No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’ (Acts 2:15-18)
The day of Pentecost opened the gates for a free flow of the prophetic heart of God. The outpouring of Pentecost offered the potential to powerfully persuade people to believe and respond to the Kingdom of God. The open door to prophetic persuasion created a whole new way to communicate on the earth. We are to prophesy on earth!!
The prophetic voice of the church, when carried along by the Holy Spirit and undergirded with truth of His living word, is powerful and purposeful to transform hearts and minds. The prophetic voice of the Father flowing through His people can persuade those who hear and perceive. The voice of persuasion will upset some as we see in Acts; 12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.” (Acts 18:12, 13) They were not upset because Peter was not persuasive, but because he was persuasive!!!!
To persuade, spiritually, is to cause people to believe or do something in response to reasoning, asking, declaring or demonstrating the power of the Spirit under girded in the Truth of His Word.
When prophetic words, teaching and action are carried along by the Spirit and they persuade people, governments and nations respond. When Peter declared the word of the Lord his words cut through the cultural clutter and into the hearts of people. “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36-37) They were persuaded to respond!
We live in the ‘information age’. People across the world receive a flood of information hourly and daily. Cell phones and digital devices are a part of life in the corporate offices of America, crowded villages of Asia, and mud huts of Africa. The news and entertainment media of TV, internet, radio, and on-line websites reaches every corner of the world. However, the level of trust in what is read and watched has declined dramatically, especially in the western hemisphere where news media is trusted by less than 30% of the people. In this information rich environment the prophetic voice of the church can penetrate and cut through the clutter of the culture. We must be more than just another talking head or background noise in a crowded room. We live in the dividing time of nations when the words and actions we declare with mouth and by deed must carry prophetic persuasion.
It can be so…..as we consecrate ourselves to the voice of the Father and bring forth prophetic persuasion as in the day of Pentecost. Whether in our audible voice, our written words, our music, or our personal actions, the times demand a clarion sound that will be persuasive as it is prophetic. Time to persuade! The nations await!
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