I welcome you to the month of May, our month of Becoming a Watchman.

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Eze 22:30.

Every news media, social or print you listen to in our time it is a report of municipal, provincial, national, continental or global news of wars, crimes, poverty, atrocities corruption, terrorism and death galore! Those who know God and those who don’t are wandering where is God amidst all this chaos, and suffering?

Before you blame God read the scripture above again. “I sought for a man/woman that will stand in the gap- I found none!” We are specialists in news analysis.

It is unfortunate what we have turned Christianity to a bunch of people gathering from house to house, fellowship to fellowship, Sundays/weekly services pleading for blessings from God without a sense of responsibility for our environment and communities. Many Christians are none starters or have plateaued in their Christian journey beyond the mouthy declaration “I am born again.”

God is still interested in human affairs to give us abundant life, peace and justice as he has promised (Jn 10:10) but He will not do for us what he has wired us to do for ourselves, when he has equipped us with wisdom and human capacity and ability to do them

This month God wants you and I to progress from being a Christian that prays to one that intercedes but beyond that to become a watchman-The one that stands on the spiritual, political, economic walls of our time to blow the trumpets about impending and looming dangers now and ahead of us as well as provides solutions!

The nations are bleeding for different reasons due to enemies within and without from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka,Ukraine, Canada, to Nigeria all they need to end their woes are watchmen/women - will you arise this month and stand on the walls and blow the trumpet for your nation? We must stop behaving like vultures feeding on our dead nations and situations but become watchmen eagles building nests and providing for the next generation.May is the fifth month, five is the number of grace, may you find grace this month to say to the Lord- “I am here to stand in the gap for the church, families the nations and the globe”, so that He will not destroy them.

Who is a watchman?

Simply put the one that watches over things or persons. The guard. In the Bible, watchmen were individuals who were assigned to watch over a city or a military base. Usually, watchmen would be posted on a high wall or tower, so that they could see the enemy coming from long distances. Furthermore, the Watchman is one who is assigned a specific list of duties in prayer and warfare that have the following functions for the body of Christ: protection, training, defense, observation, warning, revelation, offense, execution of written judgments upon principalities and powers, establishing Divine government of the church, preparing the way of the Lord, and carrying out the Word of the Lord.

Three words depicting their functions were used in the Hebrew language to define watchmen, firstly, Watchmen guard and preserve Jerusalem “Shomreim” In Isaiah 62:6 “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen [shomreim]; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves.” Secondly, Watchmen warn of danger “ tzopheh” In Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman [tzopheh] for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” Thirdly, The Lord is Israel’s ultimate watchman. In Deuteronomy 32:10 “In a desert land He found him [Jacob], in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; He guarded [natzar] him as the apple of His eye.”

Following the same pattern let me define according to function some professions in our time.

A “Watchman” pastor is one who has committed to watching what goes on in the culture, pray for wisdom to engage the culture and sound the alarm of perceived cultural transgressions from the pulpit.

A watchman parent is one who is committed to raising the children in a godly way through prayer, intercession, training and warnings. All parents should be watchmen of their children, (Proverbs:22:6,29:15)

A watchman politician is the one that is committed to using the national resources judiciously to benefit the populace now and in the future.

A watchman lecturer is the one that teaches the students and ensures they succeed in the future, not sleeping with them in their office.

A watchman businessman is the one that cares about his profit not at the expense of the employees,

Qualifications of a watchman.

1. He must be genuinely born again—John 3:3,7. God used major and minor prophets in the bible, the likes of Ezekiel and Amos. May be that is where I tap my personal anointing by bearing Amos Dada!  The meaning of Amos is "to carry; borne by God” He was a watchman to eight nations, namely, Syria, Gaza, Tyre, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Judah and Israel, By His grace I have been a watchman for 80 nations!

2. He must love and know the word of God — Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:9, 11.

4. He must be filled with the Holy Spirit— Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4.

5. He must live a holy life — 1 Peter 1:15-16; Leviticus 11:44

6. He must be prayerful — Ephesians 6:18-19.

7.He must be dedicated, focused, consistent and have the ability to persevere.

Duties of watchmen:

1. Waits upon the Lord. The waiting process is marked primarily by looking and listening to discern what God is saying. The prophet Habakkuk, himself a watchman, described it this way: “I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.” Habakkuk 2:1.

2. Intercede for the People. To intercede means to position oneself between two entities and to intervene on behalf of one. The intercessory watchman sees into the distance, observe what is happening, and lean forward in prayer to God. Sometimes they see with the eyes of discernment.

3. Warn the Wicked. Ezekiel was chosen by God to warn Israel of his iniquity, to let them know the danger of remaining in sin is death. (Ezekiel: 33:7). The blood of the one who is not warned shall be on the watchman’s head, (Ezekiel:33:8). The blood of the one who does not heed the warning shall be upon his own head, (Ezekiel:33:9)

4. An Evangelist. An evangelist is someone who proclaims good news; in other words, a preacher of the gospel or a missionary. A watchman must wear the garment of an evangelist proclaiming the gospel around the world, recruiting sinners to the vineyard of God.

The challenge of our time.

God has established believers as watchmen, because we can clearly see the coming danger in the spiritual realm. However, we must not be silent prophets. We must warn the people about the difficult times that we are living in and inspire them to abandon sin and turn their hearts towards God.

Many natural disasters have caught different nations by surprise in the last few years, including tsunamis, hurricanes and frequent earthquakes, which have flattened entire cities. Presently many nations are at war, civil wars (Taliban in Afghanistan) or by external aggressors like Russia over Ukraine. These are all signs that God’s judgment, which will take place before Jesus returns to this earth, is approaching. Only those who are prepared will be saved.

Elijah could be credited as a prophet and political watchman over Israel. He warned when Ahab and his queen Jezebel led Israel to worship Baal, (1 King 18), when the King of Israel – Ahaziah fell from the lattice and sent message to Ekron about the outcome of his health. 2King 1:2-17: Jeremiah, Isaiah Daniel and Ezekiel were obviously spiritual watchmen over the nation of Israel. These prophets constantly warned the kings and their allies not to mislead the people, should we not be doing that now? Where are the watchmen?

What were the shepherds doing at Jesus’ birth? Watching their fields by night, Luke 2:8. What were the wisemen doing? following the star, Mt. 2:1-2. Jesus’ last exhortation to His disciples, What! Could you not watch with me one hour? Mt 26:40, Mk 14:37. When the watchman sees danger coming, he blows the trumpet to warn. Don’t you see danger in Canada? In Russia or in Nigeria? Can you afford to keep quiet now? What would you do if you saw two toddlers playing a little distance from their parents who, without realizing, start to walk towards a deep hole?.   How would you react? Would you say, “That doesn’t matter to me, they are not my children?” Or, would you warn them about the danger? Would you speak in a gentle tone of voice? In that moment, the only thing I would think about would be trying to avoid an awful accident. I would shout loudly to warn them or run to them to pull them away from danger. We must do something similar with those who do not know the Lord. We must urgently preach the Gospel to them in different ways. The pulpit is a powerful tool for those of us who are ministers. “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” We must warn the baby boomers, the millennials whatever demography, the philosophers, evolutionists, politicians, the pen and armed robbers, the kidnappers, terrorists, arsonists and the corrupt. That is what the pulpit is meant for. God killed Balaam because he failed in this regard while following Balak for monetary gain as a soothsayer. “And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.” Num 31:8 Balaam’s name and story became infamous, and he is referred to several times in the New Testament. Peter compares false teachers to Balaam, “who loved the wages of wickedness” (2 Peter 2:15).

Conclusion. God is desperately looking for brand new, spirit filled, relevant, anointed genuine Ezekiels, Jeremiahs, Isaiahs , Ayo Babalolas, Benson Idahosas –those who will not keep quiet until Jerusalem becomes a praise on earth. Your Jerusalem could be your church, family, work place, community, or your nation. Where are the watchmen from Christ Apostolic Church, RCCG, MFM, Pentecostal church of Canada, Deeper Life, The Methodist, The Baptists, who will go beyond denominational barrier and speak to the Vladimir Putins of our time before they become another Hitler slaying millions of people as he has started with Ukraine. Arise today stand on the walls of politics, spirituality, commerce, entertainment, family, education and blow the trumpets to warn evil doers to repent!!! May you become a watchman/woman for this generation and the coming generations in Jesus’ name.