"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace'" (Ex.14:13-14, NKJV).

I always feel a mixture of excitement and dread when Rosh Chodesh comes along - excitement because I know this is the day Yahweh promises to speak to His people through those with the prophetic gift who are properly surrendred, obedient and spiritually tuned-in to Him - dread because I know how important it is to bring forth an accurate prophetic word that must come from Yahweh's own initiative and not because we 'expect' it. Forcing Yahweh's hand because of impatience has got me into trouble before - I don't intend to repeat those mistakes of impetuousness again if I possible can avoid it.

Not so long ago I was asked for counsel about joining this work. My answer was the fruit of a lifetime's experience in dealing with people, congregations, and with Yahweh and I think it is probably one of the best pieces of counsel I have given on this matter.

A conversation with one of our newest investigators prompted me to review this counsel, to check that it was adequate. Of course, no counsel in the general sense can ever be totally adequate because everybody is different and everyone needs individualised counsel. Some people need lots of space and time, and others need lots of prodding. Today's passage concerns the well-known exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt and Moses' responsibility to lead them. There was every type of personality and character disposition that you can imagine amongst them. It's been a long time since I lead congregations with such disparate types and honestly, given all the hassel I was given at the time, I don't miss it. People can be extraordinarily difficult to manage, especially when they say they want to be led but who in truth resent it.

We were watching a movie the other day in our family about a new pastor to a Baptist Church in Texas. Upon arrival, he received strong hints that people wanted things to remain just as they were and not to go rocking any boats. The church had degenerated into a social club, the members had become a kind of élite, and evangelism was non-existant. Any congregation that does not reach out and becomes a mutual admiration society is a dead one and the new pastor and his wife were determined to do something about it. The forces that kept that church paralysed turned out to be murderous ones and it soon became clear that Satan had more than just his foot in the door.

As one who does a lot of teaching and preaching, I have come to understand that talk can only do so much good, especially when people have been sitting around for a long time, have allowed the world to gradually infiltrate them, and have to all intents and purposes fossilised spiritually. The children of Israel had been in Egypt so long that they had become Egyptians themselves. They thought like Egyptians and they acted like Egyptians...only, of course, they were a different race and were slaves of the real Egyptians. They had forgotten who they were, they had forgotten their calling, and they had forgotten their Elohim (God). Moses had an uneviable and thankless task ahead of him for the next four decades.

During their exodus Yahweh would restore to the people of Israel the Seven Annual Festivals, providing the next and subsequent generations with a blueprint for life revealing the seven steps of deliverance. When, after Pesach or Passover they got underway and headed off into the desert, the people en masse really believed they had gained their freedom! Their spirits soaring with exhilaration at having been released by Pharaoh, they must have thought that the Promised Land was but a stone's throw away. They were out and they were going to conquer the land. Everything looked bright and rosey, didn't it? And then, suddenly, in an instant, that freedom was gone. Pharaoh had changed his mind again and his mighty army had descended upon them bent on revenge. With their backs to the Red Sea, their elation evapourated, they panicked, cried to Yahweh, and when instant resue didn't come when they wanted it, they started cursing Moses.

Once the people finally allowed Moses to speak, some of the most inspiring words to be found in Scripture poured from his mouth:

"Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace" (Ex.14:13-14, NKJV).

"Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward" (Ex.14:15, NKJV).

Yes, there are moments when leadership has to do this. Sitting and waiting achieves nothing, simply because the people are rarely leaders. Sometimes the next step is to move! Everyone was praying, and complaining, and panicking, and crying out to Yahweh. Moses too, though he tried to encourage them and demonstrated a lot more emunah (faith) than they had. Yahweh told them all to shut up and stop their commotion.

When people panic, all reason departs from them. They had forgotten the Ten Plagues and the humiliation of Pharaoh. To them, that was so far in the past (even though it was very recent) that it might as well not have happened at all as far as their consciousness of it was concerned. We learn from this - or ought to learn from this - that prayers of complaint and accusation are a total waste of time. The scene was one of chaos and the people couldn't have been able to hear Yahweh speaking to them anyway. They were lost in their own fleshy madness, their own unsanctified Egyptianness. The truth is, they had lost emunah (faith) in Yahweh. They did not believe He would rescue them an 11th time, did they? They though it was all going to end in one apocalyptic disaster.

You don't reason with such people. Words are a waste of time. Moses might as well have preached to a camel. Instead, Yahweh told Moses to tell the people to shut up and march.

And he did. You all know what happened after that. Once the people had yielded to Moses' command and toqef (authority) and stopped their nonsense, things began to happen. Not in a flash, not in an instant. The Sea didn't suddenly part there and then but rather the Egyptians were envelloped in darkness and the Israelites in light. This was an act of pure grace since the Israelites had in no way earned this. The two camps were separated by an invisible wall. And so this state of affairs remained all night. It was as though time had been suspended and an invisible hand was keeping the terror at bay while the people calmed down and took possession of right-mindedness. Not until the next morning did Yahweh part the Sea and Israel make her dramatic crossing.

Why am I telling you this today? Because I want you to be sensitised to a principle of divine action in times of danger that repeats itself everytime the enemy swoops down to exterminate Yahweh's people. And we are facing such a threat right now, all of us, no matter what ministry, assembly or church we may be in. An invisible army is bearing down on us in various various degrees of aggressiveness and vicio usness. If you're not aware of it, you should be by now. The whole planet is hovering on the brink of a world war, not just between the armies of nations, but between people and their own wicked governments. These governments are already sniping at people individually, bringing them down, but they lust for total control. Look around you, see beyond the official controlled media, and see what is happening. There is a great assembly of dark forces taking place, as I warned you would happen. Look over the mesages I gave you from Yahweh last year and the year before. Do you remember Red April? Do you remember October 2010? Do you remember the Madeira revelation? Do you remember in March 2010 I warned you of the approaching storm and the year before of the resurgence of communism? I told you that the party was over for those in rebellion and denial! A lot has happened since then, including Fukushima which was prophesied in 2009. And of course, the economic meltdown is well under way.

Of course I knew that I wasn't going to be believed, except by a handfull of alert believers. The thing is, those who refused to listen, those who refused to make preparations, who haven't cleared their debts and mortgages, who haven't converted their soon-to-be-worthless electronic and paper money into silver or gold, who haven't stored food and water, who haven't done anything, are going to be like that Israelite rabble who went into a panic, prayed feverishly, and complained bitterly. Just so you know, that behaviour isn't going to get you anywhere. And when Yahweh's prophets tell you to shut up and follow orders, you'll either march to safety under proper toqef (authority) or be overwhelmed.

This morning Yahweh showed me visions of poisoned water and food. He didn't say anything, just showed me these things. You need to get a water and food supply, and not tell anyone you've got one. Your food and water will become more valuable than gold and silver. And make sure you store pure water and unpoisoned food. If you haven't done anything about this yet, do it now! And do it quietly.

You may not be used to being told to shut up when you are praying in vain but I am giving many of you advance notice to get ready for that, because I know you haven't been listening. Remember, complaint prayers are useless when disaster strikes and you haven't prepared. You might as well talk to your trash can. Second, there is a time to stop praying and simply get off your rear-end and take action. If you have any brains you will just do as you're told and leave when that moment comes. We are to be ready to leave just as the children of Israel were, all packed and eating a last hasty meal. Remember, the children of Israel had to start marching before Yahweh told Moses to lift up his rod and take them across the parted sea and so to the next stage of their freedom.

There's no instant deliverance in the Kingdom. It happens in stages. And when your time comes to repent and return to your Heavenly Father, you need to remember that. Your deliverance and freedom will come in stages through trials and tribulations and if you refuse, then you know what to expect.Emunah (faith) is not exercised when we 'stand still and cry', but when we 'shut up and march'. Only then Yahweh will fight for us, but He will not fight until you have got your rear-end out of Egypt and are marching toward the Promised Land even if a mighty obstacle like the Red Sea is blocking your way ahead of you. Of course you won't see it until you get there - then your emunah will be tested again!

This is the Word of Yahweh this Rosh Chodesh. It's time for those who have been sitting on the fence to mobilise. Make teshuvah (repent), get prepared, and be ready to 'march' when told. You see, that counsel I gave to people about coming up to Yahweh's places of gathering in their own time holds only as long as Pharaoh's Army isn't beating down their front door. There will be a time - and it could be in the next few weeks or months, but certainly not in 'years' - that people like myself will be telling you to stop your complaining and do as you're told...if you're serious about getting out of bondage.

This goes for me and other ministers too. We had better be making our own preparations way in advance. Moses didn't turn up late, he was there, ahead of the game, and ready for action.

I'm ready. Are you?

Acknowledgements

[1] David Church, Shut Up and March

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