PARABLE AND WORD FOR NEW ZEALAND

26 July, 2001 Two weeks before our Prophetic Intercession School in Auckland, I had a prophetic dream in which a group of men from a church approached me and asked me where was the "chickenfeed". I looked down on the ground and saw plastic bags full of pellets (which are sometimes used to feed chickens), which I had not been aware of previously. I told the men to take all the pellets, saying I had no need for them. I had been waiting on the Lord for understanding of this dream, and a few days before travelling to New Zealand, He began to speak into my spirit concerning it. He asked me if I knew the difference between chickens and sheep. I had to admit I had never thought about it before. "No, Lord, tell me the difference between chickens and sheep." Then He began to release into my spirit the following parable, followed by a word for the nation of New Zealand. Parable of the Sheep and the Chickens. Chickens are often hand fed by man (hence the bags of chickenfeed). Sheep on the other hand are fed directly by God through the grass of the field. When danger, such as a fox or other predator approaches, chickens scatter. They are individuals. Sheep group together and close ranks when danger approaches. They have a corporate mentality. Chickens have wings, but they can't fly very high. They make a lot of noise but they don't go anywhere. Chickens produce eggs. Eggs are good, but eggs speak of life that has never reached maturity. Sheep produce wool. Wool is a unique fabric, created by God to provide warmth and comfort and covering to mankind. It is not a man-made synthetic, and there is no other fibre like it. Finally, the word "chicken" in our culture - is it not synonymous with fear and cowardice? We call people chicken, meaning cowardly, without backbone. It is an insult to call somebody a chicken. Sheep on the other hand, are symbolic in our culture of those who follow obediently and without question. In the world that is considered the height of stupidity. Sheep are known as the most stupid animals on earth in my country. WORD FOR NEW ZEALAND. The Lord says He is a shepherd, not a chicken farmer. It is time for His people to choose whether they would be chickens or whether they would be sheep. For I am the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for His sheep, says the Lord. I alone will provide the covering My people need. New Zealand has been known as the land of the long white cloud, but I desire to change your name New Zealand, to The Land of the Glory Cloud. Just as you see the sun rise first, I place before you an opportunity this day to see My Glory first - as a nation. Now hear Me, says the Lord, hear Me, because - yes - there are pockets of My glory - yes, I am pouring out My glory across the earth through chosen vessels, whom I have chosen to be used in this way. But I am talking here about your NATION! I desire to cover your nation with a Cloud of Glory, and I place before you an opportunity. I desire to cover the entire nation with My Glory from one end to the other. But the house must be put in order, New Zealand. Are you prepared to put your house in order? For I will visit you, says the Lord. I have heard your cries and I have remembered you. But no flesh will glory in my presence, and I will not have the flesh of man ruling My house. So I bring you a warning as well as a promise. That with glory comes holiness, and I desire to make My people in New Zealand a holy people. And I will even deal with your independence, New Zealand. You have taken pride in your remoteness and your isolation and I will make you a dependent people again, and your dependence shall be on Me alone, says the Lord. For I am jealous over you and I grieve at how far you have wandered from Me. And I will turn your isolation and your independence away from you, and cause you to turn to Me again in utter dependence. So choose - will you be as chickens or will you be as sheep? What the world calls foolish, what the world calls weak, what the world calls stupid is NOT My call, says the Lord. My call is that the weak are Mine. My call is that the foolish are Mine. And My call is that those who are perceived as stupid are wise. The sheep are dependent on the Shepherd and the Good Shepherd cares for His sheep. I am your Shepherd, New Zealand. I alone am your Shepherd and would cover you with the Cloud of My Glory. We have some work to do together, and each one will pass under the Shepherd's rod. But My grace is sufficient, He says. My grace is sufficient. So choose Me - for I have chosen you! I have even set you as a jewel in the southern sea, and if you will learn the ways of holiness before Me, many will come from the corners of the earth to see My Glory. And those who come by air will pass through the Cloud of Glory, and those who come by sea will step into the Cloud of Glory, for My Cloud will be a strong and trustworthy covering over the nation. But there is a cost - and the cost is a return to holiness and to fearing Me, says the Lord. So return to Me with your whole heart, New Zealand, and see if I will not show you My Glory! By Cheryl McGrath Great South Land Ministries, www.greatsouthland.org;