The School of the Prophetic met again this week – we meet monthly to pray and listen to God, and then we weigh and discern what prophetic things He is revealing to us. Then we seek to know what to do with what we receive. Out of these rich times together often comes wonderful encouragement for the church. Other times God alerts us to spiritual dangers, or certain needs and trends in the church, or reveals to us how He is moving in the heavenly realm over our nation and even in global events. Rich times. Encouraging times. And always a surprise, or two!
The School of the Prophetic is not the alternative leadership of the church, of course, and the members aren’t some spiritual elite, either. Theirs is a ministry like any other in the church and it is accountable to the elders - like any other. Of course, it helps so much that five of the members of School of the Prophetic are in eldership.
This week one of the elders had a brief vision of a bright red buoy bobbing on the surface of the sea. There are many types of buoys on our marine waterways that alert shipping with all kinds of warnings and instructions. But what was seen was a bright red buoy, and red buoys are deployed along the boundaries of deep shipping lanes. If you are operating a vessel, you should safely navigate between the red markers and their corresponding green markers opposite. In the Americas, this means keeping the red buoy on your right, or starboard side, when returning to port. In Australia and Europe, you would keep it on your left, or port side, when entering a harbour. Needless to say, if the captain of a vessel ignored the red buoys coming into port he/she would place the vessel at risk of hitting rocks, running aground or even hitting another vessel in another sea lane. The red buoys instruct the one navigating to stay in the safe zone to avoid catastrophe.
So, is this a “prophetic word”? Well, yes, we all agreed that God was graciously reminding us, and our church family, that He has set down red buoys in His Word for us so that we can safely navigate life. I’m sure I don’t need to be Captain Obvious for everyone in saying this, but the red buoys mean what they say, and you ignore them at your peril. Some might ask why God would communicate such a message to us, or to the ReChurch family. My first response to that question would be that God doesn’t waste words. When He speaks it is because it is definitely necessary – He is not making idle chit chat for the sake of it. Every ship’s captain knows what red buoys are for. They are to provide guidance in critical environments, they are not for decoration. Yet, occasionally a skipper somewhere in the world will ignore the warnings and come to grief. They make a choice in critical situations where there is no room for error and reap the results. Christians, by and large, are aware of potential danger in critical situations. But, believe it or not they often ignore the red buoys in God’s Word and come to grief – and then they are shocked at the outcome. Some end up even shipwrecking their faith …
1 Timothy 1:19 (NIV)
“… holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”
The apostle is speaking to the church back in the day. He is saying to his young protégé, Timothy (who was pastoring the fledgling Ephesian church), in the preceding verses, that there are red buoys that God has laid out and these must be respected if we want to steer clear of trouble. Some ignore the red buoys and suffer the shipwreck of their faith – surely, the greatest tragedy for any believer.
Other scriptures mention similar ideas, or the right way, or the proper pathway. These all point to the fact that there are not multiple right ways – just one. God’s way. And it’s narrow, especially in critical environments where there is no room for compromise.
Matthew 7:14 (NIV)
[Jesus] “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it.”
And this from the Old Testament …
Psalms 119:101-103 (NIV)
“I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your word. 102 I have not departed from Your laws, for you yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
The red buoys warn of danger if they are ignored. They keep us safe. We know that. So too God’s Word. Ignore it at your peril. We know that, too. So, why has God given us this alert? Why now? Well, we are not one hundred percent sure, but we do know that when God speaks there is always a very good reason. He sees things that we do not. He sees the heart of each one of us. And so, we faithfully bring this message and leave it with those who hear it to take it seriously. Clearly, God thinks it is serious enough, right now, to speak to us and warn us to take our bearings off the red marker buoys and stay on the safe course. Perhaps someone is wavering, or pondering a reckless decision from which there is no coming back? Maybe someone is playing around in places they shouldn’t and is heading for the rocks, or about to collide with something immovable, or sink? We don’t know. Only you know whether you are safely between the red buoys right now. Or, if you hadn’t realised you were drifting off course, you do now? That’s a good thing!
My encouragement to all of us right now is to take stock, reset course where necessary, and heed the red buoys, heed God’s message of grace and loving concern.
Proverbs 4:26-27 (ESV)
“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
Ps Milton