PROPHETIC FOUNDATIONS - AUDIO
In this devotional I will be addressing
three people regarding the prophetic. It is important for us to have the understanding of what a true prophet is, especially needed in the time to come. Indeed we are already there. The first person is the prophet and that which
distinguish the office of a prophet to that of those who have the gift of
prophecy. Then I will address the
hearers of a word from a prophet and their responsibility, and lastly, I will
address those who have interceded for true prophets. I was not aware of those intercessors, but
God is. There is also a word for the
prophets that I received yesterday, as well as a word for the intercessors who
have prayed for these prophets.
This late in the game you may be
asking what would be the purpose? Or you
may think this does not apply to you seeing that you may not be a prophet or an intercessor. However, we are all hearers of the spoken word of God and it is incumbent
upon us to be able to discern between that which is true and that which is
false. Especially because the Church is
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Ephesians
2: 19 - 20
19 Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
So let’s first speak to the prophet
and what is that which distinguishes the office from the gift. I would also like to mention that even though I am using the word prophet, by implication the prophetess is included.
The investment of God in the
shaping of the character, the life of the prophet, is not done in a two-week
course or something you can pluck off a tree and claim it for yourself. Rather the person whom God prepares to be a
prophet very often do not want to be one.
They do not wish to be placed on a pedestal or to be made known. They do not have a great following. This person has been hidden by God for years
and in the process of a lifetime is made into a prophet, not by choice, but by
God’s dealings with him/her. It is a
process of evolution from trial after trial.
So that in the end God’s purpose for the prophet is that his
identification with the word he speaks, is in conjunction with his own
life. This is what distinguishes the
true prophet from those who have the gift of prophecy. The fact that the
prophet himself is also the message. You
cannot separate the prophet from the message, but those with the gift of
prophecy receive it at any given moment. In fact anyone can receive the gift who
has the Spirt of God. But a prophet is
made, made in the isolation of the desert, outside of “Jerusalem”, like John the
Baptist. They live an extremely lonely
life, even though they have families. This
person are often drawn aside by the Lord for extended periods of time in order
to there hear the still small voice of God.
And it is in these extended dealings of God with this person, in secret,
that the evolution takes place, sometimes not even known to him that
this is God’s purpose for his or her life.
He does not go to the wilderness alone because he knows he is a
prophet. All he knows is that God has
spoken and he must obey. There God
reveals to him His heart and places His burden upon the prophet. But the prophet has to be the message before
he can speak the message. He has to
enter into the reality of the message and for this God subjects him or her to trials
and crosses that others do not necessarily endure. It is here where the prophet is taught to see
and hear with spiritual ears and eyes, to be able to perceive and build a repertoire
of intuition that has not come cheaply.
He picks up different things than others do and often see the "not so
obvious" , which is often insignificant to others.
And yet, because his spiritual senses have been trained, he is able to recognize
the particular fingerprint of God on it and God is able to speak volumes to him regarding that seemingly insignificant thing. And as great as that privilege sounds, it also carries with it that fact
that with every message there is first a death to die, before the word can be
released. For only that which comes from
death can have the resurrection life of God. And in experiencing God’s judgment
on his life, as well as the resurrection life from that death, the message is
brought with authenticity. It is not
brought to bring knowledge or understanding.
But the prophet pours out his soul, which is the underlining factor of
the authenticity of the message…he is walking the talk. It is not just words, but his life. The cross is central to the prophet, and if
he is to write or speak, he has to eat the scroll so that it has to first
become part of him.
The prophet is not perfect although
his life is scrutinized and held up to a very high standard. And yet God allows this man or woman to be
subject to broken marriages, trauma, or a certain disposition that will
offend. He will even allow him or her to
say that which sounds utterly contrary to what God would say, and yet, this in
itself is the choice God places before the hearers. “Are you going to reject My word because of
the vessel it comes through?” God gives
us a choice. Maybe you are asking why would God do that? I think He does this so that we may always remember that all men are fallible. Even a prophet. And very often the prophet
is prone to a certain way of speaking, highlighted by hyperboles and the melodramatic,
to the point where what he says is disregarded.
This however is where the teacher comes in and also living in communion with
others where he can be corrected in love, so as to not unnecessarily exaggerate
to make the point. Because it is through
this exaggeration that he can easily take certain liberties through the years
and become subject to deception. So this
“flaw” in the prophet is a provision for him to keep him dependent on the Lord
and to remain humble. In a way one can
call this the “Prophetic Offence”. God’s jealousy over these prophets is fierce, but so is His discipline to form the hearing ear and the seeing eye also. The prophet is not absolved from his mistakes just because the Lord subjects him to certain things, but rather he is painfully aware how his mistakes can influence the word spoken and strives for perfection and authenticity. The quality of the man or woman comes through his speaking and his writing. There is a depth of understanding that transcends just mere knowledge, which is reality. What he writes or speaks is reality. We see this in a somewhat more extreme way about John the Baptist who was an offence. Where he lived, what he wore and even his
diet. Not to mention his message. A real “weirdo”. And yet, he was specifically chosen to be an
offence. Not just to give a message, but
to be an offence as well. It comes with
the calling and for that very reason the prophet has to be prepared by God to
be able to deal with those who are offended and will ridicule. This does not happen overnight.
Prophets are called also for a specific purpose. They are not all the same color marbles in one bag. Rather when we look at Isaiah, his calling was very specific to uproot and call out God’s judgment. Jeremiah, known as the “Weeping Prophet” was lamenting the destruction of God’s people. Hosea was called to marry and specifically act out God’s faithfulness to an unfaithful Bride. Elijah was called to confront Kings. And knowing how God works, He chooses those who are contrary to their calling. Who would not necessarily want to speak the word of judgment, or want to speak the word of comfort, like Jonah. He has to prepare them for that calling and it could also very well be that they for the whole of their preparation never speak one word, but their life speaking volumes and confronting those they live with and come into contact with.
The prophet often operates from an
intuitive place, rather than the type of emphasis a teacher would give to the
written Word. A teacher would elaborate
with scripture upon scripture and knowledge and understanding are
increased. But the prophet brings forth
the heart of the message. Not being
indifferent to the written Word, but he brings color in deeper understandings,
to the outline that the written word provides.
Completing the picture. Without
the outline and the color, the picture is incomplete. In his calling there is a place for intuition,
an apprehension by the Spirit that does not first come to him by scripture,
often offensive to the teacher. Because
the teacher will demand the accuracy of the Word, whilst the prophet the
prophetic interpretation at that given moment.
Not that the Word is secondary, but rather prophetic understanding and
revelation in conjunction with the Word is what he is aiming at.
Neither the teacher nor the prophet is wrong. In fact, they are a provision unto each other
in the bond of love. This is also the
offense created by the prophet to those of the congregation who have the
disposition of the teacher. Not that
they are pharisees, but holding fast to the letter, they can often miss the
Spirit. And yet, God makes allowance for
this in His wisdom so that the one needs the other.
Most do
not receive their calling at a specific set time. Their whole life is that call and not a single moment. It is only later during the process and after
many years when he is recognized by others as such, that he starts to recognize
it himself. The very first thing he will do is to let God know that He has the
wrong person for the job. Moses said he
stutters. Jeremiah said he is too young. They do not ask for it, nor do they desire to
be one. They are all too aware of the
cost of being one, but ultimately they are willing.
This willingness forged through the years after dying multiple deaths by
the hand of God’s judgment on them. They
are alone on their journey and often feel completely misunderstood and undervalued. Both these being true. They have a disposition of feeling deeply the
heart of God and it is often overwhelmed to the point where they need to ask
for grace in order to bear it. Jeremiah said
the following in chapter 15.
Jeremiah
15: 15 - 18
15 O Lord, thou knowest:
remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away
in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them;
and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called
by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers,
nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with
indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound
incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a
liar, and as waters that fail?
The message he gives is the burden
of the Lord that the prophet bares. A disposition of always
calling back to repentance, the ability to have an overview of God’s end-time
purpose and a call to return to that which was first upheld, the
foundation. They are foundation builders. This burden is only lifted
once the spoken word has gone forth, but to not have that word heard is a
mutually unbearable burden the prophet is subject to, knowing intimately the
heart of God in the message. So that the
prophet continuously live in the tension of the faith, casting himself continually
upon God as he subjects himself to doubt whether the word was from God or from
himself. And to think that a prophet is
not prone to these doubts is to elevate them above what they are. Prone just like all men to get things
wrong. And so he or she knows this, and
lives in that tension always. It is a
burden to be a prophet.
Prophets also write. They are the scribes of God. This does not mean that every writer is a
prophet, but it is a common distinction or gift given to the prophet. God’s purpose for this is that the word given
may be placed on record on earth and in heaven.
They are not writers, but receive the ability to write by the unction of
the Spirit at a given time. It is also
an agony to write because in the writing is the bearing of the word, a birth in
a sense within the Spirit, carrying the weight of the message. They do not write to write, but because they
have a message and was given the assignment, until the next. In their writing they often find themselves
having to reread what they wrote, not believing that which came from their pen
as coming from them. And that is exactly
it. They are merely the pen, but God the
writer.
What is future for others is
present for the prophet. That which he
sees as vitally important is seen as an exaggerated view by others at times. He speaks from the urgency of his conviction palpitating from his heart, being his reality, with the cry that the hearers
would only recognize God in the message, even if he himself is an abomination
to them.
There is also a silent partnership with the prophet and God where God acts only on the spoken word. In the same way that He asked Ezekiel, “Son of Man, can these bones live?” and Ezekiel not in bravado and “name it and claim it” way says, Oh Lord, thou knowest (Ezekiel 37). And then God says to Ezekiel to speak to the bones. In the same way Elijah told Ahab that by his word the rain would not fall. The focus is not the prophet, but the God behind the prophet who works in partnership with this spoken word. So one has to ask, “Will it happen unless the prophet speaks?” Well, God has more than one prophet. And so the onus is on the prophet not only to hear correctly, but also to speak correctly and at the appointed time, which is crucial.
The prophet is also just as much
called to act as he is to speak. Very
often he has to demonstrate the message, even by being an example or by doing a
prophetic act, but always in conjunction with God. He becomes the visible manifestation of the
elements central to God’s own being. This has been wrought into the fibre of
the prophet and these elements the world hates, because it is the testimony of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 19 we see that at the heart of
the message of every prophet is Jesus Christ.
Revelation
19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said
unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that
have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy.
I received a word from the Lord on
the 13th and it is for those prophets who have been hidden for all
these years and know that the Lord have prepared them for such a time as
this. Those who resonate with what I
have written here and who can clearly see how God has wrought this into their
own lives.
Word received 13th April 2021
What are you doing here? Why are you still hiding in the cave of despair? Have I not fed you with meat and water? Have you not lived from every word I speak? Have I not filled you with my living water? Yet here you are in the cave of despair.
I have watched over you and have taken care of you, but now it is time for you to stand at the mouth of the cave. The mouth where I will speak to you. Not in the strong wind, not in the fire, not in the earthquake, but my still small voice that have spoken to you all along. For as the mouth of the cave is open, so my mouth is ready to speak through my prophets who have been hidden in the caves of despair.
They have seen how no one listens. They have seen that it falls on deaf ears. They have seen broken vows. All this has brought them into isolation. Even as Elijah cried out, “Enough! Leave me here that I may die!” I say to you live! Because your appointment is at hand. Your assignment is at hand…but will I find you at the mouth where I can speak to you? Therefore rise from the ashes. Rise from despair into new life and stand at the mouth of the cave. You have been hidden in Me for a time, but the season has come to speak that which I lay on your heart. Do not fear what man will say to you, fear me. Live before me alone, and answer to me. For I will require of you every idle word as my mouthpiece. Do not concern yourself with those who ridicule and those who do not listen. For those who do, have ears to hear and will hear.
Only, you obey. Listen, wait and obey. I am your reward. I am ready to speak. Will you position yourself
to hear? Sanctify yourself before me
now. Be still and wait for my still small voice.
Please Read:
1 Kings 19
Let us now go the hearers of the
word from the prophet.
God has a deep identification with
that which is prophetic and to somehow touch that, is to touch Him. This also the reason for the great enmity
against God that is shown in the persecuting and killing of prophets. The investment the Lord makes into making
anyone into one of the five fold offices is huge, but that which makes up the prophet and
apostles requires a greater inner working to walk in authenticity. One who receives a prophet, receives the
reward of the prophet.
Matthew
10: 41
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a
prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man
in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
It goes without saying that the
hearers who have not undergone this vigorous preparation that the prophet has
gone through, do not have the same relationship. And even though we are to discern as hearers, we are told by Jesus to judge righteously. That is to say, sweep before your own front door first. Be careful of those stones. Not everyone can be a prophet and this is perfectly fine, but what is the
responsibility of the hearer and what should their disposition be towards the
prophet? Unfortunately the problem lies
that the hearers of the message are so eager for the fulfillment of the last
day promise of Elijah that must come first, not only Elijah himself, but the
spirit of Elijah, that they grab and hold onto any message without considering
the messenger. You cannot separate the
two. But when it comes to the gift of
prophecy you can separate the message from the messenger. So not everyone that prophecies is a prophet
and sadly often someone has the gift of knowledge and is “labeled” a
prophet too. The familiar saying of “everybody
is a prophet” has become the reality, where in fact they are very few and far
between. With the plethora of “words”
coming via the internet and churches, it cannot be stressed enough how
important it is that we understand the office of the prophet and be able to
discern correctly.
The weight and responsibility upon
the hearers, especially the season where we are presently at, is so huge, not only to recognize
the true from the false, but also not to incur judgment from the Lord in
rejecting the true. We somehow think
that we can browse over a prophetic word as if it is the latest news, when in
fact it is the word of God. And
unfortunately the ignorance of the church to give the proper honor to the true
prophet of God and not just a pat of the back with a “great word brother”, is
showing the disposition of not honoring the office, and therefore not the Giver
of the Word. What is the proper response
to a word from God? It is nothing other than to search our heart and to pray
over the word given. Also to test the
word against the written word and the character of God. Because there will be a requirement and
merely the acknowledgment of the word will not suffice. This discerning or hearing the word with
discernment will also only come through God’s dealings with you. For not all have ears to hear or eyes to
see. You will be held accountable to how
you respond to His word given by the prophet and therefore whenever a word is
spoken the only disposition can be the fear of God. There is a transaction between the hearer of
the word and God and the prophet is the speaker, but how you react to that word
is not just to the speaker, but to God, the Giver of the word. Jesus said the following in John 12.
John 12: 48
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my
words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day.
And now lastly I
will speak to the intercessors.
I will also speak
on what I believe Father is revealing to me and a word that He gave.
From what you have
read so far you can clearly see that prophets are not self-proclaimed, neither
are they made in a day or months, but many years of preparation has gone in the
making of God’s mouthpiece. We also know
that they are not perfect, but that they are being held to a very high standard
because every word has weight to it. In
fact, words in themselves are important to them. Life and death lies within the power of the
tongue. And so Father has to deal with
all their categories and they have to die to all these categories. The reason for this is that out of the heart
flows the issues of life. And so any
undealt with issues are bound to taint or influence interpretation and the
hearing of the word. Having said that,
God has indeed prepared in the background the prophets that He will send out at
His appointed time. In the hidden years
the prophet has learned to hear His still small voice. This coming time period is a period of great
onslaught against the Church. Her
foundations have been under attack for many years and she is on dangerous grounds
so to speak. The Word says that the
foundation of the Church is built on the apostles and prophets. Both these offices He has been restoring, but
not in the open, but in the hidden places of the lives of ordinary people, the
housewife, the janitor, the builder.
Those who do not necessarily carry away the approval of society as one
to take note of when they speak. They
have been in the background and has been ministering to those whom He has sent
on their way. To the world unknown. The Church’s foundation has to be rebuilt
again and this can only be done by those whom He has prepared. Those He raised up at the first to call people to repentance from the beginning...the prophets. The restoration of the prophetic as He has
always intended it to be. The
unadulterated prophetic word given by the unadulterated prophet. That which was at the first to be again at
the last. For the restoration of the prophets
and the apostolic is the beginning of the restoration of all things. For in the speaking is the creating, the word
in its power has to go forth again. And
so He will call these prophets out for this very purpose, to restore the
foundation that was laid. The foundation
laid by the prophets of old which is repentance, salvation and judgment. The building of the Kingdom of God. So the call is not to a singular prophet, but a
corporate end time body declaring, “Thus saith the Lord…and it shall be.” Not just in speaking, but also in being. And so of necessity in the last age, the true
prophet has to be restored to overthrow and kill the false prophets of Baal
driven by the present Jezebel spirit that will control this whole world. It is in an epic showdown of prophets and who
is sufficient for these things other than those whom He has prepared. The same Spirit that was in Elijah is the same Spirit that will overcome again. Therefore God has to make the man/woman of the same character. The foundation of any office is the character of that person.
Having said all
that and taking into consideration the devotional as a whole, the call on
intercessors to pray for these prophets and apostles that He has hidden and
soon to be released, cannot be stressed enough. To pray for the final preparations and that which needs to be worked out in them
to be completed. That they will endure that which God subjects them to and be willing to die in all their categories. That they will not fear man but fear God. Because even though a
great honor to be used by God for this end time purpose, the cost will be huge,
and should not be expected to be any less than the prophets of old, as their
type and shadow. The greater the glory,
the greater the cost.
Philippians 1: 29
29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ,
not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
1 Kings 18: 1 - 4
1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself
unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore
famine in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house.
(Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty
in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
Here Obadiah,
which means servant of the Lord, is a type and shadow of the Holy Spirit who
hides the true prophets of God in caves, that is to say in the dark, where they
live from meat and water. Jesus said, My
meat is to do the will of the Father. Obedience. The water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and provision of God. And so we read in the next chapter of Elijah
hiding in a cave wanting to die, feeling that he alone was left. He too was fed with meat and water in the
cave.
God has shown us
in history that He preserves His true prophets and contrary to popular believe
there are not many of them. But He has hid them in the shadow of His wings. And so in this last age, He has been doing it
again and will release them for His end-time purpose as the same battle will be fought in the Spirit on a world wide scale.
Here is the word I
received from Father regarding those who pray for the prophets and end-time
workers.
I have preserved My prophets for this
time. Those I have prepared in
secret. They will come at the appointed
time and their words will not fall to the ground. For judgment will be on those who despise My
holy word written on their hearts and so also the judgment of those false
prophets who spoke such vain words to deceive My people.
I have preserved them for such a time as this
to be My oracles. They will suffer many
things on My behalf, but for this I have prepared them in secret. Take heed therefore to who you listen to, for
the tickling of your ear is the indictment against the idols of your heart. Those who hear their words shall be saved,
but those who come against them will suffer the consequences spoken. Many have cried for these true prophets to
come forth and this is My answer to those prayers. Those who desire true prophets will receive
the prophets reward.
Please
Read
Jeremiah 23
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