Prophecyintroduction
I love prophecy. However, in the local church it is a gift and ministry that tends to attract suspicion and be marginalised or is allowed to go into unchecked extremes. Church leadership is often threatened by the prophetic. Prophetic people can sometimes clash with leadership and their revelation becomes a source of frustration for them. We want an authentic expression of prophecy that does not go to either extreme.
One of the most exciting things that happen in my lifewas when my wife and I began to attend a church that embraced the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It was amazing and refreshing to find that God would want to speak to me. In 1996 Mike Bickle noted in his excellent book Growing in the Prophetic that there was a great longing throughout the body of Christ to hear God in a personal way. It is still true today.
After falling in love with both receiving and giving words to people I later spent a period of my life avoiding prophecy. This was because of abuses of the gift, lack of accountability and a poor model of its operation in the local church I was later in. Discouraged, I put God’s prophetic voice on the shelf. Later I repented of this as I recognised that I had come close to having a contemptuous attitude toward the prophetic ministry which we are warned about in 1 Thessalonians 5:20.
I hope this booklet encourages us all to be open to both receive and give prophetic words. May we strengthen, encourage and comfort believers and demonstrate the power of God to the lost while keeping the integrity of prophetic ministry in our local church and beyond.
Dale Marthick
“…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy …”
Revelation 19:10
Prophecy contents
What is prophecy?______4
God speaks today
Power & purpose______6
What can prophecy do?
How does God speak?______7
Recognising His communications
3 levels of prophecy______8
… in the church
Giving a word of prophecy______9
Doing the stuff
Getting a word of prophecy______12
Did God really say that? What now?
Test all things______13
Discernment, Wisdom, Accountability
Appendix- Hearing from God______14
Recommended reading______16
What is prophecy?
God speaks today
For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though man may not perceive it Job 33:14
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me
John 10:27
Put simply, prophecy is God speaking to us to communicate His purposes for ourselves or for the benefit of others. He does this through various means and has commissioned His church to be a prophectic voice in the world.
The primary way God speaks to us is through his written word, the Bible. He has preserved His word over the centuries and it is the filter for all prophecy that is given. The Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself and any prophectic word that does not line up with Scripture is to be rejected. Scripture is no longer being written but God is still speaking. See Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20
In the Bible the common greek word for a writtenwordin the Scriptures is logos with Jesus being the LivingLogos in John 1. The greek word rhemameans something spokenand usually refers to God speaking through a prophetic message that is verbal.
17”‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy. Acts 2
In Revelation 19:10 we read that …the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy …and this is the foundation for all prophetic ministry today. It must reflect the nature of Jesus and the New Covenant He established by His blood at the Cross. Hebrews 10:19-23
John 1:17 tells us that the Old Covenant was centered in the Law of Moses but the New Testament is full of grace and truth. All prophetic ministry must be based on and delivered in grace and truth.
Acts 2:17 tells us that the Spirit of God has been poured out on all mankind and through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit we can flow in the gifts and power of the Spirit. When His Spirit comes on us we echo the OT prophet Amos’s observation:
The lion has roared—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign LORD has spoken—
who can but prophesy?Amos 3:8
1 Corinthians 14:3 says that the general gift of the Spirit of Prophecy has 3 purposes:
- To Strengthen
- Encourage and
- Comfort
Prior to this paul the apostle extensively laid out the foundation of love in 1 Corinthians 13 as being imperative in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit.
Prophecy can be Forth Telling- Acts 5:1-5- telling it like it is
Or Fore Telling– Acts 21:10-11- telling like it will be
In 2 Chronicles 7 God speaks to Solomon with awesome promises for him and the nation but in v14 we see that God’s prophetic promises are often conditional. They are usually dependant on our responses.
Power & Purpose
What can prophecy do?
God speaking does the following and more…..
Strengthens, Encourages, Comforts1 Cor. 14:3
Has Creative powerGenesis 1; John 1
Brings BreakthroughPsalm 29:4-9
Power EvangelismJohn 4; 1 Cor. 14:24-25
Protection2 kings 6:8-12
Revelation of God’s willJeremiah 29:11; Acts 13:1-3
Brings perspective2 Corinthians 12:9
Correction Acts 10:9-15
GuidanceActs 16:6-10
Prophetic Leadership
It was never God’s intention for the leaders of a local church tonotbe prophetic and rely on others for prophetic revelation. Leaders need to be able to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, Revelation 2-3, and respond. Prophetic leadership hears God and knows how to plan and position ourselves to move into our prophetic destiny.
How does God speak?
Recognizing His communications
How does God speak?
•God speaks in and through Jesus Christ- Hebrews 1:1
•God speaks through the Bible- Isaiah 8, 20
•God speaks through the Law- Romans 2-3
•God speaks through the church- Ephesians 3:10
•God speaks through the gifts of the Holy Spirit- 1 Cor. 12-14
•God speaks directly to our spirit and soul- John 10
•God speaks through creation- Psalm 19, 1-3; Romans 1:18-20
•God speaks through the conscience- Romans 2:3
•God speaks through specific actions- Jeremiah 27:2
•God speaks through a theophany- Exodus 3:1
•God speaks through dreams- Numbers 12:6; Acts 2:17
•God speaks through visions- Acts 9; Acts 2:17; 1 Samuel 3:1
•God speaks through poetry- Psalms
•God speaks through song- Isaiah 5
•God speaks through parables- Isaiah 5:1-7
•God speaks through an allegory-2 Samuel 12 :7
•God speaks through angels- Acts 10:1-8
•God speaks in strange ways! Numbers 22; Jonah; Exodus 3
•God speaks through life events- Hosea and Gomer
•God speaks through other people- 2 Samuel 12:4
•God speaks through dancing- Exodus 15; 2 Samuel 6
•God speaks through art & design- tabernacle & temples
•God speaks through an audible voice- Genesis 22:1, Exodus 3:3, Deuteronomy 5:22
•And more!
3 Levels of prophecy
in the church
1. A prophetic people- Acts 2:17
All of God’s people can prophesy. There is a general hearing of God’s voice that is inherent in having a relationship Him. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Anointing of God we hear God for ourselves and others. Acts1:8; Acts 2; Luke 4:18-19
2. Ministries in the revelation gifts- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Graeme Cooke is a well known prophetic voice in the world at this time. He believes that he has identified at least 60 variations in the prophetic ministry as God works through our unique personalities with the diversity of His Spirit. The gifts of word knowledge, word of wisdom,
prophecy, discernment of spirits and the interpretation of tongues can be developed as we grow in them to become ministries that we settle and operate in within the local church. Often people with prophetic gifting are led into the role of intercessory prayer.
3. Role of Prophet/Prophetess
Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that there are special ministry gifts of people that God has given to the body of Christ. These people are trans-local ministry people and one of these offices is the office of the prophet. The main purpose of a prophet is to equip the church to flow in hearing God’s voice and moving in the prophetic themselves. True Ephesians 3:11 prophets will be recognized in the wider body of Christ and will have a high level of accuracy and revelation in their prophetic ministry. See Acts 21:9-11
Giving a word
Prophesying Starting out
We need to first receive if we are to give. Fortunately we can do this freely and easily because God so wants to bless us with His presence and power. See Matthew 10:8; Luke 11:10-13. Once we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we get released into the gifts of the Spirit including the gift of prophecy. Speaking in tongues is a great way to connect with God as we seek to hear His voice. Getting someone with an established prophetic gift to lay hands on you for impartation is also wise.
We need to eagerly desire prophecy according to 1 Corinthians 14:1. This is the place to start- we simply need to passionately and sincerely come to a place of wanting to move in the prophetic. God will hear our desire and begin to wrestle with us as we work through to actually hearing Him. We need to be like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:9 and ask the Lord to speak to us and attune ourselves enough to actively listen.
It has been noted that when we hear the voice of God in our spirit or mind that God speaking to me sounds like me speaking to me. This is true. God inspired prophetic thoughts sound like our thought patterns but come with an anointing of the Holy Spirit that helps us determine that they are from God.
In the early stages of prophesying we are often uncertain and we should not move from the 1 Corinthians purpose of general prophecy to strengthen, encourage and comfort people. It is an awesome thing to speak on God’s behalf and we need to be sure that we are not misrepresenting Him- especially when we are inexperienced. Bounce words off church leadership first if you are uncertain.
In the early stages of prophesying people often have physical manifestations- having a sense of heat, a pounding heart or spiritual urgency to speak a word or picture- God can be helping us recognise that the word is from Him. But test everything! Jeremiah 20:9
Words for individuals
Lifegroups are the place to develop in hearing and giving words to individuals. Sometimes it is helpful to write words down and run them by your LG leader before you bring them.
In the corporate, Sunday, meetings of Living Hope we ask that public words for individuals be always passed through the elders or perhaps the ministry team if the elders are absent. The elders may also make way for gifted prophetic people who we trust to minister freely without passing every word through us- deacons may often do this as will visiting preachers, prophets and NCMI team members. We ask that all specific personal words for visitors be firstly passed through the elders and/or the person who brought them and then given privately so as to not unnecessarily embarrass them.
Words for groups or the church
There has to be accountability in the prophetic ministry. Lets face it, sometimes people get it wrong. Significant harm has come through destructive and unwise words that never wereGod or He simply didn’t want the wordspoken openly. It has been noted that prophets on earth are known by what they say and in heaven by what they don’t say!Just because we get a word we don’t necessarily have to give it- sometimes the Lord wants us to just pray into the situation.
At this stage in LHC we are content for our own people to bring a prophetic word that is general in nature and fits the 1 Corinthians mandate of strengthening, encouraging and comforting the church. We allow members of our church to bring these words and you do not have to pass them through the eldership. However, if you were to bring a corrective word, for example, to the church it would be inappropriate and we would have to correct it publically as it was given publically!
If you are unsure pass it though the eldership.
In our understanding of church life we see the elders have the role of dealing with issues of doctrine, direction & discipline- especially if this is prophetcially speaking.
Some thoughts and observations
Always, only, give what you get. Many people embellish words with their own thoughts. It is not wrong to say what you believe an interpretation may be but make it clear what you believe is God and what you think is your opinion or interpretation.
God is a God of love. When we pray for people we need to understand that the laying on of hands is a foundational truth in the church. See Hebrews 6:1. I have noticed over the years that as we lay loving hands appropriately on people prophetic revelation often flows as we connect with them and minister in the Spirit. Be open to this reality. Expect it.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,
which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6
See Test all Things- we need to test words before they are given as much as when we receive them.
Many prophetic people love the minor and major prophets of the OT and can fall into the trap of spending too much time reading them and identifying with these Old Covenant prophets. There is much to be learnt in these books but we must remember that we live in the New Covenant and guard against the sometimes judgmental and harsh tone of the OT prophets seeping into the NT expression of prophetic ministry. Read the NT more than the OT!
As with all ministries the character of people has a profound impact on the credibility of their ministries and all prophetic people need to be in solid covenant relationships in a local church submitted to local leadership.
Getting a word
Did God really say that?
What now? Test your words- see Test all Things
We need to realise that people make mistakes in the prophetic ministry. If we follow the foundations laid in the Word of Godthese mistakes will have minimal negative impact. With receiving words we need to be balanced in being open enough to not question everything so much that you can not receive but also not so accepting that you believe anything that is spoken over you. Words have power for good and for harm- especially if the wordsthus says the Lordare attached to them!
Youare meant to hear God’s voice- we don’t want to create a culture of dependance on prophetic ministryto hear God where we don’t spend time in intimacy with the Father and get His direction directly for ourselves. Hearing for ourselves should be the norm and prophecy is often confirming and inspiring and adds to our own revelation.
Write your words down/get the CD
Ask yourself- how does it sit with you?
Sumbit it to the leadership
Who gave it? Do they have credibility in hearing God?
In what manner was it spoken? Tone? Did it come through love?
Journal your words- look for patterns- wait on God-
Be like Mary and treasure what God reveals in your heart- Luke 2:19
Test all things
Discernment, wisdom, accountability
In the OT the penalty for not accurately speaking on God’s behalf was pretty drastic- they were executed! See Deuteronomy 13. This is surely a warning to us that even though we prophesy in part, 1 Corinthians 13:9, it should not be a licence to be careless. It is often good to acknowledge that sometimes we can only say I think/believe God is saying… and acknowledge that every person should test all words that we give them.
We need to weigh carefully what is brought- 1 Cor. 14:29
The Word of God is the final authority and filter for all prophecy
Godly Wisdom is needed- James 1:5
The character of the person, their experience, and thus credibility, in the prophetic ministry must be considered. We need discerment- 1 Cor. 12:10- to ascertain if the prophecy has it’s origins in God, a person’s own thoughts, or perhaps even the demonic- sometimes the word is mixed and has 2 or 3 of these components. Pray over everything!
Comparison of God and the Enemy’s ways
•God draws Satan drives
•God convicts Satan condemns
•God is never in a hurrySatan harasses
•God acceptsSatan accuses
•God is truthSatan is the father of lies and deceit
•God restoresSatan devours
•God brings peaceSatan brings confusion
•God gives faithSatan brings doubt
•God gives lifeSatan kills
Hearing from God- from Word for Today
"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:9
Too many of us think of prayer as just talking to God, rarely stopping to wonder if He might want to talk to us. How does God speak to us? (1) Through His Word. A familiar verse jumps off the page and takes on new meaning. (2) Through people. But you can't be so preoccupied or selective that you don't recognise them. (3) Through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads, rebukes, encourages, comforts and stretches us.
A lot of us, however, don't seem to expect God to speak to us at all. By our actions you'd think that Jesus packed up and went back to heaven 40 days after His resurrection and hasn't been heard from since. No, the Bible is full of accounts of God speaking to His children. If the essence of Christianity is a personal relationship with God, then God must still speak today. But you can't build a relationship on one-way speeches; you need regular, intimate contact between two persons, both of whom speak and both of whom listen.
Hearing God speak to us through His Spirit is not only normal, it's essential. Paul wrote you...are controlled...by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in youRomans 8:9. Once you turn your life over to Jesus, it can't be business as usual. Life no longer consists only of that which can be seen, felt or figured out. It includes walking by faith! Trusting God! Constantly opening yourself to His voice and to the leadings of His Spirit!
Some of us are reluctant to open ourselves to God's leadings. Why? Because we know people who claim to be doing this, but their approach scares us. They expect God to choose their socks in the morning and their restaurant for dinner. They claim to experience a leading an hour, a vision a day, a miracle a week. In reaction to this, some of us run in the opposite direction. To us, the Holy Spirit's promptings seem to go against human nature and conventional thought. Accustomed to steering our own ship, we're squeamish about letting Him lead. We wish the package was a little neater; it seems too illusive and mysterious. It unnerves us. So when we sense the Spirit's leading, we resist it, analyse it, and conclude it isn't logical; therefore we don't pay attention to it. What a loss!
Some of us want to obey the Spirit, but we're not sure we know when He's really speaking. Am I hearing my own desires or God's voice? Not wanting to go off the deep end, we avoid the water altogether. All these reactions are understandable. We've all experienced them. Yet Paul writes Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit Galatians 5:25 When you fail to open yourself to God's Spirit and keep in step with Him, your Christian life becomes boring and worst of all - unfruitful. Don't let that happen to you!