Scripture: Ezekiel 3 v 17 - 21: "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."
In 1979 the Lord called me to be a Watchman, which I had no idea about. I was very new to the baptism in water and the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. I had never heard of a Watchman nor an Intercessor but I accepted the call. I asked some more knowledgeable Christians who sort of smirked and said, "You'll find out!"
I discovered the writings of Watchman Nee, a Chinese Christian who was martyred in the 1950's. He majored in submission, meekness and brokenness. I have discovered through much trial and many errors that it is not possible to achieve these desirable states by force of will.
Submission means yielding to God in All Things. Not just the things you have negotiated but in those things you wish not to discuss with Him. Submission to God's will means being willing to trust Him when every nerve is screaming "run the other way!"
The first few hundred times you do run but turn around eventually. When you break through to the Lord there is no more of your will against God's will. When you stop resisting there is an enormous victory.
Instead of trying to manoeuvre a car with locked brakes you are suddenly freewheeling along the spiritual highway. That jerky unstable ride becomes so smooth and pleasant. Your relationship with the Lord moves to a new level of understanding. The thought of going back to the unyielding stubborn self is unthinkable. Now the Lord is working together with you and new things are being shown. The Lord loves shortcuts. He quickly teaches you to read his signals. He guides you with His eyes.
No longer do you wonder what on earth you are doing. Now you do have a clue and it grows into a pattern into which He guides you as you pray about difficult situations.
He can alert me by a change in the sound of the wind; by an odour that is in my face and not made by anything visible; by a feeling of icy coldness etc. Once I pick up the thread we roar off at top speed to bring light into the darkness of someone's life. All these prompts are initiated by Jesus and if you are not in submission you will surely miss them.
I was invited to lead a prayer meeting in a nearby town for the first time. In the middle of this meeting I developed a sudden severe headache. I knew it was an alert signal from the Holy Spirit. I asked if anyone present had a headache. The hostess said I have a bad headache. We all prayed for her and my pain left. She suddenly started shouting and laughing for joy. She told us that she went to a fortune teller 25 years before and came away with this terrible headache that had never left her for all these long years. How wonderful God is. It led to a church in her home for many years.
Brokenness is likened to the breaking in of a wild pony. Our stubborn pride and will behaves like that unbridled pony - very difficult to control. We buck and shout and rear up full of angry resistance until Jesus deals a blow to all that and we stand trembling as He gently leads us beside the still waters.
When we are broken by Jesus we find ourselves in a new quiet relationship with Him. The hype has changed and we have changed, matured, and we immediately can discern the spirit of others. We can easily see those who are still wild ponies and those who are broken in.
Humble is a strange word. When you are yielded and broken in you reach the profound knowledge that without Jesus you can do nothing. Without Jesus you are nothing. All self-sufficiency has been eliminated. Your former selfish, self-centred lifestyle has undergone a revolution. You are now humble before God, showing Him gratitude and appreciation.
You no longer judge and criticize others. You realise that you see your self mirrored in them and disapprove of that self image. Jesus in you shows you these faults and in your humility you recognise them and bring them into the light. You argue less and less allowing you to grow in wisdom and stature with God. Like-minded people draw near to listen when you speak. The obnoxious seem to vanish from your circle. You realise that those who are left around you are the true family of God.
Hebrews 7 v 25: "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
Jesus is our Intercessor. He took our place of condemnation and death for sin. He came to Earth as a human baby to experience everything for Himself. He endured the forty days of temptation by Satan as a man and not as God. He came to show us it is possible to overcome sin. He is at the right hand of our Father interceding for each one of us. He has those who must be watchmen able to warn others of coming or present danger from false prophets and false doctrines.
We cannot stop or change the condition of world affairs. The whole evil world has to fully manifest as it did in the days of Lot and Noah. It is the sign that Jesus is on His way.
Luke 17 v 26 - 30: "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
So do not fear the worsening situation but heed the warnings that it portrays. Use your time wisely to pray for the lost, to protect your family with strong Godliness. Know Your Bible and apply it. Do not be complacent and ignorant. Know truth from error. Friendship with the World is enmity with God. Love one another as Jesus loves us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father how You love and value those who are broken and submitted to Your will. Those called to be Watchman and Intercessors have been broken and are humble before You. I pray that many will recognise Your desire to bring them closer to Yourself. May they heed the warnings carefully Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.