Seeing the Invisible: Multicultural Unity in Perth 2026
Introduction
Despite, He Is There and He Is Not Silent (Francis Schaeffer), the idea of God’s presence and his silence are compatible. Elijah at Sinai springs to mind, “after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (1 Ki 19:12-13). Most paradigmatically is the profound revelation of the tangible dark silence of the cross (Mark 15:33-34; Ex 10:21). Such was my hearing God following the Diversity Dinner in Perth recently. (I was only able to be there because of the generosity of a wealthy patron. cf. Lydia/Phoebe-Paul. George Whitefield-Countess of Huntington.) I had prayed much for this event and anticipated some strong revelations. These eventually came, around 4 in the morning, but in entirely unexpected form. Though invisible communication is ancient (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_ink) and Scripture speaks of the faith of Moses “as he saw him who is invisible” (Heb 11
:27 (there is not “if” before the verb “to see”)), gradually some things began to emerge from the silence. The highly visible display of a facsimile of the Tyndale New Testament (1526) by a martyr strangled and burnt at the stake, being seated on a table with others imprisoned in a foreign land for their faith, the unsought re-acquaintances made by several old contacts with Jacob’s strategic maturing limp, “
God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.”” (Gen 35:10).
Scarification
Paul does not hide his scarification from the churches he planted e.g. “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17 cf. 2 Cor 11-12), why then do many leading believers not publicly manifest “the (pain-filled) testimony about Jesus as the Spirit of prophecy.”” (Rev 19:10). Whilst all Christian meetings are essentially prophetic, as is all creation in Christ https//www.facebook.com/zionfellowshipperth?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=M8h40MJGzqO41Wk1&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F1FWLvFZdZK%2F%3Fmibextid%3DwwXIfr#) I was grieved, but not surprised, to see none of my trustworthy prophet friends present nor on-stage at the event! Given God’s household is built “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 2:20), any construction which omits prophetic ministry, for whatever reason, will be less than “The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Let me be as covert/hidden/subtle as I can be whilst being as illuminatory as I am able.
Looking Beyond the Visible
The principal speaker was Roger Sutton, whose difficult recent years were mentioned, but no one spoke of the secret of his present power, the death of his wife in 2023. Then, in no particular order in relation to a variety of up-front folk, we have the multiple physical afflictions, unjust church evictions, the singleness of a woman leader which is the key to her deep holy maturity in Jesus, the bodily puncture wounds from childhood occult initiation, the “ashes” left behind from previous unity moves in other places etc. As a trusted “man of God” I know about these things, but the whole Church needs to know of them. We desperately need to be grasped by the reality that trustability is in proportional to visible scars. All married people know this through personal experience. Christ was crucified naked, for Adam Eve, and fallen humanity in their likeness, always seek to cover up (Gen 3:7) their shame at “the loss of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).
Watch Out for Skilled Performers
The popular Western cultured Celebrity Church naturally exalts tremendously gifted preachers, singers and musicians. Jesus however had a mind which “did nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility valued others above himself” (Phil 2:3). The real issue with the performance/ event mentality abounding in our midst is that it cannot give due regard for that which is the essence of ageless culture-transcending discipleship! I commend A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in An Instant Society by the late Eugene Peterson. Prophets, unfortunately, have a grace tempered by bitter experience to spot idols, for the foundational function of an idol is to cloak shame (Gen 3:7), especially in the Church (Rev 2:2,6, 14-15, 20; 3:1-3). Lest I sound unduly negative I do see signs of persevering grace in our midst.
Signs of Persevering Grace
Picking up my earlier mention of “bodily picture wounds”, or less dramatically, the gashes of childhood trauma, the Lamb on the throne will always manifest his saving life through unashamed suffering saints. Surely the vision “of a Lamb standing/resurrection as slain/crucifixion” (Rev 5:6), whilst bizarre and unintelligible to antichrist culture (1 John 2:19), is a tried-and-true picture of the triumphant Lord amidst us (Matt 18:20). When the Iranian Christians sung in Farsi/English, giving glory to the Lord, it was manifest that in the power of the Holy S/spirit (Rom 8:16) that they were not naturally performing but singing through their pain. As such, the death-and-resurrection of Jesus was on display again; “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil 3:10).
Notable Omissions
The Indigenous peoples of Australia deserve a self-generated gathering of their own and cannot be treated as an afterthought, “the double portion” is theirs (Isa 61:7). Noticeably, understandable at one level, there were few under 30’s at the Diversity Dinner. This is spiritually unsustainable (https://www.nxtmove.global/generations-gathered-together).
Conclusion: healing remedies
Last year I was asked to come up with a list of “living martyrs” for the Church in Perth (Dr Ken Elliott etc). Has anything been done with that list? I strongly advocate 24/7 prayer, for lengthy corporate prayer will bring much difficult interpersonal revelation which is a sure remedy for event-driven spirituality where discipleship is impossible to discern! The difficult public exposure of historical sin and/or struggle has eminent biblical precedent e.g. Peter, John, Paul etc. For the newly minted MCLN – Multicultural Leaders Network to succeed, they will need to live out in their relationships, in order to qualify as city elders: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16). All this requires much united prayer from the Church in Perth!