PROPHETIC WORDS

PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVE FOR 2025 AND 2026

by Len Buttner

March 2025

This prophetic word was given at the NZ Council of Prophets gathering and Behold Conference in Christchurch, March 2025.

A call to be unified in love

God is calling His people through the Spirit and Word to be Unified as a picture of God’s unity, to Love and to Serve one another. Our unity is a picture of who Christ is. As we become unified, we show the world the unity of Christ. The apostolic call that is in Ephesians 4, calls the church to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Why is this so important? Because there is “one God and Father of all.” This is what we read in Eph 4:1, “That we walk in a manner worthy of our calling.” We are one because God is one. This is also why John can say that if someone says he belongs to God, but is divided from his Christian brother, he is a liar (1 John 4). The unity of God makes us a unified people.

Paul’s reasoning in 1 Cor 12:12 says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” All Believers are members of the Body of Christ. Therefore, what affects one part of the body affects the whole. Each member of the body relates to and depends upon other parts of the body. One can’t have an arm if the shoulder is not there. Each contributes to the welfare of the entire body.

God is dealing with the Heart of His Church

God is affirming His love relationship with His people and with humanity. The emphasis is on a new heart that is healed in the power of Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18). This new heart is to be pliable and teachable, the opposite of a stony heart. The new spirit within the church is the transformation by the Holy Spirit that is necessary for the renewal of the inner life and obedience to God’s prompting. A renewed attitude of spirit enables the Body of Christ to walk in God’s statutes and keep His commandments.

The prophecy in Ezekiel speaks to this new heart and a new spirit (Ezek 36:26-29 NLT).

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart, 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behaviour.”

The Holy Spirit is addressing the root cause of our problems: ‘Man’s stony, and stubborn heart’ being replaced by a ‘tender, responsive heart’. This prophecy is a work of the Holy Spirit being fulfilled now and into the future.

The Healing of our Land

God is restoring Hope for our Nation

There is a special grace from the Lord Jesus that is available to restore hope for our nation in that the people of the land become healed and honoured. A time for the apostles and prophets to affirm that our nation is being restored from all the atrocities and from the shedding of innocent blood.

Our prayers and actions are that the Lord will have mercy upon the nation at this time and pour forth His healing power over the people of New Zealand (Luke 4:18). We denounce the spirit of lawlessness around social injustice and the violence that has caused so much death and suffering to the vulnerable and disadvantaged. We cry out against the rampant violence and the spirit of death over families and the nation. The prayers of the apostolic and prophetic are petitioning almighty God to show grace and mercy. We read this in Jonah 4:2 “... for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”

A Call to Pray and to Seek His Face

The Word of the Lord to me is about our current spiritual drought, where the locusts and the pestilence are devouring the land. The remedy is outlined in this Scripture in 2 Chron 7:13-15, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”

Our divided land is a hurting land in deep need of God’s divine healing and intervention. The counsel I hear from the Holy Spirit is that we are to have an authentic time of repentance from all evil and a real commitment to be holy. Let us have genuine godly affection for one another, as between brothers and sisters, and a willingness to honour one another. When trials come, and they will, we are to endure them patiently while persistently maintaining the habit of prayer…Do not curse, but bless… Live in harmony with one another. “Do not pay back a good turn with a bad turn”. As far as our responsibility goes, we are to live at peace with everyone, never take vengeance into your own hands, stand back-to-back, and let God punish if He so wills. The Lord’s ‘prophetic watchmen’ are urged to continue to lift their voices, and to cry aloud so the Lord will hear our voices. “The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isa 52:7-10).

A Kairos Time of Revival in the Nation, resulting in a mighty Harvest

The Day of His Holy Habitation

A Kairos time and an opportune season; for a mighty harvest; We are seeing and believing for the reign and the outpouring of Holy Spirit on “New ‘Zealand”, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a loosing of the shackles of the spirits of sorcery that has caused a spiritual drought.

There is a sound coming from the ends of the earth – a sound of the Holy Spirit is in the wind over the land, a calling to the hungry and thirsty, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled” (Matt 5:6).

God will use His people who are thirsty and seeking His Face and His manifest presence. We declare that the God of “New ‘Zealand” will stir His passion and boldness in His people. There is a deeper cry for God’s holy habitation to reign over the land.

The promised signs of an outpouring as in Acts 2:16-17,   “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.”

However, we are to continue to cry out to God for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Like abundant rain on tender plants, like the prophet cried out in Hos 6:1, “come let us return to the Lord restore us that we may live in your presence.” As we acknowledge the Lord, we press on to know Him and to be known by Him. Lord, Your promise is that You will come to us as the latter and former reign that waters the earth, as your servant declared that we sow for ourselves righteousness, grace, and mercy.

Break the fallow ground – it is time to seek the Lord while He may be found. Lord, we ask for the reign of Your Spirit. Lord, You make the storm clouds and the showers of Your Spirit over the people of Aotearoa. Let the storm clouds gather, let Your reign descend upon Your people, O Lord Jesus.

New Zealand Government and Church

Our coalition government is losing support, and I see this as a year of much turmoil in politics and among the voting public. There is a deepening concern that the country is heading in the wrong direction, morally and ethically. The enemy is at work using fear and uncertainty regarding citizen’s rights under the Treaty. The tension around Treaty Principles will continue to destroy the unity in our beloved country and cause a huge amount of mistrust. New Zealanders do not tend to like divisiveness in the country. I perceive God is saying to us to keep our prayers focused on this government and pray for unity, true justice and righteousness to arise at this time – God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven”. 

The emphasis is on justice as a core value for New Zealand. It speaks of treating others fairly, while advocating for the oppressed, and upholding righteousness. As in Micah 6:8, “And what does the Lord require of us? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The Abuse of our Nation’s Children

We have a prophetic duty as watchmen to warn the government and its administration that we still have a shocking rate of child abuse in New Zealand – amongst the highest in the developed world.

Child violence and sexual abuse affects huge numbers of children in New Zealand. This abuse has significant effects on their brain development, psychosocial development, and overall life trajectory. It also has a large social and economic cost. Ultimately, moral and political responsibility must rest with the elected decision makers—the ministers of parliament and with the church.

We read in Isa 1:17, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

I am highlighting the importance of justice in the eyes of God. Justice is a central theme throughout the Bible. It’s about ensuring that everyone receives what is fair and right according to God’s standards, especially for children. It emphasises caring for the vulnerable, standing against oppression, and promoting equality. In Prov 21:15 the Word says, “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers”, indicating the positive impact that justice has on society. Overall, the Bible paints a picture of justice as being essential for creating a nation where everyone can flourish and live in harmony.

Additional thoughts on Application, Response, or Action needed:

• To arrange regular times for National Days of Prayer and fasting until we see the changes taking place in the nation.

• To preach and prophecy into the destiny of the nation as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

• To equip the next generation in all that we see God saying to the church.

BIO