2013: Prophetic Word to the Church in Nigeria (Part 3 of 4)

WARNINGS FOR THE COMPLACENT

“Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my [Isaiah’s] voice, you confident and careless daughters! Listen to what I am saying!” (Isaiah 32:9)

The Lord is calling out to those who are at ease in Zion. Wisdom is raising her voice in the streets. It is time for leaders, churches and all of God’s people to rise out of slumber.  We have been self-confident and carefree, but these will not help in the days of calamity that lie ahead.

“In little more than a year you will be shaken with anxiety, you careless and complacent women; for the vintage will fail, and the ingathering will not come.” (Isaiah 32:10)

Major shakings are coming upon God’s people; upon those who persist in their evil ways and refuse to submit fully to the lordship of Christ and His ways of justice. Particular focus is on the saints in the South of the nation, those who have said in their hearts that the scourge of the wicked will not cross the Northern borders to the places where they sit in comfort. Wake up! For “in little more than a year you will be shaken with anxiety.” The Boko Haram menace is presently afflicting our brothers in the North, and many in the South no longer feel their pain; but as 2015 approaches, so will the sword of the wicked. Do not say with fleshly ease and self-confidence that “our peace will continue to abide with us.” IN LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR! That brings us into 2014. The Lord is warning now so we can repent and return to Him for mercy.

If we remain complacent and unconcerned, the impact will be unprecedented. “The vintage will fail and the ingathering will not come.” The attendances in our churches will dwindle as unprepared saints begin to lose heart. None of our popular programmes will retain their appeal.  Indeed, that which we have depended upon all along shall become plain to all – whether it has been the Lord or the arm of flesh.

TIME FOR REPENTANCE

“Tremble, you women who are at ease! Shudder with fear, you complacent ones! Strip yourselves bare and gird sackcloth upon your loins [in grief]!

They shall beat upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briers—yes, for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.

For the palace shall be forsaken, the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watchtower shall become dens [for wild animals] endlessly, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.” (Isaiah 32:11-14)

The Father calls us to repentance at this hour. We are at the centre of all our troubles, nationally, regionally and on individual levels. We know the height from which we have fallen and the compromises that we have freely indulged in. It is time we “put on sackcloth” and repent sincerely before the Lord. Much of our joyous assemblies have not delighted the heart of the Lord. If we fail to repent, our self-made joy will turn into mourning. The land will become patched the more and the present famine will eat deep into the fabric of our nation and very souls. The time to repent is now! The time for a shift cannot be postponed.

A FRESH EMPHASIS ON REVIVAL

“Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is valued as a forest.” (Isaiah 32:15)

If we do not pray and if we do not repent; if we do not desire the righteous rule of Christ over our individual and corporate lives, the threatening disaster will fall with heartbreaking impact. But if we seek God’s face and turn from our wicked, religious ways, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon us afresh and heal our land. A renewed burden for revival in the land will rest upon the hearts of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let us respond to this burden in prayer and decisive action because faithful is the Lord; He will revive us once again. The fruit of revival will be visible and measurable – wildernesses will be transformed into fields and fields into forests! There will be a graduation of our present states. Likewise, children shall progress into adulthood and many adults shall become spiritual fathers. This revival shall mature many, especially young people. Upon these ones shall there be an outpouring of the Spirit of God.

“Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) will abide in the fruitful field.

And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever.

My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.” (Isaiah 32:16-18)

Oh the benefits of true, heaven-sent revival! Let those who have the word of the Lord speak boldly at this time. Let us declare in love the counsel of the Lord. And as we hear, let there be a response from the heart and in truth. Why are we seeking for a shorter route to peace and transformation? No amount of special meetings or prophetic offerings will deliver the change and prosperity that we long to see. Real peace and prosperity is from the Lord and in the Lord. When He rules over us, His glory will be seen upon us.  The destiny of Nigeria is in the hands of God’s people. Irrespective of our past iniquities and inactivity, what we do NOW will determine how and where things go in the future that is fast approaching. We can avert much calamity and preserve the future of the unborn generation if we align ourselves with the Lord at this time.  The Lord loves justice, righteousness and peace; Let us love them too and they shall be established in our habitations.