PROPHETIC WORDS

PROPHETIC INSIGHTS FOR 2016

by Lyn Packer

The following are some things the Lord has been showing me regarding what He’s currently doing in our nation and in personal lives. Some of those things will be done quickly, others will take time. God is not confined to our calendar years in the way He works, so any reference to the year 2016 is more associated to the time period around when the Lord and I discussed things, than it is a restriction to when He is going to do these things.

You’ll see that they’re set out in a list format. Not all prophetic words and insights need to be prefaced with “The Lord says...”  Many of the things God says to His prophets come as insights and knowledge gained in our daily prayer times and conversations with Him. This doesn’t make them any less prophetic than a word prefaced with “The Lord says,” it’s just a different way of presenting His heart and intentions. In my times with the Lord over the last few months these are some of the things we’ve discussed and that He’s shown me.

Time of refocusing, realigning

This is a time of refocusing and alignment. Many are in a season of change and transition, a time of being in-between. They’re in between the old and the new, in between seasons, assignments, and even, in some cases, Kingdom relationships. This has caused confusion for some and a sense of instability, simply because they don’t see what is happening. In this time it’s important to stay in the place of trust and rest. Be intentional about it. If you’re not intentional about it the enemy will take advantage of the fact that your guard is down and bring you into a place of unease and fear. 

Convergence, synergy and apostolic alignments

I heard the Lord say to me these words - convergence, synergy and apostolic alignment. Convergence and synergy aren’t words I use everyday, so I thought I’d better check their meaning. Basically it means a coming together of two elements that produces a reaction far greater than either could on their own. With that understanding sorted I started asking the Lord about what He’d said, and I felt Him unfold this understanding to me. He was using the term 'apostolic' in the sense of the traditional meaning of the word; the word ‘apostle’ was originally a military term that came from the Greek empire. It means - "one sent into a territory on assignment to bring transformation." Apostles were cultural architects and establishers!

There is a convergence happening, a bringing together of people for the Lord’s apostolic purposes. That convergence will release a synergy, a wave of power that will accelerate and upgrade you in your life and ministry.

Be careful who you align yourself with at this time. Not all alignments will bring about the Lord's full purposes. Who we form alignments and alliances with, and where and when they’re formed, is very important.

Tribe – many people will find their apostolic tribe, which will bring them into a place of synergy and acceleration. They will find people with the same heart, passion and purpose to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and to establish long term family relationships. While individual’s assignments may differ between them, it is the heart connection that will bind them together as tribes and families. Church affiliation and even geographical location is not the most important thing here; it’s about the heart connections, as with David and Jonathan in scripture (1 Sam 18:1-4).

Increased battle, increased breakthroughs

Many have felt like they are in an increased time of battle. But alongside that there is increased breakthrough and victory to walk in as a result of those battles. Don’t fear the battles, they are the precursor to great breakthrough.

People fight battles on many fronts. For some the main battle is internal, dealing with the wounds of life; for some it's in their daily work life, or on their family life. For all of us, though, the main area the battle takes place is in our mind; this is the greatest battlefield of our faith. Guard your mind, bring your thoughts into captivity to Christ. This means bring them under His Lordship and rule; measure them against what you know to be truth, against His nature, character and heart for you, and against scripture.

Deep inner works of renewal and realignment

God is doing deep inner works of realignment, renewing of people's minds and emotional healing. In many ways that is always true, but at this time there is an acceleration and increased focus in this area in many people’s lives. It’s a time to go deep – deep into knowing the Lord, deep into knowing yourself. It’s a time of hiddenness and being unseen for many, so they can go deep, building depth in their life and their walk with the Lord.

Often when we are about to step into new things we have to learn to think differently in order to bring about the results that Lord wants in those assignments. We cannot afford to automatically take old ways of operating into new situations. We must know His strategies for them, and that may mean renewed ways of thinking. Allow Him to deal with past hurts that will cloud your perceptions of yourself, and others, as you move forward. Allow Him to deal with old habits and ways of doing things that will hold you back in your new assignments.

Theology and belief reformation

One of the biggest things happening globally today within the Church is the revelation and subsequent reforming of our theology around the Father – His love, His intentions and heart for mankind, and His goodness. As this happens it will have massive ramifications for the Church itself, for society, and for the way society sees the Church. This has been an ongoing work over several decades and will continue for many more. It has caused a wrestling in people's hearts and minds as they come to grips with what that means, especially in relation to their personal beliefs.

Allow God to do the work in you that needs to be done in this area. Allow Him to challenge your beliefs when He wants to. Remember that part of Holy Spirit’s job is to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). But also, don’t just accept everything that's shared with you by others as being truth; check it out with the Lord and with scripture.

Allow other people the freedom to journey their particular journey in the search for truth without trying to force them to think like you do on a subject. Remember, we all know in part and see in part (1 Cor 13:9 “We only know a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete.” MSG version). We’re all on a progressive journey of truth being established in our lives and the Lord knows what He’s doing as He takes us on this journey.

In Church life theology for a particular subject has always taken many years to formulate and that's wise. A theology is a systematically developed religious belief or theory, and that's important to realize. Theologies develop; they don’t come fully formed and irrefutable, and they have to be proved to be true. They are proven true by weighing them, not by general acceptance. We must weigh our theologies against God’s nature and character and His heart and intentions for mankind, as He has revealed those, and then also against the general tenet of scripture. Scripture is not the primary weighing reference because the way we each read and interpret scripture is subjective, and will be based on our understanding of Bible times and culture, our life experiences, religious affiliations and beliefs and more. But what God has actually said about Himself and His heart and intentions for mankind is, however, trustworthy.

Sometimes only time can give us the benefit of seeing whether those theologies (beliefs and theories) actually prove to be true or not. Historically there have been theologies that have become believed and established and then we’ve seen that they actually aren’t accurate. This has caused problems because people don’t like the beliefs that they’ve built their lives upon to be challenged. We have a problem when we don’t allow for the possibility that some of what we’ve traditionally believed may not be fully accurate. Refusal to allow for mistakes in belief and theology causes dogmatism, inflexibility and ‘right and wrong', 'us and them’ mentality, and sadly this has happened too much in the Church.

A hope reformation

The Hope reformation is ongoing. Historically the Church has tended to have a bit of a ‘doom and gloom’ mindset. But God is reshaping beliefs and instilling hope into His people on a massive scale. While it’s true that the dark is getting darker, it’s also true that the light is getting brighter. Scripture tells us 'The path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter!' (Proverbs 4:18).

The Church’s best days are ahead of us as God continues to release His sons and daughters into a fuller manifestation of His love, His nature, character and power. This manifestation of ‘Christ within us the hope of glory’ will change families, communities and nations as God’s Kingdom comes on earth, as it is in Heaven. Allow God to fill your heart with renewed hope; see through hopeful eyes and a hope-filled heart. Think hope-filled thoughts that lead to faith-filled beliefs and actions, and watch your world change around you as you instill hope into all you come across.

There are many other things the Lord and I have discussed over the last few months as I’ve prayed over our nation, but these are the things I felt to share with you at present. I pray they instill in you fresh hope and the knowledge that the Lord is at work doing good things in your life, the lives of those around you, and society at large. 

BIO