Intro: The time at the New Zealand Council of Prophets gathering and Behold Conference was amazing. It was a privilege to be able to release the prophetic word which the Lord gave me during that time. Here is the transcript of that word.
Tearing Down to Build the New
We are in a Joshua 1:10 time, where God is tearing down in order to build the new. Nehemiah had to clear the rubble and reset the foundations to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. If we want the new, we must be willing to have wrong foundations exposed and torn down so we can have a solid, stable foundation to build the new on.
We are in an intensified time of shaking that is causing exposures within individual hearts, churches, theologies, systems, and governments. Amid the shaking, God is at work, committed to our wholeness and righteousness, and he's exposing all that is working against that in our lives. (Shaking and sifting, in the Bible, are usually associated with separating the goodness of the wheat from the chaff for the purpose of setting free and liberating the goodness of the wheat!)
God is showing us the hidden things of our hearts, the things that have shaped us and that we live from.
It is a season of paradigm shifts, and it's a time of God-gifted opportunities for true repentance through the kindness of God (Romans 2:4). It is a season where we are invited to embrace the renewal of our mindsets (or repentance) joyously, running toward it with open arms, knowing that it is God's kindness and his love for us that calls us to repentance—to a greater place of seeing truth and having the mind of Christ established in us. This repentance will bring a change of one's mind and result in a foundational and stable change in an individual's life, which will be followed by a positive rebuilding.
It is a realignment, a deconstruction, and reconstruction, leading to reformation (personal and corporate), to bring us into alignment with the covenant Christ established through his life, death, and resurrection.
As promised in Romans 8:27–29, God's plan is to make all things work together for good and to fulfill his plan from the foundation of the world—the restoration of all things—reconciling all to himself and reinstating mankind into the fullness of his original plan for us, that we might become like Christ. (Photo via Flickr)
A Fresh Call to Christocentrism
We the church, as a whole and as individuals, are being recalibrated, measured against God's nature and character—his standard of righteousness, wholeness, and truth—to determine where we have deviated from that standard, ascertain the proper correction factors, and act accordingly. In this, we must be humble and allow him to challenge our thinking and renew our mindsets, to bring healing where needed, and to adjust our character and the mindsets from which our behavior flows.
Over the next few years, I believe there will be an increased focus on seeing through a Christological lens. This will cause many questions to be raised and many long-held, Western, evangelical church beliefs to be challenged in the light of newly gained understanding of what Jesus and the earliest church fathers believed, and how they lived as a result of that.
We must look back in order to see the path that leads forward more clearly. Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV) says, "...Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it..." Jeremiah goes on to tell us the consequences of not walking in that way.
This questioning and the corresponding mindset shifts will be based on solid research into Scripture and early church beliefs. It will lead to Scripture being interpreted in the light of Christ's work, not just on someone's subjective revelation.
This paradigm shift is and will continue to cause tension within the church globally, as mindsets and theologies are challenged, causing many to take sides. We will need to guard against the religious spirit that would want to bring division within the church.
There is an ongoing call to walk in humility with one another and to lay aside human-based judgments. We are called to see one another through the Spirit, not the flesh—to see them as Christ sees them. As we humble ourselves and see people as God sees them, it will allow for open and vulnerable dialogue to take place, especially in disagreements.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
There will be more emphasis on the gospel of the kingdom and how it is outworked in the earthly realm. Along with this, there will be a renewed emphasis on discipleship (without the legalism of previous moves), and what it means to live as disciples of Christ and ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. Christianity will become more Christ-centered, less denominational-belief-centered, and less worldly minded.
That recalibration will reform the way we approach life, church, ministry, and our interactions with society. It will result in increased wholeness and effectiveness as sons, daughters, and ambassadors of God's kingdom! This will have a flow on effect into society, as the children of God have societal, reformational impact in every sphere of society. (Photo via Unsplash)
A Shift in How Church Is Expressed
There will continue to be a decrease and shift away from viewing church attendance as being the measure of our Christianity, and an increase and shift toward us being the church. By their fruit you shall know them (Matthew 7:15–20).
Alongside this, our focus will increasingly shift toward recognizing the value of there being a variety of ways that the ecclesia can meet and operate from as their base.
Any places where we have made our Western evangelical form of church an idol, or our ministries an idol, there will also be exposure and repentance needed. Remember, part of the reason Christ came was to set mankind free from religion that held them bound by rules, regulations, and traditions of man. No one in the body is exempt from this. Many of us have had our wrong mindsets exposed, and we've needed to repent and ask God to lead us back to the ancient paths.
A Shift Away from Seeking Personal Significance Through Gifts and Ministry
There is an increased focus on representing the King and his kingdom in an authentic and healthy way. Within that, there is a shift away from seeking personal significance through gifts and ministry to representing the significance of Christ through gifts and ministry.
The Lord is calling "TIME'S UP!" on the days of searching for significance through having a ministry. We have fallen prey to this subtle ploy of the ego, encouraged by the enemy of our soul, whose desire is to lure us away from the simplicity of following Christ.
There is a call to come back to operating from true identity and godly character as much-loved sons and daughters of God and healthy, mature ambassadors of Christ—not just operating from giftings. God is dismantling celebrity Christian culture, bringing us back to simply being followers and disciples of Christ, led by the Spirit of Truth, in life and ministry.
The End Result
All the above is a glorious and positive work of the Spirit that will result in a "from glory to glory" growth within the church, and a more authentic representation of Christ within society. This, in turn, will have a huge impact on how the church interacts within itself and with society, leading to godly, positive, foundational shifts and changes within the church and in elements of society—and in how we treat each other.
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Lyn Packer
Rob and Lyn Packer Ministries
Email:Â lyn@robandlyn.org
Website: www.nzpropheticnetwork.com | www.robandlyn.org
Lyn Packer is respected as a prophet within New Zealand, and the other nations she's ministered in, for her five-fold prophetic role. Lyn is a member of the NZ Council of Prophets. She leads the School of Prophets Aotearoa/New Zealand and oversees the New Zealand Prophetic Network.
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