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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 leaves 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)
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 messing 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 that 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
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