The Gift Of Prophecy VS The Office Of The Prophet

Almost every time I teach on Prophecy, Prophets or Prophetic Gifting; I usually make this statement somewhere as a foundational truth: “Every Prophet will Prophesy, but not everyone who Prophesies is a Prophet!” I recently posted this statement on Facebook and got a slew of “Likes” and comments stating things like: “Too many do not understand the difference, and the difference is vast!” “If the Church taught it properly we would not have this confusion.”

Getting this kind of feedback lets me know that there is, in spite of all the excellent teaching and books that are out there, still a tremendous amount of ignorance in the Body of Christ when it comes to this subject matter.

First of all the Gift of Prophecy is one of the nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit that we find listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, which operates as the Spirit wills. The Office of the Prophet is a Ministry Gift found in Ephesians 4:11 and the TWO ARE NOT THE SAME!

I know that there is a teaching out there that says well gifts are gifts are gifts. To me that is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. That is like saying well sports are sports are sports. You don’t play Football with Baseball Rules! Nobody has ever thrown a home run pass, but they have thrown a touchdown pass. Gifts of the Spirit and five-fold Ministry Gifts are not the same. They have different purposes and are given different ways.

When it comes to the Gift of Prophecy, like all the other eight Gifts of the Holy Spirit the Bible is quite clear that these gifts operate as the Spirit wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11) So it is evident from this that the Gifts of the Spirit are Gifts that the Holy Spirit gives or administers.

When it comes to the Office of the Prophet, like the other four Ascension Gifts of Christ the Bible is clear that when Jesus ascended up on high HE gave Gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8-11) So it is evident from this that the Ascension Gifts or 5 Fold Gifts are given by the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ.

One is a Gift that is given by the Holy Spirit and the other is a Gift that is given by Jesus. The Gifts of the Spirit are given to provide for and meet needs while the 5 Fold Ministry Gifts are given to Equip the saints. Their purpose is not even the same. So Prophecy and a Prophet are not the same thing. Yet as we stated at the beginning: “Every Prophet will Prophesy, but not everyone who Prophesies is a Prophet!”

Prophecy is just one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that will function in the life of a Prophet, not the only one, there are others as well. You could say that the Prophet will have the gift of Prophecy fully developed in their life and ministry and will flow in it at a much higher level than someone who just gives a ‘Prophetic Word’.

The New Testament truth is that every Born Again, Spirit Filled, Believer can and should prophesy.

“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 NKJV

Who was 1 Corinthians written to? To the Church that was at Corinth. (1 Corinthians 1:2) Notice Paul in writing to the church admonished them to desire (the New American Standard Bile says desire earnestly) spiritual gifts and especially prophecy. So out of all nine gifts of the Spirit that He gives to the Church to provide for and meet needs we are told to especially desire the Gift of Prophecy. Now if it wasn’t for all believers, why would the Apostle Paul say to desire this gift above all the others?

When we consider the Ministry Gift, the Office of the Prophet, it is quite different. Where the Gift of Prophecy all believers are encouraged to believe for and earnestly desire it, the Office of the Prophet is for those that are hand selected by the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the wording in Ephesians chapter 4 in relation to the Ascension Gifts:

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” Ephesians 4:11 NKJV (Emphasis Mine)

Did you happen to notice the word ‘Some’? Notice it did not say He gave all…it says He gave some. This indicates to us that this Gift of the Office of the Prophet as well as the other four Ministry Gifts are limited. Notice also what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth along this line:

“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts…” 1 Corinthians 12:28-31a NKJV (Emphasis Mine)

The way Paul is asking the questions rhetorically the obvious answer is NO! All are not Apostles! All are not Prophets! All do not have the Gifts of Healings! Did you also notice that Prophecy is not mentioned here? I believe that was not by mistake or happenstance because as we saw in the above references all Believers could and should Prophesy.

So clearly we can see that the Gift of Prophecy is for all Believers but the Office of the Prophet is for a select few.

Such As I Have

I have been thinking about this very familiar passage of Scripture from the Book of Acts:

“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. ² And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; ³ who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. ⁴ And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. ⁵ And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. ⁶ Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. ⁷ And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. ⁸ And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. ⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God: ¹⁰ and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.” Acts 3:1-10 KJV

The phrase that stands out to me is: “Such as I have give I thee.” You can only give what you have. If you don’t have it you can’t give it. I think many times today unfortunately we have too many folks who don’t have anything to give. I remember when I was in Rhema Bible Training Center back in the 80’s, sometimes Dad Hagin, (Rev. Kenneth E Hagin) used to say that it would be like laying empty hands on empty heads.

How sad for any of us to have empty hands. We have been given the Authority of the Name of Jesus to use…the Name that is above every other name…that everything that can be named has to bow to. We have been given the written Word of God that is forever settled in heaven. And lastly we have been given the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Himself said that we would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon us (Acts 1:8). If we have been baptized in or filled with the Holy Spirit we have been given power. I think sometimes we fail to realize the Power of the Spirit that we received.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome tells us:

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11 KJV

It was the Power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. That is the same Holy Spirit that you have been baptized in or filled with. What that means when you got filled with the Holy Spirit you got anointed with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!

Remember what Peter preached at Cornelius’ house in Acts 10:

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵ but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. ³⁶ The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) ³⁷ that word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. ³⁹ And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: ⁴⁰ him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly.” Acts 10:34-40 KJV

Notice Peter said that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with Power. Which Holy Spirit was He anointed with? Jesus was anointed with the same Holy Spirit that we get anointed with when we are baptized in or filled with the Holy Spirit. If Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil because God was with him, so should we, we have access to the same power of the same Holy Spirit.

Some folks think oh we couldn’t do that Jesus was the Son of God. Well so are you according to John 1:12. But as many as received Him to them He gave the right or authority to be called Sons of God. The truth is Jesus did not do what He did because He was the Son of God; he did what He did because He was anointed by the Power of the Spirit. Remember Philippians tells us (Chapter 2 verse 7) that he emptied Himself of all of His divine attributes and came as a man tempted in all points like we are yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

So you may ask when was Jesus anointed with the Holy Spirit and why did He need to be. He needed to be because He Emptied Himself. Ask yourself was Jesus still omnipresent when he was here in His earthly ministry or was He limited to time and space like we are. Obviously you know the answer to that question that is why He needed to be anointed with the Holy Spirit and with Power. As far as when, you most likely know the answer but just haven’t paid attention to it. At the Baptism of John when the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove and the Father spoke from the excellent glory and said: “This is my Beloved Son.”

In fact if you study the four Gospel accounts of the events leading up to John’s Baptism and just after you will find no mention of the fact that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit anywhere in His life until you come to the beginning of Luke Chapter 4, where it records that Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit was lead of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. But nowhere in any of the Gospel accounts does it record that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit before this time. And Luke Chapter 4 is right after the Baptism of John which occurs toward the end of Chapter 3. And then at the end of His temptation Luke also records for us that returned to Galilee in the Power of the Spirit, which is when He went into the temple, picked up the scroll and read from Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me.”

The amazing thing is that if you compare Acts 1:8 which Jesus spoke about us and Acts 10:38 which Peter spoke about Jesus; you will find that they are the same. “But you shall receive Power (Greek word Dunamis – self energizing explosive miracle working power) after the Holy Spirit has come on you.” “How God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and Power (Greek word Dunamis – self energizing explosive miracle working power) who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil for God was with Him.” Notice it is the same Greek word talking about what we receive and what Jesus received.

This is why Jesus said: “The works that I do you shall do also…” Why? Because we have the same Power of the same Holy Spirit that Jesus was anointed with. Thank God we don’t have to be laying empty hands on empty heads…we have something in our hands…what Jesus had in His…if we will just believe it! Such as I have…I give to you. What do you have? You have what Jesus Had!

Beginning To Flow In Prophecy

Since I am a Prophet who teaches on the Gifts of the Spirit in general and the Gift of Prophecy specifically, quite regularly I get asked questions along this line: How do I begin to flow in the Gift of Prophecy? How do I know if it is God or just me? What if I don’t sound like others that I hear prophesying?

These are all good valid questions to ask. Before we get into the specifics of answering them and would serve us well to lay somewhat of a basic foundation.

What exactly is Prophecy anyway?

Prophecy is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit where a believer is inspired to speak a message from God in a known language. (Known to the speaker)

What do I mean by a known language and known to the speaker? The only language that I know how to speak is English, so therefore I can only prophesy in English. I met a man on one of my trips to Africa that spoke seven languages. Guess how many languages he could prophesy in? You guessed it…seven…because he knew how to speak seven.

Many times because we look at Bible Prophecy and we see that it is predicting the future, this causes us to think that the Gift of Prophecy must always be declaring something that is to come. That is not the case. Actually the Gift of the Spirit that deals with the Revelation of the Purpose and Plan of God…that which is yet unborn, is the Word of Wisdom, which sometimes can come out through the vehicle of Prophecy, but Prophecy in and of itself in its simplest form has no Revelation in it.

So what it is Prophecy in its simplest form? The book of Revelation tells us:

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” Revelation 19:10 NKJV

So to make a compound definition of Prophecy, we would come up with: speaking by the inspiration of the Spirit in a language that you know how to speak where you share the testimony of Jesus.

This takes a lot of the pressure off for folks. So many when they are starting out compare themselves to other’s that are more proficient in the development and operation of the gift than they are and think that in order to Prophesy they must do what they see others do. Nothing could be further from the truth! Prophecy and Prophetic Gifting is something that you grow and develop in. I started to operate in what Kenneth E Hagin used to call “The Simple Gift of Prophecy” (basic prophecy described above, containing no revelation in it) as a Freshman in high School when I was 15 years old. The level of the gift that I operate in now having exercised and operated in it for almost 32 years is quite different than where I started.

It is important to remember that when you start you will speak very general and basic words and NEVER GET STUCK COMPARING YOURSELF TO SOMEONE MORE EXPERIENCED THAN YOU!

When it comes to understanding how the Prophetic comes to us, it will usually come one of two ways:

·         The Nabi Anointing

·         The Seer Anointing

The Nabi Anointing is when the words bubble up out of your spirit…the same place that Jesus spoke of when He said out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. The Seer Anointing is more visual and you either see words, pictures or mini movies.

Quite often in the Old Testament when the Prophets spoke the Scriptures record them saying: “The word of the Lord came unto me saying”. This is the Nabi anointing and the way I minister about 75% of the time. Quite often when I prophecy I will say: “I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying”, same idea, the Nabi anointing.

The Old Testament also tells us that a Prophet was formerly called a Seer. (1 Samuel 9:9) The reason they were called the Seer was because they could see. I only operate this way about 25% of the time.

Some people like me are stronger in one than they are the other. Some only operate in one or the other. And some flow in both equally, but that is quite rare.

Now that we understand what Basic Prophecy or The Simple Gift Of Prophecy is and we understand the two general ways that Prophecy comes to us, how do we know if it is God or us?

Again let me reiterate that you should never compare yourself to others as it will leave you feeling inadequate and afraid to step out. Whichever way it comes to you Seer or Nabi, ask yourself: “Does this agree with Scripture?” Second look to your spirit man, your innermost being, that place again that Jesus spoke of when He said out of your innermost being or out of your belly (depending on the translation), and see if you have peace inside. Does it feel like velvet? Or does it feel like sandpaper? Velvet = God! Sandpaper = not God.

I know when I first started all those years ago I would play the vacillation game saying Lord is this me or is this You? Many have felt that way and I am sure you will to. Quite often in the beginning God in His mercy gives us some physical manifestations to help confirm to us that it is indeed Him. You might feel like butterflies in your stomach, tingling in your arms or heat in your hands or in your belly are all quite common. (It should be noted that these physical manifestations do not last forever, as God expects you to grow and develop in your gifting and not require them.)

When you feel these types of things, you have peace like velvet in your spirit and you know it agrees with the Word, follow the Protocol of your local church (key point I can’t go into here) and go ahead and release what you believe you have. Will you start perfect? Probably not, nobody does, but we all grow. It is up to local leadership to then coach and lovingly correct you. Not long ago we had a service where a few actually stepped out and released what was in their spirit for the first time. I went around the room and asked folks what is stirring in your belly? What feels like butterflies in your belly? I then instructed them to go ahead and release those things.

IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A LONG DETAILED WORD TO BE FROM GOD! Start where you are. Remember the Word says:

“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.” Romans 12: 6 NKJV

You can only prophesy according to the proportion of your faith and in the beginning your faith is not that great in this area…so again, don’t compare yourself to others that are more advanced in their gifting than you are in yours.

Finally, remember that God created you as a unique one of kind individual with your own gifts, talents, and abilities and anointing on your life. Nobody else is like you. You were created to be an original, not a copy. Be yourself! Don’t try to sound like somebody else! Sound like you! God will use your normal every day speech patterns, verbiage and conversation style just as much as He will use anybody else’s, you don’t have to be somebody you are not to be used by God in the Gift of Prophecy!

Blessings!

WAIT WAIT WAIT

I went to sleep last night praying in the Spirit. I woke up this morning hearing the Lord saying WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! Then this Scripture came to me:

“Then the Lord answered me and said: ‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.’” Habakkuk 2: 2 & 3 NKJV

So often when we get a Prophetic Word we have a tendency to run off immediately with it thinking it is for right now. As I look back over my life I can look at many Prophetic Words that I received that took years to even begin to come to pass and some I am still waiting for. Don't get in a hurry trying to make what God told you come to pass! Many have almost shipwrecked their life, me included, not understanding or knowing the timing of God.

I remember in 1982, right after I got married, my wife and I were on our way to Tulsa, OK for me to attend Rhema Bible Training Center (now Rhema Bible Training College). We made a slight detour on our way from NJ to OK via MI where my sister Bonnie and her family lived at the time for a visit.

During that visit we went to church with them and her Pastor, Robert Doorn (known to many the world over as Papa Doorn) called me out and prophesied to me on the Sunday night we were there. Here is an excerpt of what he prophesied to me that night, August 29, 1982:

“The Lord would say to you tonight Brother Mike, The Spirit of God would say, that while your Mother and Father are going to the mission field, they’re only going to blaze a trail before you. For surely, the trail they will blaze, shall even be a trail that you yourself will walk and minister under the anointing of My Spirit. You shall see multitudes healed and delivered and set free by My power, for behold, I’ll put the Word of Faith within you...”

Now here is what we need to learn about the Prophetic. THERE IS TIMING TO THE PROPHETIC! I didn’t take my first missionary trip to Africa until 1987, right after I graduated from Rhema, five years later. I didn’t really see multitudes get healed through my ministry until 1993 on a missions trip to Uganda during a crusade where the Gift of Faith fell on me, six years after my first missionary trip, and eleven years after I received the Prophetic Word.

The true legitimate Prophetic Word of God will always come to pass, but not on our time, on God’s time, and more times than not, they are not the same! What I think we fail to realize is that the language of the Prophetic can confuse us. For example, many times in Prophetic Words we will here God say “Soon”. Well, we immediately run off trying in our strength and ability to cause that word to come to pass because God said “Soon”.

We must remember that “Soon” to God and “Soon” to us mean two different things. God lives outside of time and we live in time. God measures time totally different than we do. Peter gives us a clue:

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8 NASB

So if we take this formula that Peter gives and apply it to Bible Prophecy it helps us in interpreting the Scriptures.

“He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:2 & 3 NASB

I want you to pay attention to the underlined words in this text…two days & third day. In this portion of Scripture the Prophet is declaring that some things will take place after two days and on the third day. My question to you is this…was this Scripture fulfilled after two days from when it was written?

Most of you who understand where we are in God’s timetable understand that these promises that the Prophet declared are things that we are walking in today. Using Peter’s time calculation formula, it has been 2 days, or 2000 years since Christ was here and we are now in the beginning of the third day, or the third 1000 year period. (I have a whole message I preach from this text titled: “Where Are We Now”, but that is not the focus of this article, understanding God’s timing is)

If God has given you a promise…it will come to pass! Just don’t be in a hurry trying to make it come to pass. There is Timing to every Prophetic Word. Remember it is for an Appointed Time. Though it tarries…WAIT for it…for it will surely come!

Where Are We Now

It is always important to understand where we are in God’s time and season.‭ ‬We don’t want to be like the Pharisees of Jesus‭’ ‬day that could not discern the signs of the times.‭ (‬Matthew‭ ‬16:3‭) ‬Instead we want to be like the sons of Issachar,‭ ‬who were men who understood the times.‭ (‬1‭ ‬Chronicles‭ ‬12:32‭) ‬So,‭ ‬where are we right now in God’s timetable‭? ‬If we look to the Scriptures,‭ ‬we can find the answer.

‭“‬He will‭ ‬revive us after two days‭; ‬He will‭ ‬raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.‭ ‬So let us‭ ‬know,‭ ‬let us press on to‭ ‬know the Lord.‭ ‬His going forth is certain as the dawn‭; ‬and He will come to us like the‭ ‬rain,‭ ‬like the‭ ‬spring rain watering the earth.‭” ‬Hosea‭ ‬6:2‭ & ‬3‭ ‬NASB

These two verses give us a clear picture of where we are in God’s timing and what we should be experiencing.‭ ‬I think most people in the Body of Christ understand Peter’s explanation of God’s timing in‭ ‬2‭ ‬Peter‭ ‬3:8:‭ ‬1000‭ ‬years‭ = ‬1‭ ‬day,‭ ‬1‭ ‬day‭ = ‬1000‭ ‬years.‭ ‬It has been‭ ‬2000‭ ‬years since Jesus‭’ ‬earthly ministry,‭ ‬or‭ ‬2‭ ‬days since Jesus walked the earth,‭ ‬so what happens now‭? ‬I see four things:‭ ‬He Will Revive Us,‭ ‬He Will Raise Us,‭ ‬He Will Reveal To Us and He Will Refresh Us.‭ ‬Let us consider them briefly one at a time.

First,‭ ‬HE WILL REVIVE US.‭ ‬Notice in our text that He will revive us,‭ ‬not the world,‭ ‬us‭ (‬His people‭)‬.‭ ‬Notice also that this will take place after‭ ‬two days,‭ ‬or‭ ‬2000‭ ‬years.‭ ‬The people of God are about to walk into the greatest revival that they have ever experienced‭! ‬Most folks in the church don’t understand revival‭; ‬they seem to think that revival is when people get saved,‭ ‬however that is evangelism and conversion,‭ ‬which are off-shoots of a true revival.‭ ‬Let us look to the definitions of the word revival for a better understanding.‭ ‬Revival means:‭ ‬To come or bring back to LIFE or consciousness,‭ ‬resuscitate.‭ ‬Its second definition is:‭ ‬To come or bring back to a healthy,‭ ‬vigorous,‭ ‬or flourishing condition after A DECLINE.‭ ‬Isn’t that a picture of the church today‭? ‬God is about to bring us back to a healthy,‭ ‬vigorous and flourishing condition‭! ‬We are no longer going to be sleep walking,‭ ‬going through the motions of our Christian lives‭! ‬It is time to sing with the great hymn writer:‭ “‬Revive Us Again‭”!

Second,‭ ‬HE WILL RAISE US.‭ ‬Notice in our text that on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him.‭ ‬I want to focus on the two words,‭ ‬raise and‭ ‬live in this verse.‭ ‬At first glance,‭ ‬you would think that God will elevate us on the third day‭ (‬or the beginning of the‭ ‬3000th year according to Peter’s equation‭)‬,‭ ‬which would be good,‭ ‬but a deeper look at the original Hebrew reveals quite a bit more.‭ ‬This word raise carries with it the added meanings of:‭ ‬CONFIRMING,‭ ‬ORDAINING‭ & ‬ESTABLISHING.

Notice also that the text says that the reason that He will raise us is so that we may live before Him.‭ ‬There is an intended purpose to this raising.‭ ‬A deeper look at the meaning of this Hebrew word for live carries the added meaning of:‭ ‬NOURISHING,‭ ‬SAVING‭ & ‬BEING WHOLE.‭ ‬Therefore we could say that on the third day‭ (‬which is the day we are living in‭)‬,‭ ‬that God will CONFIRM,‭ ‬ORDAIN‭ & ‬ESTABLISH us that we may be NOURISHED,‭ ‬SAVED‭ & ‬WHOLE before Him‭!

Third,‭ ‬HE WILL REVEAL TO US.‭ ‬Notice the words of our text,‭ ‬so let us‭ ‬know,‭ ‬let us press on to‭ ‬know the Lord.‭ ‬This speaks of revelation.‭ ‬A closer look at this word know in the Hebrew carries with it the meanings of:‭ ‬PERCIVING,‭ ‬HAVING REVELATION‭ & ‬BEING SHOWN.‭ ‬We are living today in the day that the people of God are going to walk in the greatest revelation that any people of God have ever walked in throughout all of human history simply because of where we are in God’s timetable‭! ‬God wants us to know:‭ ‬WHO HE IS,‭ ‬HOW HE THINKS,‭ ‬WHAT HE FEELS‭ & ‬HOW HE WORKS.‭ ‬This revelation will come to us one of three primary ways:‭ ‬The Spirit of God will open the eyes of our understanding as we spend time in His Word,‭ ‬The Spirit of God will speak to,‭ ‬give images to,‭ ‬or make impressions on our hearts during prayer,‭ ‬praise and worship,‭ ‬and finally the Spirit of God will manifest His gifts in our midst and speak to us prophetically as we are open to His moving amongst us.

Finally,‭ ‬HE WILL REFRESH US.‭ ‬Notice in our text He will come to us like the rain,‭ ‬like the‭ ‬spring rain.‭ ‬Rain in Scripture is a symbol for the refreshing that comes from the manifest presence of the Lord‭ (‬see Acts‭ ‬3:19‭)‬.‭ ‬The prophet stresses that on the third day God will come to us not just as the rain,‭ ‬but as the SPRING RAIN.‭ ‬This is a key phrase in Scripture.‭ ‬In studying the rain of the Holy Spirit in Joel chapter‭ ‬2,‭ ‬the footnotes of my New American Standard Bible make mention of the fact that the Early Rain‭ = ‬the Autumn Rain,‭ ‬while the Later Rain‭ = ‬the Spring Rain.‭ ‬The early rain came at planting time,‭ ‬the spring rain comes at harvest time to get the crop to a place of maturity,‭ ‬and ready to be harvested.

There are going to be two great coming harvests.‭ ‬The first is the last day great harvest of souls into the Kingdom of God.‭ ‬The second is the harvest of God’s people being caught away‭ (‬The Rapture Of The Church‭)‬.‭ ‬Jesus is coming for a spotless bride that is mature and ready to meet Him when He comes.‭ ‬It will take the last day outpouring of the Spring Rain to get this crop of the church to come to a place of maturity ready to be harvested.‭ ‬I can remember all the books written about the Second Coming‭ (‬like‭ ‬88‭ ‬reasons Jesus was coming in‭ ‬1988‭)‬.‭ ‬Obviously the church was not ready,‭ ‬because the third day outpouring of the Spring Rain had not yet come to bring her to that place of maturity,‭ ‬ready to meet Him.‭ ‬We are living in the day of that outpouring‭! ‬Get ready for it‭!

It is clear from these two verses of Scripture that God has some specific things in mind for His people of the THIRD DAY CHURCH.‭ ‬It is up to us to recognize what His purpose is and place a demand on the purpose of God.‭ ‬It is up to us whether we walk in the fullness of what His purpose is or not.‭ ‬As for me,‭ ‬I will experience HIS REVIVING,‭ ‬HIS RAISING,‭ ‬HIS REVEALING‭ & ‬HIS REFRESHING‭! ‬How about you‭?

The New Move Of God Isn’t Coming…It’s Here!

I don’t know how many of you pay attention to or are students of Prophetic Words. But being a Prophet it is something I pay very close attention to. Not just my own but also those of other national and local Prophets that I respect or am in relationship with. This does a couple of things:

·        It gives you a sense of what God is speaking all over as you compare prophetic words.

o   I liken this to some of the principles of Hermeneutics.

§  One Principle is called the complete mention principle – where you take all the Scriptures that deal with a particular subject as a whole to get the full implication of what the Bible says on that subject.

§  Another Principle is called the comparative mention principle – where you compare and contrast two Scriptures that deal with the same subject to see how they are the same and/or different.

o   We can and should do the same thing with Prophetic Words that come from various sources that deal with the same subject matter. Look at them as a whole and compare and contrast them against one another.

·        Secondly as you compare what others are speaking with what you are speaking it lets you know that you are in the flow with what the Spirit of God is saying through other vessels.

 

We always need to remember that none of us has complete prophetic revelation or gets it all. “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” 1 Corinthians 13:9 NASB We all get a piece of what God is revealing…and when we put all the pieces together…we know what God is saying in total.

 

Having studied Prophetic Words over the last several years, they were full of verbiage like: “We are on the verge of a new move of God” or “We are on the precipice of the next wave that God is about to release”. But over the last several months that Prophetic Language has changed. Now God has been declaring that: “We have crossed over into the new move of God” or “The new move of God is no longer coming…it is here”.

 

That right there should make you shout! But of course one of the ways we judge the Prophetic, besides does it line up with Scripture, or does it bring edification, exhortation and/or comfort, or does it bear witness with your spirit is…does it come to pass.

 

Let me recount for you some things that I have experienced over the last few months that let me know that indeed we have crossed over and we are in it now!

 

The first Sunday of March of this year the Lord gave me a prophetic word that: “We had crossed into a season of seeing, hearing and knowing”. Now for background sake I must make you aware that I have always been predominantly a Nabi Prophet, meaning the prophetic word just bubbled up out of my spirit. I had little if any Seer gifting or anointing.

 

That afternoon while at a ministry board meeting for a dear friend, while in prayer I stared up at the ceiling of her living room and was watching a full color movie. I explained to her everything that I was seeing and she said the fire of God was on her from head to toe as I explained what I saw. Up until that time…I had never operated this way, but that morning I prophesied a new season of seeing, hearing and knowing, and it manifested in my life immediately…and has been growing since.

 

She has confirmed to me that the things which saw and declared to her she is now beginning to walk in. Fast forward to about six weeks ago, I was again at a board meeting for this same ministry. Part of this lady’s calling is clinical Christian counseling and deliverance. At this second board meeting I prophesied to her that in the very near future she was going to have to choose between her education and training and the river that was flowing in her spirit. Exactly two weekends later she had to make that choice and thank God she followed the river in her spirit and not her education and training and God wrought mighty deliverance.

 

The end of September a lady came into the service that had never been in our local church before. Unbeknown to me or anyone else she could not hear out of one of her ears…she only had ringing in the ear. While I was preaching…her ear popped open! I didn’t pray for her, I didn’t touch her, but God did and she could now hear out of that ear. That same service I laid hands on almost everyone in the church during ministry time and a lady who had been having severe back and leg pain for months had all the pain instantly vanish. So much so that she was able to move furniture pain free.

 

The end of October at a recent Apostolic & Prophetic Summit that my Mom and I were privileged to minister at, I ministered to a man by the laying on of hands as my Mom declared a suddenly in his life for healing in his back. He came up to me later to tell me he had been in excruciating pain for years because of two disintegrated discs in his back…but he was now pain free.

 

Folks this is just a sample of what is taking place. I want to encourage you that the new move of God is not coming…It Is Here!

Status Quo Christianity

I have been forever ruined for just the same old, same old of normal Christianity. I have fed on the books of Tommy Tenney and Ruth Ward Heflin. Both authors’ theme is along the same line, stressing a message I believe the Spirit of God is stressing to the body of Christ today. I highly recommend these authors. Reading these books has done two things for me: First, they have given me a greater desire to experience more of God, and, Second, they have given me HOLY DISDAIN for status quo Christianity.

 

The dictionary defines status quo as: the existing condition or state of affairs. I believe that is what we have in the Church today. The same existing condition just exists. We seem to be satisfied with the status quo. Everyone believes that there is going to be a great last day move of God’s Spirit in the earth before the Lord can return. Most believers even want to see it and pray for it to come. Yet what puzzles me is we expect to do the same things we have always done and somehow expect to get different results. The truth is if we only do what we have always done we will continue in status quo Christianity. God deliver us from the status quo!

 

Don’t misunderstand me; I am a firm believer in the timing of God as well as the SOVRIENTY OF GOD, (a doctrine many in the Body of Christ seem to have forgotten.) However I also believe we have a part to play. I still believe that God responds to the hunger in the hearts of His people. I believe if we want to experience more than we are experiencing right now we must do something beyond the status quo that we have been doing. A friend of mine once put it this way: “We have too much safe Christianity today; we need to get Radical in our Christianity.” I wholeheartedly agree.

 

The admonition of the Word is very clear: “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new…” Isaiah 43:18 & 19a NASB I can’t help but think if God is going to do something NEW, perhaps maybe we should too. He told us to forget about the way we have always done it. I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say, FORGET ABOUT STATUS QUO CHRISTIANITY BECAUSE I WANT TO DO SOMETHING NEW! I believe it is time for us to adopt the philosophy of the Apostle Paul: “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” Philippians 4:13 NLT Paul said he focused all his energy on forgetting the past. It is time for us to forget the past and the way we used to do things. As long as we keep doing what we have always done, I doubt that we will see the new thing that God desires to do.

 

In one of my favorite parts of Tommy Tenney’s book, “God’s Favorite House” he described a scenario that unfortunately I am all too familiar with. “Frankly, I think we have lost our ability to honor God in our churches. We sing our praise songs with enthusiasm for a little while, but as soon as some of the more radical people in the congregation begin to press into genuine worship, we start glancing at our watches. We might as well say what is in our hearts, ‘Okay, God, we sure would like it if you would come, but if you don’t do it pretty soon, we know how to go on without you. We have a schedule to keep, you know.’” (Page 50, bottom of page) How sad you must be thinking. However, I have come across this mentality all too many times in the last several years.

 

We have been doing the status quo and going on without God. We have had His omnipresence, but not His manifest presence. There is a price to pay for His manifest presence and the status quo isn’t it! I don’t want to go on without God (His manifest presence) anymore. Jesus said: “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. Matthew 5:6 The Message Have you worked up a good appetite for God? In the New American Standard Bible, it goes on to say that those who do will be satisfied. How satisfied are you? I am not satisfied with the status quo anymore! I want more! Jesus said I could be satisfied, and I intend on doing just that. It is time our appetites for God increase.

 

A phrase that I have adopted of late is “Divine Dissatisfaction”. I believe that is what God wants and expects from us. I believe by His Spirit He is releasing something in the hearts of His people that is crying: “There must be something more! I am not satisfied with just this! There has to be more!” One of my favorite modern worship songs by Jonathan Stockstill called: “Chasing After You” carries this thought:

 

There must be more now Father
There must be more now Spirit
There must be more now Jesus
Rain down Rain down

 

Not that we are ungrateful for what He has done and is doing, but rather thankful for what He has done and is doing, all the while realizing that there is still so much more that He has for us and not being satisfied until we see it. When we want more of God as bad as the man in the dessert wants the next drink of water then we are ready for more.

 

Change never comes until people believe there is a need for change. An alcoholic never seeks to get clean until he realizes that he has a problem. I know that the Church in general has had a problem; we have been stuck in status quo Christianity. I hope this blog helps you realize the paralyzing effects of status quo Christianity and gives you enough of a righteous indignation to do something about it. Let’s put status quo Christianity on the cross, develop a greater appetite for God, and walk in His manifest presence.