Right Click to Download MS Word Document: The Hard Yards.doc

The following Revelation was received by Paul Davies between August and November, 1998. As with all prophetic words, these must be weighed and tested with a spirit of humility and repentance. Where Bible passages are referred to, the interpretations given are not intended to be seen as the interpretation of the passage, but as God speaking to his people’s current situation by giving an interpretation.

The Lord is moving very quickly at the moment, and in some places, about to fulfil Malachi 3:1: "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.

This verse refers to the Lord’s desire for a resting place of His own, expressed in Isaiah 66:1: This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? The Lord is searching for a place to rest, and a people who will build Him a house through Worship. When this happens, He will move Suddenly, and dwell amongst the people of that place. We will see entire cities that are in service to the Lord, and they will be places of Peace and Joy amidst the turmoil in the world. How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!  (Num. 24:5). God is looking for a people who will be the “Sons of God” of Romans 8, also known as the “Generation of the Righteous” (Ps 14:4 KJ), amongst whom He will dwell, and who will overcome the enemy “by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11).

The messengers who prepare the way are the mature Prophets, who minister in the Spirit and Power of Elijah, as a fulfilment of Mal 4:6: He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Turning the hearts of the Fathers and the Children is part of “Building the House” of the Lord, and is necessary before He will come and dwell. The Prophets will also bring teachings, understanding and direction for the Body, so that they will not “be destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6). The “messenger of the covenant, whom you desire”, is the manifest presence of the Lord, which will dwell amongst the People, and “draw all men unto himself” (John 12:32).

To remain in this move, it is imperative that we begin to do the things that will cause the Lord to desire to stay, and not lift His presence from us, as He did in the past. One of these is to learn to do the “Hard Yards”. The Lord gave me to understand that it was vitally important for the Church to learn to this, as we were going to need these disciplines to survive the testing times that are coming very soon.

The Hard Yards

In Rugby Union we have a well-known saying: “Doing the Hard Yards ”. This refers to the times a player has to do the mundane task of pick up the ball, drive the opposition back one or two metres, go to ground and place the ball for the next teammate to repeat the process. It is hard work - energy sapping, as you generally run low, drive into the opposition with straight back and head up, using small steps to push them backwards, fighting to stay on your feet pushing until help arrives, when its safe to drop and place the ball for another pick-up. Then get up and do it again. It is the basics of the game, used to set up good field position and wear down the defence, and is easily distinguished from the Glory moments of running free with the ball, or scoring tries. Surprisingly, the forwards (whose job this is in the game) relish in it, and are proud of their ability to work hard, and scorning those who avoid it, and take easier options which are not as effective in gaining ground.

In August this year, the Lord began reminding me of this phrase at odd times, for no apparent reason. then He showed me a passage in Matthew  7, particularly verse 13:“Enter through the narrow gate, For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”, and impressed me that these verses referred to “doing the Hard Yards”, and that it was important for the church to begin to apply them. It is Hard to enter through the narrow gate, but it is the only way to Life.

By Their Fruit

The following verses in Matthew 7 explain what is meant by the narrow gate (the Hard Yards). This is Jesus’ famous discourse in the Sermon on the Mount about recognising false prophets. Twice we are told: “by their Fruit you will recognise them”, and the Lord said this is what He meant by the “Hard Yards” - judging by fruit, not what we see. This is not easy, as judging by Fruit takes time, and we are very prone to snap judgments, and impatient with waiting for answers. The church at this time is not very spiritually discerning - we are, after all, Laodiceans, who “do not realise that (we) are wretched, pitiful, poor blind and naked” (Rev 3:17).

We place our trust in men with degrees, or large Churches, or visible ministries, and especially those who tell us the “nice” Gospel. We often have difficulty with anything that challenges our Comfort Zone - witness the furore over whether the Toronto Blessing, or the Pensacola Revival were of God. We are apt to label as a False Prophet those who give unpleasant Words, teach something we consider “unBiblical” or who act in what we label an “unchristian” manner (we call it “unloving”), or who fail to exhibit the Fruits of the Spirit, as we choose to define them. In what way are we different from the Jews, particularly the Pharisees, who knew their Bibles much more thoroughly than most of us? They rejected the true Prophets for the same reasons we use.

When Samuel was sent to anoint David as King, the Lord rejected the first seven brothers, and taught Samuel a valuable lesson: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7).

Too many people in the Church never take the time to look past the surface problems they see in maturing saints, to look for the heart that is the Lord’s focus. None of us are finished yet, but we are too ready to write off (judge) valuable ministries, and important Words they bring, for surface trivialities, which our traditions and doctrines have blown out of proportion. We have forgotten the preceding passages of Matthew 7, which gives clear warning against this: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matt. 7:1-5).   

This is followed by a warning to the maturing Prophets: Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces  (Matt. 7:6).

I believe this is an exhortation to wait until the Lord has released us to minister - too many of us are keen to rush out and share what we have seen, rather than have the patience to sit quietly until the Lord has granted us favour. Certainly the Church has excelled in “trampling” and “tearing to pieces” any Minister or Prophet who dared to challenge their “Sacred Cow” doctrines. It is too easy (and dangerously risky) to dismiss such challenges out of hand, and has been too difficult (due to our lack of understanding and insecurity) to ask the hard question: To What Extent is This God Speaking To Us? In my field of training - Science, it is glaringly apparent that too many scientists blithely accept the statements of others without ever testing the claims for validity. The World has accepted the claims of Scientists in much the same way that the church has accepted the doctrines and traditions of the past - it is far easier to accept what sounds like truth than to examine it and look for error.

Verses 7-12 of Matthew 13 are an appeal to trust the Father’s Love. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

This encourages us to have Faith in the work of the Father in us, as well as His gracious and loving provision for our lives. In the context of the “Hard Yards”, it encourages us to persist in asking the Lord to give us the character traits and spiritual maturity that we lack.

What Fruit do we Look For?

The easy answer is Gal. 5:22, 23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. This describes the personal character traits that the Holy Spirit builds into a believer, and there is no Law against them, so there is no grounds for the accusation attacks of the enemy. The trouble in this context is that you cannot use these to judge true or false prophecy, as there is no way to tell if the absence of these is immaturity or indicative of a lack of repentance. Also, the true gifts function even in fallen vessels (Rom. 11:29: for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable) as we have seen in recent years, when some of the most powerful men in the Spirit fell publicly and painfully.

This is not to say that Holiness is not important, and the Lord will certainly judge those who continue in rebellion, but the issue is that we cannot always tell by looking for the Fruits of the Spirit whether a particular Prophetic word is from God. Fruit is similarly not limited to the Salvation of the Lost, though this would certainly accompany the operation of true Prophetic Ministry. But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (1Cor. 14:25). Also; “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10), and the true testimony of Jesus will always “draw .... men unto himself”.

Paul gave us a hint about which fruits to look for in Rom. 14:17: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. I believe that the fruit to look for is whether the ministry of the person leads people towards or away from “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. This can only be seen over time, and is a judgement of the person, not a particular Word.

This latter point is very important because God can still speak through False Prophets (eg. Balaam: Num 22), donkeys, and sinners. We need to learn to recognise the Voice of the Lord by the Holy Spirit regardless of the vessel. Also, the reverse is true - a true Prophet can “miss it”, though I believe that as we grow in maturity this will decrease in frequency. A New Testament Prophet operates under different conditions from those in the Old Covenant. Due to our relationship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit, we operate by Faith, so we have to bear much more responsibility for interpreting and applying the Revelation correctly - whereas OT Prophets simply spoke the words they were given. This encourages us to keep walking closely with the Lord, and to grow in Faith (2Cor. 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight ).

The Role of the Prophet

Many people argue that the Prophetic Ministry should not have any directional role in the Church, and quote: 1Cor. 14:3   But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.. This verse is not a limitation of the role of the Prophet, but an explanation of the main focus of the gift in a particular situation - most of 1 Cor 12-14 is speaking of the use of the gifts in a public context. It is also speaking of the Gift of Prophesy, which any believer can move in, as opposed to the Office of Prophet, which is a Calling from the Lord himself. 1Cor. 14:31   For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

The “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” is a useful guideline for all Prophets, but is not a limitation. The role of the Office Prophet is to listen to the Lord, and bring the Word of the Lord to the Church. Directional words should always be given to leaders privately, and it is then the leaders’ responsibility to act or not (and their burden if they’re wrong). The Office of Prophet has only changed from OT times in terms of relationship and responsibility - they will still act in the same ways as in the OT, except for writing Scripture. All interpretation and application of revelation must be checked against the Word, as: “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10), but we need to be cautious, as we do not understand much of what is in the Word (Rev 3:17), and part of the Prophetic role is to bring new understanding of the Old Truth. Once again, this is part of “doing the Hard Yards”.

The Wise and Foolish Builders

Keep in mind the words of Jesus:  Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward (Matt. 10:41).

We have denied ourselves the blessing of the Prophet’s Reward, as we were too quick to dismiss those we didn’t like as False Prophets. Many Denominations refuse to accept that true Prophetic ministry still exists - it is, after all far more comfortable, and in keeping with many Christians’ church experience, to deny the gifts are for today. It just doesn’t fit the abundant evidence, which means that you either change your Theory (to use Scientific terms), or refuse to accept the facts and write off anything you aren’t comfortable with as “demonic”.

We are also far too ready to label immaturity and error as “False”, rather than “do the Hard Yards” and wait and see. Although character and gifting are both important, they develop separately, and the Lord deals with all believers as individuals. We cannot look for a particular trait as evidence of “truth” or “falsehood” in that person’s ministry, as we often have no idea what these traits look like in the mature believer. Remember, we still are a long way from the standards maintained by the early Church, yet the writer to Hebrews told them: We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,  instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so (Hebr. 5:11- 6:3). Therefore, there were things that the Lord had revealed to the Apostles and Leaders in the early church that were not included in the Bible, due to the immaturity of the believers. We must, therefore, put aside our traditional interpretations of maturity, and begin to seek the Lord for clear understanding of what this means (ie. the character of Jesus) in practise.

Jesus finished the Sermon on the mount with the well-known story of the Wise and Foolish Builders: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”  (Matt. 7:24). Too often we read this as speaking about Salvation, but the passage is referring to the Words of Life, or Keys of the Kingdom the Lord had been explaining. These teachings are to assist the believer in Building the House for the Lord, and the Lord is calling us at this time to forsake our own ways, and begin to be “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom 8:14), because the Lord wants us to be, in truth “the Sons of God” (Rom 8:14). we need to begin to “do the Hard Yards”!

Website: http://www.ancientwells.org.au/PaulD

Email:     pdaviesoz@optusnet.com.au

Made with

VM