"It was the prophetic promise of Joel that prophecy would be the motivating element of God's new people. God is essentially a speaking God. Prophecy is as basic to the Church as air is to the act of breathing. The major difference between the Old and New Testament eras is that the exclusive anointing of the (prophetic) Spirit has been expanded into a universal anointing. It is no longer for an elite few but is promised to all flesh. Would that all the Lord's people were prophets. (Numbers 11:29) The new era of the Spirit is not about emotion, sensation or manifestation. The motive power of the new anointing is the stream of prophecy that impacts and undergirds every believer's relationship with God. The idea of a prophetic community - a people who all know the ways of God is a concept that has been aspired to in Church history but never achieved. Spiritually blind and deaf people can never fulfil the purposes of God in the earth. The prophet is called to sensitise the believers to a speaking God, and enable them to hear His holy Word thunder in their hearts so that there is a divine compulsion to do the will of God. Then the prophethood of all believers will be achieved."
"The continuance of the prophetic ministry in the church is determined by the existence of a God who expresses Himself. In time past He not only spoke to His people through natural events and signs in nature, but aslo supernaturally to men through other men. The very nature of a personal God who has made creation and men in order to express Himself in and through them, establishes the idea that the prophetic ministry could never cease until the need for revelation ceases. While it is true to say that God has spoken fully and finally to us through the manifestation on earth of His Son, it is also true to say that His Son is still speaking. He does this by appointing prophets as divine spokesmen to His Church. While genuine prophets will never add anything to the total revelation already contained int the Scriptures, they do amplify the message so it will be heard, adapt it to the contextual situation, and then apply that revelation to the Church. The written Word of God and the spoken word will never contradict each other, and the prophetic word will never deviate from the essence of the written word."
Definition - A prophet is one who Jesus Christ inspires and enables by divine revelation to know and proclaim His purposes and plans for both the Church and individuals.
"The prophet functions in two main ways - he sees, knows, or feels, and then he also speaks. The knowing is only a means to an end. Eventually there will be a declaration or announcement of what he sees, feels and knows by revelation. His divine visions will drive him to communicate the heart of God to the people he is called to minister to. His commision is to communicate, to act as God's spokesman. It is this heart of God that motivates the prophet more than the needs of the people. He is keenly attuned to the desires of God and is involved in the process wherever, and whenever God is speaking or acting. God's will is therefore clearly expressed through the prophet. The purpose of God and his ultimate intention are the foundation of a true prophet's ministry. Prophets see what God is doing and saying before he makes it known in other ways. He has chosen to show His purpose to the prophet. Other ministries would be unaware of the purpose of God if it were not revealed first to the prophets. This has a lot to do with the prophet's orentation to God in an ongoing and personal relationship. He receives God's word for the Church, or the people, because he is listening continuously to God. His heart belongs to God in a distinct way, and like the Messiah his ear is disciplined to hear God before he hears other voices."
"This demonstrates something of the compulsive nature of the prophet's ministry: There are messages from God that cannot be restrained. He is driven by the Word of the Lord, and once having received it he is impatient until it has been delivered. He is unsatisfied until God's desired intent in the lives of His people has been achieved."
"The prophet is a seer. He sees into the invisible realm of the spirit and comprehends things that are not apparent to others. He stands on the edge of time and sees into two worlds. He is aware of eternity as much as the present. The prophet is blessed and challenged by the fact that he sees into the natural world as well as the spiritual world. He often does so simultaneously, and this can be confusing to him. It is not unusual for his prophecies to contain elements of both perspectives, and for this reason he will not always fully understand everything that he prophesies. The prophet attempts to interpret the things he sees and knows in the spirit to the natural world, but this is not always clear."
"The ministry of the prophet is not always in preaching, declarations and prophetic announcements. It has its roots in prayer, and it is this that particularly identifies the prophet as 'a man of God'. The prophet is unique in the manner of his message. He transmits it as he receives it. Other ministries prepare their message from their understanding and study of the written Word. The prophet, however, makes his announcements and pronouncements by Divine inspiration. He often speaks from the impulse of a sudden inspiration, from the light of a sudden revelation at the moment. The idea of speaking from immediate revelation seems to be fundamental to the prophets' ministry."
"The prophet can be expected to be somewhat emotional, for he is not merely conveying a message. He is interpreting and conveying the desire and burden of the Lord to the people. He will "feel" his message."
"The ministry of the prophet tends to be unbalanced if it stands on its own. It has a tendency to severity or tangency that needs to be compensated for by other ministries, and particularly by apostles. Prophets tend to be hard on others, but they are even more severe on themselves. They set high standards, and generally feel uncomfortable with the status quo experienced by other Christians. While they appear outwardly "tough" and severe, most prophets are inwardly sensitive, and can be easily be hurt or discouraged."
"Jeremiah was driven by his prophetic anointing. He felt as though he had a fire in his bones. It was consuming and compelling. He and others with this gift are generally overwhelmed by the message they bring. It is not possible for a genuine prophet to be detached from what he says. He will often feel the message he brings to others to the point that he experiences the heart of the person he ministers to."
"Prophets often unsettle others and disturb the status quo. Their ministry tends to polarise people or bring things out into the open where they must be confronted. He is not always diplomatic in the delivery of the message since he is even more aware of the heart of God than he is of the recipients. Prophets are known to bring their message with urgency rather than thinking about the implications and effects. For this reason the Church tends to be more comfortable with scribes than prophets."
"The prophet is generally out of step with the Church because he is one stage ahead. He is dislocated from what is current because he tends to live in the future. When the Church is rejoicing, he is weeping for the Church's insensitivity and need to repent. When the Church comes to the stage of cleansing, he is already rejoicing as he sees the blessing that will flow out of it."
"The prophetic is generally under Divine training for long periods. It takes many years of personal revelation and prophetic experience for him to become a credible vessel for such dynamic and potentially destructive ministry. The prophet has a tremendous need for personal insight to determine what is the Word of God, and what is his own bias. He has to avoid being manipulative, or using his power to get his own way. The mystique of his ministry may become its own impediment."
To Be Continued
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