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.
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