I often get asked around this time of year for the “word for the year.”  I guess you could consider it an occupational hazard. However, I believe I just might have something. Keeping in mind that this may just well be the “word of the Lord” for my year; and I am sure it is. But having said that, often, prophetic people are not just prophetic in what they say — but in what they do.  In other words, often people who are called to hear for the church can be six months, a year, or more ahead in what they are experiencing, making the way, figuring out what to pray, building faith and understanding for the coming season: and often screwing it all up with our own personal interpretations and agendas. Immaturity sucks. But there is often treasure hidden in the dirt…it just takes a little digging. With that I put this before you to discern,

 

Walking the Process

 

Have you ever had a verse just pop into your mind while at prayer? This happened to me just after Christmas:

 

“…and a little child will lead them…”

 

I knew the verse had something to do with a lion and a lamb…just couldn’t get the context. Here is the full passage from Isaiah 11:6-9

 

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

 

As we look at this verse it’s always good to read things in the context of the chapter, and we find in the context of this chapter Isaiah prophesying about the coming Saviour, Jesus (vs 1-5, and 10).  This is an important place to stop — what does the coming of the Saviour have to do with “and a little child shall lead them…?” Let’s look back at the beginning of the chapter to see if we can find a clue.

Pondering the Context

In Isaiah 11:1 we find a shoot growing out of a stump. This stump will form a part of what I believe I am hearing for the church this season, so let’s ponder the symbol: “stump.” A stump is the remnant of something that bore fruit in the past, a reminder of great seasons of previous fruit-bearing, but a stump also displays to us the immediate season and condition of the tree– the past is irreconcilably over. But thanks be to God a tiny shoot, even too small to be called a branch, more like a tiny leaf, is emerging — new life is coming! In the case of this particular shoot we find the beginning of, “the Branch,” which is a prophetic description of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The passage goes on from this point to describe some of the attributes the shoot/branch Messiah will have (and I will only list a few for contexts sake):

• The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him
• He will discern
• Righteousness will be his belt

Finally, at this point, we find the placement of our “prophetic passage, “and a little child shall lead them…”” and, once again, just following our key verse we are right back to the symbolism from the beginning of the chapter looking at the word picture of “the Branch” — but now things have changed – that little shoot, is not just a little shoot anymore: it has grown to be a banner to the nations!

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him and his place of rest will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10)

Ending with a new thought, “His rest will be glorious.”

Let’s look at the progression of the thoughts we see in this passage:

• Stump
• Shoot to branch
• Little child leading lions, bears, wolves, leopards, lambs – all living together, (having rest).
• Branch becoming banner
• Rest

Looking at all of these pieces I’m going to apply this passage to what I think the Lord is saying for this season and what we have been moving through as a church in the past season. But keep in mind this is a very personal application of scripture, scripture itself is timeless and this particular passage concerns the very nature of the Messiah. Having said that though, throughout history, and to this day, God applies His word to us in very practical ways as His Spirit speaks to us about the now.[1] This “now” application by the Spirit allows the divine attributes of Jesus to applied to the church or individual in any given moment.

Word for the Season

This has been a season, I believe for a few years now, where a lot of leaders have been living in full view of a stump: Memories of past moves of God, of what things used to be like, or of a promise given by the Lord that has not yet come to fruition – nothing like living with a stump, a dead thing that you are powerless to bring to life. You’re stuck, you can’t forget or move past the past or create the vision you have seen from the Lord. And that is not the only problem, leaders and the passionate have been measured against the stump by the people and other leaders in the church: “This is how things are supposed to be, bring the life!”  Such pressure once again only results in powerlessness. Only God can resurrect a stump.

The Purpose of the Stump

What has the Lord been after in this process, why has He left a portion of His church in a season of powerlessness seemingly staring at a stump? As one minister is fond of saying “God permits in His wisdom what He could easily prevent in His power.” Out of this stump God will do the miraculous: produce new shoots of His life, in our lives, and ministries. But I believe what the Lord is currently focusing on or wanting to develop is the quality of these shoots, or in other words the discernible characteristics of what He wants to grow.  This passage let’s us know in no uncertain terms what the characteristics of the new season will look like: the ability to let the little child lead—and to live in the rest of the Messiah.  This is what the Lord is desiring in His church in the next coming season, and rest and child-likeness will be the discernible characteristics of the new life growing in Christ’s body, the church.

Applying to the Now

Over the last number years there has been a great sifting of the hearts of men, especially those in leadership (any level of leadership), as well as those with God given passion to see new life in the church come again. But this sifting has been necessary, God has put a burning passion in our hearts to see new life come, but left much of the church in a powerless position with a dead stump. (Almost like having a race car but not being able to get it out of park.) The reason being, before the next season of outward growth in the church comes, leadership needs to understand the powerlessness of personal ability, and personal passion. First, in the midst of the vision for new life to grow, there has been a need to come to grips with the stump. For what is coming a humility of heart will be required and I think Psalm 51 lays out the pattern the Lord is looking for:

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (Psalm 51:17-19)

 

This verse points out the necessary pattern the Lord is working toward:

1. The establishment of a right inner-man perspective – humility and internal surrender
2. From this renewed humility our vision can once again be empowered
3. And following this the successful activity of the priests begins; in other words once again we will see blessing on our services and meetings

Placing this all back in context of our passage: For the stump to grow a new shoot there needs to be an understanding of the leadership characteristics of the child: humility, surrender, kindness, teachableness, quiet trust, etc. This childlike trust will produce the rest of our master the Messiah (vs.10) and the leadership of humility the Messiah is looking for in this coming season.  From this foundation the new shoot will come and grow, growth and new life in our churches, vision, and relationships will be seen. Finally, the activities of the priesthood will once again be blessed. In other words, the ministries of the church will begin to flourish and once again be a banner for the nations.

Let’s take a moment and take a closer look at the power of a contrite heart, the power of child-likeness.

 

The Power of Child-likeness

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.  (Matthew 18:1-5)

 

To be great in the Kingdom is to let the little child lead.  A little child is not interested in vision, building, winning, position, title, or reputation. The characteristics of a little child are trust, surrender, love, joy, hope, and faith. A little child doesn’t lead with a roar, but with a laugh, the little child doesn’t march—he skips. The little child doesn’t list his accomplishments, he invites everyone to join the joyful celebration of life. And when he sees the challenges around him, the bear, the leopard, lion or the wolf – it doesn’t change his disposition. Joyful heartfelt playful trust is the natural reaction.

This is the process of inner change the Lord is developing, and we are not quite there yet.  I’m sure some have graduated through the process but for a lot of us we are still mostly I think staring at the stump, while surrounded by, “Lions and tigers and bears—oh my!”

What are the Devouring Animals With the Little Child?

Now there are no tigers in our passage above, I’m actually quoting the Wizard of Oz. But I believe the scene in question in the movie is rather applicable. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin-man, are making their way through the forest and realize—they are not the only ones in it!  They’re afraid, begin to shake with eyes wide, and in unison declare “Lions and tigers and bears—Oh my!” These are ferocious animals, and our passage adds a few – leopards and wolves. A pack of devourers if there ever was!  Isaiah is listing such animals for exactly the heart response we find in Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tinman.  Who is to take the leadership of such a devouring herd? A little child. There is a divine order to the Kingdom and child-likeness leads the way.

Once again, it may be good to just take a breath and point out we are looking at this passage as an allegory or a parable, and to be sure, the passage speaks of the Messiah, and the animals represent the nations among other things. But such ravenous animals have other meanings in scripture as well:

• Herod that fox (Lue 13:33)
• Be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves (Matt 10:16)
• Sheep among wolves (Matt 10:17)
• The sheep and the goats (Matt 25:31)

As you can see from the above verses often an animal was chosen as a representative of a person’s character. Herod resembles a fox because he is cunning. For what I am sensing the Lord saying to the church I am going to stick with this allegorical principle:

The Church Stuck at the Stump — Among Wolves

Being stuck staring at the stump has been a little bit like the children of Israel stuck in the desert. Nothing like a little pressure to bring up what is the character of the hearts of men.  Over this last period of time there has been just such a revealing of the heart in the church. Man’s fox-like cunning has been exposed, his wolf-like nature to destroy the church, and bear-like ability to grumble and complain. And to expose our inner nature is the calling of Jesus. Simeon declared as much over Jesus in the temple:

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, so that the thoughts from many hearts will be revealed. (Luke 2:34-35)

We can find such a heart exposing example experience in the life of King Saul in 1 Samuel 13:8-13.  He was to wait for Samuel to do the sacrifice, but because Samuel was late and the people were deserting, the fear in Saul’s heart drove him to make the sacrifice himself — and it cost him the kingship. What is in our heart under pressure matters! (It may also be good to point out here that the Lord already knows what’s in our hearts—it is not Him who lacks the understanding, its us!) We need to understand what inner motivation we are leading from – the heart of the child, or fear, anger, personal vision, etc. To find the shoot the Lord is growing in us in this season will require positioning our hearts in child-likeness.

The Two-Fold Test

The last season of pressure from others in leadership or from the people has had a two-fold purpose in the lives of church leaders and the passionate followers of Jesus:

1. The first being to reveal what is in the hearts of the people.
2. The second to expose what is in our hearts; inner motives, i.e. where we are in want of power, moving out of fear, desirer to be seen, to please, to be recognized, etc.

Like the Children of Israel in the desert or Saul with the sacrifice we have found ourselves in situations where we have often been left powerless — but for the purpose of seeing what is in our hearts just as they had to. Remember the words of Jesus:

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 15:18-20)

 

As the Lord has walked through the garden of our hearts who of us has not seen anger, pride, and grumbling – the wolf, lion, and bear? Do we move in our own cunning like a fox to rescue ourselves? Do we try to rise up like a lion in our own strength? Do we turn into a wolf and ravage the sheep in anger when we don’t get our way? It is what is in our hearts that the Lord wants. The purpose of the Lord in this season has been to teach us to humbly submit this internal struggle to the master, to step into the heart of the little child He is offering; to forgive, to continue to expect the love of the Lord to come, to dance and sing, and invite the little child to rise up in others.  As we the church step into the heart attitude of the child, the Lord will find His resting place (vs10). This is the banner He is rising up over the earth. A people who see what is in their hearts, but choose to learn to allow the childlike nature of the Messiah to hold the reigns; as the Lord rests among His people making them His banner, His declaration goes throughout the earth. (vs 10)

 

Watching for the Effects of Season Change

We have been in a season for quite awhile of staring at the stump. In other words, learning to embrace the limitations of our own personal abilities and vision.  This has been followed by a clearer understanding of what takes place in our own hearts when under pressure: what rises up, childlike forgiveness or judgment, anger and resentment or a hopeful heart? Once again, as Simeon stated so precisely, one of the callings of Jesus is to arrange things so that the thoughts of our hearts are revealed.  I believe this is the moment the church finds herself in today. And to be sure, I myself do.

But things are moving forward now, this shoot is growing, it is becoming a branch – on it’s way to becoming a banner filled with rest.  Just like we can see evidence of growth by observing a branch over time, I believe there is just such evidence occurring in the body of Christ. Now, I believe, will come the growth of childlike rest — surrender has begun to take place, a humility is growing. My sense is that the leadership of the church (let me just add “some” of the leadership of the church), on all levels, will begin to embrace surrender, humility, and a new childlike rest in this coming season. To quote Jesus once again, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8).  My sense is that this transition and surrender in thinking will begin to occur throughout this year. In fact I would say that by the end of this next couple of years there may will be some strong evidence of this childlike attitude beginning to emerge throughout the body of Christ. I am going to guess there will be a wave of conferences all over the place over the next two years where the themes will be things like child-likeness, rest, purity of heart, intimacy, living out or relationship, etc. Just these types of things would be evidence of watching the branch of childlike rest grow throughout the church.

Then What?

This will be followed by the gathering of the childlike. Those leaders and the passionate that have passed the test and submitted their hearts and motivation to the Lord will recognize one another.  They will be able to have eyes to see the growth of the shoot into the branch – to be able to listen for that banner of rest blowing in the wind. Those that have been willing to see and take ownership of what their own hearts do under pressure, those that have stared into the face of the leopard, the lion, the bear, those inner attributes of cunning, personal passion, of strength, of fear, or bitterness – but have gotten up and chosen childlike joy, surrender, humility, innocence: they are going to be able to recognize one another.  It will be as if the smell of the battle over these inner forces and outer circumstances will still be in the clothing of those that have gone through it; but so will the fragrance of the healing touch of the Lord be upon them. Those that have been through this training of the Lord are going to be able to smell that fragrance, to discern who has been taught by the Lord.  This recognition of one another is going to cause a drawing together of leaders cross denominationally, as well as a drawing together of the passionate in the body of Christ that have been through this training of the Lord. A humility of character will be seen, a rest in the midst of trial will be evidenced in these people’s lives, and most of all a joyful childlike surrender of the heart leading the way. The people who have embraced this shoot will recognize the growth of this shoot in one another. This is going to cause a new connectivity throughout the body of Christ. This connectivity will be a new platform the Lord will use to raise his banner to the nations.  This once again brings us back to Psalm 51,

1. those who have walked through humility of heart will recognize each other,
2. together in friendship and child-likeness they will begin to build the wall,
3. and from there the blessing of the Lord upon the meetings and gatherings of these people will begin to be empowered–the banner of rest will begin to fly for the world to see.

How long will this all take? Probably 10 or more years to complete. Bob Jones, a well known prophet, used to say that when God would tell him something would happen immediately, it would be three to five years. In fact in Acts chapter one Jesus tells the disciples He is coming back soon. To discern the timing of the Lord is tricky – who knows? But I think by the end of this next couple of years some of these themes, or at least the willingness of leadership to embrace the leadership of the child, will begin to take place.

Epilogue

Over how wide of an area of the church is this taking place? I don’t know. But the themes spoken of above are biblical themes of inner transition we all go through. The question is is there evidence of such a maturity level, and a need for such a change, occurring on a trans-national level? …  ?????  I guess we will see. I leave it to your discernment to take this before the Lord.

Over the next course of time I will follow some of these themes through

• The development of heart attitude
• The importance of child-likeness
• Learning to live in rest
• The purpose of the surrendered life

These themes in the New Testament are strong roots entwining themselves throughout the thinking of Jesus and the Apostles. If it is helpful to unpack them I will do my best to do so.

Blessings

 

Murray Dueck

[1] For example St. Augustine’s conversion: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confess.ix.xii.html