How do we as believers respond?

How do we respond when the world is seemingly going mad? In the space of one week we hear that New York is legalising abortion, at will, up until birth, the Zimbabwean government is crushing, silencing and isolating it’s people while something akin to a horror movie plays out in real time, and South Africa is making headlines once again as everyone from politicians to journalists seem to be on the payroll of Bosasa (whose money is seemingly dirty anyway). All that in one week is enough to put us into a shocked coma.

So how should we as believers respond?

Actually let’s start with: why should we even bother to respond?

Here are 3 reasons:

1. We are the heirs of the Kingdom of God that has come and is coming on the earth. That we respond and how we respond right now influences the “is coming” part, and, the earth itself groans for our becoming who we were always called to be (Rom 8:19).
2. We have asked for the nations. Many of us at some time or the other in our lives have prayed something like, “Lord give me the nations as my inheritance” because of Psalms 2:8 “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance” and had some lovely picture in mind of what it would mean. Well, this is part of what it means to get the nations as your inheritance. We have authority over what we love, why would we be trusted with any other role in the nations if we do not now love them enough to respond. As a testate heir of this Kingdom, what you say and do carries full weight.
3. It is our watch. I keep hearing the phrase “not on my watch” and so I believe I’m writing this blog to help remind us that this is indeed our watch. The noun “watch” has been used for hundreds of years by soldiers, sailors, and officers of the law to mean a period of vigil on land or at sea. Over time the phrase came to mean that this person on vigil, in-keeping with their responsibility to stand guard, would try to prevent, stop, deter or appropriately deal with something happening that they realised could cause harm or that they did not agree with. We, as heirs of the Kingdom of God, hold a responsibility to engage however we can to come against these vile things happening on our watch. It’s not just about “me and my nuclear family” or “me and my nation”, as a son or daughter of the Kingdom of God our privilege and responsibility is way greater – we must care for all nations and generations.

Getting back to how should we respond, here are 4 ways:

• Every person has a sphere of influence, to use that sphere of influence for good is powerful. For example if you are a government official or politician, now would be a good time to use your sphere of influence to speak into the Zimbabwean or the South Africa situations. You could illuminate or bring light to the situation, you could operate in the gift of wisdom like Daniel, you could be an Esther before the earthly kings on behalf of the people.  But what if you’re not in that sphere:
  • If you are in education, now would be a good time to educate the younger generations in the way they should walk.
  • How about journalism? We need bold people to shed light and reveal truth right now in these situations.
  • How about a stay at home mom? Please raise up reformers who care enough, we need selfless leaders in the future.
  • If you’re a musician or in the arts or entertainment industry, people need to hear and see and you help us to do that. Use your gifts and talents, God will show you how. You can influence people that most of us could not.
  • If you’re a lawyer, we need you to influence your sphere for true justice on the earth.
  • If you’re a blogger or author, write.
  • If you’re a dancer, dance upon injustice.
  • If you’re a pastor, you have the influence to wake up the sleeper and call out their greatness. You can have giant-slayers stand on your shoulders.
  • If you’re a prophet, prophesy to the dry bones. Prophets, you are also king-makers, while others see a shepherd boy we need you to see the king God sees and call that out.
  • If you’re an evangelist the world needs your good news right now.
  • Teachers, we need the light of Truth.
  • Apostles and apostolic ones, we need your strong voice and the blueprints of heaven.

Whatever you are called to do, but most importantly whoever you are as a son or daughter of the King – we need you!

• Prayer. In the old testament we would say it’s time for sack-cloth and ashes. In the new Testament we say put on whatever you want, fast if you are so led, but whatever you do just take your place seated in heavenly realms and begin to rule and legislate from there. We do not pray from earth to heaven anymore, now as apostolic ones we must pray from heaven to earth because we need God’s will and way! The curtain has been torn, we have been raised up in Christ into a new position (Ephesians 2:4-6). At times like this we need voices who will decree from heaven what must be. Killing babies cannot be….not on our watch! And we know our prayers are powerful.
• Sharing the Zimbabwean story on social media is a simple way to engage. There is a strategy at work to hide the story and silence the people by cutting off their access to the internet at times. That means as we help them share their stories especially in the times of active shut-down, the silence cannot remain.
• Ask God to activate the revelatory gifts (gifts of the Spirit) in you to engage these things that are declaring war on our time: you may get prophecies to decree, words of knowledge to expose the roots of the problems and help us to address the situation, or words of wisdom to help leaders and even the nations to get out of this mess. In the book of Acts we see these gifts can be used to affect the course of history. Do you want to make history? Position yourself to be used by God in the powerful revelatory gifts (more about these gifts and the others in my book, The Book of Acts: Practical Guide to accessing the miracle power of God).

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy the strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God…” 2 Cor 10:3-5

Let it not be said that on our watch we did nothing. But let it be said that we dared to do something and to make our voices heard. Let it be said that we turned the world up-side down because our hearts burned for the King and the noble causes of His Kingdom.