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.'