Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
This past Sunday Bobby Conner shared a very powerful and sobering word with our church concerning the future of our nation. I do not believe we have ever lived at a time where the need for divine guidance from the Lord has been greater.
As I considered this I thought about Enoch. There are two things about Enoch’s life that I believe speak to our current circumstances. First, the Bible tells us “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24. Enoch was the first person the Bible records as having walked with God after the fall; meaning Enoch had a genuine and living relationship with the Lord similar to what Adam and Eve had before they fell. If that relationship was possible for Enoch then how much more is it possible for us who are in Christ. I believe there is a real calling coming forth in the church right now for those who, like Enoch, will walk with God in true friendship (John 15:15). This is a foundational key for hearing His voice more clearly.
The Bible also tells us that Enoch prophesied. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14-15. I believe, as we grow in our walk with the Lord in true friendship then we will also be given prophetic revelation concerning our present situations and the future.
There are two examples of New Testament prophetic revelation that come to my mind that illustrate the type of guidance and insight the Lord desires to give us. “One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.” Acts 11:28. Knowing there would be a worldwide famine, the church was able to make strategic economic decisions that were in alignment with God’s dealing with the world systems. I experienced this type of prophetic revelation on two separate occasions in 2008. In a vision last spring I saw the collapse of the banking system before any of the trouble ever surfaced in early fall. Last August I had a dream in which I saw gas shortages on the stretch of I-77 from Statesville to Fort Mill, S.C. Two weeks later Hurricane Gustav hit the gulf coast and what I saw in the dream became a reality.
I believe the Lord also desires to give us strategic prophetic revelation concerning the ministry and mission of the church. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:9-10. Paul knew what doors to walk through and what doors not to walk through. Paul did not make decisions simply because an opportunity presented itself or circumstances allowed it, but because Paul, like all other true heroes of the faith, received prophetic revelation from the Lord as to what he should be doing. Just because we can do something does not mean we should.
Jesus said, “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” John 14:29. It is important to note that He did not say, “I told you before it comes so that you may prepare for it”, rather that “you may believe.” When He gives us prophetic revelation it is so we will exercise faith in Him and His sovereign care for us regardless of opportunities or circumstances.
Many Blessings, BW