Opportunity
Passed
The vision of the commando army will not be fulfilled in the way that I first
saw it. God is saying "It's too late."
The opportunity has passed, and it will not return.
God was offering the church an opportunity for a quick painless victory. The victory
will still come, but it will now be a tougher battle and more painful.
God wanted to reach New Zealand before hearts became too hard. If Christians had been
prepared he could have given the nation a quick shake and it would have turned back to him
(probably in 1987). That opportunity has passed and hearts are now much harder. Evil has
penetrated much deeper into our culture.
The warning of the vision was received, but it was not generally acted upon. People
focussed on the economic crash, but missed the point of the vision; that God wanted to
form an army of commando units. Many asked, "Is
the crash coming now?", but few asked "What must I do to become a member of a commando army?" As a result the commando units were not ready when
required, so God could not drop the economic bomb; it would have destroyed too many of his
people. The opportunity has passed. God now says, "It
is too late!"
This does not mean that an economic crash is not coming. New Zealand is a nation under
a curse (Deut 28). Until we turn back to God we will continue to be under that curse. One
effect of that curse is economic, so the economic depression is still inevitable. However
it may not come suddenly and it may be more protracted. In fact for many poorer people in
New Zealand it has already arrived.
Nor is God’s call to establish command army units redundant. In fact the call is
more urgent than ever. Because the people of New Zealand have now hardened their hearts
against God, the battle to win New Zealand back will be much more difficult and intense.
Satan has established some new strongholds, so it will be harder to force him out. As God
pours out his Spirit on the church, and calls his people into battle, the world will fight
back with ferocity. We can expect persecution. The only way to survive and be victorious
will be as part of a commando army. For those who are not prepared the future holds
fear and terror. Therefore the call to form commando units is even more urgent than ever.
When I received the commando vision, I was really excited, because I foresaw a great
victory. Now I am sad, because although I still see the victory, many Christians will
suffer and some may fall away before we get back to where we might have been, if we had
taken the opportunity God was offering. I am also sad because I now realise that I did not
put enough commitment and energy into praying the commando units into being. Those who
hear God speaking have a responsibility to pray.
August 1999 |