Prophets Embrace a Heart of Humility

Prophets embrace a heart of humility towards God and His people.

 Eph. 4:9-13 says It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the fullness of Christ. 

The Prophet is part of the construction material for building the church into the fullness of Christ. The maturity of the prophet will affect his/her effectiveness in building people.

There are four key character qualities of the mature prophet. In my last post I expounded on the quality of intimacy with God. In today’s post I address the second character quality-humility.  Humility is CRITICAL to the mature prophet’s role in bringing forth revelation to the church.

Lacking a strong dose of humility, a prophet will glorify themselves with their gift, revel in their revelation. The gift of prophet is very attractive to people. Immaturity within the prophet can subtly erode the heart of humility and erect a house of pride. People’s attraction to the gift FEELS good to the flesh. The level of influence FEELS powerful. The level of authority FEELS supreme. Therefore, immaturity makes way for self-centered rather than God-centered ministry. Immature prophets get offended quickly when their accuracy or acuity to God’s voice is questioned. The immature says ‘they have heard from God’. To not accept or to question them is an offense. To question WHAT they have heard is to question the One from which they think they heard. To question HOW they spoke what they heard is to question God’s authority.

The prophetic ministry has great power to influence people and decisions. This power makes humility a necessary foundation for Kingdom effectiveness. While we may ascribe a similar requirement for any of the five-fold gifts, it is the Prophet who say’s or implies ‘thus says the Lord’ to his/her words and actions.  Humility makes room for correction. Humility makes room for mentoring. Humility makes room for other leaders to speak into their lives.

Transformation from immaturity to maturity is realized as the Prophet embraces nurturing, mentoring, and correction by others in the ministry, especially other prophets, apostles and pastors.   AS the prophet embraces humility, they bring prophetic insight and words that allow others in leadership to accept some, all, or none without becoming offended.  They grow into the builders of the church, formers of the fullness of Christ bringing glory and honor to Jesus, the head of the church.

The Role of the Prophet: Reflecting the Heart of the Father

Prophets must reflect the heart of the Father toward His church.

 Eph. 4:9-13 says It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the fullness of Christ.   

The prophet is a critical modern day ministry within the 5 ministries spoken of in this scripture.

In the last post I stated that a key aspect of the New Covenant prophet is they operate out of love. They have the heart of the Father toward His people. This love is not necessarily a warm, fuzzy emotional feeling. It is much more of a deep desire to reveal the fullness of the Father’s heart toward His people through the prophetic voice. Internationally renowned apostle and Prophet Rick Joyner said in one of his books ‘no other ministry carries the potential for either blessing or disaster as does the prophetic’ (The Prophetic Ministry, Morning Star Publications, 1997). 

In order to function as a revelator of the Father’s heart the modern prophet must walk in quality of character that reflects the transforming power of grace. If a prophet speaks a word that implies it is a direct word from the Lord, e.g. ‘thus says the Lord’, then it must be as pure as possible in reflecting the character of the Lord.  Character development and personal integrity are prerequisites to walking in the role of prophet. Prophets must be well seasoned in ministry and mentored by more mature ministers to walk in the fullness of their calling.  

Character development includes four key heart attitudes, the first of which is (1) intimacy with the Father.  Intimacy with the Father is foundational to the prophet’s ministry. A mature prophet’s primary passion and position is being a friend of God.  Jesus said, ‘I no longer call you servants…I have called you friends’ (John 15:15).   THIS is their life goal...being so close to the heart of the Father that they speak only what He speaks. The Apostle John is a good example of this character quality. Throughout the New Testament it was John who was so very close to Jesus. It was John’s gospel that speaks so strongly and clearly about Jesus' relationship with the Father.  Through this intimacy with the Father the prophet gains a heart of love for the people. Without this intimacy a prophet may prophesy but the words will often come tainted with a harshness and hardness that does not reflect the grace or love of God. A lack of intimate relationship will reflect hardness toward God’s people. This does not mean a prophet cannot speak corrective words to individuals and churches, but he/she will speak such words encased in the Father’s heart; the nature of Jesus. If a prophet say’s ‘thus says the Lord’ it must be the intimate heart of the Lord they are reflecting.

Coming in the next post…the second character attribute of the prophet-humility.

The New Covenant Prophet…..Preparing, Watching, Revealing

Eph. 4:9-13 It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the fullness of Christ.

All 5 of these ministry gifts are NECESSARY in preparing the church toward unity, maturity, and the full measure of all that is Christ in us and through us. Every person who calls themselves ‘Christian’ must have all these gifts speaking into their lives if they are to grow and develop into the fullness of salvation for which Jesus paid the price! Today I’ll begin a series on one of these gifts; that of the prophet. 

To prophesy is to reveal and declare the heart of God for a circumstance, a person, a church, a season, or even a nation. We know from 1 Cor. 14:1-3 that prophecy is a spiritual gift that anyone can desire and receive, but the role of ‘prophet’ goes well beyond the gift of prophecy. Many believers can prophesy, but only a few walk in the role of prophet. Prophets certainly have the gift of prophecy but their role in the church is bigger than simply prophesying in a church service.

Rick Joyner, author, pastor, apostle, teacher and prophet said ‘no other ministry carries the potential for either blessing or disaster as does the prophetic’. Why? Because the prophet’s role is to bring forth ‘what the Father is saying today’. The prophet plays what I call ‘The God card’; speaking on behalf of God.  The responsibility to bring forth in accuracy and integrity the words and intentions of God the Father to His people is an awesome and sobering responsibility! 

The New Covenant prophet ministers from the foundation of love and truth. God is love. Therefore the prophet’s ministry comes from a heart of love, first toward the Father, then toward His people. This differs from most Old Covenant prophets who certainly loved God, but many had little love for people. While some may challenge me on this assertion, remember that love as the conduit of God’s grace did not come to fulfillment until Jesus.  It is through being born-again, that we (and the prophet) have the ability to love people unconditionally (agapeo). The old covenant prophet spoke and functioned primarily out of God’s law of righteousness in opposition to sin. Jesus dealt a death blow to the power of sin through His work on the cross and resurrection. He fulfilled the law of righteousness.  By faith in Jesus we are righteous. We have the way grace, undeserved favor and blessing, flowing to those who would believe in Him.  It was God’s love (John 3:16), manifest in His Son, that makes it possible and pre-requisite for the prophet to love the Father AND His people.

Coming in the next post…..the character of the prophet.