Ricardo O'Kane
A Forerunner Preacher
One thing I aspire to do... unveil to the world "The Unknown God" Acts 17:23
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
" Habakkuk 2:14 "
Where am I in the bible?
It's a liberating thing when you find out where you are in the bible especially after not knowing for many years. After my first encounter with the Lord in 1986 I was filled with hope and excitement for what could be. I knew that this love that came down from heaven had unlimited potential and that within this divine presence was the answers to everything. I was filled with the hope of its potential. Sadly the first few Churches I visited did not quite reflect the kind of enthusiasm I expected. I anticipated an encounter with God but just got mundane religion. I have endured my share of opinionated religious platitudes on how I should think and what I should do. Eventually I found my way to some intense Charismatics and it was a breath of fresh air for good while. Eventually I realized this was still just a slice of the whole Kingdom pie and that there was still a lot more to learn.
I gradually got introduced to a diverse branch of theology that I call "The School of the Prophets" It is not any officially named school but rather something the Lord took me through via a series of teachers. I loved it when I discovered a new revelation. I felt it was my duty to share with others what I have discovered. I have learned that our God is a God "who hides Himself" Isaiah 45:15, but He "reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets" Amos 3:7 and "reveals deep and hidden things" Daniel 2:22 It is the glory of God to conceal a mater, it is the glory of kings to search it out. Proverbs 25:2
The next phase I was to learn about was "forerunner" theology. This is about preparing a generation of people for the return of the Lord. Its about end time revelation. I have since learned that many Christians don't share the same enthusiasm as I do. Prophetic forerunners are not simple because God is not simple. He is deep. Have you discovered this yet? Apparently many have not. I love to point out the really good food to those who are Spiritually hungry. Spiritually hungry people know good food when they taste it. God is always doing something fresh and new and we need to collect "fresh" "manna" the bread of Heaven every day to stay spiritually nourished...
One of my favorite places in the bible is in the Areopagus, Mars Hill. Acts 17:19-21 Then they took him (Paul) and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
You will find me there often. There must be a good purpose to this. I am still processing it all. The wonders of my salvation, the sundry scriptures, and the mysteries of the creation. I am getting closer to finding the purpose, and here is the proof. I'm writing about it...
People need understanding of what actually is in the Bible. It is the owners manual for the human being so one can get the most out of life through having a relationship with their creator. Jesus came for that reason, to show us "The Way". Knowing the principles of Gods Word releases the genius of Gods design and God's design works best when its used for what it's designed for, abundant life.
It's a liberating thing when you find out where you are in the bible especially after not knowing for many years. After my first encounter with the Lord in 1986 I was filled with hope and excitement for what could be. I knew that this love that came down from heaven had unlimited potential and that within this divine presence was the answers to everything. I was filled with the hope of its potential. Sadly the first few Churches I visited did not quite reflect the kind of enthusiasm I expected. I anticipated an encounter with God but just got mundane religion. I have endured my share of opinionated religious platitudes on how I should think and what I should do. Eventually I found my way to some intense Charismatics and it was a breath of fresh air for good while. Eventually I realized this was still just a slice of the whole Kingdom pie and that there was still a lot more to learn.
I gradually got introduced to a diverse branch of theology that I call "The School of the Prophets" It is not any officially named school but rather something the Lord took me through via a series of teachers. I loved it when I discovered a new revelation. I felt it was my duty to share with others what I have discovered. I have learned that our God is a God "who hides Himself" Isaiah 45:15, but He "reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets" Amos 3:7 and "reveals deep and hidden things" Daniel 2:22 It is the glory of God to conceal a mater, it is the glory of kings to search it out. Proverbs 25:2
The next phase I was to learn about was "forerunner" theology. This is about preparing a generation of people for the return of the Lord. Its about end time revelation. I have since learned that many Christians don't share the same enthusiasm as I do. Prophetic forerunners are not simple because God is not simple. He is deep. Have you discovered this yet? Apparently many have not. I love to point out the really good food to those who are Spiritually hungry. Spiritually hungry people know good food when they taste it. God is always doing something fresh and new and we need to collect "fresh" "manna" the bread of Heaven every day to stay spiritually nourished...
One of my favorite places in the bible is in the Areopagus, Mars Hill. Acts 17:19-21 Then they took him (Paul) and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
You will find me there often. There must be a good purpose to this. I am still processing it all. The wonders of my salvation, the sundry scriptures, and the mysteries of the creation. I am getting closer to finding the purpose, and here is the proof. I'm writing about it...
People need understanding of what actually is in the Bible. It is the owners manual for the human being so one can get the most out of life through having a relationship with their creator. Jesus came for that reason, to show us "The Way". Knowing the principles of Gods Word releases the genius of Gods design and God's design works best when its used for what it's designed for, abundant life.
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11/15/2021
I want to share what has happened in the last 3 months.
Over the years I have received many prophetic words regarding my calling. I was a person of destiny, a watchman and a General, I was also a prophetic person identifying myself with the forerunner Spirit.
It's been a real waiting game for me the last couple decades. Waiting on the Lord. I was however steadily growing in the Lord as old bad habits finally played themselves out and dropped off. When I heard there was going to be a shutdown in March 2020 I thought this will be a good time to seek the Lord and really find my ministry purpose.
I have done various ministry projects over the last few years, a few mission trips to other nations, street preaching, going into high schools with FCA etc. I did a YWAM DTS in Africa in 2016 and also went on a couple short term missions to the Philippines and China. I love traveling and meeting Christians all over the world speaking Gods destiny over them. But as of yet I never got locked into what I felt I was really supposed to do. I was a very good observer however and have developed a good sense of the Lords leading and His ways.
I thought I will use this lockdown time to really prepare to get launched into my purpose.
Since most Churches were locked down I just stayed home, but then my friend Jason told me about a house Church that was still meeting on Wednesday nights. It was the perfect environment to share our stories and pray for one another. I called my boxer Agnes who lives down the street from them to tell her about it and she said the Lord had showed her recently a special group meeting I would be involved with.
There were some things more recently I felt the Lord was moving me to do and so I started them, but when the time got closer to doing them I felt the Lord change my direction. He just wanted me to start moving so He could steer me in the right direction. I have always been interested in new cutting edge prophetic creative types of ministries. I often felt there was going to be some new thing that I would be involved with when the technology has been developed, Ephesians 1:10 "to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment" that will be used for reaching the nations...
Since I did my YWAM trip to Uganda 2016 I have kept in contact with a few missionaries there through Facebook. I helped their ministries by sending them money when I had it. August 25th of 2021 one of my contacts in Arua Uganda, Santos asked if I could help him get a “Proclaimer” audio bible. I looked them up and found some interesting videos on how whole villages in southeast Asia were being reached with the Gospel through just one Proclaimer. Most of these people didn't read or write. They would play the device and everyone would gather around to hear it. The neighboring villages would hear about it and would want one for their village. Then they had all the villages come together in one place so they could all hear the story of this innocent man who preached good news to the poor healed many people, was unjustly killed but rose from the dead and is coming back. I thought wow this is the kind of thing I've been looking for. A simple way to get the Good News to the masses, especially the poorest ones with the least means.
This device has tremendous potential because it is solar powered, the larger one also has a hand crank, does not require an internet or electrical connection and it keeps on playing the new testament Gospel in up to 4 pre-programmed native languages for up to 3000 charges. Did you know that 70 percent of the unreached world live in oral cultures? That means they don't have a written language and do not read or have books. These devices are perfect for oral cultures. I have taken on the challenge along with the help of other believers of getting one or two Proclaimer audio bibles into every oral community that has never heard the Gospel...
At around that same time my evangelist friend Wes Munyon told me about some live online crusades to Pakistan him and his Church in Camarillo were doing. He asked if I knew of anyone in 3rd world countries who we could reach out to to do live crusades. They help raise the money to get the technical equipment needed on their end like large video screens and also food and gifts to attract people. I said I certainly do. My friend Felix has just started ministering to the war refugees living in the camps in Uganda. They are mostly people from Congo Burundi and Rwanda. Many are in distress with very little provisions. We made the arrangements, helped them get set up and we did our first online live crusade to Uganda Sat November 6th 2021. I preached a gospel message about salvation and Wes preached a message from Acts chapter 8.
The report came in the same day; 700 people showed up and 9 people were healed from various levels of deafness caused by explosions going off during the fighting. I thought wow that's interesting, but why deafness? Because God was sending a message for me that He was opening peoples spiritual ears to hear the Gospel and verified it by the sign of opening people's physical ears! 80 people showed up for Church the next day...
So what I have been doing with the Proclaimer audio bibles at the same time is making contact with missionaries through Facebook messenger to find out where and how many are needed. I have them pre-programmed with correct languages and then have them sent out. I had the first 10 sent out and are on their way with a US missionary to Uganda. I want to send hundreds more as the harvest is still plentiful...
Sunday 11/14/21 a week after the crusade and I just got a message from Felix that there is an overflow of people coming to the meetings. The healing signs that God did last week opening the ears of 9 deaf or partially deaf people has caused quite a stir. He calls it a revival because they heard what happened last week. He says they will aim to start 3 new congregations. One in each of the 3 main camps.
Right now we are planning on another crusade shooting for January 29th 2022 and things are moving along fast with God giving all of us prophetic inspiration and vision for the people and the nation of Uganda... Our partners in Uganda are expecting to draw thousands more for the next crusade...
If you want to help us you can go to my “Support Partners’ page and there are several ways you can contribute. One of the main things we need to do is network and get the word out. I would love to be invited to speak about this kind of ministry at your Church or home group. If anyone has any suggestions you can contact me through my website, email or Facebook messenger.
I am planning more restriction free social media platforms on the horizon soon... For those who put God first, thank you all for your help in fulfilling the New Testament second greatest commandment by loving others as Jesus has loved us... may you be filled with the light and every good thing that comes from above... so be it. Ricardo-
11/15/2021
I want to share what has happened in the last 3 months.
Over the years I have received many prophetic words regarding my calling. I was a person of destiny, a watchman and a General, I was also a prophetic person identifying myself with the forerunner Spirit.
It's been a real waiting game for me the last couple decades. Waiting on the Lord. I was however steadily growing in the Lord as old bad habits finally played themselves out and dropped off. When I heard there was going to be a shutdown in March 2020 I thought this will be a good time to seek the Lord and really find my ministry purpose.
I have done various ministry projects over the last few years, a few mission trips to other nations, street preaching, going into high schools with FCA etc. I did a YWAM DTS in Africa in 2016 and also went on a couple short term missions to the Philippines and China. I love traveling and meeting Christians all over the world speaking Gods destiny over them. But as of yet I never got locked into what I felt I was really supposed to do. I was a very good observer however and have developed a good sense of the Lords leading and His ways.
I thought I will use this lockdown time to really prepare to get launched into my purpose.
Since most Churches were locked down I just stayed home, but then my friend Jason told me about a house Church that was still meeting on Wednesday nights. It was the perfect environment to share our stories and pray for one another. I called my boxer Agnes who lives down the street from them to tell her about it and she said the Lord had showed her recently a special group meeting I would be involved with.
There were some things more recently I felt the Lord was moving me to do and so I started them, but when the time got closer to doing them I felt the Lord change my direction. He just wanted me to start moving so He could steer me in the right direction. I have always been interested in new cutting edge prophetic creative types of ministries. I often felt there was going to be some new thing that I would be involved with when the technology has been developed, Ephesians 1:10 "to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment" that will be used for reaching the nations...
Since I did my YWAM trip to Uganda 2016 I have kept in contact with a few missionaries there through Facebook. I helped their ministries by sending them money when I had it. August 25th of 2021 one of my contacts in Arua Uganda, Santos asked if I could help him get a “Proclaimer” audio bible. I looked them up and found some interesting videos on how whole villages in southeast Asia were being reached with the Gospel through just one Proclaimer. Most of these people didn't read or write. They would play the device and everyone would gather around to hear it. The neighboring villages would hear about it and would want one for their village. Then they had all the villages come together in one place so they could all hear the story of this innocent man who preached good news to the poor healed many people, was unjustly killed but rose from the dead and is coming back. I thought wow this is the kind of thing I've been looking for. A simple way to get the Good News to the masses, especially the poorest ones with the least means.
This device has tremendous potential because it is solar powered, the larger one also has a hand crank, does not require an internet or electrical connection and it keeps on playing the new testament Gospel in up to 4 pre-programmed native languages for up to 3000 charges. Did you know that 70 percent of the unreached world live in oral cultures? That means they don't have a written language and do not read or have books. These devices are perfect for oral cultures. I have taken on the challenge along with the help of other believers of getting one or two Proclaimer audio bibles into every oral community that has never heard the Gospel...
At around that same time my evangelist friend Wes Munyon told me about some live online crusades to Pakistan him and his Church in Camarillo were doing. He asked if I knew of anyone in 3rd world countries who we could reach out to to do live crusades. They help raise the money to get the technical equipment needed on their end like large video screens and also food and gifts to attract people. I said I certainly do. My friend Felix has just started ministering to the war refugees living in the camps in Uganda. They are mostly people from Congo Burundi and Rwanda. Many are in distress with very little provisions. We made the arrangements, helped them get set up and we did our first online live crusade to Uganda Sat November 6th 2021. I preached a gospel message about salvation and Wes preached a message from Acts chapter 8.
The report came in the same day; 700 people showed up and 9 people were healed from various levels of deafness caused by explosions going off during the fighting. I thought wow that's interesting, but why deafness? Because God was sending a message for me that He was opening peoples spiritual ears to hear the Gospel and verified it by the sign of opening people's physical ears! 80 people showed up for Church the next day...
So what I have been doing with the Proclaimer audio bibles at the same time is making contact with missionaries through Facebook messenger to find out where and how many are needed. I have them pre-programmed with correct languages and then have them sent out. I had the first 10 sent out and are on their way with a US missionary to Uganda. I want to send hundreds more as the harvest is still plentiful...
Sunday 11/14/21 a week after the crusade and I just got a message from Felix that there is an overflow of people coming to the meetings. The healing signs that God did last week opening the ears of 9 deaf or partially deaf people has caused quite a stir. He calls it a revival because they heard what happened last week. He says they will aim to start 3 new congregations. One in each of the 3 main camps.
Right now we are planning on another crusade shooting for January 29th 2022 and things are moving along fast with God giving all of us prophetic inspiration and vision for the people and the nation of Uganda... Our partners in Uganda are expecting to draw thousands more for the next crusade...
If you want to help us you can go to my “Support Partners’ page and there are several ways you can contribute. One of the main things we need to do is network and get the word out. I would love to be invited to speak about this kind of ministry at your Church or home group. If anyone has any suggestions you can contact me through my website, email or Facebook messenger.
I am planning more restriction free social media platforms on the horizon soon... For those who put God first, thank you all for your help in fulfilling the New Testament second greatest commandment by loving others as Jesus has loved us... may you be filled with the light and every good thing that comes from above... so be it. Ricardo-
Other Stuff I wrote earlier
1) When this whole pandemic thing started and they were saying that there were going to be lockdowns, the first thing I thought was great! I will use this time to seek the Lord and finally get moving with my ministry vision. I have lots of zeal but the problem was I was not sure what exactly that vision was. I got plenty of prophetic words over the years one of which was reiterated 5 separate times by 5 different people. That I was one of Gods generals. Now that's nice of you Lord, but can I have a generals salary too? Maybe its because I didn't specialize in any one thing but had the "general" idea of advancing the Kingdom of God in some significant way. I spent a lot of time pondering on revelations from scripture as well as methods of evangelism, preaching, missions, prayer etc. (again Acts 17:21) I actually did some of those good things too and made sure I got some pictures to show everyone, but still knew I was not walking in the fullness of what God had for me. In the meantime while trying to figure out what to do, I began sowing into other peoples missions work wherever I could when I had extra money.
2) One thing I did do was to write about various revelations I had and take special note of a number of unusual prophetic teachers that I came across. Much of what I have learned from them is not taught in your average Church or bible school. When it comes to bible knowledge, Spiritual revelation is my niche. I feel like God has taken me through a journey of prophetic schooling. I understood that my generation is living in a very unusual time in world history. Bible writers exhorted the people to understand the time they were living in. Jesus said to watch for the "new wine" (teaching) and "new garments" (ministry methods). Matthew 9:16-17 Also regarding new things see: Isaiah 48:6 & 43:19 More has been highlighted in scripture about this generation, the one living at the end of the age, than any other. So when I was told I was a watchman years ago, I finally began to understand the kind of things I would be watching for.
3) One of the signs of the times is Daniel 12:4; In the last days many will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase. There has been an explosion of knowledge both scientific and Spiritual just in the last decade. It has been increasing at an exponential rate, and will continue. In past years, for decades, I carried a sense that my time was not yet and that there was an appointed time for it to be revealed. I received a prophetic word a few years ago that confirmed this. Some of the things I have been watching for are new ways of promoting the Gospel. For example radio, television, Internet, email, YouTube, electronic bibles etc. These are wonderful tools and have been used effectively when they are put into the hands of the people who need them. Developed countries have access to technology but there are still multitudes of people living in remote villages throughout the world without internet or even electrical power and who have never heard the Gospel...
4) In August 2021 one of my contacts in Uganda who I met on a mission trip in 2016 asked if I could get him a Proclaimer or two to reach unreached villages. I looked it up, found the "Faith Comes by Hearing" website, watched some YouTube videos and realized these new devices "Proclaimer audio bibles" would be an effective tool that would keep on preaching the Gospel for 3000 charges with the solar powered battery, in the native language of the hearer. (See "Proclaimers" under missions tab) I started to realize the potential numbers that could be reached with one Proclaimer as a whole village could listen to it together. So now I have a solid ministry endeavor that I can pursue part time while I work on my other projects. Is this what I have been waiting for all these years? Perhaps, but I feel it will become a platform that will lead to other ministry opportunities as I share the good news of God's provision through prophetic revelation and technological innovation.
1) When this whole pandemic thing started and they were saying that there were going to be lockdowns, the first thing I thought was great! I will use this time to seek the Lord and finally get moving with my ministry vision. I have lots of zeal but the problem was I was not sure what exactly that vision was. I got plenty of prophetic words over the years one of which was reiterated 5 separate times by 5 different people. That I was one of Gods generals. Now that's nice of you Lord, but can I have a generals salary too? Maybe its because I didn't specialize in any one thing but had the "general" idea of advancing the Kingdom of God in some significant way. I spent a lot of time pondering on revelations from scripture as well as methods of evangelism, preaching, missions, prayer etc. (again Acts 17:21) I actually did some of those good things too and made sure I got some pictures to show everyone, but still knew I was not walking in the fullness of what God had for me. In the meantime while trying to figure out what to do, I began sowing into other peoples missions work wherever I could when I had extra money.
2) One thing I did do was to write about various revelations I had and take special note of a number of unusual prophetic teachers that I came across. Much of what I have learned from them is not taught in your average Church or bible school. When it comes to bible knowledge, Spiritual revelation is my niche. I feel like God has taken me through a journey of prophetic schooling. I understood that my generation is living in a very unusual time in world history. Bible writers exhorted the people to understand the time they were living in. Jesus said to watch for the "new wine" (teaching) and "new garments" (ministry methods). Matthew 9:16-17 Also regarding new things see: Isaiah 48:6 & 43:19 More has been highlighted in scripture about this generation, the one living at the end of the age, than any other. So when I was told I was a watchman years ago, I finally began to understand the kind of things I would be watching for.
3) One of the signs of the times is Daniel 12:4; In the last days many will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase. There has been an explosion of knowledge both scientific and Spiritual just in the last decade. It has been increasing at an exponential rate, and will continue. In past years, for decades, I carried a sense that my time was not yet and that there was an appointed time for it to be revealed. I received a prophetic word a few years ago that confirmed this. Some of the things I have been watching for are new ways of promoting the Gospel. For example radio, television, Internet, email, YouTube, electronic bibles etc. These are wonderful tools and have been used effectively when they are put into the hands of the people who need them. Developed countries have access to technology but there are still multitudes of people living in remote villages throughout the world without internet or even electrical power and who have never heard the Gospel...
4) In August 2021 one of my contacts in Uganda who I met on a mission trip in 2016 asked if I could get him a Proclaimer or two to reach unreached villages. I looked it up, found the "Faith Comes by Hearing" website, watched some YouTube videos and realized these new devices "Proclaimer audio bibles" would be an effective tool that would keep on preaching the Gospel for 3000 charges with the solar powered battery, in the native language of the hearer. (See "Proclaimers" under missions tab) I started to realize the potential numbers that could be reached with one Proclaimer as a whole village could listen to it together. So now I have a solid ministry endeavor that I can pursue part time while I work on my other projects. Is this what I have been waiting for all these years? Perhaps, but I feel it will become a platform that will lead to other ministry opportunities as I share the good news of God's provision through prophetic revelation and technological innovation.
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Here is some random information about my watchman personality
1) What does a new testament watchman do? In a nutshell, Facilitate Spiritual Awareness... I seek to reveal key information regarding the revelation and expansion of kingdom of God. My aim is to do this with the wisdom that comes from above and a balanced biblical perspective on various current issues. To succeed at this one needs to be like David and seek after... God's own heart.
2) My personal journey with God has been a long process of discovering many awesome things about Him. The more I learned about God, the more I discovered about myself and His eternal purposes for man. Whenever I came across a revelation, I felt the need to share with the world what I discovered and to make known the "hidden things" concerning this amazing but largely misunderstood God.
My goal is to; "...make known among the nations what He has done." Psalm 105:1
3) When it was first prophesied to me that I was a watchman, I didn't know what that really meant. What was I supposed to be watching for? But over time and after a series of prophetic experiences, the Spirit began to show me what a "new testament" watchman was. Many say a watchman is a prophet, but I didn't necessarily operate the way I saw many people doing with prophetic gifts. I have since learned my gift is the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation from Ephesians 1:17
4) As an adult a doctor said it looked like I had ADD traits so I read up on it. I diagnosed myself with a classic case according to the book. I was later to learn people with ADD also had certain strengths and that this was something I could use to my advantage. I learned how my Redemptive gift (Mercy) and personal traits had unique attributes that God wanted me to develop. This was very liberating to know that certain quirks in my personality were actually part of God's design. Impulsivity, being quiet then sudden spontaneous enthusiasm, daydreaming when everyone else was listening to the teacher, not always syncing with social cues, interest in novel things, tendency for isolation, logical thinking but with obsessiveness etc.
5) I also had strong interests in God's Word and Spiritual dynamics which I would meditate on compulsively. It resulted in developing in me certain spiritual insights. I had noted gifts of discernment when it came to interpreting the word. Where was this in the bible? I eventually realized it was the wisdom of God. "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation" from Ephesians 1:17 As I learned more I was very drawn to end time revelation. The more I studied the Word, the more I gave God to work with and in turn to give back to me prophetically.
6) One of my most noteworthy observations as a watchman is this;
Daniel 12:4 states that knowledge will increase in the last days. I don't think anyone living in Daniels time would have imagined the degree to which this prophecy was to be fulfilled. Knowledge has been increasing in these last days at an explosive rate, both scientifically and Spiritually. Things are changing quickly and the Church needs to shed old hindering practices (traditions of men) and retool "with a view to the times" I am astounded at how much useful critical information is being made available to us, but most of the Church is unaware of it or doesn't have the perception to see it.. Does Laodicea ring a bell? I believe the antidote to the Lukewarm Laodicean end of the age Church is "The God of Elijah" who will pour out His Spirit in the last days. More on that later...
“From now on I will tell you of new things,
of hidden things unknown to you.
They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today. Isaiah 48:6-7
Here is a link to some examples of the new wine. "The Cutting edge Spiritual Technology"
7) New testament scriptures about watching;
Luke 21:36 Be always on the Watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Matthew 24:4 Watch out that no one deceives you
1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and your doctrine closely
Mark 8:15 "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod."
2 John 1:8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for.
Romans 16:17 "Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way.
Galatians 5:15 "Watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Mark 13:33 Watch out because you don't know when the time will come.
Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets...
Luke 12:54-56 Watch and be aware of this present time... And much more...
8) Other things we are watching for;
-What the Spirit is saying to the churches
-Identity and function of the believer
-God's wisdom, knowledge and understanding
-The potential danger of sin and spiritual blindness
-God's eternal purposes, opportunities, rewards and penalties
-Understanding the signs and the times (fulfillment of scripture)
-New things God is doing (Isaiah 48:6 & 43:19)
-Coming changes "Reformation" New Wineskins & New Garments
-God's strategies for the Church to overcome and fulfill His purposes
9) Among my duties as a Watchman are;
"Connecting the Unconnected" to the kingdom of God
Spiritual reconnaissance, analysis, reporting
Distribution of life giving information
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The following are commentaries on the "watchman" calling by several different authors.
1) The place of watchmen is on the wall Looking out into the direction that he is pointing. This can be lonely, discouraging work. Jesus is pleading with his watchmen to stay on the walls, where he needs them to be. Many watchmen are down in the city chatting with friends, because they got lonely. Others are on the conference circuit, where the money is better. Some are busy trolling the internet, but that is not the same as listening to the Lord. Others grew tired and have gone to sleep. Others have given up, because they are weary of their warnings being rejected. The watchman should not be in the city eating and drinking with the town's folk. He should be out on the watchtower looking into the night. Jesus urgently needs his watchmen to get back up on the watchtower where he has appointed them.
2) The watchmen were not the elders in the gates, nor did they have the authority to open or close the gates of a city. Neither did they have the authority to mobilize the militia against the enemy. (old testament) Their job was to communicate what they saw to those who did have the authority. Presently, many pastors and elders are trying to do this job for their congregations, which only distracts them from their true calling. We must begin to recognise, train, and position those who have this calling, and establish effective lines of communication with them. It may actually be very good that he is often away from the flock, because few really understand him. He is interested not so much in people and what they think of him, but in God's voice for the situation.
(Rick Joyner - The Ministry of a Watchman).
3) Being on the walls of the city would place one in a position of elevated perspective to see both a distance outside and inside of the city. These were trained to recognize both the enemy and their brethren from a great distance. However, they had no authority to confront either. They simply gave their information to the elders who sat in the gates. Only the elders had the authority to either command that the gates be opened or to sound the alarm. (Rick Joyner - The Ministry of a Watchman).
4) The seer represents the prophetic dimension by means of his ability to observe, by his inclination towards watchfulness. He is the watchman, the protector. He walks the narrow paths of the border areas of the Kingdom, drawing strength for this isolated work of defence from the vivid visions and experiences of the heartlands of God's domains. The prophet's home is a Mizpah, a watchtower, a place for proper judgement and discernment, 1 Sam 7:6 (Lars Widerberg - The Seer)
5) The Church has often lacked in having watchmen. She has had a type of watchman that has watched almost from a position on the floor of the church and not from the wall. The watchman is a prophet and as such is a seer and needs to be up high to see beyond the heights that even the king would see, since the king is not up the wall (Steve Snow - Eagle Watchman Resources).
6) Though the prophet is one with the church he yet always stands a little apart. The Old Testament prophet would have gone ahead to do all the speaking, or the healing, or whatever was needed. The New Testament prophet bows his spirit to prayer, unbeknownst to the rest of the body, and others find themselves healing or teaching or speaking (John and Paula Sanford - The Elijah Task p. 18,19,20).
7) Christians are often embarrassed by God's watchmen, as they can be intense, opinionated or scruffy. Watchmen maybe the eyes of the body, but they are also the bowels that get rid of the "crap". If God's watchmen are not functioning effectively in a church, it will fill up with garbage and become contaminated. So while the watchmen has an unseemly task, they are important for the functioning of the body and deserve equal concern and respect.