Jeremiah 23:28-29
New King James Version
“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
I
have contemplated all day on how I should give this word that has
been on my heart. I tried to do a video and it fell flat. I tried to
look up all the scriptures and form a convincing case for what I am
about to say and again, it didn't seem to settle well in my spirit.
How
does one deliver a word that is so deeply rooted in who they are and
at the same time deliver it with with grace and peace? As you can
probably tell by the title , this could end up in a very judgmental
place. If delivered from a place of bitterness, brokenness, offense
or pride this message could go very bad, very fast.
I am thankful that I have searched my heart, examined my soul and
checked with my spirit before deciding to deliver this word. I will
not use “Thus Sayeth The Lord” language. I am simply sharing what
I know to be true in my heart, what I expect is true in others hearts
and, the best that I can, what I believe The Lord wants to say on the
subject.
Let
me start with a few bullet points under the heading: Things
that I have heard over and over that I pray forever leave the
language banks of Church Leaders.
In particular those in the Five Fold Ministry, and especially Pastors
over local churches.
Prophets
are often lonely people (Or any variation of that comment)
Prophets
often fall away because they cant handle the call (Or any variation
of that comment)
Prophets
are isolated by the church because they are often misunderstood
and/or strange(Or any variation of that comment)
Prophets
can not be recognized publicly because it can cause trouble in them
or the church. (Or any variation of that comment)
After
each one of these I purposefully placed (Or
any variation of that comment) because
although these exact words may not have been used, these template
remarks cover the whole gambit of language we need to stop using. Many through tradition, cliche, ignorance and personal
experience,that was just excepted as “normal”, have used these
words as stones and without knowing it, have essentially stoned some
Prophets and The Prophetic Gift out of The Church.
Words
lead to actions. When the narrative in The Local Church concerning
The Office of The Prophet is one of isolation, loneliness and separation, we cause of
the very words we keep confessing over the men and woman called to
this powerful and essential office to manifest in their lives. Not
recognizing The Gift a person is to The Body is not kind, loving or
helpful to that person. It only assures whatever sense of isolation
and confusion they are experiencing because of the call is confirmed
and intensified. We have no problem nurturing , teaching, mentoring
those Pastors and Teachers in the church, even those who are still
working on their stuff and have a lot of growing and maturing to do.
We celebrate those who mentor them and raise them up, molding them and encouraging them. While
the Prophets among us are fed the words above, ignored, isolated and
left untaught and mentor-less.
Then
we wonder why so many leave, so many get unbalanced and enter into an
un-scriptural type of ministry. They have a fire in them, a call in
them that was given from eternity past, yet those who should have
helped them learn to walk in that call, made them feel:
Isolated
Strange
Abandoned
Unimportant
Lonely
The
stronger the anointing a Prophet may carry should be a sign that they
need to be brought closer and mentored deeper in that office, not the
opposite. The greatest test is not always how long a minister can go
unrecognized and still walk toward the call. Sometimes it is simply
how much training and teaching under the word are they willing to
submit to. We are killing The Prophetic Gift in our midst because we
refuse to walk in faith and “father” that Gift in The Church.
It
is no wonder we have so many people abusing prophecy , faking
prophecy and making the true Office of The Prophet into something The
Lord never intended.
This
“fear” shown by so many leaders in the church today expresses
itself in other ways as well. I see it when they think they have to
try and balance The Word and The Move of The Holy Spirit/The Gifts of
The Holy Spirit. I have seen the wet blanket society derail what The
Lord was doing so many times.
Now
don't get me wrong, everything needs to be done decently and in order
and we all have seen extremes and un-scriptural behavior quench The Holy
Spirit. It is a real and sometimes dangerous common occurrence in
church history where man tries to manufacture what The Lord has not
called for.
However
, we cant ignore the very real fact that sometimes we throw a wet
blanket on The Fire of The Spirit or build a damn in front of the
flow of The Spirit, because we don't like giving up that much control
when it messes with our neat little apple carts. I have done it in
my personal walk with The Lord more than a couple times, so I am in
no way judging. We just need to recognize that we are just as likely
to stop what The Lord is doing because of our own discomfort as we
are likely to get off into extremes.
Matter
of fact I would say a Church built upon The Word, The Spirit and His
Wisdom is unlikely to steer into extremes. Oh and The Gift that The
Prophet is to the local church, when he/she is taught well in The
Word and The Ways of The Spirit, can absolutely help keep a church on
course in The Spirit as they work with Pastors.
We
often reject and push aside the very people, ministries and activities that are
essential in the local church for a sustained, powerful and ever maturing flow of The Spirit and then pray that “revival” will
visit us again. I have to say with all humility, that type of
prayer, for some churches and ministers is like me praying to weigh
240 again, when I stopped the disciplines and habits that I had when
I did weigh 240 years ago.
The
Word of God is in itself Alive and Powerful. It is active and full of
explosive ability. The Spirit of God is always ready to confirm His
Word, He is always ready to demonstrate The Kingdom. The minister
who stand as a Prophet on earth , is filled with Gods Word. Even
before they are taught, they are born with the fire, they are
pregnant with His Word. They are sent into the earth and are born for
one purpose: To bring that word into the world and to an audience
ordained by God before the foundations of The World.
They
are no more important than the other Five Fold Gifts, although they
can at times carry a much heavier spiritual load. It is time we start
redeeming The Prophets from the enemies grip of confusion, isolation
and loneliness. That is not their identity or call.
Jesus
wasn't complementing his hometown when He said a Prophet is not
without honor except in his own town among his own people. It was not
a statement of positive truth, it was a statement of how they
dishonored Him. Just a side note it is recorded that He could do no
great miracles there except lay hands on a few folks and see them
healed. The move of The Spirit on His ministry was quenched because
they dishonored who He was. The gift of His Ministry was quenched.
People
often point toward Old Testament Prophets in trying to justify how
New Testament Prophets are treated or live now. As if that was a
theologically accurate way to look at them. It is not. The ones that
oppressed, rejected and murdered the Prophets were not spoken of well by
Jesus.
Do we want to be lumped in with those who pushed the Prophets
into isolation and fear? There are so many reasons why it is not
good doctrine to use the pain and suffering of some Old Testament
Prophets to brand a born again child of God , who is part of The Body
of Christ, as anything but an honored Gift to The Body.
I will end with this. Lets change the narrative concerning The Office
of The Prophet and those called to it. We are not weird, introverted
spiritual hermits who cant be trusted in the ministry in which we are
called. We can learn solid doctrine, submit to spiritual leadership,
follow scriptural disciplines and move powerfully in The Word and The
Spirit.
We
have to redeem this Gift and This Office from the ones that have gone
astray, the wolves, the hirelings and the false prophets. Most
importantly we need to help those who are struggling and confused
with the burning fire in them, to become The Mighty Men and Woman of
God they are called to become.
We
can be known as those who took the Prophet in and gave them a bed, a
cake and a drink, who gave them rest and shelter. Not those who
persecuted and murdered them
Posts
