At our church we run a prophetic listening group that meets once a month to hear from the Lord and pray through visions / dream etc that people from our church may have had. I’d like to give you a sense of what we heard earlier this week, and then on from that my understanding of where we are headed in the near future.
One very strong thread that has been running through our personal lives recently has been the need to become unencumbered of the things of the world. As we live enmeshed in the world, it can prove hard to do, nonetheless there are possibilities. For example, getting out from the crushing hand of debt by not overextending ourselves for the latest new ‘thing’, by consciously divesting ourselves of all the ‘stuff’ that clutters our lives by giving to those who genuinely need it, and…well I could go on, the point being that there is a need to unentangle ourselves from the world.
Why? Well, one of the other threads has been the imagery, given in various dream, of travelling, perhaps even as refugees. The understanding here being that we need to be unencumbered and not weighed down, listening to the Lord, so that when He directs us that we immediately go to do His will.
The third thread we have seen is one of trust in our Lord. That the tumult of the world, distracting as though it may be, is no more than transitory fog compared to Christ. That He is very much in control, like a strong current underlying mirror clear water, He is our peace, and our direction. He knows the end from the beginning – we are not to fear but to trust in Him every step of the way.
I’d like to place these threads within my own understanding of the current times, and what is to shortly occur. I think there are soon to be changes in the world that will radically change how we all live. What they might be, and when, I could speculate, but it would be only that – and that is not what is important. If you’ve been listening to anything on this site over the last 18 months, the message has been to prepare. Not prepare out of fear, but to prepare in trust. Neither necessarily a physical preparation, though that plays a part, but fundamentally a spiritual preparation.
Why this spiritual preparation? Because, if our eyes are on the things of the world, and not on Christ, we will be caught up into the same spirit of fear and panic that will infect millions. In either case we will not be taken out of the tumult, and will indeed suffer loss ourselves, but we will have the anchor point in the midst of the storm, the Solid Rock on which our lives are founded. Then, and only then, rising above rack and ruin, we will have an opportunity to bring in a massive harvest home. For all those who have seen their anchors swept away, we may have that opportunity to show them Truth, where before folly held sway.
But it is my impression (and I would welcome yours) that this will be but a window. As a result of the tumult, strong autocratic systems will be put in place and we will see freedom traded for security. Then, when the control is established, so will come persecution. This is why we will need to raise (and be) disciples, not merely converts. For sure, deep faith will be needed to stand firm then. So, we will have our work cut out for us during the window of grace – hence the preperation now. There will come a time when we will need to ask whether we are willing to literally put our lives on the line for the sake of Jesus Christ.
So, this is what we are hearing at the moment, and my understanding of the times. I hope it helps and blesses you.
The Age To Come 