Ghana. The wasted child. Jim Smith

Transcription

1 Ghana The wasted child Jim Smith

2 One love for the child We were so proud but when the storm came it tore away our hope and left us wasted One sorrow The Lord looked down from heaven and saw what we had become His heart was filled with pain Two sorrows Blood dripping love calling One love 2

3 Introduction Thirty-five years ago my third beloved son, Philip, was born. His had been a difficult pregnancy and he only lived for a few hours. The sorrow of those hours broke my heart and still breaks it today. I was overwhelmed by emotions. I felt alone, angry, afraid and bewildered. I remembered these words from Matthew s Gospel, spoken by Jesus in Gethsemane: - The sorrow in my heart is so great it almost crushes me. (Matt.26:38) Although my sorrow was so small in comparison with the burden carried by Jesus, I was getting an idea of what he was feeling for Ghana s lost child. With the loss of my child I entered my own Gethsemane and the sorrow almost crushed me. I cried out to the Lord Why has the life of my child been wasted? I find myself asking the same about the child Ghana. No place for the child Ghana? I believe that the child Ghana is at the point of death. Here is the child as I saw him in the heavenly places: - The Prophet was standing at Calvary, in the dust and the spite and the pain. He heard a voice above him crying in agony - Oh my son. Oh my beloved son. Oh my son Ghana, what have you become? The Prophet saw the Lord s broken hands, and grieved with all his heart that God s people of Ghana did not see them, or want them, or reach for them. For the children of Ghana had hands full of the possessions they had stolen from the King s house. Their hearts were full of greed and arrogance. There was no place in them for the Lord s broken hands - no place for those hands to touch and heal. No place for the child Ghana. (From The Way of the Cross) Can the child be saved? God s people in Ghana have failed to care for Ghana and now the child is in a desperate state. In The Wasted child I have tried to describe how this has happened and what is to come. I m writing this knowing that we are probably already too late to save the child, and that many, if not most of God s people in Ghana do not really care. In my previous books The Way of the Cross and Repentance Ghana s last chance I have tried to wake the church from the coma into which it has fallen. The Wasted Child is another attempt at that resuscitation process. God is merciful, and maybe he will return and bless us. As a Ghanaian in spirit, who has worked in this country for nearly 30 years, I hope so. As a Prophet of nearly 40 years experience in over 60 countries, I seriously doubt whether we have any chance of rescuing the child. It depends on us and on the Lord s will. I know this is a hard thing to say, but it is a prophet s task to make us face hard truths. 3

4 Unlike the many false prophets in our land, I am not prepared to say Peace, peace when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14) But nor am I going to risk the prophetic judgement of which Ezekiel warns if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone s life, that person s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood. (Ezek. 33:6) This position has not made me popular, but that does not concern me. The challenge for us is to reflect and respond to this verse: - If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) What the Lord is trying to make clear in this verse from Chronicles, and in all that I am saying, is that the responsibility for the spiritual health or sickness of the Nation rests with God s people. It is because we have ignored this responsibility that we lost our way in the first place. If we continue to ignore it, then there is only one outcome. The Lord will have to act against us. How will the Lord respond? How will the Lord respond? Look at this verse, which was originally spoken to Jerusalem, but could be easily spoken to us. Is this where we are? Ghana, Ghana, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Original verse at Matthew 23:37) Let s finish this introduction with some words of strength as we move into looking at the lost child. These are from John Cassion, a fifth century Christian monk and theologian: - To cling to God and the things of God - this must be our major effort and this must be the road the heart follows unswervingly. Lord, let this be those of us who grieve for the child, and want, with all our hearts to rescue our beloved child Ghana. 4

5 Contents The Lost child. The Abandoned child. The Dying child. The Child in the heavenly places. The Child dies. The hope of the Cross: - * The power of the cross to change. * Laying the cross over the land. * Crucified intercession. 5

6 The lost child I saw a broken man, and rough hands dragged him to the cross and broke him. At the foot of the cross, knelt the child, broken and bleeding. Who will love me now? he sobbed. 6

7 The vision of the lost child One day, a man and a woman came to stand before the Lord. They were full of confidence. Who are you? the Lord asked. We are the church in Ghana they replied. We have done many great things in your name. We have praised you, we have spoken about you and we have spread all over the nation. We are known as a powerful and praise - filled church. Everyone tells us that the Spirit moves in us. We honour your name. The Lord was quiet, and the man and woman looked at each other, and they wondered why the Lord did not thank and bless them. So they said - and we learnt to heal the sick. We collected money - lots of money - and raised up buildings for you, and works in your name. We wrote songs, books - all for your glory. Still the Lord was quiet. So they continued: - Our nation lives in peace because of our prayers. Look at all the lands around us. We know that we are special. The Lord began to cry, and the two people were amazed. Everything they had said was good. Surely this was what the Lord wanted to hear? Where is your child? Then the Lord said - and where is your child? Now the man and the woman were now really amazed. What child? they asked. The one I trusted you with the Lord replied. The one which was so precious to me. The one you were to care for, nurture and raise up. But Lord, they replied, we don t know what you are talking about. We had no child. Yes you did said the Lord. I trusted a very precious child into your hands. What is this child called? they asked. The child was called Ghana. You were to take care of it, help it grow, protect it from harm, crown it with glory and make it strong. This was your sacred trust. Where is the child? The two people had no answer to give. 7

8 Who is the child? The child in this story is the nation of Ghana. The Lord entrusted the care of this nation into the hands of his people - into our hands. He trusted us because he really loved us. In fact, he loved us so much that he gave us a special promise. I will pour my Spirit into you, and He will flow out of you into all of West Africa. The fire of my Spirit will burn everywhere and there will be a great awakening. All the Nations of West Africa will give thanks because of the willingness of my people in Ghana to be the channels of this blessing. Everyone will see that my people were both obedient, and willing to share my Spirit with them. Reflecting on this fabulous promise, I wrote this: - Love poured out - an ocean of enfolding For the beloved Ghana. Never was a child so loved and so secure. What went wrong? This promise wasn t enough for us. Like the Son in Luke chapter 15, Ghana saw only the attractions of the world. Like the Son our hearts rejected the Father s love. Like him we said: - Father, give me my share of the estate. We took the estate, and did with it exactly what the young Son did: - Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. That s just what we did. We went after the things of the world. A Christian from the Thirteenth century wrote these words, and I have use them extensively in my teaching in Ghana: - We should come to the King s mountain to worship the King, not to take his goods. (Bernard of Clairvaux) But we did the opposite. We took and took and took. We squandered our inheritance - our precious promise. I wrote this in The Way of the Cross and I see no reason to change what I wrote there: - 8

9 A man, strong and powerful, came to the people. Come he said. I will lead you into the ways of satisfaction. I will lead you into healing and peace. I will lead you to your blessings. He spoke powerfully, and the people listened to him. They walked away from the Prophet, and dancing and singing, followed the strong man. As their praise faded into the distance, Satan came creeping out of the bushes, laughing. Open heavens? he said. I have closed them and they didn't even notice. This is going to be easier than I thought. Consequences This mistake had a terrible consequence which is now coming on us - the child Ghana is now lost. These words look so simple and our eyes slide over them. We should look again at them the child Ghana is lost. The grief of the lost child should be in us. What is this grief? These words, written by a grieving parent which might help us take them more seriously: - I m lost. Down a tunnel of my hurts. I want to reach out, To take love, But I cannot. Here in this dark place, where I am There are no windows to let in the light. I sob and cry, I wither and die. "Help me" is what I should say But I cannot and so I waste away. Grief cuts us to the heart and breaks our lives apart. That s what this parent is saying to us. Our child Ghana is not yet dead, but is lost, and the heart-breaking emotions suggested by the poem are now loose in the heart of God. He is grieving for his loss. It s part of his judgement on us that we cannot, or will not, feel them. The difficulty I have faced in Ghana is getting anyone to believe this truth. I come up against the old Ghanaian attitude which says God will always bless us. God will never abandon Ghana. All will be well! It is true that God will not ultimately abandon his people, but this is not what people are saying to me. They are saying All is well, so we can continue with what we are doing. No matter how wrong it is, God will always bless us. 9

10 Not true This is not true. As many nations have found out over the centuries, including his own nation of Israel, the Lord expects certain behaviour patterns from us obedience, service, endurance, honesty, compassion and love. Most of all he expects us to walk in his ways. He is gracious and allows us to make many mistakes, but there is one mistake which cannot be overlooked - the mistake which takes people out of the patterns of love and obedience which he has laid down and into other pathways. This is exactly what has happened in Ghana. Leaving aside service and obedience, which are the ways straight into his heart, we have gone for prosperity and comfort. We have continued on that path until we are so full of prosperity and comfort that we are vomiting it out, yet still we want more. If anyone does not have prosperity and wealth they are told You do not have enough faith! If anyone suggests that all is not well, they are ignored or silenced. Still I see billboards on the roadside proclaiming God is blessing Ghana. Come and take your personal blessing. This is your year of opportunity. I see huge photographs of Pastors, proclaiming themselves. I don t see any saying Lord, what have we done? How have we lost this nation? What hope is there for us? Where has prosperity got us? Where has all this prosperity got us? That s easy to answer. It has allowed a space for another god to grow and rise up over Ghana. It has robbed God s people of the passion and determination to sacrifice and fight for the child. Prosperity breeds weakness. The people of God have grown weak and unable to fight for Christ. But despite all the evidence, there is no awakening to the desperate need of repentance and sacrifice. The church sleeps on. Seeking ever deeper into its prosperity-induced coma, it allows the enemy to prosper. I once had this vision for a country. I saw a ship, sailing in calm sea. Overhead was deep blue sky. On the deck, everyone was sun bathing, eating and resting. I called out Wake up. You are in great danger. The people looked at me and said Great danger? Look at the weather! Look at the calm sea. We want to enjoy ourselves. You are disturbing us. Get away from us! Three times I warned them but no one would listen. Then the Lord took me up into the sky, and said Look again. I looked down on the ship, sailing peacefully under the blue sky. But then I saw that this calm water was the eye of a hurricane, which was about to hit the ship. No one knew. While I looked the storm broke over the ship, and it sunk. 10

11 I spoke this word, but no one in the country which I was visiting listened to me. A few months later, sectarian violence tore the country apart. Thousands died and the economy was ruined. It still has not recovered. This is what happens to Nations who sleep while the enemy is active and the Lord is trying to warn. Is this Ghana? His judgement is coming - or has come? We have gone our own way, living by our own rules, and we have put ourselves under his judgement. Ghana has been living its own way for too long. For too many times it has presumed on God s love. Now the child is lost, and God is coming to settle the account. How can we complain? We rejected his promise, went our own way and are incapable of changing, even though circumstances demand that we do change. We have lost the child, and have no excuse. I am searching for my child For my precious beloved son, But I cannot find him. I am searching for my son but I am searching alone. Those I trusted do not care They turn away and with hardened hearts refuse to mourn with me. Was ever there a sorrow like mine? Still refusing Yet still the Ghanaian church refuses to accept its responsibility for losing the child, or recognise the growing darkness around it. Here s another quote from The way of the Cross : - In heaven, I saw a great table, with many places set. This is where the Nations of the world gather to worship the Lord. But one chair was empty. Who should be sitting here? asked the Father. This is where our beloved child Ghana should be sitting said the Lord, and he began to cry. But why has this child not come? asked the Father. What are we going to do? The Lord did not speak, but took his crown of thorns, and placed it on his head. Blood began to run down his face. Suffer some more he said, and all heaven was filled with sorrow. The sleeping, unrepentant, unaware and uncaring church in Ghana sleeps on. In heaven the child Ghana is lost and dying. But no matter what the Lord says, there is no change. The ship sails on towards its destruction, with the people sleeping on the deck. 11

12 Here s a final picture from The Way : - The Prophet was silent, for he knew the hearts of Ghanaians, and he knew how deep was their lack of love, of compassion, of service and of the desire to repent. He knew how deep their selfishness was, and how little they cared for their land. Let s finish with some words from Pope John Paul the second, which he wrote in They at least give us a framework in which we might be able to act. Sin has made itself at home in the world, and denial of God has become widespread in the ideologies, ideas and plans of human beings. Lord help us in this godless desert in which our generation and that of our children seems to be lost. 12

13 The abandoned child I came to a large open space. Many people were gathered there, and I saw a man standing in front of them. He was speaking to them. I offer you love he said. Only love. Unconditional love. Healing love. My love. The people howled with laughter. At first they mocked and ridiculed him, but when he would not stop, they rushed up to him, and began to beat him for offering them only love. They spat on him until he was broken, bleeding and unconscious on the floor. They kicked him and broke his bones, and left him laying in blood and filth. In heaven the child cried and cried. Who will love me now? He sobbed. 13

14 The vision of the abandoned child The child wandered in the desert. He had no home and was dying for lack of love. He came again and again to his own people, but they were too busy acquiring wealth. Some laughed and ridiculed him. Go away they said. You are not our child. Your clothes are torn and your skin is filthy. Our children are prosperous, healthy and successful. Pushed deeper and deeper into the desert, the child felt abandoned. Sinking down into the dust, he cried and cried. No one heard him. A small dark cloud began to be seen in the heavens over Ghana. But no one saw it. With delight and cunning, it grew. But no one saw it. Bigger and bigger it grew, and within it was the shame of Israel. Slowly it covered the heavens. The sun was dimmed. But no one cared about it. Open heavens they cried out, and in their pride, the people took what they wanted. The Lord put on the cloak of sorrow, and went again to Calvary. But no one bothered about him. We have what we want they said. Yes said the Lord. You have what you want. Evil rejoiced. 14

15 Abandoned is worse is worse than loss Being lost is one thing, but at least there is hope of being found. But being abandoned is a different thing altogether. When we are abandoned, there is little hope of being found. The Church in Ghana has lost, and most have abandoned the child. How has this happened? * My own needs The Church in Ghana has become selfish. It looks only to its immediate needs. It pays little attention to the destiny of the nation or its responsibility for the nation. Ghana is slipping away from the Lord, but there is little sign of any desire to rescue it. Abandoning the core of faith, God s people look for their personal blessing and their personal blessing alone. Isaiah may well sit in judgement on us: - These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (Quoted by Jesus in Matthew 15:8) * Blind and deaf All around us, another faith is growing at a rapid pace. We are surrounded by their places of worship, by their schools and their businesses. Slowly the Lord is being pushed down, back and out. There is hardly a place in Ghana which is not dominated by a Mosque, and Accra is massively dominated by one. Yet still God s people do not respond. Here is a vision I had of the Ghanaian attitude: - A group of people were gathered on the 30 th floor of the high building. On the first floor a serious fire broke out, and somebody rushed up 29 floors to warn the people - The building is on fire! It s time to leave. The people looked at each other. We smell no smoke they said. We see no flames. You re lying. We re not going to leave. The fire reached the 10 th floor of the building. The man rushed up the 19 floors and warned the people gathered there - The building is on fire! It s time to leave. You again! they said. We told you before. We smell no smoke. We see no flames. You re lying. We re not going to leave. The fire reached the 28 th floor and the man rushed in to the people on the 29 th floor and said The fire is just below you. You must escape now or you will be killed. But the people beat the man and threw him out of the window. Gathering together they laughed at his foolishness. The fire came closer and closer. One day it broke into the 29 th floor and killed them all. As they died, they cried out Why did God not warn us? 15

16 We are still trusting in God will never abandon us. We have abandoned the child to domination by another faith, and handed our heritage a bouquet of thorns. Our house is on fire, and the flames have reached he 28 th floor. Our time for repentance is almost past, yet still we have the arrogance to believe that God will not judge. He has his standard, and we have betrayed it: - You shall have no other gods besides me. (Exodus 20:3) * Broken trumpets The Lord has provided, within the church, those ministries which can warn us against any impending disaster. He has given us trumpets which when sounded, can raise us up to fight. The Lord has made this clear: - Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? (1 Cor. 14:8) As the child was being lost and now abandoned, these trumpets should have sounded. But they didn t sound. What were they and why did they not sound? The pastoral trumpet The key to any Pastor s life is the servant heart. I have rarely found this in the Ghanaian church. So many of God s leaders are trapped by prosperity and self promotion. So many leaders are full of My Ministry and My church. So many Ministers do not see the danger that child is in, or if they do, they do not want to do anything about it. Their whole self-worth is caught up in being successful, or in being more successful than others. The servant heart for Ghana and for God s people is missing. Sadly, many of the leaders of God s people are as blind as those they lead. Many of God s leaders have led us into the desert. - the desert of prosperity and of my personal blessing. Now we are dying of thirst, but those who led us in do not know how to lead us out. This verse judges them: - He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? (Luke 6:39) This verse judges them, but sadly it judges us as well, for we get the leaders we deserve. Having allowed these to lead us, so we will fall with them. Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:1-2) 16

17 The Prophetic trumpet The prophetic trumpet has been broken for generations. Prophets no longer speak God s revealed word, but they tell us what we want to hear. In this way they get position in the church and lots of self-worth. The prophets want this, but know that if they speak hard words they will not get it. So they continue to say All is well. They have become wrapped up in self-centred self-promotion and grasping after money. This has produced a bitter fruit. God s people now cannot tell the difference between true and false prophecy. False prophecy is more attractive, because it tells us what we want to hear. So we stop listening to the true. God s response to this is to stop sending true prophets, but we don t care as we can no longer tell the difference. Now we are in time where we desperately need to hear what God is saying so that we can find a way out. But no prophet is speaking. When the prophetic voice is silent God s people are in the greatest danger. But we have abandoned the child in favour of comfort at ease. It is going to take a brave prophet to sound the trumpet in this situation. This verse judges the prophets: - Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, The Lord says: You will have peace. And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, No harm will come to you. But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? (Jeremiah 23:16-18) Jesus was just as blunt: - Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15) But we haven t watched out. Instead we abandoned the child for a mouthful of lies and false promises. What might a true promise look like? I spoke this word in the Spring of 2016 just after I had seen a big hoarding proclaiming Come to Independence Square and give thanks for all the good things the Lord is doing for Ghana. I leave readers to choose which might be appropriate for the situation we are in. I was standing on a high mountain. I looked out and saw dark clouds as far as I could see. They had rolled in and covered the entire sky, from East to West and from North to south. They pushed hard against the mountain where I was standing. 17

18 The clouds were dark and angry. They shut off all who were beneath them from the Lord s glory, the Lord s grace, from the Lord s voice, from the Lord s forgiveness. The Lord grieved for what had happened, but still he did not act. This is what my people have chosen he said. I pleaded for his grace, but none came. My people must walk the bitter path now he said and all heaven was silent. The Intercessory trumpet Intercession is one of the key ministries of the church. Intercessors go ahead of the main army and break up the enemy strongholds so that the church can advance and conquer. This intercession in Ghana has been replaced by prayer. Prayer is a great blessing and we need it all the time. But prayer is not intercession. Intercession is a way of life. We walk hand-in-hand with Jesus, intimately sharing his heart and especially intimately sharing his pain and suffering. It is a uniquely painful ministry which usually breaks those that exercise it. It cuts to the very heart of faith and breaks the enemy in a way that nothing else can. St Paul of the Cross, a 17 th century Italian Monk and a very deep intercessor wrote this: - We must contemplate Jesus engulfed in an ocean of sorrow to save us from the eternal abyss. And to St Mary Margaret, a 17 th century French intercessor, the Lord said I will fasten you to the cross as I myself was fastened to it and I will bear you faithful company. I wrote this, in Touching the gold : - I do not understand the love which endures such pain and still calls Come home. It is beyond me. It is best he said to hang in silence. Silenced, I hung and suffered This is intercession. Being nailed to the cross with Jesus, and from that position sharing his burden for Ghana. Here is a description of the effect of serious intercession on the intercessor. This is the suffering and the pain and the hurt which bears all for the sake of the child. From every side, pain and longing swept into me. The crying and the bearing crushed me and I could not stand it. I fell to my knees and I knew I would never rise again. This burden would end my life. The enemy mocked me, mocked us and mocked this house of blood and slaughter prayer. 18

19 I rule and I bind. he said. I steal the wealth of the nations. I steal their hope. I steal their destinies. I steal the soul of every nation. Then, when I have the Lordship, I dominate and crush. I exalt myself against the powerlessness of this house, and the liar who owns it. Loud shouting In Ghana, this heart-breaking intercession has been replaced by lots of long shouting prayers. This does not frighten the enemy. It does not break strongholds. It does not rescue the child. The problem is that people are calling themselves intercessors when they are not. So the ministry is ineffective and the enemy grows stronger and stronger. This is the fruit of prosperity. The prosperity Gospel knows only success. The Christian Gospel mostly knows of suffering, struggle, endurance and then victory. Intercession is the living embodiment of these truths. They are written in our daily experience. We bleed and suffer for them, and for the child. The enemy does not want to see such a ministry. He is seeing very little of it in Ghana. The intercessory trumpet has become nothing more than a whisper. This verse judges us: - Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? (1 Cor. 14:8) Who will pay? There is no question that the Lord can overlook what we have done. Someone is going to have to pay. When God s people abandoned him at the gate of the Promised Land, Moses interceded for forgiveness. This was the Lord s reply, and Ghana should take very careful note: - The Lord replied, I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. (Numbers 14:20-23) Here is the indictment against us: - The word is rare in us. Sacrifice is rare in us. The enemy is strong and the church is crumbling. The once mighty church of Ghana has been reduced to begging for spiritual scraps. Into this weakness the enemy is advancing powerfully, and we don t know why? We came to the King s mountain, and took his goods without any understanding of what would happen if we kept doing this. Now we can see the consequences. The child is lost. The child is abandoned. The child is dying. 19

20 A final challenge from The Way : - The people of Israel, free from Egypt, came to a large plain, and there they settled down. They were told that the Promise lay ahead, and some spies had gone to see it. When the spies returned, rumour swept the camp. It s a wonderful place. It has so much fruit, and so much water! It is more than we could ever imagine. The people were happy. But then more rumours. It is full of strong cities, with armed and powerful men. There will be much hard fighting, much suffering and much hardship. The people had grown weary of struggle, and they rose up against their leader. You liar they said. You promised us freedom, and now all we see is more death and destruction. Then one man stood up, and quietening the crowd, he said Listen to me. If God is with us, then there is nothing these mighty cities can do to resist us. We must trust God, trust his promises and move forward in faith. God will surely give what he has promised, but not to rebels! The people recognised the truth in this man, and repented of their rebellion, but it was too late. Judgment came, and God looked to a new generation to serve him. All men wish to enjoy you, but not to the extent of following your example. They will reign with you but not suffer with you. (Bernard of Clairvaux) 20

21 The dying child I saw the Lord staggering up to Calvary. His cross was so heavy. I am bearing the weight of sorrow, disappointment, failure, sin, grief and death he said. These burdens I bear. The heaviest of all is my wasted child Ghana. This is the weight of the cross. (From Touching the Gold) 21

22 The vision of the dying child Ghana I saw a child, surrounded by dark forces, pushing the child down, crushing it on every side. I heard voices, evil voices - To kill! To kill! To kill! The child cried out in pain, but few saw what was happening, and those who did - they did not know what to do. The child was at the point of death. The child was called Ghana. The vision of the dying child - the Iron Man A child lay on the ground, covered in dirt and filth. The storm beat against the child, beating and beating, and the child had no defence. Eventually the child was broken in heart, in hope and in spirit. Then a man came an iron man, strong, hard, unloving, merciless and greedy. He took the child and said - Now you will serve me. I will give you to others who will abuse you, and I will make money from your pain. I will exalt myself over you. You will serve me in misery and shame. I will show you to others and we will mock you. This was my plan, and now I have my way. No one can stop me. The child grew. Every day was an agony of crying and abuse. The child cried in despair - Why has this happened? Did my parents not see what was happening to me? Why did they not care for me? 22

23 The dying child Ghana Once the child gets close to death, dangerous forces are released - forces which have been held back for many decades, waiting for their opportunity. Now they see the onset of death in the child and they can begin their advance. In The way of the cross, I saw the danger gathering: - The dark army The Prophet saw a dark Satanic army gathering. For years it had been preparing for this day, when it could advance and take the victory. The Prophet cried out against it, but it continued its advance. Lord the Prophet cried, save your people. Through his tears, the Lord said I love them too much to allow them to continue as they are. This is the only way. A mighty angel appeared in front of the Prophet. Judgment has come he said, and heaven wept again. The frightening part of this vision is the last words- This is the only way. Does this mean that it is now impossible to save the child Ghana? I am asked this question over and over again. As we try to answer it, we have to remember that there are two streams in the heart of God. One is his compassion. God is merciful, slow to anger and full of love. (Psalm 145:8) He longs to restore and heal. (Hose 6:1) But the other is that he is righteous, and cannot stand continuing disobedience. In the end, his greater love - his desire to put things right - will come to the front, as it did when God s people failed to take their Promise in Numbers chapter 14. It s the verses from Numbers which should trouble us most of all: - The Lord said to Moses, How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they. (Numbers 14:11) Will God always bless us? Yes, as long as we accept that the blessing might mean judgement, as a way into a restored and purer relationship. It certainly warns us that disobedience cannot be left unchecked, even with a God as full of compassion as our Father. Is it too late now to save the child? Within his compassion, we have to allow for the possibility that the Lord has already decided on his course of action, so we can only bow to his will and purpose 23

24 Hard times The process of judgement is hard. Here s the next section of my vision of the dark army: - The dark army - the advance Nothing changed. The enemy kept coming, and the Lord remained silent. The dark army advanced, shouting Break all crosses. One by one the strongholds of the church fell, with hardly a fight. Now, when it was too late, the people saw their true position. They were poor, naked and blind. They had no power to resist. They did not know how to pray. They did not know how to fight. They did not know how to suffer. They did not know how to call on the Name. They did not know how to plead the blood of the sacrifice. The leaders who had told them All is well were as broken as the people. How did this happen? they asked in their pain. But there was no answer from heaven. Judgment came, and it was a bitter day. This is a hard to read, but it contains a truth which we need to grasp. Judgement doesn t have to be thunderbolts from heaven, earthquakes and storms. All God has to do to judge Ghana is nothing. If he holds back his hand, then we are lost, because only he can save us, and if he isn t planning to save us, there is nowhere else to turn. I am often asked What can we do then? We can pray, repent, try to warn and prepare the heritage. Even if the Lord has decided on judgement, we can continue to plead with him and offer ourselves as sacrificial lives on the altar of Ghana. Who knows? He might still be open to changing his plan. This verse might open the way for us: - This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10) The dying child - the iron man This, the second of the dying child visions is an ugly picture, showing us the the satanic intentions towards Ghana. This kind of bondage is what he is determined to lay on us. Satan wants to chain and break the human spirit. Then he can exalt over those he has broken, robbing them of all hope. His plans are clear in the Bible, and as the people of God allow the child to die, so he is able to activate them more and more. These are some of the things which will come on Ghana, if our protection is gone: - 24

25 * The bondage of Egypt. (See also Acts 8:1-3) During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. (Exodus 2:23) And Pharaoh s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, Why haven t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before? (Exodus 5:14) The Iron Man wants to oppress God s people to oppress us. He does this behind the scenes initially, but as the child grows weaker, so he comes out more and more into the open, accusing, restricting, pushing down, imprisoning and, if possible, killing. * The shutting up of Jericho. (See also Mark 5:2-5) Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. (Joshua 6:12) The Iron Man will increase the pressure on God s people. He will push and push, bind and restrict, defeat and demoralise, until there is no room left for the Spirit to move. The people - us - will be locked away in the corridors of darkness, with no light and no escape. * The false god of Nebuchadnezzar (See also Revelation 2:12-13) When the herald loudly proclaimed, Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. (Daniel 3:4-6) One radical Islamic group has announced: - When we rule the world, we will destroy all other faiths, because there is only one true faith and everyone will follow that faith. This is just what Nebuchadnezzar was imposing on his people, and on the Jewish young men who lived in Babylon. This is what the iron Man will want to impose on us if he can. So why don t we respond? I finish this section with material from The Way of Thorns. I think it speaks for itself. 25

26 The way of thorns God forgive us The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4) As I set out to walk on the thorns, many of my friends and companions laughed at me. Why walk on thorns? they said. This isn t the way. But it s his way I replied. If I can only bear the pain, I can get closer to him. They all turned away from me, and left me to walk alone. This made the path even harder. Don t worry said the Lord. They left me as well. Why is the way of the thorns so empty? Simply because the hearts of those who should be walking it have become full of wealth, comfort and plenty. Their eyes have been dazzled by the longing for success, achievement and progress. * These longings are thieves. They steal the hearts of those who should be walking on the path of thorns. * These thieves destroy. Their work is filth, and they have released filth into the hearts of those who should have been the vessels of glory. To these people, the path of thorns is irrelevant. It brings no prosperity or security. Now the crisis is coming on us, and the Lord calls for his people to walk the path of thorns, so that he can fill them with himself. (Ezekiel 36:6) Only then can he break the strongholds, and release the blood of his cross. But when he calls, there is no response, or a weak one. God s people have to decide whether there is any gain in accepting the pain. The enemy make sure we see that there isn t, and the sacrificial heart of the nation is lost. This is an insult beyond words to the One who accepted all pain for our freedom. This insult, perpetrated by thousands of leaders and millions of God s people, will have to be paid for. God forgive us. The challenge Here is the challenge which we face it is the call to the sacrificial path which might save the nation, or at least the heritage. It comes from The way of thorns so it is very hard. But the days for easy things are over. If we can accept this challenge, we may save ourselves, or we may only be able to save the heritage, but at least we will be able to save something. If we ignore this challenge, we will lose everything. This is not a game but a battle to death. 26

27 The enemy was all around me. He was mocking, laughing at me. Ridiculing me. He hit me with his hands, and tore away all my defense, until all that was left was my love for the Lord. That he said. That will never save you now! I cried to the Lord Come and protect me. He came. I can protect you he said but then you will not be fully bearing my burden. Or I can come and stand with you and we can suffer together. Which do you choose? This has been a hard section to write and a hard one to read. Here are some words of encouragement from Henry Suso, a Dominican Friar whose writings were very widely read in the fourteenth century: - When within my soul the bright morning star rises, all my sorrow passes away, all my darkness is scattered and laughing cheerfulness appears. May this be true for us as we fight for the child. May we never be overcome. 27

28 The child in the heavenly places In heaven, the Lord was bearing his cross for Ghana and it was an almost unbearable suffering. Every kind of destruction had been laid on him. His nature was torn and broken, just as roads are torn up by a machine and the rocks crushed and thrown away. Hate and vomit ran down his face. Heaven groaned. The Lord bled. Ghana suffered. 28

29 Vision of the child in the heavenly places I was walking on a road filled with thorns. Every step I took was painful, because the thorns pierced my feet. I wanted to stand still, but ahead of me I saw the Lord, and he was calling me to himself. But to get to him, I had to walk on the thorns, and I did not want to do that. You cannot choose when you follow me or where you follow me he said. You cannot choose to follow for one day, or one week, and then stop. You cannot choose a nice path, but ignore a hard one. You must walk the Way always, whatever is in your path. You must love me so much that whatever the cost, you will come. You must desire to share my sufferings every day and every hour. Your constant journey must be towards Calvary, and as you journey this path, every step will be Calvary for you. You must become Calvary among my creation, so that you will know their sufferings and mine. I saw a child, laying in the road, deep in the thorns, bleeding and crying. I was shocked. How did you come to be here? I asked. Help me it sobbed. No one comes to help me. My heart was filled with compassion, but as I moved to help, my feet were crucified by the thorns. I cried out in pain Lord, I want to show compassion, but it is hurting me so much. The Lord did not speak. The child cried, and deep in my heart, the spirit of compassion stirred. The cross called me. I stepped out to rescue the child. The thorns bit into me, but compassion grew stronger than the thorns. I was crying in pain when I arrived at the child. I lifted the child, and in great agony of spirit, I turned and walked towards the Lord. The journey was endless. The pain hurt, but the sorrow of the child hurt more and began to overcome my own sufferings. I finally arrived at the cross, covered in blood and pain. Take the child I cried. Now you can heal. No said the Lord. It is not so easy as that. You must continue to bear the child, day after day. You must bear the burden day after day. You must release the compassion day after day. Do you think you can put down your suffering? I suffer day after day for the heartbreak of my children. If you truly want to share my sufferings, you must do the same. I sank down in despair. The Lord was right. I wanted to suffer as I chose, when I chose and how much I chose. I wanted respite from the burden, yet he hung and hung, with no respite. How could I ever hope to bear such a burden? 29

30 Seeing things from the heavenly places As we have been looking at the Wasted child in our earthly Ghana, now let us open our spiritual eyes, and see what is happening in the heavenly places. Here, in the presence of the Lord and his eternal people is where we will learn our next lessons. Unfortunately, many of God s people are stuck in the earthly places. This was the problem with Elisha s servant. So when the King of Aram sent soldiers to surround the place where he and Elisha lived, he was full of fear. But Elisha knew that the power and the victory were to be found in the spiritual places, so he prayed Open his eyes Lord, that he may see. (2 Kings 6:17) Immediately the servant saw beyond the physical, and into the spiritual. The hills were full of the power of the Lord. Like Elisha s servant, we have to enter the spiritual world, where we can find the way ahead for Ghana and for the child. It is going to be painful, and from what we have read so far, this cannot come as a surprise. 1. The empty chair and the broken heart Let s start with a vision we have used before the empty chair: - In heaven, I saw a great table, with many places set. This is where the Nations of the world gather to worship the Lord. But one chair was empty. Who should be sitting here? asked the Father. This is where our beloved child Ghana should be sitting said the Lord, and he began to cry. But why has this child not come? asked the Father. What are we going to do? The Lord did not speak, but took his crown of thorns, and placed it on his head. Blood began to run down his face. Suffer some more he said, and all heaven was filled with sorrow. Suffer some more Ghana has, or is, losing its place in the heavenly kingdom. The child is dying. But looking deeper, we see that this loss is breaking the heart of the Lord. He truly loves Ghana and wants us to be close to his heart. He wants to hold us as a mother holds her baby or as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing. He wants us close, and that is where we should be. One Christian writer describes this closeness in this way: - I want to kneel before the Father, put my ear against his chest, and listen, without interruption, to the heartbeat of God. When this closeness is broken, both sides suffer. This breaking is happening daily, hourly in the heavenly places as the child is wasted. 30

31 If we open our eyes, this is what we will see and feel in the spiritual. It is a terrible burden we are placing on the heart of the Lord. Here are some words from St Gemma which will help us get a glimpse of this agony: - Jesus said Look at my wounds and learn how to love. Look at the cross, the wounds, these nails, these bruises and lacerations and this blood. See to what extent I loved you. Do you want to love me? First learn how to suffer; suffering teaches how to love. I wrote: - To be alone, so alone that no one shares the pain. To be alone, so alone that no one cares and still suffer out of love this is the love I cannot match. Forgive me for my lifeless love. I do not know how to love such love. In the heavenly places we see that the Lord suffers for the dying of his child. But looking around he doesn t see many willing to suffer with him. 2. Looking for those who will share One day, during my prayers, I had this vision: - I saw a man, carrying a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers. He came to offer them to God s people, but they mocked him, laughed at him, pushed him out into the gutter and trampled on his flowers. I was that man said the Lord. I only came to share the beauty of my heart with you. But my people pushed me out and trampled on my heart. The Lord withdrew from his people and grieved, like a father who had lost his only child. The pain was great. Stripped of all dignity, the grief burned like a branding iron into his soul, ripping away all hope. Such grief. Will no one share my grief for my lost child? he asked. But his people did not even see the problem. What child does he mean? they asked. We do not see any child? Why does he speak of a dead child? There are times when only silence can speak. No words can carry the depth of pain. In these moments the Lord only asks for us to stand and share. Then in these moments we pass beyond ourselves And enter into him. 31

32 More than onlookers In the heavenly places, we are not just onlookers. We have a part to play. Abraham bargained with God, (Genesis 18:16-33) Samuel responded to God, (1 Samuel 3:1-10) Mary accepted God s call. (Luke 1:26-38) Isaiah also teaches us this. After his powerful call, this happens: - Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me! (Isaiah 6:8) So as the Lord suffers for the agony of his beloved child, he is asking something of us that we share his suffering. This is not easy for us. Our intellect gets in the way. We think How can this work? In what way can we bear his suffering? His work is complete isn t it? I am too small what difference can I make? It s just this kind of response which is pushing the child further and further out into the desert. We have ignored the pain and suffering of the Lord for us looking only for what we can get out of him. It s time to repent of this attitude, and share his suffering. The Lord said this to St Mary Margaret: - I will fasten you to the cross as I myself was fastened to it and will bear you faithful company. It s time for more of God s people to come to the cross and say, in all humility Let me share your pain for the wasted child. But who will? 3. Carry the child I finally arrived at the cross, covered in blood and pain. Take the child I cried. Now you can heal. No said the Lord. It is not so easy as that. You must continue to bear the child, day after day. There are many hard things to learn in the heavenly places, but this for me was, and remains the hardest I had to learn. The shock of it still lives in me today, although it was some time ago that I saw it. I had seen the pain of the child Ghana, and somehow I had picked up the child and managed to carry it to the cross. I suppose, on reflection, this has been my burden for 30 years. I ve tried and tried to awaken Ghana to the wasting of the child. In the end I came to the conclusion that the only thing I could do was to carry the child myself to the cross. If no one else would do it then I would do it. 32