“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:” (Ezekiel 3:17)
I am not Ezekiel, but I am a watchman** and now, for 2017, I am on alert. I am measuring the days, for the time is short! (Psalm 39).
The first step to communicating with you the reader is to signpost a change:
I have re-named this blog from “Larus Blog” to “Watchman on Alert”. “Larus Blog” was designed to help people to SOAR: See Over All Repression, free to discover and fulfil their call. Now, I introduce “Watchman on Alert”, with the same desire for you the reader, but with an emphasis on looking at events and people of these days, and ask God, “What’s going on?” I observe, reflect, pray and draw conclusions, in order to engage with you the reader in light of these times, so that you will be better prepared as you work to fulfil your personal calling.
Allow me to begin this transition by explaining what a watchman is:
“Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.” Nehemiah 4:7-9
Nehemiah was aware of the impending danger to the plan to rebuild the wall, discerned who the enemies were, and ensured full protection over the people and the project.
There is a prophetic anointing of the watchman, the person whose calling it is to see danger, to discern the times and seasons, or to call others to pray at significant moments. For over 15 years, I have believed and have had confirmed that I am such a person.
Watchman is not a high profile calling. For some years I had been searching for my personal calling in Christ when I had a chance encounter with a woman called Martha Lucia. I walked into a prayer study and this woman, whom I later learned was named Martha, was speaking to the room about the role of the watchman, and the anointing she carried as a watchman herself.
“What is that?” I wondered, as I’d never heard the term before.
As I listened, I soon discovered that she was describing me: a person with the gift of discernment, a prophetic edge, and a tendency to see the spiritual angle in natural events.
Over the years in my spiritual walk with the Lord, I have often found myself drawing a parallel between the here and now and a situation in the Bible. At other times, I have seen in the spirit the motive behind a person’s actions: whether they are seeking personal gain, are seeking to fulfil the Lord’s call, or are double-minded, caught between a desire for self and for God. Often I’ve had revelation of a spiritual significance to world events. These are the kinds of things a watchman recognises. When a watchman sees and shares, intercessory prayer can rise up, go into a root of trouble, and knock it out even before it arises in the natural.
A watchman is not an intercessor, although they work together to serve the LORD and His people. While an intercessor’s call is to pray into situations, to bring God’s transforming power, a watchman sees, discerns and speaks out words of warning to the people of God.
In the case of Nehemiah, he felt a deep sense of tragedy when he learned of the decay of the walls around Jerusalem, the city of his God. Eventually, he stood watch over the re-building of the walls, and recognised the adversaries to the project. He ensured protection was in place so that the work could be completed.
Perhaps the most vivid example of a watchman in the Bible is Ezekial, who reflected the woe, mournings and lamentations of the Lord for His people.
There is also a responsibility that the watchman carries, which is to exhort those in error.
“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me….” Ezekiel 33:2-8
I believe our time is growing very short, to be all we were created to be, to do all we have been called to do.
As a watchman, I know there are other watchmen besides me and Marcia Lucia. Perhaps some of you reading this are recognising this gift within you. A watchman takes note of the world around him, and see the “signs of the times” as the slogan goes. Sometimes the signs are significant.
I intend to write about signs in the context of your call and the timing for your action.
This is the Year of Intention – at least it is for me.
I felt in December a deep, deep sense of the Imperative, as though this is the year the Lord has earmarked for me to break through: to accomplish the goals He has laid on my heart. I believe as it is for me, then so it is for others, by faith. Each reader, each person I encounter with this message, must decide if this message is also for him/her.
As I see it, the political situations in Britain and America are particularly important today. The democratic vote represents an ushering in of these nations as sheep nations. What man does is insignificant compared to God’s plans and purposes. But as Jesus said in Matthew 25, there will be nations who follow him and those which do not. I believe the votes in those countries represented a harkening towards the things of God, whether individuals intended it to be so or not.
Time is moving quickly. I choose to be one of the wise virgins of Matthew 25, whose lamp was full and ready for the Master’s Call. I hope each of you makes the same choice. My aim is to enable you to be that much more prepared for him when he calls.
** All things that I say must be tested by the reader, to ensure I am sound. No one should take my word blindly, but should test what I say and do, to ensure I am following God’s Word.