Friday Fire Prophecies Summary (Dec 94 - Mar 95)
The following is a summary of some of the prophetic Words spoken at Friday Fire Meetings at St Mark's Northbridge between December 1994, and March 1995. As with all prophetic words, these must be weighed and tested with a spirit of humility and repentance. Where Bible passages are referred to, the interpretations given are not intended to be seen as the interpretation of the passage, but as God speaking to his people's current situation by giving an interpretation. Some of the following words have already seen a measure of fulfilment.
NB: If there is a question you have with a prophecy or prophetic messenger, you can only judge by fruit that is produced (Matt 7: 1, 16 ,20). Does it produce righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It is imperative that you follow a strictly Biblical process of questioning, or you could come under judgment (eg. 2 Kings 1). Never dismiss prophetic words simply because they do not fit your understanding of the Bible - you may be wrong. It is wiser to repent first, in humility, and stay quiet, so that you will remain under Grace (James 4:6). If it is not from God, He will deal with it. For those in ministry, prophetic or otherwise, remember it is not your ministry that is important, but your obedience (Matthew 7:21).
December:
* The Toronto refreshing is a fulfilment of Ezekiel 37 - the Valley of Dry Bones. Many dry Christians are receiving refreshment from the Lord, despite the strange nature of many manifestations. At the moment we are seeing the dry bones rattling ( the manifestations) and coming together (v 7). Many have been concerned about character change, and this will come in time, as the flesh comes onto the bones (v 8). The forming of tendons linking the bones together (v 8) speaks of reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships between the parts of the body, and we are seeing this with people attending meetings from all denominations. As the movement of the Spirit continues, we will see these things becoming more and more evident, until the Lord releases Power on the church (v 9-10).
* It is important to note that the entire process in Ezekiel 37 is driven by the operation of prophetic ministry. At the moment, the prophetic is very immature in the church, but God is releasing maturity, and we shall see this increasing very rapidly.
* Our correct response to understanding what God is doing is the kind of repentance expressed by Daniel in Chapter 9 - following understanding from the scriptures. This means it is important that prophetic teaching (bringing new understanding of God's Heart) be a part of our ministry. It should be noted that time and wisdom must be applied so that the prophetic people are given a chance to mature.
* God is taking the initiative! In Ezekiel 37, the prophetic only operates at God's command, and the process continues at the direction of the Father. This is not man-generated, but is a visitation of God to prepare us for the Last Days.
January:
* The rain is symbolic of the outpouring of God's Spirit on His people, who are in a time of Desert and Drought, both spiritually and naturally. The current rain (Jan 22 monsoon) is a sign that the drought is now over, and the outpouring of God's spirit will continue (streams of living water in the desert), and the extended dryness will not come again.
* As the church is not ready for the outpouring of the Spirit , so the farms are not ready for the rain, and they are not able to cope. There will be floods following this rain in many of the drought-striken places to signify this, as the Lord's outpouring is present in abundance - there is much more than we can ever hope to take in or contain. Any attempt to limit this will be washed away.
* God gave Haggai 1: 3-10 as an explanation of the dry times. In the natural, the church has been losing effectiveness, despite all attempts to impact the community with the gospel. In Haggai, God says that he "blew away" the fruits of their labours, "because of my House, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore because of you, the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains... and on the labour of your hands." The church in the Eighties was focused on our own denominations and congregations, and our own ministries, when God was calling us to work together in unity to build his house. Our misguided focus brought the drought on our nations, and God will not allow us to work for our own gain any longer - our focus must be the whole church, and we must be willing to lay our own ministries on the altar.
* God also blew away our legalistic efforts to Evangelise - we did not understand, and were not focused on the things God was doing. Songs 2:7 says: "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires". We have tried to awaken love for Jesus out of legalistic attitudes towards the Great Commission, and people were not ready. The Christians did not have the love they wanted, and they certainly were not evangelising purely out of love for Jesus, but out of guilt and the manipulations of leadership. We must repent for our sins, and seek God in intimacy, asking for true Grace and Passion, that we might fulfil the work of the Kingdom out of Love, not legalism.
* God's house in Haggai also speaks of the individual preparation of our hearts as a resting place for God. This has not been a prime focus for many in the church.
February:
* Many have spoken recently about the modern church being of the manner of the Laodecians, in Revelation 3. The church has misunderstood the Laodecian passage as primarily referring to materialistic wealth, and though this has been a problem in certain churches, it is not the real reason why Christians today are lukewarm, though it is a contributing factor. The key is Rev 3:17, and the word of the Lord to the Church is: "You do not understand my ways!" The Laodecians had an arrogant attitude that they had everything they needed, but they did not understand that they were "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked". In the same way the Evangelical church (especially in Sydney), has an arrogant attitude that we have the basic understandings of the Bible, and of God, correctly, and as a result we are also "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked", as the World's current attitude to the church will attest.
* We need to repent of our spiritual pride, and learn to walk in Isaiah 66:2 - repentance, humility, and the fear of God. Especially ministers who teach, for the Bible is scathing against those who lead the people astray (James 3:1). Like the Pharisees, we have misunderstood the heart of God, and trusted our worldly methods of interpreting the Bible, and have not realised that God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Because of this we have opposed and rejected some of the things God has been doing, as we have been offended by the way in which He chose to do them. We must remember that God offends the mind to reveal the heart, and be careful not to prejudge and reject what might actually be God (ref. Gamaliel's advice to the Sanhedrin in Acts). There is a judgment coming on those who will not repent over this issue of Spiritual Pride, and we must abandon our own wisdom, and cry out to God for His (James 1:5, 4:2). Once again, humility is the key, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
* The dividing line between those who stand and fall will come over how we react to the prophetic, which at the moment is still growing in maturity. This is because there is a difference between pastors, teachers and evangelists; and apostles and prophets, who are foundational to the church (Eph 2:20). We must be careful to judge the word, not the messenger, especially since God often uses the prophetic in an offensive manner (eg. Isaiah going naked, Ezekiel besieging a model, Naaman having to wash in the Jordan, Elijah calling fire on soldiers). God does this to test the reactions of our hearts - trusting in our own knowledge and understanding will get us killed when His power is released (Ananias and Sapphira).
* We must seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). If you believe that God is in this refreshing, drop everything and catch what you can! If you waste too much time "investigating", you may miss an anointing that God is releasing, and wishes to give you. Don't assume that anointings are always available - many are only released in their season.
* The present Billy Graham Global Crusade is primarily not in our situation for conversion of pagans, though many in the church are misunderstanding, and being distracted from the true move of God at this time. God will use it, though its purpose is to release a Spirit of Evangelism to the church, so that when God's power is released we will be ready for His harvest. Congregations at the crusade will be primarily Christian, and relatively few pagans will even attend. It will also be used to demonstrate the legalism in the Evangelical church, which has caused them to misunderstand God's purpose at this time. Everything has a season - even evangelism, and God is preparing us and refreshing us at the moment, not focusing on evangelism. Those in bondage to a Spirit of Religion (legalism), will focus entirely on Evangelism, and ignore the actual move of God (eg. Toronto Blessing). They must repent of their hardness of heart.
NB: We should mention that we honour Billy Graham as an anointed man of God, and praise God for his continuing ministry. What is at issue here is the heart attitudes of many in the church, not Mr Graham's ministry.
* We have a sense that God is going to release more power late in March, or early in April.
March:
* Paul speaks in Timothy of a time when the church will be "having a form of godliness but denying its power". At the moment, the Evangelical church is powerless and ineffective (lukewarm - Rev 3) in its witness, and scorned by the World. Yet many Evangelicals deny the current working of God in power - claiming that miracles, healing, etc. are not for today. The apostle Paul was clear that his "message and preaching were not with the wise and persuasive words of men, but with demonstrations of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2:4). It is now abundantly clear that old methods of witnessing such as merely preaching, or apologetics, are useful, but severely limited in reaching the Western world. Modern pagans are looking for evidence that supports an argument, not a philosophy that is unsupported. Paul is clear - "the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power"(1Cor 4:20).
* We must recognise the effects of the Spirit of Religion on ourselves, and the extent of legalistic attitudes that we have been taught to uphold in our own lives, and repent. As stated before, we must walk in Isaiah 66:2 (humility, repentance and the fear of the Lord), eschew our own understanding of God in favour of His wisdom and grace (Rev 3:17), and commit ourselves to walk under Grace, not Law.
* Bob Jones' Dream (1984) - summarised from The Best of Morningstar 1987-1988.
Bob was taken into heaven, where God showed him a baseball game, between God's team and Satan's. It was the bottom of the ninth innings, score 0-0, with two out, and the Lord's team at bat. The first batter was Love, who hit a single because Love never fails. The second was Faith, who also hit a single because Faith works with Love. Third came Godly wisdom, who never swings at Satan's pitches, and got a walk. Bases loaded, and God's star hitter walks up to the plate - Grace. Grace hits the ball out of the park - God wins. God asks Bob why Love, Faith and Godly wisdom couldn't win, and he doesn't know. The Lord replies: "If you faith, your love and your wisdom could win the battle, you would think that you could do it by yourselves. Only my Grace will get you home."
* God is speaking to the church through the media at the moment - particularly through the current "Sprite" ad. Jesus spoke several times about the thirsty drinking from him, and many people have spoken relating the Toronto Blessing to "streams of water in the desert". Opponents to Toronto are often judging the manifestations, which are unusual and uncomfortable - particularly to those used to a more traditional worship style. Many others, while not opponents, are not receiving this blessing from God for the same reason. The spirits behind this are fear, and religion, which often manifest themselves in legalistic attitudes - the"this couldn't possibly be God" attitude, which judges from the basis of human wisdom. It has been obvious, though, that those who receive most refreshing from God are those who are willing to put aside their own comfort (deny themselves), and ask God for more, in whatever form He chooses to impart. These people are thirsty, and they are so desperate for the water of life they are willing to let God have his way, despite the wierd styles He sometimes chooses. The Word of God at the moment (from the TV ad) is:
We offer these words in the hope that they will be a blessing, and we feel that they are genuinely from God. If you have any question about these words, please feel free to contact us for discussion at: