Our Mandate

• Awaken the Church to rediscover her true destiny
• Biblical worldview
• Call our nation back to her Christian heritage
• Contend for the faith
• Contend for the faith once delivered
• Engage in social, political and prophetic action
• Function in the men of Issachar anointing
• Key prophetic words
• Our Mandate
• Promote a biblical worldview

4. Function in the men of Issachar anointing

Fourthly, we're mandated to operate in the men of Issachar gift and anointing.  The Bible tells us that the men of Issachar could understand the times and tell Israel what to do (1 Ch 12:32).  They were a vital part of King David's army.  This spiritual gift always comes into its own in a time of conflict, such as the one we're beginning to experience in the Church and the world today.  Winston Churchill, used by God to deliver the world from the tyrannies of Nazi Germany, is a modern equivalent of the men of Issachar and had this gift in abundance.

We see this gift incorporating the spiritual intelligence services and the global war generals who devise the battle strategy.  We will never truly understand the times without this gift.  And so to this end we research and gather information whilst we track and monitor local, national and global events and trends, which reflect the changing climate in our world today.  We then seek to interpret these with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in tandem with other prophets and organisations engaged in similar ministry.

In interpreting the trends, we endeavour to 'read between the lines.'  We assess what may be taking place in the unseen realm, always bearing in mind what God has said and done in the past, and what we know is going to happen in the future, as revealed through the prophetic scriptures.  We take nothing at face value, believing that the 'issue is never the issue,' and subject everything to in-depth evaluation and critique.  

Jesus scorned the Pharisees and Sadducees because they could interpret the appearance of the sky, but failed to interpret the signs of the times (Matt 16:1-4).  We’re told by Jesus to ‘keep watch’ as we await his second coming (Matt 24:42).  We recognise three distinct yet overlapping dimensions to this 'prophetic watching' as we await the return of the Lord:

-    we diligently and prayerfully study the prophetic Scriptures (biblical prophecy)
-    we listen to the Lord's prophets living today (thus says the Lord) and
-    we read the signs of the times (Men of Issachar anointing)

As each aspect confirms and corroborates the others, we can be more certain that we are rightly understanding the times and from this, know what action to take.  This is vital in our endeavours to bring a wake-up call to the Church and nations; it helps us to see both what God is doing and what the enemy is up to.

Importantly, it provides insight into the general direction of flow the world is taking, a world of ever-changing ideas and philosophies, of unplanned and unrelated events.  But with this gift and the mind of Christ, we're able to see a discernible pattern, a slow moving forward of human history toward a number of climactic events.  Without it we would only see the efforts of man.

Whilst some Christians argue that we should simply trust God for the future; others believe that the world is evolving and getting better.  But we sense he's asking us to build the equivalent of a Noah's Ark in a world coming under judgement; to make preparations for what is to come in the days ahead, whilst still trusting him with all of our hearts.

With an eschatological hope centred in our eternal destiny (Ro 8:22-25 & Heb 11:13-16) together with a belief in the imminent return of Jesus, we live day by day with the question: What kind of people ought we to be in order to speed the Lord’s return? (2Pt 3:11-12)  This challenging question spurs us on to prepare spiritually in order to become a pure and holy Bride, ready for the coming Bridegroom King (Rev 22:17).

At the same time, we reach out to unsaved loved ones and neighbours, knowing the days are short (1Co 7:29) and aware also that until the Gospel is preached to every ethnic group, the Lord will not return (Mt 24:14).  We pray, fast and brace ourselves spiritually for the coming End-Time trials (Mt 24), whilst calling the sleeping Church and the nation to turn back to God (Joel 2:12-18).

We go beyond preparing spiritually: knowing the prophetic scriptures and the kind of things we can expect to experience in the days to come (Mt 24), we also prepare in practical, material and physical ways to withstand the worst aspects of what will occur.  This enables us to be in a position to manifest the wisdom and mercy of God, to extend help and grace to others, even helping some to find God in the midst of what we can be sure will be unprecedented chaos and confusion.

On a practical and material level it’s certain that as these events unfold, we’ll not always have access to things we can currently take for granted - electricity, a clean water supply, food, heating, money, transport, physical safety, access to communication, medical help etc.  And as we’re led by the Holy Spirit, we prepare in advance for many of these eventualities.

The Church at large who should be speaking with a prophetic voice and enjoying her finest hour, in the main, sleeps and carries on business as usual.  Meanwhile political leaders fail to interpret the signs or to find lasting solutions to the many problems faced globally.

As Christians, we can ask the Lord to help us to see the unseen, just as Elisha did (2 Kings 6:15-17).  Unlike the majority of politicians and world leaders we understand that 'our struggle is not against flesh and blood' (Ephesians 6:12) and we appreciate the nature of the spiritual dimension impacting on current trends and developments.  What an opportunity we are missing therefore, if we fail to discern what is happening in the unseen realm!

And so we will strive with all the energy and wisdom that God gives in order to understand the times and to develop strategies to serve us now and in the days to come .