(part 1 out of 3).. The most urgent need of the modern church is for the restoration of the prophetic ministry. In recent years the gift of prophecy has been rediscovered, but there is still a desperate shortage of prophets. The church will not come to true maturity until God has raised up prophets among his people. For nearly two millenniums the public prophetic voice has been silent. Now in our time it is being restored- The Coming of the Prophets.. Clear Vision There is a lack of vision and direction in the Church. Many Christians just go from fad to fad, but nothing is followed through to completion. Many churches are weak in vision and only obtain one by copying other successful churches. The Bible says that without a vision the people will perish (Prov 29:18). A dearth of prophets has caused a lack of vision in the church. Paul says, If the trumpet does not give a clear call, who will get ready for battle (1 Cor 14:8). The Church needs prophets who can give this clear call to battle. At present it is losing the battle because it has no clear goal. We are surrounded by a great babble of voices all claiming to have the truth and many Christians are tossed around by every new wave that comes along. A clear prophetic word is needed to prepare the church for victory. Prophets bring the guidance of the Lord to the church. Christians can get so caught up in the events of the world that they do not see what God is doing. This is particularly true in tumultuous times, when it can be very hard to see the hand of God at work. Prophets will give direction and vision in these situations, so that Gods people know what is happening, and what they should do. For example, the prophet Gad provided guidance to David and showed him how to avoid trouble. But the prophet Gad said to David, Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah. So David left and went to the forest of Hereth (1 Sam 22:5). ******* For a people or nation to be without prophets is a sign that they are under a curse. ******* We presently have little or no understanding of the ultimate and full purposes of God in and I through His people. The church is bored stiff, lacking an orbit, a line of thought and a direction because it lacks this understanding. We condemn ourselves, therefore, to programs and services whose forms are unhappily predictable.. In both the church and in the world, there is a new hunger for the prophetic. This hunger stems from an increasing desire for guidance in order to survive the rampant confusion of our times. A striking feature of our time is that so few of the voices have a distinctive message. There is a painful lack of a clear word of authority for the times. While there are many good preachers of the Gospel, and while we are not without champions of the vital verities of the Faith, we are sadly in need of the Prophet with his Thus saith the Lord, which he has received in a commission born of a peculiarly chastened fellowship with God. There is a growing concern to know, as distinct from the generalizations of truth and service, what is the Lords word for now, where we are, and what in the Divine purpose belongs to this present hour. The prophet sees the sweep and the purpose of God, the larger picture, the panoramic view. He is not one for the nuts and bolts, for the details: how do you do this and that. He sees the arching overview, and that is what the church needs to see if that is the framework of its life. Without that overview, fellowships will be fixed entirely in the present moment. They will remain in the things that are really so narrow and so petty because they cannot see what they are doing and what they are about in this moment in the context of something much larger of which they are in connection and moving toward. Without the prophetic overview, they are caught up in the immediate program, which very likely has been birthed out of their flesh or out of a necessity to do something, and is not consciously in the continuum of things apostolic and prophetic. At times we need the voice of the seer- the prophet- to help us see beyond the obvious and to recognize the hand of God in our providential circumstances. God requires men with a vision. To do a great work only requires one man with a vision who is prepared to burn himself out for it. God takes a man and burns a vision onto his heart. To be a disciple means that God has to take everything that person has. If a vision is to be fulfilled we must give everything for it-(Prov 29:18). Many church leaders fear the prophetic. They are happy for prophetic people to give personal words to people during church services, but want the leadership of the church to be immune from any prophetic challenge. This has truncated an important ministry and weakened the church. The quality of the prophets is critical for building the church on a solid foundation (Eph 2:20), so we need to understand how the ministry of Jesus changed the role of the prophets. Old Testament Prophets: The common view of Old Testament prophets is that they were old men with beards, who went around speaking doom and gloom, but his is a misleading caricature. The main role of the prophets was to speak for God. In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit had not been poured out on Gods people, so only a few people operated under the anointing of the Spirit. Most people could not hear the Spirit speaking, so they needed someone to tell them what God was saying. The prophets spoke about all aspects of life. Moses was a prophet, because he gave Israel the law (Deut 34:10). Samuel told Saul where to find his donkeys (1 Sam 9:8). Nathan challenged David, when he covered up his sin (1 Sam 12:1). A key aspect of the prophetic role was to watch over the covenant. Whenever, Israel broke the covenant, the prophets would challenge them and warn of the consequence. Israel broke the covenant over and over again, which is why the prophets seemed to be full of doom and gloom. Israel was mostly in disobedience, so the prophets spent most of their time warning of the consequence of this disobedience. They could not be nice, because the prognosis for Israel was usually nasty. A minor role of the more mature prophets was to speak to the nations around Israel. God raises them up and brings them down to accomplish his purposes. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied to nations like Egypt and Babylon. They did not speak to these nations in terms of the covenant, because they were not under it. However, because these nations were created by God, they are accountable to him. The prophets warned that if they slipped too far into evil, God would have to bring them down. However, speaking to the other nations was a minor part of the prophets role. New Covenant: The cross and resurrection of Jesus did not cause the role of the prophet to cease. Agabus, Judas and Silas are referred to as a prophets, so the ministry continued (Acts 11:28; Acts 15:31). There is nothing in the New Testament to say that any aspect of the role has ceased. Several things have changed. In Old Testament times, Israel was the people of the covenant. In New Testament times, the church is the people of the new covenant. The prophetic role of watching over the covenant continues, but their focus shifted to the new covenant and the church. The prophets are still responsible for watching over the church and warning if it breaks the covenant of Jesus. This is not a doom and gloom ministry, because in contrast to OT Israel, the victory of the cross and the spirit means that the church mostly walks in blessing. However, there will be times when a church leaves Gods path and needs to be challenged by a prophet. Johns letters to the seven churches are examples of a prophetic challenge to a church that has lost the plot. Giving warnings to the church is still the responsibility of the prophets. The role of prophesying to the people of the old covenant has been curtailed by the cross. Jesus himself gave the final prophesy to Israel warning of the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt 23:33-24:2). He warned that Israel would not get a prophetic word again for a long, long time. ********** Being left without prophets is part of their desolation. All future prophets will be Christians, so if the Jews will not accept those who come in the name of Jesus, they will have no prophets (Micah 3:6). New Testament prophets will only get to speak freely to Israel when the Times of the Gentiles are coming to an end. ********** The role of prophesying to the other nations continues in New Testament times. God continues to determine the rising and falling of the nations. He made all the nations; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands (Acts 17:26). When nations go sour, God often lets them collapse and die. Rome is an example. It eventually collapsed and disappeared. Gods role in this is clearer, if there are prophets explain to the collapsing nation why things are falling apart. This role has been lacking for much of the New Testament age, so it needs to be restored. ************ Prophetic proclamation is the best way to remove a bad government. The Old Testament prophets brought downs kings and rulers who had lost the plot. For example, Elijahs prophetic work led to the destruction of Ahab. Daniel prophesied the fall of Belshazzar of Babylon. John continued this role in the New Testament with his prophecy of the fall of Babylon the Great. We need to see more of the ministry from prophets in the New Testament age. If a Christian prophet had pronounced judgement against Saddam Hussein, releasing the power of God to remove him from office, his fall would have been far less painful for the Iraqi people than a ten year war. Speaking to the nations is only a minor aspect of the prophetic role, so only a few of the more mature prophets will be called to the role of prophet to the nations. Most New Testament prophets will function within the church. Some will grow to be a prophet to their own nation, and a few of these will emerge as prophets to the nations. ************ Everyone can Prophecy: The cross and resurrection brought another major change. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured on everyone who believes. This changed everything, because now every Christian can hear the Holy Spirit speak. We no longer need a special group of people to tell us what God is saying. This shrinks the role of the prophets, because I do not need a prophet to tell me where to find my donkeys. If I need guidance about what to do, I should be able to hear the voice of the Spirit myself. The other effect of the outpouring of the Spirit is that every Christian can prophesy. Peter explained this on the day of Pentecost. I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy (Acts 2:17). This general ability to prophesy manifests in the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 12:10). With prophecy becoming more prevalent and widespread, the risk of poor quality prophecy is increased. This is why Paul gave clear guidance to the Corinthians about how this gift can be managed in a way that minimises harm. 1 Corinthians 14 is not a re-definition of the role of the prophet as some writers have claimed. It provides guidelines on how prophecy should be managed in a situation where everyone, including young people, can prophesy. He suggests that people should take turns in prophesying to keep the process orderly. He also encourages the church to test all prophecies, and discard those that are faulty (1 Thes 5:19-22). Pauls letters focus on testing prophecies, not testing people. There is no test that has to be met before someone can exercise the gift of prophecy, because this gift is available to everyone. On the other hand, because the gift is so open, it is necessary to test the prophetic words that are spoken to sort the chaff from the wheat. Every church will need admonition and correction from time to time. Therefore every church should have at least one person who is recognized and established in this role. These prophets must not be constrained to comfort prophecies by 1 Corinthians 14:3. They must be free to say whatever God wants said to the church, with the only constraint being to speak the truth in love. Gift of Prophecy and the Ministry of the Prophet: In recent years we have seen an increase in the manifestation of the gift of prophecy in the church. This gift is given by the Spirit for the encouragement and edification of believers. It is a gift that is available to all believers and any believer can experience it. In fact we are told that we should all earnestly seek the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1,3). However, not everyone who prophesies is a prophet. There is a difference between the gift of prophecy, and the ministry of a prophet. Being a prophet is a eldership ministry and a calling from God. A prophet is an elder called to speak the word of God. He is a spokesman for God. Whereas the gift of prophecy can be given to any believer as the Spirit wills, the ministry of the prophet is a calling on a persons life. It is this ministry that the church really needs. In practice, there will be a continuum of gifting. Some people will give an occasional prophecy (this is where most prophets begin). Others may prophesy more frequently. Some people who are appointed as elders may be just beginning in the prophetic. Others elders may have developed into a fuller prophetic ministry. The main goal is for all Christians to develop into their ministry. *********** We should not constrain people by trying to put precise labels on them. They should be free to be what God has called and equipped them to be. Amen! *********** Prophecy with great power is not common in the church. Jeremiah said that the word of the Lord is like fire, or like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (Jer 23:29). The church will only experience powerful prophesying, when prophets are taking their proper place in the church. The restoration of the prophetic ministry is essential for the vitality of the church. Whereas the gift of prophecy can be given to any believer as the Spirit wills, the ministry of the prophet is a calling on a persons life. The church urgently needs this ministry May the Lord send us prophetic preaching that searches and scorches! Send us a race of martyr preachers - men of burdened, bent, bowed and broken under the vision of impending judgement and the doom of unending hell of the impenitent.. To be continue...
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 23:53:53 +0000
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