Five-Fold Today - Suddenly Deeper in the River - The Coming Rains of Healing and Miracles - The Ministry of the Watchman
SUDDENLY DEEPER IN THE RIVER
A Word through Ching Co, Cebu City, The Philippines
May 13, 2000
AFTER THE LONG BATTLE
I've been feeling within my heart a gentle calmness that seems to take
over my whole being. It does not imply that nothing is happening
around me. Yet I've notice a new calmness and stillness which is
becoming stronger day by day.
I felt like I'm swimming in an open seas where the waves are high.
But somehow having been immersed in that water for quite sometimes,
instead of the waves becoming a threat to me, I've become adjusted to
the motions of the waves and am now finding myself not affected by
it's coming and going and in fact am beginning to enjoy it.
TAKEN DEEPER INTO THE RIVER
Many of God's people have been drawn by the Spirit of the Living God
to come into the Living river of God. When we started to move in,
just like wading into a real body of water, it does take a lot of
effort to get in. And since at the start, the water is shallow, we
cannot swim but need to wade and walk into deeper territory. and
walking in water is much more difficult than swimming in water.
But now, those who have been faithful to God's leading are finding
themselves in deeper water,-- so deep in fact that their feet no longer
touch the ground. The suddenness of the rising of the water has
initially surprised many of us. And our initial reactions was to swim
hard to go back to shore where we felt safe as we can touch and feel
bottom. But the river of God keeps on rising around us and overtaking
us at many points. We felt that we might drown and many times we did
find ourselves underwater and gasping for breath.
However, through all these initial struggles we discovered that
something has been sustaining us and many of us were amazed that we
have survived this long. Somehow we knew that something was going on
that is beyond us. Although we cannot see it nor feel it, we knew
inside our heart that our survival has not been because of our ability
and effort.
Today many of God's people are learning to enjoy the deep water of
God's river. For we have tasted God's goodness and His faithfulness
and we know that ALL WILL BE WELL IN HIM.
THE MEANING OF THIS VISION
Many of God's people have been feeling the drawing of the Holy Spirit
for them to come closer to the Father. Just like wading in water, it
has not been an easy path but has taken a lot of our effort. Many
circumstances and events has came against us like the sudden rushing
of the river water and many of us were tempted to go back to shore
where we feel safe and many of us have found ourselves drowning and
gasping for breath so many times.
SURVIVAL DUE TO THE GRACE OF GOD ALONE
But somehow through it all, we have stayed afloat over our
circumstances and deep in our heart, we also knew that our very
survival has not been because of our own ability and effort but has
been due to the grace of God.
Today, many of God's children are slowly becoming adjusted and
amazingly rested in the midst of all the high waves and deep waters
that surround us. The peace of God that He planted in us which at the
start seem like a mustard seed has grown and has slowly filled us
from within. The fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self
control are beginning to mature. All these are slowly filling us up
and overtaking many of us.
WHY AND WHAT
The season of training and preparation is now over for many of His
children. He has tested us and have found us faithful to the call and
the challenge. And the Father is getting ready to meet us in a grand
way. Just like the 5 virgins who faithfully kept their lamps full
of oil. God is about to open the door to us and soon we will be
seeing the face of the Groom.
A MIGHTY EXODUS OF TRUTH SEEKERS
God's purpose in all these is not just for us to enjoy Him , but to
lead the way to many. We have been prepared TO SERVE AND TO LEAD
OTHERS. The coming days will be filled with an exodus of mighty
numbers of seekers of truth and they will be needing assistance and
help and this is where we will be positioned by God.
We will soon discover that what the enemy has intended for harm, God
will turn for our good. What we have perceive as punishment were
actually God's promotion for us. . . That truly God does not waste
anything but has the ability to turn tears to laughter, dust to
diamonds, stripes to stars.
PRAYER
"Father, we are thankful for all the works which you have done in our
lives. We know that you are continually at work in us day by day even
when we don't feel or see your hands. We thank you for the evident
manifestation that is being birthed from within us. We know that one
day, people will see you through and in us. Thank you for this
awesome opportunity that you've entrusted to us. Help us never to
depart or deviate from you at any point. We want to be hooked on to
you all the remaining days of our life. Amen!"
Blessings,
Ching Co
THE COMING RAINS OF HEALING AND MIRACLES
A Word through Todd Bentley
In the last year throughout many places that myself and the team have
been traveling, there have been many confirmed healings and a few
miracles. We've seen everything from deafness in the ears, eye
problems, cancers, arthritis, back and neck problems. Creative
healings such as short limbs growing out to their proper size, crooked
spines made straight and God s realignment of the bones, including two
people healed of paralysis are just some of what God has been doing.
RAIN CLOUDS OVER CHURCHES
After coming back recently from healing revival meetings in
Whitehorse, Yukon; I was ministering in the Abbotsford Revival Center
and in worship that morning, the Holy Spirit brought me back to a
prophetic word that I had given in the Whitehorse meetings. God began
to speak to me about the coming healing revival in Canada. In worship
that morning I was caught up in the Spirit and I saw many rain clouds
individually set up over many churches and ministries across Canada
pouring down rain. The rain clouds looked like they do in the
cartoons on TV where rain would be pouring down upon one person or one
place. Then I saw many ministers and churches that are already
flowing in this miracle healing anointing, beginning to go into
different cities and towns in Canada. As they were leaving these
places of ministry the cloud would remain upon that church and
continue to pour down healing rain.
JOHN 5 POOLS OF WATER
Many places are going to receive such an outpouring of rain that pools
of water are going to form like in John 5, the pool of Bethesda.
Within my spirit I didn't just see one pool but I saw many pools
across Canada. The literal meanings of Bethesda means the house of
outpouring and grace. The Holy Spirit spoke to me that these rains
were for those churches and ministries that would fervently cry out
for the rain, like Elijah upon the mountain in 1Kings 18:41-46.
Elijah in verse 41 heard the sound of the abundance of rain and he
knew in his spirit that the famine for Israel was over and it was time
for the rain to fall, Chapter 18:1. Chapter 17:1 said that the rains
would come at the word of Elijah and it would be at the word of the
hungry people for healing revival in intercession that the rains will
fall.
Though Elijah knew it was time for the rain to fall he still in
fervent prayer upon the mountain had to birth and call it forth,
18:41-46.
THE PERSISTENCE OF ELIJAH
Though Elijah saw nothing he persisted in fervent prayer calling the
rain and if you are to be in the rain and the storm front moving
across Canada in healings and miracles you need to preach healing and
though you see nothing, preach healing and preach, seven times Elijah
persisted and he saw nothing.
I HEAR THE SOUND OF RAIN
I hear the sound of the rain and I know in my spirit IT IS TIME!!!
climb up on the mountain and call for the rain, call for the storm.
When the rains first began to come the cloud was but the size of a
man s fist but it grew to the place where Elijah said to Ahab get your
chariot going lest the rain stop you upon the way. God spoke to my
heart that first there would be healing but then the rain would become
torrential rains and we d move into miracles. Will your church be a
pool of Bethesda for the sick and the lame? Well, then let it pour
and the Lord says that truly they all come from miles around.
That morning in worship after God had given me this word two wonderful
Africans walked into the service and God spoke to me that they were a
sign that miracles and healings would come forth in Canada like in
places in Africa. I called these two men to the front of the church
for them to prophesy healing rains within the church in their
language. That morning in the service we had many healings including
a couple of people healed standing at the altar, one of them was one
of the Africans. Praise the Lord! what s been happening in Victoria
and with the ministry of Fresh Fire is just the beginning of what God
is going to do all over Canada.
The Ministry of the Watchman
By Chip Brogden
Let us take up the topic of the ministry of the watchman with a text from Ezekiel 33:7
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore
thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
The watchman is a prophet and intercessor called to bring the Word of God to Israel, the Body
of Christ. We use the term watchman to include both roles of prophet and intercessor.
Most people liken the prophetic ministry to prophesying and speaking of visions and dreams from
God. This definition is too narrow and opens us up to misunderstanding. The function of the
prophetic intercessor, or watchman, is best defined as taking place in the course of four stages:
Revelation, Intercession, Proclamation, and Restoration. We will discuss these areas more
particularly in a moment.
We must use the Scriptures as our sole authority for defining and determining the job description
of the prophet. Whatever the popular thought or current practice may be, we are not interested
in mans notions of what a prophet should be or what everyone else is doing. Taking the passage
from Ezekiel as a springboard, we make the following observations:
1) "I have set thee a watchman." Prophets are not self-anointed. Prophets are not called by a
denomination or installed by men. Prophets do not receive a prophetic ministry through the laying
on of hands by another prophet (but it certainly may be confirmed by another prophet; that is not
the same thing). One does not decide to become a prophet, neither may one volunteer their
services to be a prophet.
God reserves the right to set His own watchmen, and this He will do according to His will, and
according to His timing. We do not know why He chooses the ones He chooses. It is a work of
grace. Many prophets are selected from birth or from childhood. John the Baptist was filled with
the Spirit within his mothers womb. We dare not intrude into this holy work by setting up our
own prophets or stepping into a place that God has not put us. It is Gods Hand, and no other.
2) "Unto the house of Israel." The prophet speaks primarily to Gods people, the house of Israel.
The New Testament church is the spiritual Israel of God (Galatians 3:39; 4:21-31). Watchmen
do not speak to the world at large, casting their pearls before swine. They are called to exhort,
edify, rebuke, and build the Church of God, building upon the foundation that is laid already in
Christ.
The prophet does not usually bring a one size fits all generic sort of message that speaks to the
universe. It is typically a surgical strike, directed and honed to penetrate a particular thing in the
Body of Christ, with Spirit-led precision that cuts through the formalities and niceties to get to the
guts of the task at hand. The very nature of the of message cuts to the quick and makes some
gnash their teeth. Even so, God has set Watchman in the Church for its own edification, comfort,
and protection.
3) "Therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." Why doesnt God
speak directly to His people? Why speak indirectly through a prophet? The prophet is called to
speak warning. It presupposes that the house of Israel has sunk to such a low degree that God
may no longer speak directly to the nation. He must use a man to speak to men.
We may argue that we are all priests and the Lord may speak to us just as He speaks to
prophets. This is the spirit behind Korahs Rebellion:
Numbers 16:2,3
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and
fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they
gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye
take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and
the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation
of the LORD?
Let us not quibble about through whom the Word comes. The watchman is on the wall and is
looking at things from a different vantage point. He sees things you cannot or will not see. Since
God has set him there, it would be a mistake to ignore the warning he brings. If God can use a
donkey to rebuke the madness of Balaam, certainly we should pay particular attention to one
who comes to us in the name of the Lord.
Let us receive the prophet in faith and judge the message he brings with righteous judgment, not
murmuring because God chooses to warn us through someone else and not directly. Usually it is
because God cannot get through to us directly that He is compelled to send a prophet to arrest
our attention. Prophets are a last resort, not a primary expression for God or the preferable
vessel God would use. If we will not obey the written Word, God will send a prophet to speak
the Word to our face. Thus it is that if they will not hear the LAW and the PROPHETS, they
will not believe even if Christ should rise from the dead and tell them directly (Luke 16:29-31).
To reject the one that is sent is to reject the One who sends (Luke 10:16).
This in a nutshell is the ministry of the watchman. The discharge of the burden of the Lord
through the watchman may be properly classified as falling into four areas, in chronological
order.
First, there is revelation. True ministry must be based upon God-given revelation, not theological
degrees of head-knowledge. We may speak from knowledge but knowledge alone does not
impart life. If it did only educated people would be saved. Christ says the Spirit quickeneth; the
flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). That quickening is the operation of the Spirit to impart
revelation to us. That, coupled with knowledge, is sufficient.
Prophets do not bring new truth. Revelation is simply a revealing of what is already true and
bringing it to bear upon our heart and soul. Revelation is based upon insight into the written Word
of God, not into visions and dreams and prophecies. These other things are simply tools for
expressing the Word, they are not the Word; no more than the water hose is water, it simply
delivers the water.
I am sure you have experienced revelation in the course of your Bible study. A passage may be
read for years without making an impression upon us. One day the light of God shines upon the
passage and we understand the meaning; we know the intent; we enter into the Spirit of the
Word and it becomes exceedingly precious, meaningful, and real to us. This is revelation.
If it were simply a matter of study we could just say study your Bible more. But it is not more
study that we have need of; it is prayerfully pondering and meditating upon the Word day and
night until the Spirit bears witness with our Spirit and we discern the meaning by way of
revelation. Christ spoke the Word, yes; but without the quickening Spirit mixed with faith in the
hearers, it will not save. Hence, the prophet (and every minister of the Gospel) must have
revelation into the Word to speak with authority and impart life to the hearers.
Let us only speak what God reveals to us by way of revelation. We will surely speak less, but
our words will be all the more weighty and full of life. If an individual cannot wait upon the Lord
and receive fresh insight into the Word and experience the quickening of the Spirit upon that
Word, they cannot minister in any capacity and bear lasting fruit.
Once the prophet has received revelation, he must enter into intercession. We must pray for
many reasons. For one thing, the revelation is known to the inner man but the mind is unable to
express it. It is yet in an embryonic state and must be drawn out from the spirit. Counsel in the
heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out (Proverbs 20:5). As
we wait before the Lord He will begin to give us understanding and words to express what we
have seen. This process cannot be hurried. It may take days, weeks, months, and sometimes
years to give expression to what we have seen.
Perhaps you have risen to speak or share something God has shown you. You know what you
are trying to say, it is near and real to your heart; but after two or three sentences you seem to
hit a brick wall. You find yourself talking in circles and take your seat more burdened than ever.
There seems to be no liberty in your ability to relate what you know. This occurs when we have
not lingered in prayer and received from God words and understanding with which to properly
express what He has shown us.
And, we must pray not only for the proper words, but for the proper timing. He that blesseth his
friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him (Proverbs
27:14). We must wait for Gods timing in giving the Word. Many prophets assume that when we
have a Word from the Lord we may then take it and shout it from the housetops. This is not
usually the case. Most of the time we are simply called to pray and intercede. If the Lord sends
us to speak, well; if not, we will pray. You may pray and pray and pray without outward change.
Then one day the Lord tells you to arise, gird up your loins, and get thee to Zeraphath. Then let
us make haste. Until then, we will wait for His timing as well as His method of expression.
When the timing is right, then the prophet moves into the third stage of action, which is
proclamation. Some think proclamation means prefacing things with Thus saith the Lord and
speaking out in an authoritative voice. While this does happen it is not the only way, and probably
not the best way.
Here is the situation. God has planted a word in our heart. We will be uncomfortable until we
find release through prayer or through proclamation or both. Let me explain. If you are burdened
of the Lord to intercede for an individual, your spirit will give you no rest until you have prayed
through (some of you older folks knows what it means to pray through). Praying through is
nothing more than making intercession until the Lord lifts that burden and heaviness off our
heart. If we try to neglect or ignore the burden to pray it simply becomes unbearable. We must
pray through to obtain release, just as opening the valve of a pressure cooker releases the steam
and reduces the pressure.
The same is true of revelation. The prophets of the Old Testament referred to this as the burden
of the Lord. Until we effectively discharge the burden we will be most uncomfortable. Jeremiah
referred to it: Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But
his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not stay (Jeremiah 20:9).
How do we discharge the burden of the Lord? After we have received revelation, and made
intercession, we will know the best course. Sometimes we will find release through writing, such
as Isaiah. On other occasions we may compose a song, as David. Or we may write poems and
verse, as Jeremiah. We may act out the word dramatically, as Ezekiel. Or we may thunderously
speak the Word as Moses, Elijah, or John the Baptist. We may speak in parables as the Lord
Jesus. The tools, methods, and ways are different, but the underlying principle is the same. God
will give different expression to the proclamation of the Word, and He will be pleased to use the
prophets differently in accordance with their unique gifts and personalities.
But the work is not finished when the word is proclaimed. For the prophet is not merely
interested in proclamation, but in the fourth stage of his ministry: restoration. Our mandate is to
tear down, destroy, and level; afterwards we must rebuild and raise again. We must pray in the
promises of God and keep watch over Gods people, encouraging them to full and complete
obedience, standing in the gap to avert the very judgment we may have just pronounced upon
them.
We should readily see that the ministry of the watchman is primarily one of hidden, secret prayer
and fasting. The true test of the watchman is in the prayers that he utters privately, not the
prophecies that he utters publicly. Let him fail or make a fool of himself in public and God will
still use Him; let him fail in the prayer closet and he will be discarded as a prophet. Those who
think the prophetic ministry is all about visions, dreams, prophecy and spiritual gifts had better
rethink their position. It is self-denying, thankless, often unseen and unappreciated labor in secret
prayer.
In summary, we conclude that if the Lord was pleased to set watchmen over Israel of old, He is
certainly pleased to set watchmen over the Church today. But as we have seen, the ministry of
the watchman is more likely to be found in the prayer closet than the pulpit.
May God give us grace and increase the ministry and operation of the watchman!
This article may be reproduced for non-commercial distribution
provided this notice appears and proper credit is given.
mailto: info@watchman.net
May 15, 2000
Ching's email: ching@gsilink.com
Cebu City
Philippines
Todd's email: toddbentley@hotmail.com
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