayed for them in a particular manner, sometimes that they might know and be given the knowledge of the love of God that passes understanding, or at other times that believers might be given the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him. That is why Jesus prayed all night before He chose the twelve disciples, why Daniel prayed for the people of God in captivity, why Hannah prayed for a child, why the Israelites often prayed for deliverance, why Paul prayed about his thorn in the flesh, why the disciples prayed for boldness in their witness, and the list goes on.

A CALL

Awfully and inexplicably now, Churches do not allow the awesomeness and glory of God to take centre stage in their places of worship, neither do they allow that worship to be adorned only by holiness and love, instead, theme parks and light shows promise deceptive emotional thrills, and replace the power of God that comes only by His grace and Spirit with a despicable idolatry of self and flesh. We now cry out to God via the golden calf, and do not realise that it is a worship of that thing of worldly substance. We say to it- 'You are God, you are the one who brought us out from Egypt,' and do not realise that while we claim to have left the world, its image still stands upright among us and still resides firmly and happily within our hearts. We have turned the glory of God into an abomination, and worship into a travesty of glorying in ourselves, and yet we sit undisturbed and unaware of God's displeasure and His disagreement with our ways, for 

we do not know the God of the Word, but a God of our own making, and we bow down to our own understanding, and our own hearts.

But if we would just realise it, all this travesty and idolatry could be taken away in a moment, and we could all return to a simple and powerful Bethel. We could return with Jacob to a meeting of God set up only by the ladder of the Spirit, We could return to experiencing what the two disciples did after the cross when they walked with Jesus- knowing the stirring and fire of the Spirit's power within us in creating a love for only Jesus. We could hear once again, like Paul, only His voice on the Damascus road, listening only to the call He would give us for His service. We could sit again with John on an island of our own Patmos with Him in our personal lives- waiting for a new revelation of Jesus that doesn't need the excess materials and performance of the world. And we could know again the power that the Apostles walked in, seeing miracles of power and healing that once witnessed to the world how God really displayed the awesomeness of His might and glory by the power of the Son of God. And all this would ever need would be the letting go of those worldly things that dazzle and yet deceive the heart, and yet cloud the mind. Those things that thrill the flesh and yet kill the work of the Spirit. All this would need would be a throwing out of our idols and our palaces, a throwing out of the humanistic bible of ignorance and shallowness, and a wholehearted embracing of those things of God that have never changed, in any age or place in the world, from the beginning of time till now. Those things that have been tried and proven, those things that last not just a few hours on earth, but an eternity in the heavenly realm. The choice is ours.

AN URGENT WARNING

Lev 10v10: You must distinguish between the holy and the common...

Heb 5v14: But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

1 Peter 4v17: For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

1 Cor 11v32: But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

^{1 Cor 11v30: 30} That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

When the Lord struck down Aaron's sons because of their offering 'unauthorised fire', or in other words 'unauthorised worship', we are told how this seasoned and holy man of God responded v3: 'Aaron remained silent.' At the moment, there exists an eerie silence amongst Christians about the unauthorised worship that is going on in the Church at the moment and nothing is being said about the judgment that is going on because of it. Make no mistake about it, God jealously guards the matters of his worship, and guards the honour of His name. Romans says about many in the Old Testament that, 'they exchanged the truth of God for a lie,' and in the New Testament, AFTER THE CROSS, Ananias and Sapphira were struck down for making a lie out of the worship of God. The Church is lying at the moment, it is lying to others and it is lying to itself in its so called 'worship' of God. That worship at the moment is plain idolatry; idolatry of self. Christians are telling themselves that it is fine to put self front and centre, that it is fine to put self on the same pedalstool at Jesus. All they need seemingly is to use one or two scriptures that are taken out of context and supposedly they're fine. This is a travesty of ignorance that is leading to an abomination of worship.  

God does not accept a worship according to how we want to worship Him. How we are to worship is clearly laid out in the Word of God, and nowhere in that Word does it say that we are to worship the ideals of the world. The Lord is revealing what that worship is at the moment amongst His people, that worship is an idolatry of self- to be thin, to have the perfect body, to have the perfect image and to worship self. No attempt is being made to cast away our idols of silver and gold and our idolatry to self. No attempt is being made to cast away the golden calf that we've made, because the Church loves it too much; it is that very thing that increases their pride in their lives (the pride of life- 1 John 2v16), and they will not part with it. These things should be hated by Christians. We as the people of God should know better than this. We should know the Word and know what is written. We should know what our God desires, and what is of no profit for us, for 'the flesh profits nothing, only the Spirit gives life.' But the difference between good and evil is only known if we train ourselves to know the difference by knowing the Word of God. 

Nevertheless, the Lord continues to warn and call out. The Lord gives a certain amount of time to repent, but if we do not repent, judgment will ensue, because God will not stand idly by while those that profess to know Him worship idols and encourage the worship of God to be idolatry. In many ways judgment has already begun and has being going on for years, but few know it, even fewer have seen it. Fewer still even believe that God judges His people as discipline in order that they may not be condemned along with the world (1 Peter 4v17 + 1 Cor 11v32). This judgment occurs in a few ways, but the main types of judgment is usually sickness, intense suffering, or death. This is seen in Ananias and Sapphira, this is seen in Revelation 2 in the warning given to a woman that taught the people of God to eat food sacrificed to idols, and this is seen in the book of Corinthians, when those that were embracing sin were judged when eating and drinking communion: ^{1 Cor 11v30: 30} That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

Moses also explains so powerfully and insightfully why judgment must occur:

Lev 10v3:

Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honoured' 

The Lord is warning through revelation, through instruction, through His Word, through His people, and is warning repeatably. Woe to us if we ignore that warning. If we continue to ignore the warnings about false and idolatrous worship, we harden our hearts through the deceitfulness of sin. If we continue on this path, we are in danger of much worse judgment, we are in danger of the Lord giving us over to the desires of our heart, and over to the delusion we have embraced. We must separate ourselves from false worship NOW, not tomorrow, not a month or year from now, NOW. We must obey regarding this straight away, before it is too late.

PASTORS, PROPHETS & PREPARATION

^{Ephesians 4:11} So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers...

⁷ Amos 3v7: Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan
    to his servants the prophets.

^{1 Cor 16v6} Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? ⁷ Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? ⁸ Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

Prov 22v3: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

It's certainly of God today that nearly every Church that exists has a pastor that seems to be a shepherd to the people, and a person who is obviously called to bring, not only the gospel, but a teaching of the whole counsel of God (Acts 20v27) in order that the people of God may spiritually grow and mature. Not only that, but a Pastor seems to always be an encourager and someone who focuses on the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. This is not wrong obviously, this is something through which it seems the Lord has been using to build His Church, and it has been an incredible blessing to the body of Christ. However, as the Ephesians scripture states above, Jesus didn't only call, anoint, equip and send pastors for the work which He set for them, but He has also, amongst other gifts, called, equipped and sent prophets to the Church for their benefit. 

The difference between a pastor and a prophet is both subtle and obvious. Where Pastors are concerned, like teachers, with teaching and expounding on the letter by letter instruction and revelation of the Word, and its application to our lives and love for the Lord in the present time, Prophets are more concerned with what the Word calls the 'spirit of revelation' (Eph 1:17) and with hearing the voice of the Lord, particularly concerning the future so that decisions and preparations can be made in the present (whether spiritual or practical) for the revealed future. Pastors are concerned with grounding men's spiritual lives in the Word of God so that they'll be 'rooted and grounded in the faith' and also in grace (Col 2:7 + Heb 13v9), whereas prophets are concerned with what the Lord is speaking in the moment in order to encourage, instruct, direct and warn (example: Acts 11:28) for the future. The Church often assumes that they must accept one or the other of these gifts and callings, and because of this, camps usually arise in which one voice claims to be right because of their gifting, and the other right because of theirs. What we are failing to do, by and large, in the Church today, is to accept and understand that both are meant to compliment and work with each other for the purpose by which they have been sent. Like puzzle pieces, one gifting is meant to fit and join another gifting in order to give us the 'bigger picture' of what God desires to teach us, and of how He desires to encourage, direct and use us. If, like the Lord said to the disciples, 'you are willing to accept it,' there is much that the Lord has stored up for us in this hour. 

And so all of the above has been to preface something very particular, specifically the third 'P' in the title of this post- 'Preparation.' I have heard very few, if any voices in Australia that have communicated anything from the Lord that is going to take place in the future. This is something that should be very concerning to the Church in this country at the moment. The Bible talks about times where there was no widespread revelation, and such a time was usually associated with people doing 'what was right in their own eyes.' Similarly, there are now very few 'sons of Issachar' who know, because of the Lord, 'what Israel should do.' Where vision fails, the people perish, and it's usually because there is no firm understanding of both the hope and the trial that awaits us in the future, that this happens. Where there is no vision and no understanding of the future, men embrace the dictum: 'Lets eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' Without prophecy, men go about their lives for themselves, become selfish and have no proper understanding of the importance that the future and God's work in it, will have on themselves and others. For this very reason, the book of Revelation in the Bible was given, not only to the Churches in the Apostle John's day, but also to us. That is also why God continues to give the gift of prophecy and to provide the service that prophets bring. However, we again come back to the point; 'where are all the prophets of God?' On even a very basic level, where is the gift of prophecy? Where is the 'seeing in part'? Where are dreams and visions and the clear voice of the Lord in those things?

We are told in the Word to 'despise not prophesying,' and yet it seems that it is not only despised but by and large just completely ignored. Now it seems that people don't even acknowledge its existence, and so have disengaged altogether, preferring to sit back in what's comfortable for them doctrinally, and so are missing something crucial. Most Christians no longer even have a sufficient understanding of scripture in order to be able to weigh whether something prophetic can be accepted or not, and so they remain spiritually immature; happily blinded by an ignorance that can only bring them happiness for so long. The scripture says that the righteous man sees danger coming and hides himself, but the fool keeps going and suffers for it. Noah received prophecy and so obeyed God and prepared, and so God saved him from the trial that came upon the whole earth. It would've been interesting to see what would've happened if Noah had never believed in the prophetic, or had never believed that God warned His people for their benefit, or indeed that God was a God that sometimes sent destruction upon the earth. Noah could've confined himself to a play-pen of spiritual immaturity in his understanding of God and His ways in order to enjoy a happy ignorance for a while, however, eventually the flood waters would've overtaken him anyway, and so it is with us. For the time is coming when, no matter our beliefs about whether God warns and sends destruction, those things will happen, and we must not be caught unawares. When Jesus revealed His future to the disciples, a future that would see the wrath of God poured out, and a future that would see Him have to sacrifice Himself, Peter rebuked him, not believing that God would do any such thing. And so it is today. Some in the Church will rebuke this message and likely rebuke me for giving it, but Jesus said that He revealed the future to the disciples so that 'when they happen, you may believe'. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit that He would show us 'things to come,' so that when they do, we won't stumble in our faith and our relationship with the Lord, but that we will keep believing that Jesus is who He says He is and that He is still sovereign over all things, even when sometimes we don't understand the things that He does, or even when they don't line up with who we believe He is or with what we believe He does.

Again, we come back to the main point of this post, and ultimately to the central question; what revelations and voices have you heard that have revealed the future of what the Lord will do in Australia? Specifically, what warnings have been given? To date I haven't heard one single warning from anyone in Australia. And this in the midst of a time where the news is saying that violence and crime on the Coast and Australia is increasing at an alarming rate. This at a time when mass opinion in our nation is rapidly coming to accept the idea of gay-marriage, and quickly labelling as hateful anyone that would believe such a lifestyle is wrong. And this at a time when Churches are becoming more akin to theme parks and light shows than places where the full counsel of God is taught, and God is honoured. This at a time when, by and large, no one in the Australian Church believes that God judges in any sense, and a time when no one believes that wrath will be poured out at any time by a God who hates sin and who judges in order to uphold justice and goodness in the earth (all this despite incredible evidence for such things in the New Testament, by people who simply turn a blind eye to scriptures that they cannot explain and cannot understand because they don't fit other scriptures that they love more because of their own desires). Yes, this age, by and large, is one where the grace and mercy of God is shown and given in all its fullness. Thank goodness that most of time, His mercy and grace triumph over wrath, however, not all wrath and destruction is saved for a future day, there is some that God has determined to even show in our day in order to warn sinners, and in order to give evidence of Himself, His character, the promise of future hope and destruction, and also to reveal the truth of His Word. 

Having said all of the above, I come to the point that I'll no doubt be hammered for, but nevertheless, I know it's what the Lord wants me to do. Below are a list of the things the Lord has shown me very clearly that will take place in the future in Australia. I have been given no revelations as to the times when these things will happen, nevertheless, I know that the Lord has revealed that they will happen. Don't become fearful, pray about everything, worry about nothing. The Lord will give peace and a revelation of what He wants you to do about these things, whether it is simply to trust and to remember these things for the future, or to act in some way that will mean either physical or spiritual preparation:

1) Extremely destructive fires and storms along the Eastern coast of Australia
2) A terrorist attack is to take place at Hillsong

3) American and Australian dual participation and involvement in a future war

4) Tornadoes along the Gold Coast and the coasts of the earth (these could be spiritual- representative of different kinds of judgment the Lord will allow, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or combinations of these things etc)

5) Great destruction coming to Sydney (in my dream the great destruction was represented by tornados, although they could've been speaking about actual tornadoes)

6) Terrorist attacks, similar to the magnitude and devastation seen in America on 9/11 in 2001, will happen all around the world

7) The Lord showed me in a dream that it won't be long before the man of sin, the Antichrist, enters the world stage

Prophecy isn't meant to bring a wrong fear and an anxiousness, but a Godly fear and watchfulness. It is supposed to stir us to a zeal to work 'while it is still day', for the night will eventually come, when no man can work, no matter what age of the earth we live in. Jesus said that, 'In this world you will have tribulation, but take care, for I have overcome the world.' And when His time of trouble and tribulation came, Jesus didn't ignore it or try to avoid it, but instead rose to meet it. We are all human, and it would be a very strange and troubling thing if we loved to go through trial and tribulation. We are all weak, we all stumble, we all get it wrong and have seasons in our lives when we struggle with life and with our relationship with the Lord, and yet, through all these things we find at the end of every season He remains faithful to keep us through these things no matter what. So it will be with the trials that are coming, not only to Australia, but to the whole earth in the future- the Lord will keep us through all of them. We simply must continue to 'fight the good fight of faith,' and to always attempt to be 'strong in the grace of God, and in the power of His might.' The Lord loves each and every one of His people dearly, and He is the good shepherd that continues to keep watch over us and guide us. So let us be watchful and awake in this season and the one soon to come. Great and mighty things are about to come upon the earth, so may we have 'ears to hear,' and 'eyes to see.'