I feel like the Lord wants me to explain to everyone out
there, and particularly those that don’t know, why I post the way I do and
share the revelations I’m given.
In one sense, the Lord has made us all watchmen for his people
as a way to support, encourage, teach and instruct one another to continue to
follow Christ through the good times and times of suffering. In the Old
Testament this ministry was usually confined to just a few people that God
called and appointed:
Isaiah 62
V6: I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never
hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not
silence,
Ezekiel 3v
16 At the end of seven days the word of the
Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the
people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
Those watchmen were prophets, as they heard
the Word of the Lord, whether by dream, vision or his audible voice, and passed
on what they were given. This continued in the New Testament, with prophets being
called and ministering in the same way, including by dreams and visions (Acts
2v17-18). The only difference is that now we are ALL called, to some degree, to
be watchmen. In the New Testament Jesus told us all to ‘Watch and pray’ (Matt
26v41) and to ‘discern the sign of the times’ (Matt 16v3), and the Apostle Paul
wrote that we can all prophesy, ‘For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and
encouraged.’ (1 Cor 14v31). Furthermore, we are all told to eagerly desire the
gift of prophesy so that all Christians can minister encouragement to the body
of Christ in that manner (1 Cor 14v1). Anyone and all in the body of Christ can
also receive dreams and visions and prophesy in order to reveal what the Lord
says (Acts 2v17-18). That Acts passage also indicates that in the last days
(since the time when that scripture was given) this would be for the whole
Church, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people’ (Acts 2v17).
So we see that everyone in the Church is
called to watch and are watchmen for the sake of themselves and the rest of the
body of Christ. It is true, however, that some are called to this in a more
particular and direct manner. In the New Testament, Agabus and the Apostle John
are examples of this, particularly John in relation to end time events. In
John’s case, the prophetic revelations he was given came in conjunction with
the revelatory messages the Lord gave him to give to the Churches. He was also called and given a heart to speak to the Churches of that time as a whole (both the Word and the revelations of the Lord). His is the
clearest and strongest example of this prophetic watchmen ministry in the New
Testament, and, even though there are other New Covenant examples, the Lord
knew that little else would be needed to reveal what the aim and purpose of
this ministry is.
This brings me to the point of why I am
writing. Before I continue though, please understand and believe me when I say
that I’m not writing this to lift myself up. I'm the same as everyone else out
there; a sinner saved by grace. I am the least of the saints and the chief of
sinners, and nothing more than a servant who is a clay vessel and incapable of
doing anything without his grace and power. Practically speaking, the scope of
my service is also very small and quite insignificant. I’m only writing this
now in order to give people a bit of context as to why I share and post what I
do, and so that people won’t think I do what I do randomly or without a reason
(or for any other reason). I could share anything and everything of what the
Lord gives me, and yet, if people mistake the reason I give those things, they
would have no effect for the Lord and his kingdom and purposes, and could even
be damaging.
Having said all that, the reason I share
and post the way I do, is, at its heart, quite simple. When I was younger there
was a time when, in reading about the gifts and callings of the Spirit, I
really wanted to know what the Lord wanted me to do to serve Him in the future.
I wanted to know what my specific gift and calling was, and felt that the Lord
was really putting it on my heart to ask him about this. After a time of
praying about this and reading the Word, I felt incredibly strongly that the
Lord was calling me to be a prophet and to prophesy. When I read in the Bible
about the prophetic gift, I was deeply stirred and felt a great burning inside
of me for that calling. That led me in the years to come to also pray for a
long time for dreams and visions (Jer 33v3 / which I had to wait for, and only
came after months of praying- the Lord growing my patience and testing my
desire for prophesy and obedience in terms of whether I would continue to ask him
like His Word says we must do if we would receive anything from Him. This was
also a humbling time, and the Lord showed me that it was only by his grace and
mercy that I began receiving dreams and visions), which I eventually began
receiving.
In the subsequent years after I felt a
strong call and deep desire for the prophetic, the Lord also began to give me a desire to understand New Testament, New Covenant doctrine about judgment and
righteousness, and to speak to me about those things. Up until that time, I had grown up in a Church where the grace
of God was taught comprehensively and extremely well. That time was a great
blessing and God established a great foundation of faith in my life. However,
there came a time when, in reading the Word, he began to reveal to me other
parts of His character, ways and will. I spent a very long time in this kind of
study, wanting to understand New Covenant judgment and righteous (both for
myself and for others), and how those two things fit with grace and mercy. I
studied the New Testament at great length and constantly compared its parts to
ensure that they agreed with each other and confirmed the conclusions I came
to. I also compared the Old and New Testament in my study and the dispensations
of the Old and New Covenants. Still, I believe it took going to Bible college
years later, and a comprehensive study of the whole of scripture during that
time, in order to filter out certain errors in my understanding and add other
truths in order to come to a clear realisation of how judgment and grace fit together
in the Father’s work in his people.
I understand that this may seem a little odd to a lot of people out there, as things to do with his judgment are not naturally things that Christians enjoy looking in to. I can only say that the reason for this must be because the Lord gave me this desire. I also enjoy looking into this because the Bible says that this is one of the things the Lord delights in (Jer 9v24). Judgment is also something closely connected to grace (i.e God judged Christ in our place so that we could receive his grace and life), and something which the Lord uses to discipline his people (1 Peter 4v16-19) so that they can continue to partake in his life and partake of it in an even greater way (practically) as their spiritual lives progress. It is also something which the Lord uses to clear the way for what he wants to do in and through his people, and also something which ensures their relationship with him can be as joyful and fruitful as possible.
Preceding my time at Bible College and
in the years afterwards, the Lord began speaking to me in dreams and visions
and through his Word about the judgments He is planning to pour out and allow
in the future (Rom 1v18). He also revealed such things through many other
confirming voices (people) who had been given similar revelations. Through this
time I was also reading and studying the Bible to explore what his will is
regarding those things, and through it the Lord continued to reveal to me why
they will probably take place (barring repentance and prayer).
The revelations the Lord gave me were
not just about future events, but also about the state of his Church. While
there will always be those in his Church that are faithful and walk with him,
and so also Churches that are like this, the Lord began revealing to me how a
lot of the Church is lukewarm and backslidden. He also showed me how there is
wrong doctrine being preached and also idolatry going on amongst His people. He
also showed me how his Church is being adorned in unhelpful and fleshly ways. Sadly,
I also experienced all these things on a firsthand basis; seeing this fleshly,
self-centered type of Church for myself.
In the early days of all this, I have to admit that my immediate
reaction to what the Lord showed me, both by His Spirit and in person, was not
only grief and frustration, but also anger. It was devastating to see the
Church I had once known to be Spirit led and Christ centred become man-centred
and man-driven. It was also heartbreaking to see God’s people misled in
doctrine, used, at times controlled, and even spiritually abused.
It was not just about what was wrong in
Churches and with some of his people that grieved me so much, but it was also because
of what I knew the true Church of God should be. I had grown up in a Church
where I had always felt the presence of God in a really special way. The
preacher knew the Word of God very well and I felt as though I always heard the
Lord’s voice through what he shared and taught. Prayer and worship were
centered upon Jesus, his glory and will, and these times were also characterized
by a real sense of his presence and a working of his Spirit. This Church didn’t
have an elaborate set-up or anything fancy going in in terms of its appearance,
but rather was adorned with the great joy that was evident amongst His people,
and a unity that could’ve only been born by the Spirit. Offering money was not
only given to the Pastor, but also to mission works overseas and to any who had
need. Messages on money, however, were a rarity. Above all, what was preached
was Biblical, the Spirit was present and moved amongst the congregation, and
the Lord’s voice was clear and often confirmed what he had been speaking to me
about that week anyway, and the congregation genuinely cared for each other.
This was a time when the Lord showed me what his heart for his people was, and
what a sincere and Biblical Church gathering looked like and should be. So it
hasn’t just been by the negative that the Lord has taught me, but initially and
for many years, it was by the blessing of the positive.
This leads me to how I’ve tried to (even
in a very small and mostly insignificant way) serve the Lord in the last few
years and current time, and why I’ve written, shared and posted like I have. I
feel as though, by his grace alone, the Lord has given me a great heart for the
people of God. This heart centres on one thing, which is to see the people of
God- the Bride of Christ- truly be and act like his Bride. My desire is to see
his people and Church truly be his possession and have a love and service for
the Lord that is fervent, truth-based and pure. Admittedly the Lord has also
had to work on me through the years in this regard, and continues to do so.
he’s also humbled me to see my own weaknesses and
shortcomings, and to see that without his
grace, nothing is possible. Above all he has shown me that he is after, not
perfection (we’ll be sinners saved by grace till we die), but an overall
sincerity which manifests itself in grace and truth. This is often a difficult
thing and at times involves suffering (as He molds us into his image and
disciplines us), but it is possible because of his life. It is possible for the
Christian and for the Church as a whole, and this is what Jesus desires, and
which is the purpose of all watchmen, watching and prophecy.
Everything above is the reason I now do
what I do- sharing and posting as I do. As small and insignificant as it may
be, it is not a random thing and not done for any other reason. I was always
taught that ‘context is king’ so that’s why I’ve written this long piece. The Bible
also says that the communication of revelation and prophecy has to be clear and
certain, otherwise its purpose becomes frustrated:
1 Cor 14:
7 Even
things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they
make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?
8 For if
the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 So likewise you, unless you utter by
the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For
you will be speaking into the air. 10 There
are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the
meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who
speaks will be a foreigner to
me.
Hopefully all of this has been clarifying and ensures
that nothing I’ve posted to date be misread. Everything I’ve posted I’ve done
in order to encourage, strengthen, comfort and edify His people (1 Cor 14v3).
I’ve done this through various Biblical methods, including through teaching,
instruction, exhortation, warning, correction, rebuke and by simply sharing
revelations (2 Tim 3v16). At times I haven’t been perfect in this process, and
got it wrong on occasions, so I apologise for that, but I have tried my best
and tried to do so with the right intentions and motivations. For whatever
reason, I’ve never had much of any kind of feedback or anyone write to me or
discuss these things with me whether in person or online. There may be various
reasons for this, and all understandable, however this is one of the reasons I’ve
written this piece as I’m trying to anticipate how these things may have been
received. I hope that, at least for a few people, this has given people a
better understanding regarding what I’ve shared. I also hope it has shed some
light on what this kind of service for the Lord really is, and also given a
Biblical foundation and understanding about it (although no doubt most or all
of the understanding of this doctrine and Biblical ministry is very familiar to
everyone out there).
In the future, I hope that what I share can be taken
in the vein it is given in. At its core, all watching and prophecy is done to
encourage us to continue to love, follow and serve the Lord and each other, and
is therefore meant to be edifying and a blessing. Please take it in this way in
the future, and please help each other to be watchmen and watch as the Word
says, and as you feel led by the Lord. A stormy future and a dark night is
coming, so watching is of particular importance at present and will be
increasingly so as the years progress. Having said all this, the Lord also
wants to encourage us with the fact that he will be with us in the future and
will take us through whatever comes. I also believe there is also great blessing
coming in the future and a great outpouring of his Spirit, so let us take heart
and continue to follow him.
