PROPHETIC WORDS

GOD IS RE-FORMING HIS CHURCH AS A POTTER RE-FORMS HIS CLAY

by Jill Smith

March 2026

THis prophetic word was shared at the NZ Council of Prophets gathering in Christchurch, March 2026.

Several years ago, I heard God speak a brief but weighty word:
“I am breaking the power of the spirit of control and the tyranny of technique.”

I took this as a call to prayer, to agree with heaven for a shift on earth; for divine adjustment to structures of control, in the spiritual realm, within the Church, and in the nation too.

I received no details, and didn’t really understand, but I sensed that God was moving on behalf of suffering people, to correct and realign authorites, and break the hold of what He called the ‘spirit of control’ and ‘the tyranny of technique’.

For several months I prayed as Holy Spirit prompted and inspired me, and in due course, moved on to other things. But then over the last couple of years, that word has come again a time or two, and then understanding and application, little by little.

More than that, the word has been activated, and began seriously working in, and on, me!

Now I have come to realise this word connects with a necessary and timely reformation. Also that in God’s Kingdom, nothing is accomplished in theory, it’s accomplished in people, and it is accomplished first in me.

Right now God is working with His church as Jeremiah saw the potter work with the clay.

God reserves the right as potter, to re-form us, His clay. To shape us, and if necessary, re-shape us, till we align with the design and purpose that He has in mind.

Right now The Potter is working with His people, His church, in a reformational way.

Binding and Loosing: Aligning with Heaven on Earth

Around New Year 2025/26, Holy Spirit again spoke this word about control and technique, and surprisingly, connected it to Jesus’ teaching regarding binding and loosing.

The familiar words appear in Matt 16:19 and Matt 18:18:

“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Suddenly I saw how our learned principles and practices around prayer, worship, and ministry can become techniques relied on for desired outcomes. To ‘move’ God, dare I say it, control God.

Often, I’ve heard these verses taught as if earthly action initiates heavenly response. But many biblical scholars agree that a more accurate rendering of the verse is:

“Whatever you bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall have already been loosed in heaven.”

This shift clarifying the tense of the action is significant.

Jesus is not granting the Church power to control heaven, but the responsibility to discern, align with, and embody God’s prior decisions on earth.

That’s powerful! Our discernment and alignment enables us to participate in and partner with heaven on earth.

But binding and loosing are not spiritual techniques to control outcomes or (gasp of horror – to control God). They are our relationship with and response to the initiative, will and authority of God.

Jesus was teaching that with Holy Spirit’s help, we are to discern, align and agree with what God is already releasing from heaven, adding our ‘amen’ to heaven’s initiating ‘yes’.

It’s not about controlling heaven or earth by mastering techniques of binding and loosing. It’s about discernment, relationship and response.

Right now, God is calling for a re-alignment of our reliance and trust in God our Father, the one we look to, rely on, and lean on – and away from anything that would displace Him.

Technique and the Illusion of Control

Much Western church culture, including prophetic culture, has absorbed a technique-based authority from the wider cultural air we breathe. In the church its messages can translate as:

• do the right actions

• say the right words

• pray the right way

• apply the right principle

Our integration of technique-based authority can be seen in business management techniques applied to church leadership, and in platforming people based on giftedness without appropriate character formation, relational integration, and genuine community accountability. 

The highlighting and promotion of people who have learned to master ministry technique and leverage gifts for desired outcomes is one of the things God is highlighting for realignment right now.

When we fall for the temptation of outcomes and illusion of control technique offers, the trust, humility, discernment, and responsibility central to our faith is undermined. Although technique promises predictability, safety and results we want, it usually produces pressure, performance, and spiritual anxiety.

God is Reforming Authority that Leverages Technique and Control

God is not removing authority from the church, but He is properly locating it.

As He always does in reformation times, God is binding what has bound us and loosing what will set His people free. And He begins with us, working deeply, from the inside out.

This is why times like this often feel challenging and disorienting. What was, for a long time, familiar ground, is shifting within us, amongst us, around us.

God is binding our reliance on control and technique, and calling us to discern and align with His will, so it will also be bound on earth.

God is binding:

• wonky ways we have framed, expressed, and related to authority

• controlling church culture and leadership models

• platforming charisma without character

• revelation without accountability

• technique-driven ministry

• silence around abuse or harm

He is inviting us to discern, align with Him, and bind any fear-based compulsion within us to rely on technique and control in order to manage outcomes and anxiety.

He is loosing:

• healthy community integration

• shared discernment

• responsive relational authority

• repentance without shame

• church leaders and members freed from performance

• prophetic voices rooted in belonging, place and people

This is not judgment, it is necessary housekeeping.

This is binding and loosing as acts of love to restore healthy alignment to the Body.

A Necessary Realignment in Prophetic Culture

Much of the current disquiet around prophetic ministry is not about prophecy itself, but about how authority has been framed.

• where revelation outruns formation, authority becomes dangerous.

• where prophets are isolated from community, discernment weakens.

• where technique replaces responsive listening, control takes over.

Jesus never intended prophets to operate above or outside the Body, but within it.

Healthy prophetic authority:

• smells like humility

• welcomes testing

• remains teachable

• protects the vulnerable

• reflects the character of Christ

Binding and loosing in prophetic culture right now includes:

• binding excusing gifted people from normal rules and accountability

• loosing community integration and discernment

• binding performance-driven expectations

• loosing patient, prayerful listening and response

Aotearoa Now: Place, People, and Prophetic Responsibility

In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are particular gifts that are valuable in this reformation, including:

• our relational proximity

• a limited appetite for celebrity Christianity

• Māori understandings of authority as mana recognised, not seized

• understanding of whakapapa grounding identity in relationship and responsibility

Te Tiriti o Waitangi stands as a prophetic mirror, reminding us that authority divorced from relationship becomes oppressive, even when intentions are good.

This thread, woven by God’s providence through our story, invites the Church here to leadership that actually listens, authority that genuinely serves, prophecy that in humility discerns and aligns with heaven.

God isn’t finished with us yet. And although what He has been forming in Aotearoa may not be loud, I believe that it could become something deeply trustworthy and good.

Binding and Loosing for God’s People Now

Binding and loosing is not about controlling the future or a way to assert certainty and manage anxiety in challenging times. It is about:

• discerning heaven together

• honouring what aligns with God’s character

• choosing what restores dignity, freedom, and life

• submitting authority to Christ and one another

Authority That Can Be Trusted

In this season, God is not withdrawing authority from His Church. He is transforming the unhelpful ways we’ve framed, expressed, and related to it. He is binding us back to Jesus and an authority that looks more like Him. He is loosing us from the tyranny of control, technique, and the fear that empowers them.

To find out how this prophetic word can be lived out and experienced in people and in groups CLICK HERE.

BIO