Prophets # 2
q The British man of God, Derek Prince, a number of years ago put
out a wonderful little book on how to know the will of the Lord for our
lives. He compared our knowing the Lord’s
will to the lining up of three buoys in a rocky channel of water that leads
away from our own little harbor, into the immense ocean of God’s will and ways.
q For those of us who have been out boating,
we know that as an ocean going vessel leaves the safe confines of its harbor to
proceed out to sea, it must do so by lining up itself with a series of floating
buoys who guide it to safety from dangerous rocks on the sides of the narrow
channel of water.
q Prince goes on to say that the will of the Lord consists of three
buoys that must be in line with each other before we can safely act for the
Lord and not smash ourselves against the rocks of deception or spiritual
burnout.
q Buoy # 1 is the written or logos Word of God. If what you and I want is not in the written Word of God, we
might as well not even entertain the thought of it.
q Buoy # 2 is a rhema word to us about the written
Word of God. As I have always taught,
the rhema or living word of God’s Spirit takes out something specific about the
logos word that God wants us to obtain, and gives to it God’s timing and
direction for us.
q Derek Prince tells us that it is not
enough to simply go out into our spiritual sea by the logos word, but that we
must have a precise word from the Lord as to what He would have us specifically
do, as well as His timing for its execution.
q Buoy # 3 : This is always the last buoy to line up
and is the one that most of the times causes us the most difficulty. This third buoy represents the timing of God
rhema word. It can also be called, “
obtaining the right circumstances.”
Every time that we are to act in accordance with a specific rhema word
of God given to us out of the Bible, we must wait for the circumstances to be
right in order be able to execute it.
q The Lord placed in Moses’ heart the rhema
word that he was to deliver the house of Israel from the hand of the
Egyptians. Moses attempted to do so
when the circumstances were not right, because the timing of God was not yet at
hand. The results were almost
disastrous in that Moses had to flee from the Egyptians. God brought this rhema word to pass in
Moses’ life forty years later when Moses was broken from all fleshly strength
and mental scheming.
q Likewise the Joseph of the Old Testament
had a dream in which the rhema word of the Lord recounted to him that he would
be in a place of authority over his father, mother, and brothers. He ended up in an Egyptian prison right
afterwards for thirteen years, as the Lord humbled him and prepared him
spiritually for the challenges of his ministry. When the Pharaoh raised him up,
this word indeed came to pass.
q Samuel anointed David as king of Israel,
by giving him the rhema word of prophecy.
It was not until thirteen years later however, and more than ten
assassination attempts by King Saul, that the word of the Lord came to pass in
his life.
q Finally, Abraham obtained the promise of a
son, but had to wait twenty-five years for the fulfillment of God’s word to
him.
q Our personal and corporate success as
Christians lies in the fact that in every act of the Lord’s will for our lives,
we must only proceed when these three buoys, which make up the totality of
Lord’s voice, are in line with each other.
q Ministries that operate only upon the first
buoy produce dead religious tradition.
Those that operate on the first two buoys sow much
and reap little, or create spiritual burnout for their ministers.
q The lining up of the third buoy, in almost
every instance, is the sole act of The Lord.
Things suddenly open up for us, the pieces of the puzzle suddenly all
fall into place, and we can proceed almost effortlessly on with will of the
Lord. It is imperative that we learn to
discern and act in accordance with Lord’s timing. Look with me at these next
two scriptures.
Psalms 32:9 Be ye not as the horse,( do not go ahead of the Lord’s timing) or as the mule,( do not resist and lag behind God’s timing) which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
1
Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of
Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to
know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and
all their brethren were at their commandment.
1
Kings 6:16 And he built twenty cubits
on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar:
he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
1
Kings 6:19 And the oracle he prepared in
the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
q The oracle of the Lord
in the Old Testament was sometimes used to describe the Holy of Holies, or the
most inner room of God’s temple where the Ark of the Covenant resided. The Ark of the Covenant is symbolic of the
very presence of the Lord, revealing His very essence, and thus testifying to
or giving witness of the Lord upon the earth.
This is why it is also called the Ark of Testimony.
q The word oracle in the Hebrew comes from the Hebrew
root for “word;”. The
phrase “the word of the Lord” uses this very
same grammatical formation.
q Hence when the prophet
speaks the “word of the Lord,” he or she are declaring forth the oracle, or the
testimony of the Lord, and manifesting the presence of the Lord through the
spoken word.
q The closer in accuracy,
intent, and God’s emphasis in the original rhema word, the more that the
prophecy will act as the oracle of the Lord that will bring forth the testimony
of the Lord into a church, and thus define His will, His ways, direction, and
timing for that congregation.
q This is why again I say that it is crucial that prophets and
prophecy be reinstated and honored in our churches.
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse
it(the church)
with the washing of water by the word,( rhema word).
1
sam 10:5 After that thou shalt come to
the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to
pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of
prophets coming down from the high place (Spiritual places of worship in the Lord) with a psaltery ,(guitar)
and a tabret,(tambourine) and a pipe(flute), and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: (
they are prophesying)
The verb “shall prophecy” is
in the reflexive mood. Simply this mean
that the prophets were prophesying by their own capabilities and actions. We note that the prophesying however came
only about as they made contact with the presence of the Lord in the “high
places” of worship.
1
Sam 9:18 ¶ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray
thee, where the seer’s house is.
19
And
Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place (The spiritual places of worship before the
Lord) for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go,
and will tell thee(Declare:
causative verb; the presence of the Lord in the high places of
worship caused the Word of the Lord to come forth from Samuel) all that is in thine heart.
q
I am of the
personal belief that we are erring in part with much of our present day
worship. Mind you, we have tremendously
talented and skilled worship groups today.
Likewise, we have beautiful songs that sing of praises to our God. Yet our songs have become too wordy and
complicated.
q
1
sam 10:5 After that thou shalt come to
the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to
pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of
prophets coming down from the high place (Spiritual places of worship in the Lord) with a psaltery ,(guitar)
and a tabret,(tambourine) and a pipe(flute), and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: (
they are prophesying)
q
If we note in 1 Sam 10:5, Samuel’s school of
prophets simply had a guitar, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp. When our worship songs become too wordy and
complicated, it causes us to have to concentrate on the words instead of on the
presence of God. It is the high places
of the Lord that releases His glory, which in turn ignites the flow of
prophecy, which manifests Him even further.
q
It is has
been my experience, that worship songs which came out of the 1970s and 80s with
their simple and repetitive phrases allow for us to focus on the Lord and
become lost in His glory. We must break
through into the high places where the Lord dwells to do so.
2
Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ
above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out
of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
q
Paul tells
us that there are three heavens in the above scripture. The first heaven is the physical atmosphere
where we as humans live.
q
The second heaven
is the sphere of demonic activity.
Ephesians
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (heavenlies).
q
The third
heaven is God’s dwelling place. We must
break through the first two heavens by our worship to release the glory of
God. If our worship is too wordy and
complicated, our spiritual concentration will be distracted and will not allow
us to break into the third heaven. I am
always puzzled in the numerous churches that I have been to, with tremendous
worship bands and beautiful but complicated music, that the glory of the Lord
is hardly ever released.
q
Two of the
most powerful manifestations of the Lord’s glory that I have ever experienced
have occurred through the worship ministry of one person. Recently, Dr. Nigel Bigpond, a Native
American worship leader sitting behind his piano, and singing simple love songs
to the Lord, brought down an amazing release of the Lord’s glory and joy into a
congregation.
q
John Michael
Talbot, a musician, and a third order Franciscan monk singing simple love songs
to the Lord with his acoustic guitar and monk’s robe has brought down more of
the Lord’s anointing than any skilled worship band that I have ever heard.
q
Another
fallacy that I see with today’s worship music is that the words have become too
focused in many instances on what the Lord can do for us, rather than in simply
glorifying the character of our God. If we focus on ourselves during worship we
shall not be able to penetrate the first two heavens of our circumstances and
the activity of Satan and get into the third heaven of the glory of God.
q
Finally, in
most of our churches we have lost the times of stillness in between songs to
allow for the flow of spiritual gifts that will further manifest the presence,
the will of the Lord, and the direction given forth by His voice. Today’s worship for the most part does not
give space for the use of spiritual gifts.
We are only hurting ourselves.
The Greatness of The Prophet is His or Her Activity to
The Limitation of the Rhema Word
q I as said before, greatness of the
prophet is measured by his or her limitation to order their lives and words in
strict accordance to the rhema word of God.
Let us look at a few instances of this.
Num
22:18 And Balaam answered and said unto
the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and
gold, I cannot go beyond
( pass over or cross
over to the other side of; like crossing over a river ) the word (
Hebrew: the mouth) of the LORD my God, to do less or more.(to do the
insignificant or what is great.)
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
35
And
the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that
I shall speak( Piel verb form ) unto thee, that
thou shalt speak(
Piel verb form). So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
q The prophet must speak forth in the
accuracy of, the intent of God’s heart, and with the same degree of intensity
of what the Lord Himself speaks.
38
And
Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power(dunamis) at all(dunamis) to say (intensive) any
thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak (
intensive verb).
Hebrew: The only power that I have, is the power to speak the word of God. The word that God puts in my mouth I must speak as accurately and as emphatically as when God gave it to me.
Deuteronomy
4:2 Ye shall not add ( you shall not cause an addition or an
exaggeration to what the Lord has
spoken) unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish( subtract,
withdraw, or to hold back) ought
from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command
you.
Jer 23:28 The
prophet that hath a dream, let him tell
(recount, rehearse and declare the dream with the accuracy, the intention of
God’s heart, as well same emphasis that God had in His telling of it. Hebrew emphatic verb))
a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak (As accurately and thoroughly as God
gave it to him or her; emphatic verb) my word faithfully(reliably
and with certainty).
The False Prophet, False Prophecy, and Not Heeding to
True Prophecy
2
Chron 36:15 And the LORD God of their
fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because
he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But
they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his
prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was
no remedy (Until the situation or circumstances
become irreversible and un- repairable bringing thus the wrath of God.)
Jer
2:8 The priests said not, Where is the
LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed
against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked (followed) after things that do not profit. (Have no
worth)
Jer
5:13 And the prophets shall become wind( the prophets have become as a gas, empty
and vain, because) , and the word(Hebrew infinitive verb);
(the speaking of the Lord
) is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
Jer
5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is
committed in the land;
31 The prophets prophesy falsely (they prophesy a lie), and the
priests bear rule by
their means (By their own authority and mental schemes and not
the rhema word of the Lord); and my people love to have it so: and what
will ye do in the end thereof?
jer
14:13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD!
behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall
ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.}
14
Then
the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not (Hebrew for: Apostolic sending; commissioning,
representation; and ambassadorship of the Lord), neither have I commanded them(they
had not appointment or charge from the Lord that would come out of their
apostolic commission, because they had not been sent to begin with),
neither spake unto them
(the Lord had not even spoken to them an appointment or charge that
would have apostolically released them as ambassadors of the Lord). This
verse in reality must be read backwards.)
14 they
prophesy unto you a false (deception and fraud) vision and divination(witchcraft),
and a thing of nought
(worthless), and the
deceit of their heart.(the deceitfulness or delusion of their
own heart, and not by the voice of the Spirit of God.)
Jer 23:13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err
jer 23:16
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets
that prophesy unto you: they
make you vain( they
are prophesying to you vain or false hopes): they speak a vision of their own
heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. (They speak unto you vision that comes from their own
hearts, and not from the Spirit of the Lord.)
17 They say still unto them that despise me,
The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his
own heart (follow
after the stubbornness of their own hearts), No evil shall come upon you.
21 I have not sent (an apostolic sending by a charge or commandment of God)
these prophets, yet they
ran( they ministered without the rhema word of God): I have not spoken to them, yet they
prophesied.( God never spoke, yet they prophesied)
Jer 23:32Behold, I am against them that
prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err(wander) by their lies, and by their
lightness(
reckless and frivolous ways); yet I sent them not, ( apostolic commissioning)
nor commanded them(
no appointment, or charge) : therefore they shall not profit (benefit)
this people at all, saith the LORD.
The Raising Up of The Prophet
Jer
1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I
knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee(to set apart and devoted to the Lord;
therefore the person becomes special or peculiar. He or she is considered sacred and holy to the Lord.) and I
ordained thee a prophet unto
the nations. (I gave you as a prophet to the nations)
q
Before
God can call us into “His Ministry” we must be thoroughly delivered, cleansed
and a have a good grasp of the voice and the ways of God. We are set apart to be given out.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak:
for I am a child.
7
But
the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I
shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Hebrew: Do
not say to me that you are a lad: for you must go to every one that I send you
as my ambassador with an apostolic mission, and you must speak with the same
accuracy and intention, that, which I appointed or charged you with.
8
Be
not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith(a prophetic revelation of) the LORD.
q Hebrew: Do not be afraid of their faces,
because part of my reason for being with you, is to rescue you, says the
prophetic revelation of the Lord.
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put (given or bestowed) my words in thy mouth.
q
Put forth:
An apostolic reaching.
q
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out(To uproot and expel) , and to pull down (to
pull, tear, and break down) , and to destroy(to exterminate and cause to perish),
and to throw down
(overthrow), to build(build
and establish), and to plant.
Jer
1:17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise,(metaphorically; become spiritually ready,
and stand up)) and speak unto them all that I
command thee (and speak unto them with the same intensity,
accuracy, and intention, all which I spoke to you and charged you with) :
be not dismayed
(do not break down and become demoralized) at their faces, lest I confound thee(cause
you to be terrified) before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city( a city which has become a fortress), and an iron pillar, and brasen walls(a bronze wall) against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes(officials) thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19
And
they shall fight(wage war) against thee; but they
shall not prevail( not
overcome) against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver
thee.
2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of
an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry
q
Carry out every aspect and phase of God’s callings and giftings to
their utter fullness and completion.
Colossians 4:17
And say to Archippus, Take
heed (Carefully
consider your ministry) to the
ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.( that you would complete it by
filling it up; hence fulfilling it)
2
Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance
that thou stir up(continuously bring up to flames, or fire,
the gift by constant exercise) the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Romans
12:6 Having then gifts differing
according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy
according to the proportion of faith;
7
Or
ministry, let us
wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
q
Greek: Ministry in the sphere of (our) ministry (Ministry
must be executed in the realm of the ministry to which we have been called to;
no more and no less. This is what Paul
means by Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering. In other words let us minister only in
the ministries that God has called us to.
“Walk in your calling” is a very important commandment. Part of our
maturing, as Christians is the change that the Lord makes in our lives to get
us out of the key to ministry is to “walk only in the two or three things that
God has called us to do.” Being busy
for the Lord in a host of Christian activities will produce spiritual
burnout. Likewise, the onset of
spiritual burnout is a sure sign that we are not walking in our callings.
1
Chronicles 25:1 ¶ Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the
service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy(were prophesying)
with harps, with psalteries(guitars),
and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen( men or persons in general,
involved in their respective occupations according to their ministry)according
to their service
(religious ministry) was:
q The above scriptures show us the
importance of knowing our ministries and being devoted to them.
q Remember; walk in your ministry and calling, and not in Christian
activities!
q
Greek: He that teaches, in the
sphere of the teaching (He
that is called to teach, let him teach the part of the Word of God that God has
anointed him to do.)
8Or he
that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth,(imparting) let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with
diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
q
He or she that is
exhorting in the sphere of exhortation (He or she that are called to exhort,
let them exhort with the type of exhortation that the Lord has called us to
specifically perform.)
q
He or she that are
imparting let them do it with openhanded generosity that seeks nothing back
in the process.
q
“Giving” in this scripture is really defines as
impartation. Impartation is much more
than a simple giving of something that we have in our possession. Impartation is the transmittal of something,
which is very much a part of, and is precious to us. It is not only our physical possessions, but also what is
emotionally and spiritually valuable to us.
q
When we impart something we give to someone something of
ourselves, which is precious to us, an integral part of us, and that we have
usually acquired through the fire of trials.
The New Testament church consists much of impartation, and little of
simple superficial giving.
Romans
12:8 Or he that exhorteth,
on exhortation: he that
giveth,(imparting) let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth,( they
that are placed at the front) with diligence(with earnestness and godly haste
to rule); he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness
(a hilarious attitude)
Acts
21:9 And the same man had four
daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.(were continuously prophesying)( Greek verb; present
participle)
One who is called into the prophetic ministry should never be
content to give one or two prophecies, but should endeavor to have the
prophetic gift continuously flow out of him of her for the benefit of others.
1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
Greek: What is it brethren?
Whenever the time may be that you assemble yourselves, each of you a psalm (hymns; a means
of putting OT psalms to music) has, a teaching has, a tongue has, a
revelation has, an interpretation has.
All things for building up let it be done.
q
Notice the body ministry of the early church versus our present
“models” which have a few people ministering.
1 Cor 14
:1 ¶ Follow (
persecute) after charity, and desire( have a godly jealousy for) spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may
prophesy.
q
I Cor
14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh
unto men to edification(the building up of the body of
Christ), and exhortation,( encouragement , admonition, and
warning) and comfort.( to persuade, arouse and
stimulate into Christian action)
26 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
q
Greek: If anyone
speak with a tongue let it be in two (sentences) or at the most
in three (sentences) done in succession, and one interpret.
27 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
q The person is commanded to keep silent and
speak to him or herself and to God if there is no one that can interpret.
1
Corinthians 14:29 Let the prophets
speak two or three, and let the other judge. (Discern)
q Two or three prophets can prophecy in
succession and the rest of the church must discern the spirit of the prophets.
Many churches to day have totally closed down the gift of prophecy, but the
Word of God teaches us otherwise.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
q
Greek: You are all able to prophesy one by one, that you may all
learn, and that all may be exhorted.
q
Some of the most memorable church services that I have ever been
to, have been the very few in which the pastor turned the service and
microphone over to the congregation and allow those which wanted to minister to
come up one by one to the front. Let me
tell you, I was greatly edified because the church in this instance, was
operating in the way that it was intended to, as a body.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
q
Greek: And the spirits of the prophets are in continuous
military subjection to the prophets.
q
We must never be scared of false prophecy. If it is false, it is
our responsibility to discern it but never to quench.
1
Corinthians 14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet( be
jealous) to
prophesy, and forbid not
(do not hinder or
withhold) to speak with tongues.
(Our next
teaching series will be on “prayer”.)
God Bless You,
Jose
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