You can view Part 1 here
Part 2 of 2
After returning to this nation 5 years ago, God began to lay some things on my heart.
Firstly God reminded me from the book of Romans, chapter 8:19 where it says this: “For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God” It can be also said this way: “That all of creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God”.
God wants to reveal at this time to this creation something of His nature through His redeemed Kingdom people to the peoples of this world. Something that will attract those to Christ for whom He has died and that they may come to Him and not be pushed away by a harsh spirited people.
I have felt for a long time, along with others, that God was going to shake this nation in accordance with the book of Haggai.
Here the prophet begins to get an understanding from God as to how He sees the people.
Sadly in the first chapter, the people are in a sorry state as they are seen to be people who are satisfied with loss.
They bring money home to put into a bag with holes in it and are saying one thing, but God is trying to catch their attention that they might face reality.
He is seen to be lovingly God who is trying to break into their self constructed temporal world to bring about the manifestation of His glory and His purposes.
At the latter end of chapter one, God begins to stir up the spirit of His people.
This happened really quickly as it took only 3 weeks once the prophet got their attention.
God was not about to write them off.
He was about to completely change their lives.
God has been talking over the last few months to me about His power to ‘Transform’
He wants to bring about a sovereign transformation to the people of this nation.
I was led to go through the bible and find where God has done an amazing work of ‘transformation’. Something that can only be described as the hand of God.
There are too many accounts in the bible to mention them all, but I will give an example of what I believe God wants to do in this nation of NZ
Isaiah 35 is a great example.
This is what the word ‘transformation’ can mean:
1. To make an alteration
2. To bring about a conversion
3. To reverse a trend in life or society
4. To make a shift in time for eternity
5. It is the act of changing something or someone from one form to another.
6. It is to change the shape of, or the appearance of, something or someone.
7. It is the act of restoration
8. It can mean to do a make-over
9. It can mean to make into another vessel
We can of course all make changes, but the master of transformation is God Himself.
The provision for this transformation is the cross, the shed blood of Christ, His resurrection power, and the might power of the Holy Ghost.
In Haggai chapter two, the prophet now does what I believe is a very essential part.
Now that he has the attention of the people, he now begins to direct the peoples focus on what God is about to do in the days to come.
The words that he now speaks are words that describe the purpose for the shaking that is coming on the earth. It is that the people might be drawn towards the ‘Desire of nations’
“The Desire of nations” has to be Christ in His redeemed people who become so attractive to the unsaved of the world, that they begin to flock to them to embrace what they have. Christians have to become attractive.
I do not have space here to expand this passage, but I do believe that something is about to break forth, but there is a condition, it is that the believers not only get “Stirred up” but that they remain ‘Stirred up’ by the Spirit of the living God.
The other passage of God’s word that I have been drawn to is found in 2 Kings 2:19-
God had just anointed his prophet and now sends him on an assignment to a place called Jericho.
He is greeted by the leaders of the city who begin to inform the prophet the state of their city.
It seems like the state of their city could not have been in a worse state.
Things were ‘bad’. The ground was barren. There was loss of life.
But the prophet did not go there to condemn the people of that place.
He went there to solve a problem and bring about a resolve.
He was sent there by God to bring life, not judgment.
This passage is so packed with spiritual revelation that if we would only let God capture our heart like He did with Elisha, then we along with him can become Gods answer or instrument to bring about a profound change to situations as he did to their situation.
The prophet has just been confronted by a serious problem, but the people of God are not to cry out to the problem, but bring about a resolve from God.
The first thing that the prophet does after hearing the description of the problem is cry out for something ‘New’
What we have done in the past has not worked. We just want to stick with our old ways. We are no better than those in Haggai chapter one who brought money home to put into a bag with holes in it.
We have become a people who are happy with constant failure.
God is looking for people who by His wisdom can resolve issues and not make the victims feel worse than they already are or tell them what they already know about their state.
They did not need Elisha to tell them their problems, they were looking for a life-giver, someone who could touch the heart and mind of God on their behalf, or someone who could bring about a God solution to their issues.
God wants to change so many situations, but He cannot send a mouth piece that has no God solution.
The words spoken through these few verses are just packed with revelation and truth.
I will bring a few of them into focus here.
• “Bad” The root meaning of this word means evil or an evil influence’
That which causes evil and causes evil results
LOOK WHAT GOD’S SOLUTION IS HERE:..
• “New” Something fresh and relevant
• “A Jar” Or a vessel. The root word means to make successful or cause to prosper. (It is the factor of God in us that makes the change)
We just carry in this earthen vessel the Excellency of God
• “Salt” We all know that Jesus Himself said that you are the salt of the earth.
Salt is the power of change. What we do and where we go we are to effect change.
If salt is not used, it becomes useless
• “Went out and cast salt in the water” (That is action)
It was not the salt that healed those waters, but the word of the prophet.
The salt was just symbolic of what we are and can effect in the hand of God.
• “I have healed” (The prophetic word)
The word for ‘healed’ here is ‘rapha’
That is one of the covenant names of God
He is a healing God and Elisha was ministering the healing anointing.
• “There shall not be death”
(We are to challenge death)
This shall not be the source of death any longer
People shall not miscarry or abort from now on
This shall not be an unfruitful place any longer
This shall not be a barren place anymore.
Note the word ‘Any longer”
FINALLY THE RESULTS:
• Vs22 “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke”
• The instrument of this miracle was a man who took action and spoke words and believed that His God would stand behind and confirm his words.
Michael, I do not know if Christchurch or if the people of God are ready to stand together for such an action?
I do believe with all my heart that if this was carried out by the act of non- judgmental believers, we could become the answer and the instruments of God’s healing power, not His hurting power in that place.
Gods people need some credibility.
If only God’s people would stand together and grab hold of God’s prophetic word, the earth quakes could cease at the prophetic declaration of Gods prophets even though others would just speak of all of the faults they see.
Wisdom would come to help those to know what to do for the future.
I believe that a calm would come over the hearts of the people if they were encouraged to cry out to God for His protection and future destiny.
Jesus stilled the waters and calmed the wind when these elements came to cause harm to His disciples.
Let us believe to have a modern day miracle so that out of the tragedy might come a transformation as it did to the city of Jericho..
Blessings
Ross monk