“Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land” Jeremiah 1:18.
“Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land” Jeremiah 1:18.
I’m currently reading the Old Testament prophets. I often feel sorry for these people – they had an unsought encounter with the Lord – a prophetic call. And oh how it cost them dearly! How often their call was a “come back to Me” message from God to a people far from Him. And the usual response was to hate the messenger and NOT come back to God. Read the tough promise to Jeremiah above. To hear from the Lord and preach, knowing that no one would listen to you! They found no joy in their calling – but it was unavoidable.
We all want the kinds of encounters that result in positive change. To sense we should pray for someone – and there is healing as a result! To share our faith with someone – and they repent and are saved! It makes us eager to hear from God.
God does call prophets today to give these kinds of messages, but I don’t advocate seeking these encounters – they are really hard. Some people in my experience have given a prophetic call pointing out the sins of all around them. It is all too easy to speak out of our own frustration and anger. I say – if you sense a prophetic call, then be a prophet – eat locusts and wild honey and go into the wilderness like John the Baptist did. Don’t expect to give a hard prophetic call and bask in the benefits of the local church.
I think most of us will not be called to be prophets per say, but we will be called upon to bear the message to people or a culture that may not appreciate it. We do so with love, but we still do so! Let’s be faithful with the Gospel.
Jesus said: “The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they cannot believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop” Luke 8:11-15.
Pastor Leon Throness
We are planning a spiritual pilgrimage to locations of the early church in Turkey and Greece in June of 2026. There will be an informational evening on February 23 at the church. My co leader, Bronwyn Spilsbury, will be with us to answer your questions. Come for coffee and goodies and dream big!
