Prophetic Perspective

Extreme Prophetic?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:44:00 +0000

Sadly, there are a small number of fringe-element Charismatic ministries today who claim to be operating in the "extreme prophetic" that are the very sort of devil-inspired ministries that give the Charismatic Church a bad name. They are a blight on the image of the 21st Century Post-Pentecostal Church that it must disown and distance itself from in order to reclaim its rich heritage and integrity.

As it stands, it is these few "bad apple" ministries that are spoiling the Charismatic barrel in the eyes of the world as well as the ecclesia as a whole. The Neo-Pentecostal church must begin to rise up to the place of spiritual maturity in which it begins to discipline itself. Every significant institution of society--whether it be the medical field, with the likes of the A.M.A. or the legal profession with its A.B.A., and so forth--have had to come to the realization that it must regulate or govern itself if it is to maintain the integrity and even the longevity of the institution. Both Houses of the U.S. Congress governs itself, with measures built into the rules and procedures for sanctioning or disciplining of unruly members. The time has come for the institution of similar measures in the Neo-Pentecostal Ecclesia.

We must begin to "speak the truth in love." We must summon the fortitude to tell it like it is, call a spade a spade, identifying doctrinal error and demonically-inspired supernatural phenomena and exposing the deeds of darkness wherever it is found, including if where it is found is in "big name" or high-profile ministries that have by whatever means ascended to the ranks of the elite and the high and mighty that we all have afforded them. We have tolerated the existence of "rock star" status and persona far too long in the Charismatic Church and it's high time we began to tear down their altars and high places as the Old Testament prophets spoke on behalf of God concerning the pagan gods of their generations.

It's high time that the true prophets arise out of their lethargy and laying back in the woods to seize the axe of Samuel and begin to hack some of these Agags to pieces! That will be the "extreme prophetic!" And, I believe the day when we see more and more of that happening has already dawned!

The following article by Joyce Perdue has some great things to say about the "extreme" men and women who are needed in the church that Jesus is building today.
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THE MOST EXTREME MAN or WOMAN in the CHURCH
-Joyce Perdue.

The most extreme man (or woman) in the church today is the one who stands on God’s Word alone.

He is the “voice crying in the wilderness” of modern churchianity.

It is he who dares to ask not, "Is this okay? Can we 'get away with it'?” but, “Is this honoring to God Almighty?”

Here is one who refuses to engage in frivolity while the world slides to hell.

Here is the man who isn’t afraid to stand before men and be laughed at; he is afraid only of standing before God and being condemned.

He stands for truth in a time of compromise.

He constantly searches out the Word of God and demands a “thus saith the Lord” in a time of me-centered, watered-down, cotton candy teachings.

He believes that there is one way — God’s Way — and he is willing to give up home, income, reputation…indeed, he is willing to give up all that he has, all that he is…in order that it may be taught.

Here is the one who knows “doing for God” must grow out of “being with God” and not the other way around.

Here is the preacher who isn’t afraid to “step on toes” or make someone uncomfortable when the need arises.

He is one who will preach boldly against sin in all of its manifestations.

He is a man who constantly invites his Lord to “search me…try me…see if there is any wicked way in me.”

He is one who knows Jesus wasn’t just “meek and mild” but also the Lion of Judah Who was zealous for God’s house, and he tirelessly seeks to follow his Master’s example.

He is the husband, the father, who leads his family to go against the world — no matter how unpopular, how uncomfortable the position — rather than ride the flow that leads to hell.

Here is the young man who seeks out a woman of true loveliness, one who loves God and shows much growth in godliness, rather than one whose beauty is only skin deep.

The most extreme man in the church is the one who unfailingly takes God at His Word and then, believing, acts on it.

He teaches truth even when persecuted for it.

He sees the times, and, understanding the dangers ahead, beseeches God on behalf of the people who are failing Him.

Here is one who will lose sleep to “stand in the gap” for his family, the church, the nation.

He is not afraid of censure, of unpopularity, of ridicule but only of displeasing his Lord.

He is one who has obviously ”been with Jesus.”

He knows intimately the throne of grace and lives at the foot of it.

He knows the Cross of Christ for he makes his home in its shadow.

He loves God and thus loves the unlovely, even those who would cause him harm for his “extreme” positions.

Here is one to whom praying is as natural as breathing.

He is known in hell and hated for his prayers aren’t prayers for personal comfort but for God’s will to be done, and then, when the prayers are momentarily complete, he gets up and makes himself available to be the instrument through which God’s will can be accomplished.

One who knows sleepless nights spent crying out to God that He may be known and honored among men.

A man who has absolute faith in God that His Lord is able to do all that He has promised.

Here is a man to whom the thought has never occurred to not “accept” Jesus as His Lord.

One whom, knowing his own sinfulness, is humbled by the grace-filled opportunity to serve His Lord in any and every fashion that God bestows upon him.

A man to whom God Himself is more important than any other gift that God could bestow.###

Gifts Vs. Offices (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:05:00 +0000

A Trio of Gifts from the Trinity
In the Kingdom of the Triune-God good things come in THREES. Trinitarians espouse and expound the Truth that the God-Head consists of three PERSONS, as opposed to manifestations as our non-trinitarian Pentecostal brethren contend. All verily God, perfectly united in essence and purpose, yet simultaneously separate and distinct. One God in Three Persons Trinitarians maintain. (Regardless, it is my personal position that God is grieved and much damage is wreaked when the Body of Christ divides and separates into camps who refuse to walk in fellowship with one another over such matters, and that when we do, it is clear in Scripture that we are not fully walking in the true Light of the Spirit but rather in spiritual darkness, regardless of how right those of each camp contend they are. Undeniably, the primary product of our walking in the Light as He is in the Light is that we love one another.)

“God so loved the world that He gave…” (Jn. 3:16). In this—the one most familiar and quoted of all Gospel verses—is reflected volumes more than what all the commentaries of Christian doctrine and theology have ever been able to suppose and propose. Add to it the fathomless precept of “the summing up of all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10) and human ruminations of who God really is soar to such sublime heights so as to dizzy the most impassive of souls.

The preponderance of Scripture propounds over and over the phenomenal Truth that the One true Triune-God whom traditional orthodox Christendom ascribes, avows, and serves is the Supreme Giver. It is undeniable and unavoidable that giving is a central attribute of the nature of God. He is “the God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10). He is so full of grace (charis, Gr.) [giftings], ever-lasting love and kindness, and mercy that endures to and throughout all generations, that He simply cannot help Himself but to GIVE! He is a God of bountiful GIFTS and GIVING! When He gave us His only begotten Son, He GAVE all and the best He had to give. One of His Names is El-shaddai, which means “the God who is MORE than enough,” also demonstrates His nature of superfluous benevolence. When God gives, He gives in overflowing, abundant measure. It only follows then, as a brief aside, that anyone who purposes to emulate God and His attributes, in addition to all else, must also be a wildly generous and hillarious GIVER! (1 Cor. 9:7)

Now let’s turn our attention to this trio of gifts bestowed unto believers by the Trinity.

Now there are varieties of GIFTS, but the same SPIRIT. And there are varieties of MINISTRIES, but the same LORD. And there are varieties of EFFECTS (OPERATIONS, KJV; ENERGIZINGS, lit. Gr.), but the same GOD who works all these things in all persons. (1 Cor. 12:4‑6, NASB)

In these verses, the Spirit reveals through the Apostle Paul the truth that there are three distinct sets of supernatural spiritual giftings, each bestowed by and emanating from a different Member of the God‑Head. To say it another way: The revelation of this passage is that each Person of the God‑Head has a different set of gifts that emanate from that Member of the Trinity, which He bestows unto believers. Each set of giftings begins with the letter “M” in English; in order of their mention, they are: Manifestation Gifts, Ministry Gifts, and Motivation Gifts.

Now there are varieties of GIFTS, but the same SPIRIT (v. 4).

The Holy Spirit distributes MANIFESTATION GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT (cf., v. 7) (Charismata or Charismatic Gifts), which are supernatural empowerment bearing witnesses of the risen Christ (cf., Acts 1:8), as He wills unto all Spirit-Baptized believers. This set of divine endowments is delineated in 1 Corinthians 12:7‑11. They are NINE (number of the Holy Spirit in Scripture) in number, and can be divided into three categories of three gifts each:

Revelation Gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits;
Power Gifts: healings, miracles, faith;
Prophetic Gifts: unknown tongues, interpretation of tongues; prophecy.

And there are varieties of MINISTRIES, but the same LORD (v. 5).

The “Lord” and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, endows “some” (Eph. 4:11) select believers of His choosing with HIS MINISTRY GIFTS for the spiritual development (edification and education) and governance (non-authoritarian steerage, pilotage) of the Church. When He was baptized in the Spirit, Jesus Himself was endowed with these giftings by the Father and operated them during His fleshly ministry. Thus, in that they were bestowed unto Him by the Father, through the Helper, the Holy Spirit, they are His, the Lord’s, giftings as the Head of the Church to bestow upon whomever He wills and chooses. It is vital to understand that it is the LORD, as the functional Head of the Church, as opposed to human hierarchies, who appoints whomever HE elects to these offices of function, and anoints them with these supernatural enablements. Only “some,” not “all” (cf., 1 Cor. 12:28ff) believers are so appointed and anointed. This set of giftings, also known as the Fivefold Ministry Offices (functions), is delineated and their functions are explained in Ephesians 4:7‑13. They are FIVE (the number in Scripture for divinely bestowed giftings of grace) in number, which are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

And there are varieties of EFFECTS (OPERATIONS, KJV; ENERGIZINGS, lit. Gr.), but the same GOD who works all these things in all persons. (v. 6)

GOD THE FATHER bestows the MOTIVATION GIFTS, which “energize” (literal meaning of “function” [NASB] and “office” [KJV] in Rom. 12:4) each individual believer with a specific function or ability, and is the believer’s primary motivation in life. These “energizings” are innate talents, abilities, or enablements God the Father “injects” into people at birth, and (I believe) become especially activated and active when individuals become a “new creature” in Christ by virtue of the infusion of the Holy Spirit at the New Birth. While some believers may function in some degree in a number of these giftings, there is always ONE which motivates them primarily. These gifts are delineated in Romans 12:4‑8. They are SEVEN (the number of the Father’s Sovereignty and Perfection) in number; they are: prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, showing of mercy.

It is vital that the Body of Christ, individually and collectively, understand the critical differences between these giftings, offices, and functions; especially the differences between the Manifestation Gifts and the Ministry Gifts. One of the things that much of the Body has been confused about is the difference between the transient “power” [dunamis, Gr.] (cf., Acts 1:8) distributed by the Holy Spirit, according to His will, unto believers to “minister” unto others, and the “authority” [exousia, Gr.] inherent in the Fivefold Ministry Offices (functions) which the Lord as Head of the Church anoints believers of His election and appointment. This widespread confusion and lack of knowledge regarding these two separate and distinct matters has produced untold problems and wreaked incalculable spiritual damage in the past. Great, in this hour of rampant deception from “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons by the means of the hypocrisy of liars” (1 Tim. 4:1,2) — the so-called "Lakeland Outpouring" of 2008 being a prime example — is the Church’s need for clear, unambiguous, precise, and authoritative (i.e., apostolic) teaching regarding these graces lavishly bestowed by the Triune-God unto the co-sovereign Betrothed of Christ, the Lamb’s Wife! So desperate is Her need to appropriate and assimilate all the supernatural grace God is dispensing in these “perilous times” which are made so because men have become:

lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 3:1-7)

The Gradual Deemphasis of the Gifts of the Spirit
In retrospect, it can be observed that while most true Pentecostal groups and denominations that formed out of it professed an espousal of nine of the Manifestation Gifts of the Spirit, the primary emphasis of Pentecostal Movement (c., 1907) was the Prophetic or Vocal Gifts—unknown tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy. While there were some operations in the Revelation (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, and discerning of spirits) and Power (healing, miracles, and faith) gifts during the Pentecostal Movement, especially at its inception, in the passage of time, fewer and fewer Pentecostal congregations ascribed significant importance to these latter two sets of Charismata. The overall effect of this gradual deemphasis has been that at present, as the Pentecostal Movement is in its centennial year, there is little mention, let alone manifestation, of the Revelation and Power Gifts in of the meetings of classic Pentecostal churches. In fact, the stark reality is that today, anyone attempting to operate in these gifts in the vast majority of Pentecostal denominations will be met with an Antarctic-like blast of frigid resistance and contempt.
Over the one-hundred years of classic Pentecostalism, those denominations and their churches who once were the enthusiastic champions of the Charismata, have transitioned from tenacious belief to tacit tolerance to outright disbelief and disdain for the Manifestations of the Spirit.

Unfortunately, the sad scenario as we stand in the beginnings of the 21^st Century is that if you raise your voice above a whisper in prayer, worship, or vocalization of your “prayer language” in most Pentecostal church services, as was so common during the first fifty years or so of the Pentecostal Movement, chances are you will be remonstrated by the ushers, and if you continue these “loud outbursts that are disturbing to some of our less demonstrative congregants who don’t embrace this kind of worship” in future services you will eventually be told that you are unwelcome in the church.

Reviewing the history briefly to see how things progressed to where we are today, at the approximate apex of the American Pentecostal Movement, as enthusiasm for and espousal of the Manifestations of the Spirit, and consequently the influence of Pentecostalism, was waning, a powerful new Wind of the Spirit began to blow in the 1960s, which became known as the Charismatic Movement. This move of the Spirit not only brought forth a desperately needed “time of refreshing” (Ac. 3:19) from the presence of the Lord, but it was also a sovereignly produced, foreordained “period of restoration” (Ac. 3:21) by God, in which a “recovery” and a “rediscovery” of the nine “manifestations of the Spirit” (also referred to as “the charismata” or “charismatic gifts”) listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7‑11 was effected. (For more on the Charismatic Movement read this article.)

At its inception, the Charismatic Movement (c., 1960) was a divinely orchestrated Wind and Working of the Spirit, the primary purpose of which was to bring forth a restoration of and renewed awareness in the “Charismata” or Manifestation Gifts of the Spirit. Secondarily, it was also one of the God-initiated “times of refreshing” that “come from the presence of the Lord” (Ac. 3:19), which, at least during the 20^th Century seemed to emerge approximately every twenty years. Through that Movement, God was announcing that the manifestations of the Spirit were not relegated to and “passed away” with some by‑gone era of long ago, but that “Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever” (Heb.13:8), and that God changes not (Mal. 3:6)! What He was in any era—He is, and what He is—He always has been and always will be! For He is God the Eternal and Eternally God! The rediscovery of the Manifestations of the Spirit demonstrated once again that it was not God who had changed over the centuries of Church history, but the Church, or perhaps more appropriately, the beliefs, doctrines, and operations of the Church. But, that should not be surprising considering that not since the end of the 2^nd Century A.D. has the Church actively and earnestly labored to fulfill all five of the Lord’s final commandments preceding His ascension into Heaven to take His Seat at the Right Hand of God—i.e., the Great Commission (Mk. 16:15-18).

But, again, as is the case with all the other moves of the Spirit and “revivals” dating back to the original Protestant Reformation (c. 1517), when men begin to seize upon and control in the natural realm what God is doing in the Spirit realm and attempt to “organize” (institutionalize) the Spirit’s workings and assimilate it into humanly devised ecclesiastical systems and schemas, error, excesses, and self-aggrandizing practices fueled by selfish-ambition and the effects of the evil spirit of mammon coupled with religious spirits soon begin to emerge. The result inevitably is the corruption and counteracting of divine intents and purposes. Just as had been the case with the Pentecostal Movement, carnally-motivated and selfishly ambitious people, who attempted to “use” the Spirit’s workings for their own personal Kingdom-building schemes, hijacked the Charismatic Movement, as least as far as its manifestation in the natural realm is concerned. Consequently, God pronounced “Ichabod” (inglorious, without God’s Glory) over the Charismatic Movement, for the Spirit had departed as He separated Himself from the schemings of “men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that (the sovereign working of the Spirit) is a means of great (personal) gain” (1 Tim. 6:5; emphasis and parentheses added).

The diabolical consequence of the human adulteration of God’s purposes was that the Charismatic Movement became a beached wave only a couple of decades after its genesis as a result of being hijacked and supplanted by yet another man-made, satanically-devised machination known as the “Discipleship or Shepherding Movement.” But, the depravity, unfortunately did not end there. Rather, as the tares continued to grow along with the wheat, the succeeding divinely orchestrated moves of the Spirit, the Prophetic and Apostolic Movements, at least the first wave of each, were likewise corrupted and commandeered by a relatively small cadre of unscrupulous and self-aggrandizing “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” who brazenly staked their claim on the workings of the Spirit by presumptuously pronouncing a completely outlaw ownership of the Sheep of God’s Flock via the aegis of a thoroughly illegitimate oversight authority over those chosen, appointed, and anointed by the Head of the Church to Fivefold Ministry functions, the prophetic and apostolic, in particular.

Despair Not! God is Restoring!
But, despair not, you of the True Remnant Church Jesus is building! God is not finished yet with all of this! God Himself will yet bring forth His justice and judgment upon these corrupt ecclesiastical coalitions of hubristic human interlopers! He is about to identify and separate the wheat from the tares, the false shepherds and sheep from the true. (In fact, He actually has already initiated this process as this is written.) God will not be mocked! Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and His workings is still the one sin that is such an affront unto God that it shall never be forgiven! The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are still given by the One True Spirit, and God will not allow what is Good, which only He can author, to be seen and spoken of as evil!

Be not discouraged or dismayed! Continue to heed the commandment of the Spirit to “Pursue love, yet earnestly desire (covet, KJV) spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy…(for) one who prophesies speaks to men for edification, exhortation, and consolation (encouragement)…one who prophesies EDIFIES (charges up as a battery is charged) THE CHURCH” (1 Cor. 12:1-4). God knows, now more than ever before, the TRUE REMNANT CHURCH that Jesus is building (Zech. 12:7-9; Mat. 16:18) needs all the edification, exhortation, and encouragement the Spirit desires to bestow upon a battle-weary and dismayed Church through the Manifestations of the Spirit, which are given for the “COMMON GOOD” of the Church (1 Cor. 12:7)!

Understand, Saints, that there is indeed the TRUE REMNANT CHURCH Jesus is building (the wheat), but then there is the antichrist ecclesiastical systems (the tares), regardless of their label— whether Protestant, Pentecostal, Catholic, Charismatic—which God in His Word identifies as part of Babylon! The wheat and the tares must grow up together, lest the wheat (those who have been redeemed and purified of all sin, deception, and attachment to the world’s allurements) be mistaken for tares, until the end, when Christ Himself shall separate the wheat from the tares, and the tares will be gathered up into piles for burning (eternal destruction) [cf., Mat. 3:7-12; Mat. 13:24-30]!

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:1,2)

If you genuinely thirst for the supernatural endowments freely and generously bestowed by the One, True, Triune-God—the “True Riches”—call out to Him, and He will answer you and give you what you have asked! Jesus PROMISED, and He cannot lie, that EVERYONE who believes and trusts in Him who but simply ASKS the Heavenly Father WILL BE given all the “GOOD GIFTS” that emanate from the God-Head, including those that come through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:9-13)

All these “GOOD GIFTS” that emanate solely from God and of which He is the sole Supplier, He supplies WITHOUT MONETARY COST! They are free! “Freely you received; freely GIVE,” Jesus commanded the Apostles of the Lamb (Mat. 10:8). It’s the same today. Those who require you to divest yourself of your money in order to be a part of their exclusive ecclesiastical clubs or to be worthy of the blessings they purport to be anointed and appointed by God to disburse upon God’s people, are charlatans and imposters! They are false prophets of Baal—Balaam prophets whose only desire and motivation is your money! You will know them by their fruits, Jesus warned. Those who are operating out of avarice and greed to build their own personal fiefdoms and fill their own bank accounts to finance their lavish lifestyles are the false shepherds who God swore through the Prophets He would judge and cause to cease from being shepherds over the sheep of His flock (cf., Ezk. 34; Jer. 23)! Do not be taken in by these “enemies of the cross,” Saints, but RUN! FLEE BABYLON! FLEE THE FALSE PROPHETS OF BAAL! CEASE FROM SUPPORTING THEM WITH YOUR MONEY!

Those who are servants of mammon are NOT servants of Christ, but of themselves and Satan. Those who justify their diabolical schemes of self-aggrandizement are modern-day Pharisees who are lovers of money—PROPHETS OF PROFIT—who scoff at the warnings Jesus is speaking today through such messages as this one. Don’t be so foolish as to follow them and align yourself with their enmity against God and Truth!

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the TRUE RICHES (spiritual gifts) to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You CANNOT serve God and wealth.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:10-15, NASB; emphasis and parentheses added)

The Picture Of A Prophet

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:52:00 +0000

Oh, how desperately the Church--including the Neo-Pentecostal Church-- in this last hour needs a full-color picture of a genuine black-and-white prophet, to portray to its constituency what one looks like, to allow them to fully receive "the reward" or benefits of a prophet.

Cameras are ubiquitous in this techno-crazed world we live in today! They are absolutely EVERYWHERE! Seems as though 50% or more of people living on the planet have either a digital camera or the camera on their cell phone or other mobile device. Cameras silently monitor our streets and just about every public square. It's truly George Orwell's 1984 in 2009! There's zillions of photos circulated around the globe every day in this techno-age, capturing just about every kind of action, behavior, subject, and event in existence. But, oh! how desperate is our need for a SPIRITUAL camera! If only one could be invented!

We know the world has only one set of eyes, one set of five senses to experience their own personal panorama of life, moment by moment, day by day, and one brain or mind to process all their senses take in. We know they are limited entirely to a carnal mind...the Bible tells us so...a mind corrupted by the flesh to process the trillions of electronic pulses sent to their brains for processing every hour of every day. But the conclusions the brain generates is based on the software with which it is programmed, which, unfortunately, is the carnal mind, the mind filled with, set on the flesh, the Bible explains.

But, the true believer, the one who has genuinely been BORN AGAIN, experiencing an authentic regeneration of their human spirit, by means of an infusion with the very Holy Spirit of God...ahhhh...now it's an entirely different story for THAT person, the CHILD OF GOD! They have become a NEW CREATURE in whom NEW THINGS have come! One of those new things that have come to the new creature in Christ, lo and behold, is "THE MIND OF CHRIST!" The "mind of the Spirit" it is also termed in God's Word!

The natural man -- the person who lives life based entirely based on the conclusions his carnal mind engenders and tells him -- "does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But the SUPERnatural man, the person who has been born again and who lives their life not based solely on what their natural mind tells them, but tunes into the mind of the Spirit to apprehend the "mind of Christ" or what the Spirit is saying, discerning, and informing within the human spirit, sees, hears, senses, and processes things differently, often entirely antithetically.

True, genuine, authentic prophets are like that...they see, hear, discern, and process things differently, and volumes could be and have been and will yet be written about that. What prophets "bring to the (spiritual) table" to use a common phrase, is so thoroughly undervalued, primarily because it is so unknown by most believers, including most leaders, unfortunately. So few have any clue what a genuine prophet is or does or brings to the church. Perhaps there is a clue in the fact that the only Fivefold Ministry function Jesus Himself said carried with it a special "reward" for merely "receiving" it in the form of what it is and is intended by God to be is that of the prophet. Though just about every time I have invoked the concept among ministers over nearly three and a half decades of ministry it was met with the icy silence of suppressed contempt, I will not shrink back from saying what the Lord has whispered in my ear so very many times, which is that prophets have a special place in the heart of God and a special function in the Church that He is building and is the Head of.

For decades God has been rearing and raising up a company of prophets, many of whom, despite the purported "prophetic movements" promoted by "prophetic organizations" over the past couple decades, are just now emerging from the wilderness and being released and sent forth by Lord as His surrogate spokesmen. My humble belief is that only a precious few claiming to be "prophets," who walk in and operate out of the OFFICE of the prophet, in the last quarter of the 20th Century, actually were/are. There are a few...and God is releasing a lot more in the 21st Century. Some of them are spiritual fathers or mentors, advisers to all of the Fivefold Ministry, but they will especially be spiritual fathers to younger and developing prophets.

Oh, how the Church NEEDS PROPHETS! And, God is SENDING them! But, too often the Body of Christ rejects them...still...even sincere and obedient-minded believers...mostly I believe because they really don't know what a genuine prophet looks like. They've never seen a picture of one, so to speak. Oh, how desperately the Church--including the Neo-Pentecostal Church-- in this last hour needs a full-color picture of a genuine black-and-white prophet, to portray to its constituency what one looks like, to allow them to fully receive "the reward" or benefits of a prophet.

The late Leonard Ravenhill was himself a genuine prophet to the Church, but like most, so greatly undervalued, under-appreciated. But, thank God, before he left us and graduated to Glory, Ravenhill set up his prophetic spiritual camera, and, using technology of the Spirit, snapped this photograph through the lens of the Spirit to give us this awesome, glorious, and accurate "picture of a prophet!"
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The Picture Of A Prophet
By Leonard Ravenhill
The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.
Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."
The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!
The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality.
In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet!
The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."
The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.

He has no price tags.
He is totally "otherworldly."
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus
saith the Lord."
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of impending judgment.
He lives in "splendid isolation."
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!
I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).
Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. "Come-outers" have "come out" and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?
GOD'S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWING FORTH. They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.
There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself-righteous, nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God.
Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen.

God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon. God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!
Copyright © 1994 by Leonard Ravenhill, Lindale Texas - http://www.ravenhill.org/

The Church's Greatest Need

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:50:00 +0000

"The Glory of the Latter House shall be greater than the Former!" (Hag. 2:9)

The hour we live in without equivocation is the most spiritually profound of all of history, and certainly of all “His-story.” Indeed, it can be no less when we are told that all of the historical Biblical events comprising His-story—i.e., the history of Israel—“happened to them as an example (illustration) and they were written for OUR instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11; cf., Rom. 15:4). God is therein declaring that the entire content of the Old Testament—the events it chronicles and the wisdom and instruction those events illustrate—are and always were intended for the true end-time believers comprising the end-times Church that Jesus is building!

Moreover, our spiritual assimilation of the morals illustrated and reflected in those Old Testament events and examples coupled with those given us in the New Testament will play a major role in producing the outcome that the Glory (tangible manifested presence of God) that abides upon those comprising the “Latter House”—the house of the faithful High Priest, who was faithful over His house as a SON (Heb. 3:1-6), that is, the Church Jesus is building—will far exceed any Glory that was ever upon the Former House—the house of Moses, who was faithful over his house as a SERVANT.

While the faithfulness of God’s SERVANT Moses produced per the Law of Reproduction a succession, intermittent as it was, of SERVANTS, the faithfulness of the SON over His House produces the surpassing results of “bringing many SONS unto Glory” (Heb. 2:10). By virtue of the fact that the House Jesus is building is a House of SONS, versus SERVANTS, the Glory of the Latter House MUST indeed be GREATER than the Former, for the Glory of SONS of God versus SERVANTS of God is like unto the glory of the sun compared to the glory of the moon (a non-illuminary planet).

God’s ultimate intent in the Creation of the Cosmos has always been to produce a burgeoning House or Family of SONS—SONS OF GOD! The choice and perfect Seed He sowed—His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON (itself one of the inscrutable mysteries of God, in that He was “begotten” and not “made”)—spiritually germinated and ever since has been producing like unto its Kind, that is, SONS! Abraham and his lineage, the Patriarchs, were SERVANTS. Moses was a SERVANT. David was a SERVANT. Though the magnitude of their servitude and faithfulness was incomparable, their highest expectation could only ever be to produce a legacy of SERVANTS, reflecting the Glory of SERVITUDE.

But, the SON, His legacy shall be an innumerable company of SONS, who “shall be like Him,” reflecting His Image—the Glory of SONSHIP! And, now, in these days, more than ever before in the history of the Creation, the Creation groans and writhes in the excruciating pangs of childbirth as it with rapt expectation awaits the revelation of the SONS of God.

Reader, I implore you to keep listening to this word. Stay attuned to the Spirit to hear this! Your life and the life of those you love depends on it!

Absolutely every segment and aspect of the foundations of all the systems of this world are unraveling and disassembling as God’s Spirit is shaking every thing that can be shaken to orchestrate a massive removal of all those things that can be shaken (earthly, humanly-made things) in order that only those things that cannot be shaken (Kingdom things, things of God) shall remain. So corrupted have the very foundations, fabric, and functions of the world’s systems become as the consequence of the utter corruption of its delegated stewards, the “sons of men” (Ps. 115:16), that the unseen elements that have been providing it stability, order, and cohesion, are being systematically removed at breakneck speed. While people go obliviously about the business of their self-consumed lives, the world we live in—that is, the systems that comprise human existence—has deorbited and is hurtling downward in its final spirals unto utter perdition. Do not be deluded, Church: nothing can or will stop its rapid descent! The world is on a collision course with Hell!

The end-times Church, the True Church, the Church Jesus is building, is not OF the world, but it is IN the world, for now. So, in this hour when the world is spiraling out of control in this final irreversible, precipitous decline, what is God’s message to the True Church? His message is the same as it has always been:

2 Corinthians 6:17,18
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:14,16
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

These are God’s words of advice to His children in these last days. The world is indeed in the process of passing away, along with all its self-indulging and self-consuming lusts, including the most damning lust of all—greed, or covetousness, or the love of money—which is the root of all the evil that pervades this dark and deceitful world. God’s people must be delivered out from under the strong delusion of the world and the spell of its lusts. But, seldom in the annals of history have the captives been liberated through self-deliverance. Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to set the captives free. Captives rarely gain freedom through their own efforts. God always sends a DELIVERER! A Deliverer like Moses unto the Israelites and Jesus unto ALL HUMANITY!

Our “most critical need” in this hour, as A.W. Tozer wrote more than four decades ago in the following article, is "men—the right kind of men, bold men." Bold men who will come marching out of the desert, like John The Baptist, to a different drumbeat, confronting the systems of this world and the religious orders that are keeping the people of God bound in invisible chains of deception and delusion, whose pied-pipers continue to fiddle while the ship is sinking and Rome burns down all around them! We need MEN OF GOD who will rise up as DELIVERERS to set the captives free! GOD, SEND THE DELIVERERS, who will speak the truth in love to your people and thereby snatch some out of the fire!
--------------

"OUR MOST CRITICAL NEED"- by A.W. Tozer*

THE MOST CRITICAL NEED of the Church at this moment is men—the right kind of men, bold men. The talk is that we need revival, that we need a new baptism of the Holy Spirit—and God knows we must have both—but God will not revive mice. He will not fill rabbits with the Holy Spirit.

We languish for men who feel themselves expendable in the warfare of the soul because they have already died to the allurements of this world. Such men will be free from the compulsions that control weaker men. They will not be forced to do things by the squeeze of circumstances. Their only compulsion will come from within—or from above.

This kind of freedom is necessary if we are to have prophets in our pulpits again instead of mascots. These free men will serve God and mankind from motives too high to be understood by the rank and file of religious retainers who today shuttle in and out of the sanctuary. They will make no decisions out of fear, take no course out of a desire to please, accept no service for financial considerations, perform no religious acts out of mere custom, nor allow themselves to be influenced by the love of publicity or the desire for reputation.

Much that the church—even the evangelical church—is doing today, it is doing because it is afraid not to do it. Ministerial associations take up projects for no higher reasons than that they are scared into it. Whatever their ear-to-the-ground, fear-inspired reconnoitering leads them to believe—or fear—the world expects them to do, they will be doing come next Monday morning with all kinds of trumped-up zeal and show of godliness. The pressure of public opinion calls these prophets, not the voice of Jehovah.

The true church has never sounded out public expectations before launching its crusades. Its leaders heard from God and went ahead wholly independent of popular support or the lack of it. They knew their Lord's will and did it, and their people followed them—sometimes to triumph, but more often to insults and public persecution—and their sufficient reward was the satisfaction of being right in a wrong world.

Another characteristic of the true prophet has been love. The free man who has learned to hear God's voice and dared to obey it has felt the moral burden that broke the hearts of the Old Testament prophets, crushed the soul of our Lord Jesus Christ, and wrung streams of tears from the eyes of the apostles.

The free man has never been a religious tyrant, nor has he sought to lord it over God's heritage. It is fear and lack of self-assurance that has led men to try to bring others under their feet. They have had some interest to protect, some position to secure, so they have demanded subjection from their followers as a guarantee of their own safety. But the free man—never. He has nothing to protect, no ambition to pursue and no enemy to fear. For that reason he is completely careless of his standing among men. If they follow him—well and good. If not, he loses nothing that he holds dear. But whether he is accepted or rejected, he will go on loving his people with sincere devotion, and only death can silence his tender intercession for them.

Yes, if evangelical Christianity is to stay alive, it must have men again—the right kind of men. It must repudiate the weaklings who dare not speak out, and it must seek in prayer and much humility the coming again of men of the stuff of which prophets and martyrs are made. God will hear the cries of His people as He heard the cries of Israel in Egypt, and He will send deliverance by sending deliverers. It is His way.

And when the deliverers come—reformers, revivalists, prophets—they will be men of God and men of courage. They will have God on their side because they are careful to stay on God's side. They will be co-workers with Christ and instruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Such men will be baptized with the Spirit indeed and through their labors He will baptize others and send the long-delayed revival.###

SOURCE: This World: Playground or Battleground?, [Chapter 7]

* NOTE: A.W. Tozier (1897-1963) for many years was the pastor of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Toronto and Chicago, the editor-in-chief of the Christian and Missionary Alliance's official organ, Alliance Weekly, as well as a prolific author. Many revered him as a twentieth century prophet. Of his many books, The Knowledge of the Holy (Harper & Row), was perhaps the one for which he was best known.

Prophets -- God's Change Agents

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:13:00 +0000

This edition is Part 2 of a series regarding the new things God is decreeing for the days ahead. I believe the topic of this series is both prophetic and timely, in that God is right now is decreeing and effecting major and in some cases paradigmic changes both in the world and the church, and is causing particular events to transpire that have never happened before; i.e., "new things." God is "suddenly" releasing and launching much that has been held in abeyance for many years. He is also bringing a sudden end to much that has been for a many years as well.

Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.

Isaiah 43:18,19
Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 48:6-8
I proclaim to you new things from this time,
Even hidden things which you have not known.
They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
You have not heard, you have not known.

One of the tribes of Israel, the sons of Issachar, were "men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do" (1 Chrn. 12:32). Prophets are spiritual "sons of Issachar." The spiritual inheritance of that tribe is alive within them. They have a special anointing for discerning the times and knowing when God is bringing forth new things, new paradigms, and bringing the Church into new dimensions of the Spirit.

Because they are discerners of these things, they frequently "see" things before others do, including other leaders. Also because they see and discern things before others do, there is a pioneering aspect to the personality and gifting of prophets. They are also predictive, rather than reactive, vis-à-vis most other people. Most people believe it when they see it. Prophets believe it before other people see it, because they've already seen it and its outcome in the Spirit. Prophets are still "seers." They perceive things in the Spirit realm others do not, at least not yet. They specialize in revealing the "secret counsel" of God in His timing.

When a prophet prophesies over you, he sometimes is speaking of those things that be not as though they were. Many people do not understand prophecies spoken over themselves or others because they do not understand this about prophecy. Prophecy is often predictive, and in fact that is one of the most important aspects of prophecy. I mean, hey, you already know what things are right now, right? What you need to know is either why some things happened that have happened or you need a new "vision" for the future as a guide in your pursuit of God and His purposes for your life. That's what prophecy does. That's why I'm not impressed when people say, "Hey, there's this prophet at such and so place who is telling people their names and addresses!" Well, friend, if you don't already know your name and address, you're suffering either from Alzheimer's or amnesia, and what you need is a healing, not a prophecy! Now I suppose God could use such things as a sign to confirm the person who is prophesying, but that may not be reliable because psychics can also tap into that kind of information, but their source is Satan. Primarily, legitimate prophecy deals with what we don't already know or have been understanding through our own natural knowledge and reasoning, or what God has been speaking to us that we have been ignoring. Legitimate prophecy tells us what we don't know and only God could know, supernaturally! This is not to deny that there is often a confirmatory aspect to prophecy, especially when it is the gift of prophecy in operation through "one who prophesies," but someone who is operating out of the office of the prophet will often speak things that are previously unknown to the recipient.

The main point I'm trying to make is that prophets, like God, specialize in "new things." They are change agents. Prophets are spiritual marines — they're always moving on from vanquished territories and enemies to charge new beachheads for God. As I said before, because they see discern things before others do, there is a pioneering aspect to the personality and gifting of prophets. They are spiritual Daniel Boones — always looking forward in search of new spiritual frontiers and forging Wilderness Roads through Cumberland Gaps into new territory for God. They are antsy, and others often misjudge them as being impatient. They are easily bored with the status quo, are almost obsessed with movement, and detest stagnancy.

They are instigators, "stirrer-up-ers." The prophetic personality and presence seems to stir up the human spirit without trying or intending to. The prophetic personality and presence certainly stirs up demon spirits and all the powers of hell wherever it is manifest. Prophets are forever stirring things up. They'll sometimes stir things up, just because they can't stand inanimateness and lifeless atmospheres. The prophetic personality and anointing is about movement. Just the prophet's presence stirs things up. Just their presence elicits reaction from people, and it is never indifference. Wherever they go, demons, likewise, always react; it's as if they have no choice.

When a prophet walks into a room, his presence is always felt. The prophetic anointing operating through a bona fide prophet charges and changes the atmosphere. Like the Apostle Paul, wherever they go, they either start a riot or a revival, because their anointing is such a strong threat to the forces of hell, satanic strongholds, and the status-quo. I say again, prophets are quintessentially change agents.

Genuine Prophets are provokers. They are constantly provoking people to good works and continual advancement. The prophetic perspective and personality is well captured in the quotation Ted Kennedy, in his emotional eulogy of his slain brother, said that Bobby often quoted: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."

These characteristics are what make prophets so needed in many ecclesiastical institutions and ministries, and entrepreneurial enterprises as well, and worth their weight in gold. People with a prophetic personality are advancement agents. They will keep whatever entity they are involved with moving in the direction of new things and constant improvement and advancement. They prefer evolution, but in places where, for whatever reasons, that has not been occurring, they will initiate revolution! They are relentless motivators of movement. They're going to move something, or somebody! And, if you refuse to move in the direction of advancement they are motivating you towards, they will move — over, on, and away, and find someone who will! They can't help it! That's who they are!

In the Church, we erroneously "anoint," appoint, and "knight" some people "leaders" who are not leaders at all, but maintainers or managers of the status quo. The word "lead" implies movement. A leader is a person who motivates a contingency of followers/co-laborers to move toward the attainment of a purpose or goal. That purpose or goal coupled with the plan for achievement is the vision. Thus, a true leader is intrinsically a visionary, who has an internal vision of where he needs and wants to go, and compels others to get on the bus and go with him to apprehend the vision. Genuine, effective leaders are forward-thinking — always looking into the future to new vistas of advancement.

By this definition, many people in the ministry, including many of those who are the chief leaders of churches and ecclesiastical organizations are not really leaders at all, because their mindset and modus operandi does not fit the definition of a leader and they don't see this definition of leadership as being their job description (and I don't mean this in a pejorative or critical way). Many of these organization heads are really managers, and certainly managers are very much needed, but managers are just that — they manage what already exists, what's there now — the status quo. They are caretakers. They will take good care of what is there now and manage it well, but they are right now where they are always going to be. A manager-type will never advance the organization toward new horizons and into new territory, because he is incapable of seeing it. Vision is not his forte. Now, every entrepreneur-type needs good managers. But, manager-types make terrible entrepreneurs, because the entity under their leadership will eventually die because it failed to continue to advance and was not forward-thinking.

Accountants, for example, are great at accounting for what you have obtained, but someone who has strictly an accountant mentality, will never advance the entity because advancement involves risk and adventure, and accountant-types think in terms of safety, security, and the known. Risk and adventure scare them to death. Entrepreneurial-types, on the other hand, give about as much thought to risk and adventure as they do breathing. Both types have their upsides and their downsides. Now, when entrepreneurial-types connect and partner together in tandem on an enterprise, the result is generally success! Prophets are spiritual entrepreneurial-types.

If the manager-types leading our churches and ecclesiastical institutions would begin to recognize the critical need for the spiritual entrepreneurial mindset that prophet-types bring to the entities they lead, and begin to "receive a prophet in the name of a prophet," not trying to "quench the Spirit" by resisting the unique ways He operates through the prophetic personality, gift, and office, but actually "receive the reward (benefit)" of the prophet's ministry, then the Church would begin to see an unprecedented dimension of "success" in the accomplishment of the purposes and plans of God! And, that is precisely where God is taking us in the new dimensions that lie ahead. New, advanced concinnity among Fivefold Ministers is the only thing that will bring the ultimate fulfillment of the Ephesians Four Objective — "a (singular) mature (spiritually perfect) man, according to the measure of the stature of Christ!" The results of that Spirit-produced concinnity will exceed by light years anything the most advanced "church growth" concepts ever conceived in the mind of men could possibly ever achieve.

Another reason prophets are the quintessential change-agents is because of some things God Himself declared in His Word concerning prophets that distinguish their ministry from all others. One is found in Amos 3:7, where God declares that He does nothing without first revealing His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. As indicated in the passages of Scripture quoted at the outset concerning the "new things" God does, He always brings forth those new things by declaring it, decreeing it, first, and prophets are His special messengers He uses as His spokesmen to declare and decree those things. And, again, because prophets are seers, they are going to see and know the "new things" God is declaring and decreeing before the vast majority of the rest of the Body of Christ. The "secret counsel" God shows prophets also includes new strategies He wants to reveal to churches and ministries that will enable them to destroy strongholds and defeat "the schemes of the devil" (literally, strategic battle plans) he has been perpetrating in their geographic territories in which they operate and assigned spiritual spheres that have been heretofore precluding advancement and vanquishing of the enemy.

If the leadership of churches and ministries really understood the ministry of the prophet, they would be doing all they could to seek out the true, tried, tested, and Spirit-trained, prophets who God has anointed to speak into the atmosphere and the heavenlies to decree change and to reveal the secret counsel of God that will enable those churches and ministries to fully comprehend and apprehend the purposes and plans of God for those believers in their sphere of operation. Let us pray that God emblazons this critical need for the blinders to come off the spiritual eyes of leaders around the world upon the hearts of every believer throughout the world called to intercession. For the need is so great and the hour is so late.

The following is a prophetic word that the Lord gave me concerning the matter of the unique anointing and ministry of the prophet.

In this hour the cloud of My Spirit is moving in a different manner than in times past. I am restoring the ministry of the Prophet to My Church. I am building My Church.These two work in tandem -- the pillar of fire (Revelation and Purity in Truth and Doctrine) in the darkness and the cloud of My very Presence (My Glory) by day.I shall reveal more of myself in this coming Glory. I shall release more of My Glory unto the perception of the eyes of men. They shall see more of Me. I shall do it through the revelation which has been stored up and hidden until now, revelation which can only be revealed by My Holy Apostles and Prophets. They can see it. They shall reveal it. Teachers cannot reveal it. Pastors cannot reveal it. Evangelists cannot reveal it. They had not been anointed or appointed unto this work. It is reserved for this time and for
My Holy Prophets.
[Click here to read the rest of the above prophecy]

I invite you to visit and check out the prophetic articles in the Prophetic Perspective and the Real Truth Digest. There's also a new book I wrote, Dunamis! Power From On High!, which is all about the mighty power available to every believer through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Those interested in the prophetic may also want to check out the prophetic course with the textbook I authored, The Prophetic Gifts and Office, for which you can get a certificate of completion.

Prophetic Polemic Preaching

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0000

In an earlier post in which I was commenting on matters inherent in the Grassley Investigation, I wrote: "A 'Day of Reckoning' is surely coming to many irresponsible and unscrupulous ministries." I prophesied that we are about see a fulfillment of the Prophet Malachi's prophecy (Mal. 3) in the Church that will begin with the leaders." I also wrote:

"...it is a shameful indictment on the modern church, as well as on purporting neo-prophets that a Senator's spokesman has to be the spokesman God uses to issue the prophetic rebuke concerning the excesses found in some portions of the Neo-Pentecostal Church, 'The Christian public should have demanded a higher level of accountability a long time ago.'"

I further prophesied a release and sending forth of true prophets God would be initiating this year of 2008, who will come "proclaiming piercing prophetic messages that will penetrate the lukewarmness and complacency, and in some cases the apostasy, presently pervading the Church at-large, and whose central theme will be the first word of the Gospel — 'Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!'"

I then proffered a spirit-inspired prayer on behalf of the corporate Body of Christ:

Send us, O God, those true prophets Leonard Ravenhill envisioned who know no compromise, have no price tag, cannot be bought out or bought off; who daily breathe the rarified air of divine inspiration; who march to a different drumbeat; seers sent to lead the blind; Noah-like "preachers of righteousness" who are unabashedly forthright, unashamedly outright, having lives that are upright, but who claim no birthright; dwellers in splendid isolation in the natural realm, yet in the heights of God in the spirit realm; firebrands possessed with passion, purpose, and pugnacity of the Spirit; sent-ones sent into the valleys of spiritual malaise and waywardness with a heart-piercing, conscience-pricking, "Thus saith the Lord!" God, send us, true prophets!

[If you did not receive or read that post, click here.]

That prayer, which has been prayed in essence by many other agonizing intercessors over the years, and more and more as we've seen the day drawing nearer, doubtless has been heard in Heaven and is being answered as I write.

But, Friends, I come to tell you that the prophets God sends as His Spirit-Spokesmen assuredly will be nothing like the limp-wristed, mamby-pamby, compromised, Casper-Milquetoast, worldly-minded, smooth-talking orators spewing out a perfectly scripted and memorized easy-listening, all-positive, "it's-all-good," no-pain, self-improvement, 3-step message, who the churches welcome today with open arms, as they make their showy appearance dressed down or blinged up in the latest worldly fashion vogue, sporting the latest hip, weirdo, hair-do and facial-hair-do, along with the obligatory outrageous and mutilating body-tatoos and piercings, emulating the latest rising Hollywood or entertainment star. NO WAY!

You can know with certainty that these fearless prophets God sends will come preaching a polemic message that will sear your ear-hairs, make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and cause a full-body outbreak of goose-bumps on top of your goose-bumps! More importantly, their polemic prophetic preaching will penetrate the most apathetic soul and pierce the most resistent conscience! It can scarely be said any better than what John Eckhardt wrote in his masterful treatise on the apostolic office, Moving In The Apostolic, which I highly recommend you read to gain an understanding of the apostolic office. The following is an excerpt from that book.

Polemic Preaching
During the reformation of the sixteenth century, Martin Luther and other reformers were known for their polemic preaching and writing. Polemic means an aggressive attack on, or refutation of the opinions or principles of another. It is the art or practice of disputation or controversy.

The word is derived from the Greek word "polemikos," meaning warlike or hostile. The reformers aggressively attacked the error and hypocrisy of the established Church, and defended the truth of the gospel against those who attacked their teachings. Their major concern was that the truth be preached and taught at any cost. They would die for the truth; truth was the only thing that mattered.

Today’s Church knows little about polemic preaching and writing. If one stands up for the truth of what he or she believes, that person is labeled dogmatic and non-ecumenical. The spirit of compromise has entered many churches, and they are not as concerned about the truth. But the Lord has always raised up defenders of the faith, people who are not afraid to preach and defend the truth. They recognize that the truth must not only be preached, but defended. If men do not defend the truth, lies will prevail. If lies prevail, people walk in bondage and deception. This is another reason why the church needs the ministry of the apostle.

Apostles have an anointing to defend and confirm the truth. They walk in boldness and proclaim the truth in spite of persecution and opposition. The Lord puts a word in their mouths to confound adversaries or opponents, or as the King James Version calls them, the "gainsayers." To gainsay means to deny, dispute, contradict and oppose.

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist (Luke 21:15, KJV).

The Williams translation says, "All your opponents combined will not be able to resist and refute."

According to Titus 1:9, a bishop—overseer, pastor—should "by sound doctrine" both "exhort" and "convince" the gainsayers (KJV). This Scripture goes on to say:

For there are many insubordinate, both the idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain (Titus 1:10,11, NKJV, italics added).

The Word of God says that there are mouths that must be stopped. The only way to stop some mouths is through polemic preaching, "sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you" (Titus 2:8).

The Beck translation says, "so that anyone who opposes us will feel foolish." The Norlie translation says, "Your message should be true, your language correct and not open to criticism. In that way, your opponent may be put to shame."

The art of the polemic is speaking the right words with apostolic wisdom to put to shame those that oppose the truth. "How forceful are right words" (Job 6:25). The correct argument, using the right words, carries tremendous force. This is not the wishy-washy Christianity that we see so much of today. This is a return to apostolic Christianity.

And this is what the Lord is restoring to the Church. Don’t let it surprise or confuse you. It is necessary for the Church to continue to walk in the truth. The Lord is raising up apostles whose words will shake the Church. Their words will be as a bulldozer in the spirit plowing through the lies the enemy has sown in the church. As a result, the truth will prevail, and multitudes will be set free. [end]

[Quote from: MOVING IN THE APOSTOLIC – God’s Plan To Lead His Church to the Final Victory, By John Eckhardt]

Judgment Prophets

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:02:00 +0000

In 1986 I attended what was billed as a “prophetic gathering” in a tiny Florida Panhandle town. What it was billed as is not what it was in reality. It really was a cleverly disguised recruitment rally for membership in a network of prophetic ministries that was a newly formed subsidiary of the hosting organization, which, in the words of the leader, who they called “papa-prophet,” would soon be recognized as “the international prophetic clearinghouse.”

As preposterous as that sounds to rational minds, that is exactly what that organization was successful in convincing a fairly large percentage of the Neo-Pentecostal stream out of that initial conference. Aided by the approbation and endorsement of a number of other Neo-Pentecostal ministerial “networks” with whom they were in league, this organization — “The Panhandle Prophets” — essentially achieved their goal of duping the majority of Charismatica into accepting the premise that this single, man-made organization was chosen and appointed by God as the supreme sanctioning prophetic organization in the world.

To a large degree, depending on one’s perspective, this organization under the auspices of its leader either successfully hijacked the emerging prophetic movement, or presided over a false “prophetic movement” that was a Satanic preemption of the emergence of a company of prophets that has yet to commence. Over the past two and a half decades, the Panhandle Prophets have had somewhat of a lock, of sorts, on the prophetic, which they have jealously guarded because of the manifold self-aggrandizing benefits it has produced for them, not the least of which has been significant personal wealth accruing from their network of prophets and churches that requires membership dues and organization-set levels of tithing percentages from members commensurate to the level of recognition and status desired.

The stranglehold of influence this organization has been able to exert over the prophetic movement since the mid '80s, which has been extremely detrimental to the prophetic movement as well as the fulfillment of God's intended purposes for the prophetic within the true Church Jesus is building, is due to the fact that many carnally-minded Charismatic leaders simply accepted without appropriate investigation and prayerful consideration this self-promulgated and self-promoting proposition of this organization — i.e., that they are the premier prophets in the world and their network of prophetic ministries is the supreme sanctioning organization for prophets. The self-stated self-view of the leaders of this organization is that God has appointed them to recognize, approve, and authorize prophets, church-wide and world-wide. The level of hubris reflected in the self-view and attitudes of those associated with this organization, and I personally know quite a number of them, is absolutely astounding, but the fact that so many church leaders have accepted their grossly arrogant, unChristlike assertions is absolutely mindboggling!

Absurd as it sounds to the sane, many Neo-Pentecostals leaders actually accepted the ludicrous sales pitch of this organization and would only allow their “authorized and approved” prophets to minister in their churches, or called them to see if a prophet who was contacting them to minister in their churches was authorized and approved by them. The upshot of the organization’s methods, though they have always adamantly denied that that was their intent, was blatant black-balling of prophets who were not a member of their organization, resulting in untold damage, not only to those prophets’ ministries, and thus their lives, but also to the Body of Christ who were prevented from receiving the benefits of those prophets' ministries.

To this day, I have never heard anyone affiliated with this organization express any sort or degree of concern about any of the harm they have perpetrated upon outside prophets or the prophetic movement itself.
At the “prophetic gathering” hosted by this organization that I attended back in 1986, there apparently arose a debate among the attendees who had come from all over the world under what turned out to be an erroneous assumption that what was being convened was an open forum for prophets and prophetic people to discuss what they sensed God was speaking and doing in the church, the nation, and across the globe.

Obviously this was never the intentions of the conveners. The “question,” as the leader referred to it, was over the existence of “judgment prophets,” and apparently there was some cause for him to address it in one of the meetings. I remember his response was vague and equivocating. The essence of it was that while he could not entirely dismiss the specter of “judgment prophets” existing today, he also could not justify the concept with the requisite that prophecy should be unto edification, exhortation, and consolation.

While it’s not my intent to be unkind, I have to confess my inward reaction to his response was, “This is the prophetic pope, and that’s his answer to what may be one of the most crucial issues to the church as we await the return of Christ?”

Time and space will not permit a treatise on the Biblical evidence of judgment prophets here, but the overwhelming answer to that question from the preponderance of Scripture is that judgment prophets do indeed exist today, have always existed, and will always exist, certainly through the end of the Church Age. Just one example based on the papa-prophet's response is that the main passage he is referring to, First Corinthians 14:3, is not even talking about “prophets,” per se, that is, the office of the prophet, but rather the gift of prophecy, which is made clear by its prefatory phrase, “One who prophesies.”

There are vast differences between the office of the prophet and the gift of prophecy, and confusion resulting from convergence of the two has always caused a lot of problems in terms of the operation of each. To expand upon the differences very briefly, the Ministry Gift of prophet is given by Jesus as the Head of the Church only to “some” (Eph. 4:11), not “all” (1 Cor. 12:28-30). The Manifestation Gifts [charismata], on the other hand, are distributed by the Holy Spirit “to each one as He wills (1 Cor. 12:4-6). The simple Manifestation Gift of prophecy is indeed limited to edification, exhortation, and comfort, however, the Ministry Gift of the prophet has no such restrictions, but also includes the six facets of the prophetic office: to root or pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow, build, and plant (Jer. 1:10).

There is no doubt or equivocation in my mind that there are judgment prophets and that they are beginning to emerge in significant numbers. I have also made my stance clear on the topic in numerous previous posts. In light of the multiplicity of problematic matters existing in the church at-large, including the deluge of deception that has been released from the pits of hell that is bringing to pass Jesus’ prediction that even the elect shall be deceived in the last days, I personally pray that the day of the company of judgment prophets God will bring upon the scene comes quickly.

Art Katz posits in the following article the proposition that God actually requires His true prophets to be spokesmen of His judgments as a prerequisite of the privilege of speaking genuine words of benevolence, a premise with which I fully agree. Inherent in the article is the concept I also wholeheartedly agree with that its really not so much a matter of whether there are “judgment prophets” and prophets who, in juxtaposition, would be “benevolence prophets,” but rather that prophets are prophets, and genuine prophets are called upon by God to pronounce words of judgment as well as announce words of blessing. His perceptions concerning the prophetic function are dead on target, and could only be articulated as they are by someone who has himself lived it.

The Prophetic Function
By Art Katz

The quintessential definition of the prophetic call is given to Jeremiah at the inception of his ministry:

Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jer. 1:9,10).

The first expression of the prophetic calling is judgment. Unless we have a stomach for that, then we will not be allowed the privilege of the word that builds and plants. Note the order of the words: the hardest thing first. Everything that is painful to the flesh and that will earn for us the displeasure of men must first be addressed.

The prophet is called to pluck up and break down the things that are dear to men, namely, their religious tradition, the false things that they have celebrated for generations, the things that they want to cling to because it has to do with their identity and their dignity and the way in which they even see themselves. Men will kill for this and yet the prophet has got to tear down and destroy. The things that are false will be contended for fiercely! He has got therefore to be painful and a destroyer. His word then is destructive before it is benevolent. Unless we are willing to speak the destructive word, we will never be used for benevolence. Only the prophets who were faithful to speak the word of exile and judgment were also the prophets who spoke the word of restoration and return. They were given the privilege of speaking the creative word of restoration.

It would be a much simpler task if we just had to establish fresh principles where it falls on virginal consciousness. When you first have to deal with and penetrate a whole existent medley of opinions and traditions that have become dear (if not sacrosanct), you will ironically be accused of being opposed to God!
A prophet not only identifies falsity, but he ruthlessly destroys it. There is something about his word that is like a fire. It is plucking up, rooting out and destroying before it is planting and rebuilding. Who wants to hear men like that? They not only just bring things into question, but they absolutely reduce it to rubble before your eyes. For you to pick it up after that is to touch the unclean thing. They have identified it and now you are stuck with that word. It is little wonder that such men are not welcome in places where people want to continue their lifestyle unchallenged.

A prophet critiques and unsparingly lays bare, without fear and regard of man, the lie or even 'conventional' truth, that is to say, the assumed, mindless, uncontested premises that constitute death in the midst of life. It is to reveal the lie, to expose it and to 'blow the whistle.' That lie may well be the lies of the false prophets. The whole world is predicated on lies, but how shall it know unless a word of truth comes. If that word is to come, then it is to come from one who is totally without fear of man.

We all know that the fear of man is the most powerful and crippling factor that works in the lives of God's ministers. To be free of that and to speak without regard to the fear of man is an ultimate statement that implies such a history of dealing with that servant. We are all born with the fear of man. We live for the regard of man, for their acknowledgment and for their applause. Men love the acknowledgments of men, particularly prestigious men, but we have got to be weaned away from that necessity. It is a process; it does not take place in a day. Every time that God brings us to that place of weaning, we have got to submit to it, until we come to the place where we do not need it. We need to come to the place where we are not only indifferent to the applause of men, but also to their criticisms and reproaches.

A prophet requires, therefore, an extraordinary discernment to critique and an analytical ability honed by the Spirit. It is not a 'taking of pot shots', but an apprehending of God's own view of something, and expressing that.

The prophet's own lifestyle must itself, therefore, be a repudiation of the lie. We cannot 'blow the whistle' on false values if we ourselves are subscribing to them. There is something about poverty that is more than an accident or happenstance. It is appropriate to the authenticity of our union with God. Camel's hair garments and the eating of locusts are symbolically intrinsic to the prophetic life. There is a reason why John the Baptist was in the wilderness and not in Jerusalem, though he was the son of a priest. He could not be where the Establishment was. He could not enjoy its benefits and at the same time 'blow the whistle' on the falsity of it. We cannot in our own lifestyle indulge in the very thing that we are condemning before others. Lifestyle is, therefore, remarkably important with regard to the word that is to be proclaimed and probably nothing more betrays whether you are a true or false prophet than this. The false prophets ate from Jezebel's table. Elijah had to be fed by ravens and live by the side of a brook. It is not that one seeks to wear a camel's hair garment because it is romantic or that you have to dress in such a way that marks you as being distinctive and different. The values that are false cannot have a place in us. A prophet is called to reveal the lie, the underlying premises that need to be examined in the light of God about value, about life and its purposes, and therefore your own lifestyle must be a repudiation of that lie, however much society and even the church legitimates it. A prophet's speaking not only reveals the lie but condemns and judges it. His word as is his life itself is a divine destruct.

When Elijah said, "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word (1 Kings 17:1b)," it was not just saying that there will be a little difference in your weather pattern. It meant that they were not going to have crops. They were not going to eat. They were going to experience a famine. It was going to be a judgment from God and it was to come through the speaking of Elijah's word. His word was not just a piece of information or an interpretation, however much it may be that, but rather it was a statement of judgment. It would actually affect the whole nation. That kind of word needs to be revived and restored. It is a trembling proposition to bear, and I can think of a few minor instances in my own experience where my word was a word of judgment, and God acted according to what I spoke. The church to whom it was spoken no longer exists because that was the word of judgment itself.

The prophet's task is to establish an alternative, powerful and valid enough to utterly displace the lie. He presents a view of reality not yet existent and that is contrary in most points and particulars to that which is thought to be 'real' and for which there is no precedent or model in the experience of the hearer. He brings a heavenly and an eternal sense that obliterates the kind of validation and endorsement that the world's values have had upon his hearers up to that time. If he had not come, they would have thought that what they were celebrating was real. When the prophet comes, however, he is not only blowing the whistle on what is false, but he brings a sense of what is true and what is eternally true. He brings the sense of eternity itself and inducts the hearer into it. By his speaking, he sets in motion and brings his audience to a place where the false becomes true. The word becomes creative and establishes the resonance of something not understood before—something that is ultimate and eternal. To pierce through the false and raise another kind of a standard and make that the foundation of life is, and must be, an extraordinary kind of speaking.

Those who embrace this model that the prophet is setting forth as the alternative to the lie, and that is a heavenly alternative, condemn themselves to being pilgrims and sojourners in the earth, and therefore able to die 'not having received the promise.' If they are going to receive a prophetic word like this that calls them to the heavenly vision in which Abraham walked, then this is going to be the consequence for their life. The word, therefore, that comes to the hearers has got to come with such a power, authority and credibility that the person who hears says, "If I say 'Yes' to this, then I am signing my death warrant." No-one is going to sign that lightly who has not been persuaded by the word that invites that kind of consecration. Only a prophet, a foundational man, can bring a word of that kind. He calls for something of ultimate consecration on the part of the hearer— unto death. That is why false prophets are more invited and listened to than the true. The false prophet affirms the hearer in his present condition and tells him that in that he is already 'well-pleasing'.

The prophet's purpose is singly and jealously the Father's will. He restores lost vision of a kind that energizes the people of God, especially in crisis times when despair needs to be turned to hope—having initially been stripped of false hopes by the prophet himself. He does not balk at having to be cruel before he can be kind. A man who can bring the necessary but painful, cruel word that must come in order to build is not unloving but very love itself. In a word the prophet brings the 'moment of truth'. Standing in the counsel of the Lord he is able to perceive error and state boldly and unequivocally the requisite truth though it be utterly at variance with the consensus being demonstrated.

The prophetic task is to restore to men who have lost it, the biblical mentality and the biblical view of things that are unchanging in God's sight. He conveys the view of God particularly to a people who are unwilling to hear it. If the prophetic word is critical to bringing an alignment of God's people with His own view, then the kind of word that is brought by the prophets is the ultimate issue. Where there are authentic prophets who are willing to bring the unwelcome word, so will there also be a plenitude of popular false prophets who bring the false word of comfort and who say, "Peace, peace" when there is no peace.

A prophet does not major in minors. Out of a consummate jealousy for the glory of God, he sets forth the ultimate purposes of God in such a way as to obtain the sacrifices of his hearers to fulfill it. It is not enough just to set forth what God's program is, but to set it forth in such a way that he has won the willingness of the hearers to be participant in obtaining the ultimate and eternal purposes of God— as sacrifice. That is where the prophetic word is more than the word of explanation. It does not just explain what the eternal purposes of God are, but he communicates it in such a way as to win the commitment of his hearers to the sacrifice necessary to fulfill them. That takes more than explanation. The prophet epitomizes the suffering that such an adherence evokes. In other words, those who are going to embrace the view that he is presenting are opening themselves to suffering. The prophet, therefore, who is inviting them to that suffering has himself in some sense to exhibit it and give the evidence that this is God's way and that the cross is central to the faith. He makes clear to his hearers that persecution, if not martyrdom, is intrinsic to a faith of this kind—and wins their willingness. It is one thing to establish that the cross, persecution and martyrdom are intrinsic to the faith, but to win the hearer's consecration to that call is an extraordinary stroke that requires the authority and anointing of those who bear His word. That is the prophetic task. We are not bringing information, but rather calling men to ultimate, sacrificial things and that is why that kind of a word will always be resisted.

The prophet announces and projects the impending end of this world in apocalyptic fury and judgment, sufficient to birth the longing for a new heaven and a new earth in which there is righteousness. He not only brings to the awareness of the hearer that the world that they have celebrated is under judgment and is intended for destruction, which means it will destroy a lot of where their own heart is, but he also births a longing for the thing that comes down from above and which will replace this present age.

A prophet is a man of the word who abhors lightness while deeply respecting and guarding the sanctity of language and its meaning from abuse and cheapening. He is not, therefore, always your enjoyable household guest and is not good for easy conversation and small talk. He guards his mouth because he knows the sanctity of words and will not, therefore, give himself to frequent speaking as it debases the currency of words. There is with him a history of waiting and silences.

A prophet shuns the distinctions and honors that men confer. These things bring a certain aura of prestige and eminence and weight, but the prophetic man, in order to be true to God is the 'wilderness' prophet. Wilderness does not just mean physical isolation, but a conscious and willful separation from the kinds of things that are calculated to compromise. He does not effect any kind of prophetic outward 'appearance' to indicate his office. He is unprepossessing in appearance and demeanor and despises what is showy, sensational or bizarre. A prophet is intent on turning men to God and not to himself.

This calling is given and is not something that we ourselves summon or take for ourselves, but if we have it, then we need to know that God is going to work us over, again and again, in order to ensure that it is His word that comes forth and not our own.

Source: http://www.benisrael.org/OnlineBooks/prophetic_call/ProphCall_01.htm . [Chapter 1 of Book: The Prophetic Call]

Prophetic Purpose

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:52:00 +0000

With all the proliferation and promotion of the prophetic that is happily taking place now in some streams and camps of the Church, it is critical that we understand what the true Purpose of the prophetic really is. Some prophetic novices and new prophetic groups appear to think that prophecy itself, whether in the form of personal prophesying over people or publishing prophecies on the Internet, for example, is the goal of the prophetic. Moreover, the actions, attitudes, and speech of some regarding the prophetic seem to indicate that they think that the prophetic is an end in itself. But, it's not.

Though it may seem enigmatic to say, prophecy is not the Purpose of the prophetic. The true Purpose of the prophetic is not the prophetic itself as an end in itself. It's not just prophesying. It's not seeing who can prophesy the most, the loudest, the longest, the most authoritative sounding, or the most profoundly. It's not to use the prophetic to build a name for oneself, or to promote and proliferate a ministry, a minister, or a movement, or to develop a means of support or income for a ministry, or to sell books, or to become well-known or famous, or to build a church, a following, or a prophetic organization, or to achieve personal ambitions. The true Purpose of the prophetic is none of those things.

To understand what the true Purpose of the prophetic is, we first have to understand what Purpose is. Purpose is one of five elements of Vision. Purpose is the vehicle of Vision. Purpose is what defines and drives the Vision. Of all the elements of Vision, Purpose is the most critical. Without Purpose there will be no Performance of the Vision. Without a place to go — a destination or Destiny — there's no need for a vehicle. Without Destiny there is no need for Purpose. Purpose is the substance of Destiny. Purpose and Destiny are not synonymous, but they are symbiotic. They are inextricably linked and interdependent, and yet they are distinct. One is meaningless without the other. Purpose has no reason to exist without Destiny, for Purpose is the servant of Destiny. Destiny cannot be attained without Purpose.

Vision and the Prophetic
Everyone is born with a Destiny. In order to attain unto our Destiny, we must have a Vision of our Destiny. We must see and know our Destiny to act as a road map to tell us where we're going, and then we must have a Purpose to take us there. As someone has so aptly said, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." That's why God told the prophet Habakkuk to write the Vision down — to delineate it, explain it, make it plain, make it understandable — so that those who are running to complete the vision, those who are running in the race, may run to the finish line. You can't run to the finish line, or carry the ball to the goal line, if you don't know where it is.

This article is not about Vision, per se, and there has been an abundance of teaching about the subject of Vision over the last few years, but prophetic people do need to gain some understanding on the relationship of Vision to the prophetic realm. Vision has to do with SEEING. If anyone should be about Vision, it is prophets and prophetic people. The Bible tells us that the prophets were first called "SEERS" before they were called prophets. Prophets see, or perceive, things that are not perceived by or manifestly obvious to others.

Many subscribers to our newsletter and others who will read this message are prophetic people. You have an affinity for, a calling to, an inward connection with, the prophetic. Among the readers there are prophetic people of every type and every stage in development and maturation. Many of you have been tutored and/or trained to varying degrees in the prophetic. Others are prophetic leaders themselves who are mentoring others in the prophetic. Some have ministered in the prophetic realm for a number of years, while others only for a short time. Some have been reading, studying, and learning all you can about the prophetic realm from whatever source of information and teaching you can find. Some of you may be old hands at operating in the prophetic gifts and some in the prophetic office, while others may be just learning how to operate in either or both. Nevertheless, regardless of your level or length of experience and expertise in the prophetic, I can tell you that unless you understand "prophetic Purpose" — that is, the Purpose of the prophetic — you will never tap into the dimension of pure and unadulterated prophetic flow that emanates from the Spirit of God and operate in the measure of the anointing God desires to operate through you. (By "unadulterated" I mean: uncorrupted by the psyche, [soulish mind] or the psychic [supernatural satanically-sourced information].)
No matter how much knowledge you obtain regarding the prophetic gifts and office, you will never understand it as you need to understand it, you will never have the revelation that you need to have about it, you will never be used in it as you desire or even as God desires you to be used in it, you will never have the full measure of the anointing that God intends for you to have — UNTIL you understand it, not in a vacuum, or as an end in itself, not abstractly, but contextually, that is, understanding its proper application — its ultimate goal and mission — its Purpose.

Jesus' Primary Purpose
To understand the true Prophetic Purpose, we must turn to the Prophetic Prototype, the Preeminent Prophet — Jesus Himself — and examine carefully the Prophetic Paradigm inherent in His earthly Life and Ministry.

"The Son of God appeared for this Purpose, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 Jn. 3:8)

In this verse, the Holy Spirit revealed through the writing of the Apostle John that Jesus' Primary Purpose was to destroy the works of the devil. He said that the primary reason that the Son of God appeared was for the very purpose of destroying the works of the devil. Destroying, or negating, undoing, reversing, bringing to naught, the works of the devil, meant restoration and redemption. The end result of His primary Purpose was the restoration and redemption of all things in the Creational Order of God that the devil had corrupted, perverted, and deterred through the perdition of Man and the permeation of the world with his carnal nature of sin. Of course, at the apex of that list of the corrupted that Jesus restored and redeemed was the apple of God's eye — His Mankind Creation.

Jesus had a singular, primary Purpose — this was His mission, His calling, His Destiny. And, His Purpose was His motivation — what drove Him, what compelled Him — to do all that He did during His fleshly life and ministry here on Earth in order to fulfill His mission, calling, and Destiny. That Purpose, mission, motivation, and calling, as stated succinctly by the Spirit through the Apostle John, was to "destroy the works of the devil." It was for this Purpose and Destiny that He voluntarily and eagerly left the portals of Glory, cast aside His Deity, in an act of inscrutable humility stooped to take on human form, was born in a lowly manger stall, lived for thirty-three and a half years as a human, endured the pangs of rejection, sorrows, testings, scorn, ridicule, mocking, and disdain of His own family and people, unspeakable suffering, humiliation, death, and even momentary separation from His Father God! He did all that for a solitary purpose — to REVERSE THE CURSE! To give His life as a ransom for the many! — an exchange of the Sinless for the sinful, the Guiltless for the guilty, the Righteous for the unrighteous. The sins of the world were laid upon the spotless Lamb of God to redeem us and save us from the eternal punishment and banishment we so rightly deserved.

Jesus had a Destiny. He had a Purpose that drove Him to Calvary, that put bounce in His step and briskness in His cadence as He marched triumphantly out ahead of the disciples toward Jerusalem and the horrid fate that awaited Him when the time for His suffering had come. It was for the JOY that was set before Him that He endured the Cross — the sheer euphoria of foreseeing His mankind Creation at last REDEEMED by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB, and RESTORED back into rightstanding and relationship with Father God! This final outcome — REDEMPTION and RESTORATION — is what motivated the God of Love and "the God of all Grace" (1 Pet. 5:10) to come to Earth and became one of us in order to give HIS life as a propitiation, a substitutionary sacrifice, in exchange for ours!

But, as glorious and central to the Gospel of Christ as the prize of human redemption is, too often we focus upon it virtually to the exclusion of the restoration aspect of what He came to Earth to accomplish. The Greek word used in the New Testament 118 times to refer to various aspects of the restoration that Jesus effected by His death, burial, and resurrection is — sozo. The King James translators rendered the variants of this word "saved" all but a few of the times it appears. A host of evangelical concepts revolve around that rendering of that small but key word of the Gospel. An emphasis of Evangelical teaching is that salvation or being saved means that "we have a home in Heaven," and that believers will "go to Heaven" when they die. And, thank God that is true. However, the word sozo, per se, does not have anything to do with Heaven or us going there. Rather, it connotes to restore, to return to a former condition, to heal, to make whole, and it is even the root component for the word that connotes sanctification, that is, to make holy. Seeing the salvation that Jesus purchased for us with His shed blood in this light gives it another dimension of meaning, and makes the significance of John's declaration concerning Jesus' Purpose for coming to Earth in First John 3:8 more understandable and its application more comprehensible.

Jesus' Purpose in coming to Earth certainly encompassed our salvation and redemption, but it also transcended human salvation and redemption to encompass all manner of restoration resulting from the corruption of sin.

Lest I be misunderstood, let me say that I am not referring to "restoration" in the way that it is taught in "Kingdom Now" and "Manifested Sons of God" doctrines. Rather, the kind of redemption and restoration that I am talking about and that the Apostle John was talking about is personal redemption and restoration — the "undoing," in the lives of human beings, of the effects of Satan's corruptive schemes and strategies, which are a direct consequence of the permeation of the world with sin that the devil originated and the perdition of Mankind that transpired with the permeation of the human spirit with the sin nature of Satan at the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. THAT is what John was telling us was the ultimate Purpose of Jesus' manifestation in human form on the Earth in his statement: "The Son of God appeared for this Purpose, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

The Apostle John, who was reportedly the closest of all the disciples to Jesus and for whom Jesus had a special affection, and who witnessed most all of Jesus' miracles firsthand, is telling us in this passage that the works that Jesus performed during his fleshly life and ministry were all aimed at "destroy(ing) the works of the devil," whether it was in the form of healing the sick, lame, blind, deaf and paralyzed, negating death and raising from the dead, delivering the demonized and operating in the gift of the discerning of spirits, revealing a word of knowledge or wisdom, or proclaiming prophetic insight or counsel into someone's present or future, setting at liberty the psychologically traumatized and bruised. All these were Jesus' "works" to "destroy the works of the devil."

Doing The Works of Jesus
Jesus instructed His disciples then as well as His disciples today to "be about the Father's business," to "occupy" until He returns. The way we do all of that is by performing the works of Jesus, doing the things that He did during His ministry on Earth. All genuine ministry is merely the extension and continuum of the ministry and mission of Jesus. And, Jesus' ministry and mission, as we have seen, are summed up in the statement: "The Son of God appeared for this Purpose, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Thus, the primary Purpose of all valid ministry, including prophetic ministry, is to "destroy the works of the devil." The ultimate goal of all genuine ministry is to in some way destroy the works of the devil — in people and to that extent on this planet. The supernatural power to perform His works is His power; it flows from Him. And, His power is connected with His Purpose. When we become connected with His Purpose, we become conduits of His power!

Concerning His works, Jesus said to His disciples:

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father." (Jn. 14:10-12)

When Jesus Ascended On High
And, then on the Day of Ascension, Jesus did indeed "go to the Father." After having been raised from the dead on that original Easter morning, which Christians have celebrated every year since, and appearing to the Apostles and many others in His resurrected Body, on what we now call the Day of Ascension, He was taken up on a cloud and ascended into Heaven, and "sat down at the right hand of God."

But, something else happened that day as Jesus was ascending, an awesome and totally astounding transaction in the Spirit realm, which none of those present that day apparently, though understandably, perceived. Who among us also would not have been transfixed by the glorious events that those present that day witnessed — Jesus being transported upward into Heaven on a cloud of glory, and two angels arrayed in dazzling white garments that glowed who appeared and spoke unto them those now infamous words, "Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing…"? We can totally understand how those present that day were so mesmerized by the natural events they were witnessing with their own eyes that apparently none of them saw what the Apostle Paul saw by the Spirit that took place. For it was he, the "apostle born late," not Peter, James, John, or any of the Twelve who revealed to us what Paul received by revelation of the Spirit concerning what transpired in the Spirit realm as Jesus was ascending:

"Therefore it says, when He ASCENDED on High, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men (Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers." (Eph. 4:8-11)

This passage and the verses that follow, familiar to many of us in the Charismatic and apostolic-prophetic renewal, are revealing to us that as Jesus was ascending into Heaven, He relegated or delegated to men the ministry giftings He Himself had manifested during His ministry. The giftings that He imparted were what we now refer to as the Fivefold Ministry Offices." And, the verses that follow reveal the Divine PURPOSE inherent in those gifts that He gave to men:

The equipping of the saints — for the work of service or ministry — to enable them to do the works of Jesus and complete His continuing ministry (v. 12);
Spiritual and Numerical Growth — the equipped saints (believers) build up the Body of Christ, spiritually and numerically through their ministry works (v. 12);
Truth-Centric Unity — singleness of mind and solidarity of purpose, centered around consensual faith in and knowledge concerning the Son of God (v. 13);
Maturing of the Body of Christ — unto a mature (perfected) man, to the measure of the stature (Christ's character, which brings Christ's power, anointing) which belongs to the fullness of Christ (v. 13);
Doctrinal Purity and Stability — so that the Body of Christ will no longer be like children, being "tossed about," being led here and there by false doctrine, and captivated by the trickery and deceitful scheming of men, but will be founded, grounded, and stabilized in "sound doctrine" (v. 14);
Corporate Character Development — by speaking the truth in love — love and grace tempered reproof — the Body of Christ will grow up in all aspects unto Christ, becoming conformed unto the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), reflecting His Image as the moon reflects the image of the sun, so that the collective Body of Christ will be lights in the midst of the blackness of a crooked and perverse generation (v. 15);
Concinnity — all of the various and diverse parts of the Body working together to form one unified Body — the Body of Christ — working together in harmony and one accord, that results when each part is functioning properly and supplying to the Body the unique benefit or function it is designed to provide (v. 16);
PURPOSE AND DESTINY — concinnity causes the growth of the Body for the building up of itself in LOVE — ACTIONS OF "OTHER-NESS" — the ultimate goal of the instruction of God's Word (1 Tim. 1:5).

Prophetic Purpose Revealed
So Jesus relegated and delegated giftings, which include the prophetic office for the carrying on of His ultimate Purpose and Plan of building His Church, over which the gates (power) of Hell or Hades would not prevail (Mat. 16:18).

We see then that the Church the Body of Christ, the Betrothed of Christ, which will ultimately be the Bride of Christ, the Lamb's Wife IS THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE AND PLAN OF GOD AND CHRIST! WE ARE IT!

Hence, we see also that "Prophetic Purpose," ultimately, is the edifying or building up of Jesus' Church. And as, I have already stated, when those of us who are a part of the Prophetic Division of God's Army, at last get plugged into Christ's Purpose, we will be plugged into His POWER, as He was during His fleshly ministry on Earth, so that we can work the works of Jesus that are aimed at destroying the works of the devil. For it is like plugging an electrical appliance into an electrical outlet, the source of power, which empowers it to perform its intended purpose.

[CLICK HERE to read this article in its entirety.]

Prophetic Irresponsibility

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Editorial Foreword [By Dr. Steven Lambert]: Prophetic Publishing Responsibility. While browsing through some articles published on a partnering ministry's email messaging group site, I stumbled upon the following article, with which I wholeheartedly agree, and felt an urgency and unction of the Spirit to transmit it also to those of you on our email list. I am republishing it by permission of the author. Please read and absorb it...the points Bryan makes are poignant and apropos. I urge those of you who maintain email lists or websites to obtain permission from the author to republish the article as well, and to do so through your various means of distribution. I feel that strongly about the importance of the issue he raises in the article.

As those who follow this ministry know, I am a lover of the prophetic ministry, which I myself have been operating in for more than three decades. Moreover, some twenty years ago, I authored a prophetic manual and course that has been used by Bible colleges and church leaders, which is a product of my personal study, research, and ministering in prophetic seminars, conferences, and other prophetic gatherings since the early 1980s, before "the prophetic movement" began. I have ministered prophetically to literally thousands in hundreds of venues.

I recite this information not to boast, but to affirm I am no novice to the prophetic. Many ministers who have attended my meetings can attest to that fact.

I believe in the prophetic, but I personally feel that despite the expansive surge of interest in and awareness about the prophetic that has thus far transpired, in many ways, the prophetic "movement" is still an immature movement. Perhaps, it could be equated to being in its adolescence at this point, having advanced past childhood, but it still is not matured. I still see a lot of "prophetic playing," wherein people are more or less playing with the prophetic gifts, rather than using them for God's intended purposes for them. Moreover, there still are a lot of people making usury of the prophetic gifts for self-aggrandizing or self-promoting purposes, rather than for bringing glory to and exalting Jesus. A few of the "pappa prophets," as some have so distastefully elected to promote themselves, have even become quite wealthy or at least well-off through the ill-motivated usury they've made of the prophetic emphasis since the mid-1980's.

Indeed, much of the responsibility for the immaturity of the prophetic movement, in my view, is directly attributable to the "organizationalism" that has so pervaded the movement. By that I mean the fact that so many who have become prominent figures in the prophetic awareness have been more concerned with using the prophetic as a means to "build" — promote, develop, increase — their own ministries (in many cases, kingdoms), than they have been concerned with the "building up the Body of Christ," which is the God-intended purpose of the prophetic giftings and office.

Many years ago, the Lord specifically told me that one of the "downsides" of the prophetic movement that was coming would be a "flooding of the market," to borrow a phrase, or a saturation of prophetic utterances. At the time, I had no way of envisioning the advent of the Internet, which has certainly been the greatest contributing factor to the superfluity of prophetic messages being published worldwide. This super-saturation of largely untested prophetic words by everyone and his brother claiming to be operating in the prophetic is now causing a set of problems that never existed a few years ago.

My how the pendulum swings! and how quickly! In just a few years, we've gone from a virtual prophetic drought to flash flooding, from being a non-prophet, non-prophetic church to a place now where "prophetic problems" are pandemic in the Neo-Pentecostal church. At the top of the list, and this is what the Lord warned me about way back there, was that true prophecy and prophetic operations would be devalued by the superabundance of unproven purported prophecy that we are now seeing.

As this article indicates, our need for greater accountability grows exponentially by the day, with the plethora of messages being published on the Internet claiming to be prophetic, and the ever-increasing number of purported "prophetic" organizations that are publishing those messages, unfiltered, untested, untried, unproven. My sense is that very few of these prophetic organizations would know what a true prophesy was if it was hand-delivered by Jesus Christ Himself in a cloud of glory. The principals of these organizations are no more prophetically anointed themselves than the proverbial "man in the moon," and the Word of God straightforwardly commands, "the spirit of prophets (meaning also prophesiers) are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of CONFUSION" (1 Cor. 14:32,33).

Moreover, the beginning verse of that immediate context declares that it is the PROPHETS — those who have been anointed and appointed by God to the OFFICE of the PROPHET — who are to "pass judgment" on prophetic utterances.

The Body of Christ needs a whole lot of education from God's Word on the difference between "one who prophesies," those operating the MANIFESTATION gift of the Spirit, and those who are set into the OFFICE of the PROPHET, who operate a MINISTRY Gift which emanates from the Lord Jesus as the Head of the Church. (For more information on this matter of Gifts Vs. Offices, see my Prophetic Manual).
I agree wholeheartedly with Brother Huppert's remarks on this vital issue set before the Church in this hour and I call upon every leader in the Church that Jesus is building, and especially the prophetically oriented leaders, to begin to seek God about what He would have us to do to bring forth some effectual safeguards and some means of greater prepublication scrutiny of purported prophetic messages. I also invite dialogue with other leaders and lovers of the prophetic in this regard as we heed our collective responsibility to protect the precious prophetic gift which Christ bestowed when He ascended on high for the primary purpose of edifying the Church. [end Editorial Foreword]

"Prophetic Irresponsibility"
Bryan Hupperts
"SheepTrax Media"
Call this an open letter of concern to the global prophetic community. Several years ago the Lord showed me a vision of prophetic ministers urinating and defecating into a beautiful, flowing stream. Downstream, people were dipping silver cups into the flowing waters and were gagging on the human impurities and waste!

Because of the prophetic pollution problem upstream, there was precious little ‘clean water’ to drink.
The reaction to this vision was mixed. A pastor friend of mine was outraged that I would dare share such a thing and it eventually broke our relationship. Lots of fingers were being pointed at me, baseless accusations made, dark whispers about my motives, I was labeled a ‘troublemaker,’ and on it went.

The prophetic office and gifts were not given to the church so that someone could discern via word of knowledge the first three numbers of your cell phone number and wow the crowds, but for, according to Ephesians 4: 11-14:

“The equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

Like all other fivefold functions, the prophetic office has certain functions and should yield very specific kinds of fruits. First, they should be for the work of the ministry bringing about the unity of the faith. Next, they should bring increasingly clearer revelation and knowledge of Jesus. They should also hold up the pattern of Christ as the mark for which to grow and model our lives after. And why? So that we grow up and can stand fast so that we can discern a genuine move of the Spirit of God from often hurricane force winds of doctrine interjected into the body of Christ by tricky, crafty, deceitful men.

Whew!

SheepTrax Media was born on the web, thrives by the web, and has a global reach because of the web. Sometimes when I get letters from countries I cannot pronounce about how God has blessed or challenged people or churches through my work, well, it’s scary stuff to contemplate. It has driven me to be more and more a student of His Word.

Having said all of this, I am perplexed by a dilemma which I believe the global church can help resolve. There are many ministries that take alleged “words from the Lord” and publish them via forums like the wonderful service provided by InJesus without taking any sort of responsibility of godly oversight as to what they are actually publishing.

On several occasions I wrote to the proctor of one such list which numbers in the thousands of subscribers. Sighting a number of glaring examples of prophecies that proved to be demonstratably false; predicted earthquakes, bombs falling in Los Angeles on a certain date, and such, I asked this person if his ministry was providing any sort of corrective feedback to authors of these wildly inaccurate predictions.

His response? That isn’t our place. We just provide the forum (while selling loads of books, video, tapes, and rake in the special conference fees) and what is of God will stand. This individuals’ cavalier reply prompted me to coin the phrase "Prophetic Irresponsibility."

Much of the church needs to embrace this verse: 1 Corinthians 14:29, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.” Indeed, let the prophets speak! However, prophetic forums, especially those with global reach, need to obey the second half, the counterweight, of this verse. “Let others judge.” Here judge means to weigh, evaluate, to discern.

I am asking the body of Christ to begin exercising some spiritual discernment and begin holding those responsible who publish and promote alleged words from the Lord that prove false. I’m not suggesting we stand with a stone in each hand waiting for someone to trip over their tongue, but I am strongly advocating that there be accountability.

If the ministries who provide global access for words that prove wrong, please write to the proctors of those lists and ask them to begin exercising some authority. If the word was wrong, publish an account of it and issue a retraction. Be responsible. Hold its author accountable and bring some godly correction into their life. For instance, there is a group on the web run by two brothers who believe they are the two witness of the book of Revelation! I’ve never known them to be right with any of their predictions yet people still circulate their work! Another man believes that God revealed to him that prophets only need to be right about 40% of the time; it keeps the body of Christ humble while we learn to hear the Lord!

Beloved, if the prophets can’t tell which ‘word of the Lord’ is genuine, then how in the name of love can the everyday saint discern such things! How can we even know if this man’s “40%” word was right? Such foolishness is human waste and impurity that is polluting the river of God, and it is the downstream saints who are suffering for it.

If those who proctor such prophetic lists refuse to exercise authority and develop accountability, then quit reading and circulating what they publish. Stop buying their merchandize. When the finances dry, perhaps they will reconsider. These abuses have to stop and the body of Christ brought back into order. I don’t blame hapless pastors who come to despise prophecy! They are being deluged with so many false words, the prophetic gift has come into disrepute.

Well, let the stone throwing begin. Nobody ever promised this would be easy or popular, but it is the Truth.

Bryan Hupperts © 2002 SheepTrax Media ™
PO Box 270256 St. Louis, MO 63127 USA
SheepTrax is the Christian “wit, wisdom, and deepthinking” of Bryan Hupperts.
Write to SheepTrax Media at: deepsheep@sheeptrax.com
Subscribe at: http://www.sheeptrax.com/

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The Prophetic and Present Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:46:00 +0000

The Charismatic Movement brought forth a restoration of and renewed awareness in the "Charismata" or Manifestation Gifts of the Spirit. However, at the close of the 20th Century, God began a systematic restoration of the office of the prophet back into its proper place of function within the Church that Jesus is building. What became known as a "Prophetic Movement" was birthed in the late 1980s, but now in the 21st Century God is bringing new direction and development to the movement as it begins to mature to a place where it can truly and effectively be used by God for the purposes He intended and delineated in Scripture. The restoration and maturation of the prophetic office and gifts is a part of "Present Truth."

"...be established in the PRESENT TRUTH." (1 Pet. 1:12)

"...as for knowledge, it will pass away [that is, it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]. For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect). But when the complete and perfect [total] comes, theincomplete and imperfect will vanish away—become antiquated, void and superseded....For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know inpart (imperfectly); but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]." (1 Cor. 13:8-12, Amplified Bible)

The entrance of God's Word gives light, or illumination of the Truth (Ps. 119:130). By and by, through the centuries, God has been progressively dispelling spiritual darkness in the Church by gradually revealing more and more Truth and gradually granting greater illumination of the Truth. As a result, the Church's understanding of what Truth is, is becoming more and more complete and perfected as we approach the end of the Church Age. This is the import of the Divine exhortation that we "be established in PRESENT Truth" (2 Pet. 1:12, KJV). Certainly the Truth as it exists in the Mind of God is absolute and absolutely perfect, and therefore cannot be improved or upgraded. Rather, it is the Church's understanding of the Truth that is constantly being improved and upgraded. Ever since its birth, the Lord has been teaching and maturing the Church, renewing our collective mind to make it to be congruous with the "mind of Christ." That process continues in these last days as the Holy Spirit dispels the darkness which has been blinding our eyes and elucidates Truth which in a semantic sense is "new" but which in reality is not, since it has really been there all along.

As the above Corinthian passage indicates, especially in the Amplified Bible's paraphrase, partial and incomplete knowledge is continuously being superseded by more perfect, or more complete, knowledge as the Lord bestows greater illumination of the Truth. As a part of that more perfect knowledge, the Lord is now revealing fresh illumination of the Truth regarding the matter of the prophetic gifts and offices.

The Charismatic Movement brought forth a restoration of and renewed awareness in the "Charismata" or Manifestation Gifts of the Spirit. However, as it happened, the main focus of that renewed awareness was the revelation and power gifts. Though there was a smattering of teaching on and sporadic employment of the prophetic giftings in some circles during that move, the prophetic realm was generally less explored and expounded upon, plus, the prophetic arm of the Church remained largely undeveloped and untapped, and was kept at an arm's distance. For the most part, it was as though the matter of the prophetic realm remained a "sealed" chapter in the book of Divine revelation knowledge.

But, how wondrous are the ways of God! After all the centuries transpiring since the Church fell into the Dark Ages, the winds of restoration and reformation are once again blowing throughout Christendom. God is bringing fresh revelation and illumination concerning this previously neglected and greatly misunderstood area of Truth, and has initiated a restorational period in which the prophetic realm is being reestablished within the Church. These Restorational Winds are stirring up new and added interest in the prophetic office and gifts. Ordinary believers and church leaders alike are being motivated by a God-caused hunger to become more knowledgeable of and activated in this powerful realm of the Spirit—the prophetic realm. Prophets and prophetic teachers are now disseminating through various media greatly needed teaching on this intriguing and unique area of ministry.

Until very recently, if someone would have dared to call himself a "prophet," in most circles he would have been ridiculed, censured, castigated, ostracized, and even branded a heretic. Now, that is beginning to change. Though, as in the case of every other restorational move of God, there will undoubtedly be "stiff-necked resisters of the Holy Spirit" (Ac. 7:51) who will resist the purposes of God, and persecute the emerging leaders of this God-ordained emphasis and attempt to subvert their efforts, even if successful, they will be powerless to withstand or suppress the great tidal wave of restoration and reformation that is coming!

A new day has dawned for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus is personally coming to visit His Church and those groups and ministries that claim to be part of His Church. Just as He stood outside the door of the First Century churches, knocking, seeking to be granted entrance (Rev. 3:20), so also Jesus is standing outside the door of the lukewarm and self-absorbed churches of this Laodicean Age, knocking, and waiting to see if they will open the door and bid Him entrance. However, many will not recognize Him as He comes during this era of restoration in a different form (Mk. 16:12) as the Preeminent Prophet, and will thus refuse to open the door and allow Him entrance. As they did in the days of His fleshly ministry, so also today, many religious people will call the Head of the House—Beezelbul!

However, there are an ever-increasing number of church leaders who are earnestly seeking God for answers as they realize their churches and ministries are facing serious problems that can no longer be remedied by the Madison Avenue techniques and Wall Street formulas promulgated by the so-called "church growth" experts of recent note—problems which in many cases threaten the very viability of their churches and ministries. Many are also coming to recognize in all honesty that God never was sponsoring many of the church programs and projects they once claimed He had inspired. Indeed, this is a day of great introspection and prayerful reexamination for all true lampstand (Rev. 1:20) church organizations and ministries.

Because of a host of recent developments and dilemmas ministries are now facing, in frustration and desperation, some church leaders are beginning to truly seek the face of God and are becoming more and more willing to tap into the powerful source of God-inspired direction and guidance the prophetic gifts and office have always been. In time, earnest and sincere leaders are going to begin to call for God's prophets in order to hear the pure and unadulterated word of the Wonderful Counselor. As that happens, in the passage of time, God's true, tried, and trained prophets will come to be less and less disregarded and disdained, and will be highly regarded as the ordained messengers of God they have always been. Rather than being regarded as the foe and rejected, God's surrogate spokesmen will eventually be received as the greatly needed friend of the Church and of God Himself they have always been in truth.

The Word of God makes it clear that Fivefold ministry functioning and flowing together in concerted effort to complete the maturing of the Church unto Christ-like stature is a mandate from God (Eph. 4:11-13). Three-fold ministry consisting only of Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers is incapable of accomplishing the task of fully maturing the Church and bringing it into conformity with the Image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). Present-Truth as it pertains to the Fivefold ministry, which includes the effectual functioning of Apostles and Prophets today, can no longer be ignored by ministers and ministries desiring to be established upon the Solid Rock of Present-Truth. Churches and ministries that attempt to defy God and continue to ignore the reality of Fivefold ministry will fail, fall, and become dysfunctional.

Jesus is building HIS Church in accordance with HIS architectural blueprint, the specifications of which require that the Building be established upon the foundation of the ministry offices of the Apostle and Prophet (Eph 2:20). And, it is against this Church—the one Jesus Himself is building, the one that has as its foundation the ministries of the Apostles and Prophets—that the gates (powers) of hell shall not be able to prevail. Conversely, Churches not so built will be vanquished by the forces of hell.

Make no mistake about it! God's winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly purge His threshing floor of all the chaff and all the tares. He is now in the process of separating the true docile Sheep of His Flock from the derelict goats. He is raising up a Company of End-Time Apostles and Prophets who will usher in the last great Tidal Wave of restoration and reformation within the Church, which, when it has accomplished its purposes, will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ to claim the purified Church as His Eternal Bride and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

Personally, I hold the prophetic endowments in high regard, and seek to do all the Lord will grace me to do to inspire others to have that same regard for these powerful giftings of the Holy Spirit. While through the pure of heart and trained they possess the power and potential for enormous blessing, conversely, they also possess the power and potential for enormous devastation in the hands of the ill-motivated and untrained. I have personally witnessed both results, along with great misinformation, abuse of the gifts and office, as well as counterfeit operations, all purportedly in the name and behalf of the Lord. The truly anointed and appointed of God, however, because of the requisite to be found faithful, simply cannot allow any of these adversities to deter them one wit in the operation of prophetic graces, for the billions of hurting and needy people dotting this planet are in profound need of the Divinely-dynamic blessings those giftings produce, all of which are summed up in this one Pauline statement: "one who prophesies EDIFIES..." (1 Cor. 14:3).

My personal sentiments regarding this wonderful specter of the Spirit, the prophetic realm, are wonderfully represented in the words of two great prophetic men of the Bible—the Apostle Paul, who exhorted all believers: "COVET to prophesy" (1 Cor. 14:1), and the great Prophet Moses, who declared, "I would to God that ALL the Lord's people were PROPHETIC PEOPLE" (Num. 11:29, paraphrased). Notwithstanding, those sentiments are tempered by an appeal to all who would operate in the prophetic to, firstly, be absolutely certain of their calling, and, secondly, to seek to be fully trained by whatever means the Lord directs.

A New Breed Of Preacher

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Steven Lambert) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:53:00 +0000

-by Greg Gordon

A New Movement of Fearless Uncompromising Preachers
God is raising up a new breed of preachers in our day. People are sick of modern-day soft preaching that does not move our consciences anymore than a worldly movie would. God is going to raise them up, they will not be bred in modern day seminaries or bible colleges. They will speak against the whole system that is raising anemic preachers and teachers. Their messages will be bold, strong, pointed; it will offend many but save many. Their preaching will bear witness to their calling. God will be in their messages and the fear of God will come with their message. God has always been faithful to have a voice in every generation. Surely we find ourselves in a time as the Psalmist lamented: "There is no more any prophet, neither is there among us, any that knoweth how long." Yet they will come! They will come with messages that will sear our consciences, Oh how we need a modern day prophet!

Will the modern day prophet agree with all the theology and comfort of American Christianity? No, his message will so contradict all of what we know of Christianity that we will hardly believe he is from God. Jeremiah was a prophet that heard from God and he prophesied: "behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them." These new breed of preachers will be men that are shut-in with God and hear from him and their words will be as "fire" and the people "wood."

D.M. McIntyre spoke of this same heavenly principle: "Before the great revival in Gallneukirchen broke out, Martin Boos spent hours and days and often nights in lonely agonies of intercession. Afterwards, when he preached, his words were as flame, and the hearts of the people as grass." Oh these men will be "much with God" and "little with men." The things of earth to them will grow strangely dim. They will be strange men to the ways and systems of the world. They will speak against the hypocrisy in the pews and the hirelings in the pulpits. The fear of man will not have any hold on these men, the holy fear of God will be their overwhelming vision. They will speak the "word of the Lord" in due season and not refrain from being a mouthpiece in the hand of the Lord.

PROPHETIC Preaching
A.W. Tozer spoke of this new breed of preachers in his short article 'prophetic preaching' — this is the need of our day and it will come:

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher.

The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom.

Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath. This is only to say that we need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the Church. And it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is the gift of prophecy.

Uncompromised, unsettled, unyielding, unmovable, unshakable! These men will come with unbelievable message to those steeped in unbelief. David Wilkerson said once, "only praying men touch God." These men will be 'men of God' that touch God and hear from Him. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Joel, Hosea, Zechariah, these men will find good company with the coming prophets. They will be fully accepted of God and fully rejected by men. God will call them 'blessed' and men will call them 'cursed.'

Picture Of A Prophet
Leonard Ravenhill in his book "America is too young to die" speaks of the true picture of the coming prophets to Christendom. Oh how sorely we need them:

The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men. The group challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology are not likely to vote him 'man of the year' when he refers to them as habituates of the 'synagogue of Satan!'

He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! He has not price tags. He is totally 'otherworldly.' "He lives in the heights with God and comes into the valley with a 'thus saith the Lord.' He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow. He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead! He walks before men for days, but has walked before God for years.

He announces, pronounces, and denounces! God talks to him about men. He talks to men about God. There is a terrible vacuum in Evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. the man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist. Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant churchianity. Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle. Let him, too, say and live, 'This one thing I do.' Let him reject ecclesiastical favors. Lim him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous, nonself-glorifying.

Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself, but only that which will move men to God. Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day. Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.

Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon. God have mercy; send us PROPHETS! [Read Full Article]

Run For Your Life!
The message of these men will seem strong and extreme to most. They will call for utter immediate implicit obedience to the commands of the Lord. They will call for a turning away from sin and from sinful practices. They will preach a God-exalting and men-abasing message. They will not be worried about men's self-esteem or happiness but rather their clarion cry will be: "Holiness Unto the Lord!"

Their message might sound like this excerpt of a message preached by Carter Conlon:

Run from gospels that focus on your success and prosperity. Run from those that use the name of Jesus Christ only for personal gain. Run from those that are picking your pocket in the name of Jesus. Run! Run from gospels that focus only on self-improvement, or on three steps to a better personality. Run from churches where men and not Christ are glorified. Run, get out of that place! Run from churches in America and Canada where there is no Bible, no cross, no searching Word, no repentance from sin. Run when there's no mention of the blood of Jesus. It's an unclean place, so run! Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there's no sense of God's presence, because they don't know God. Run! Run from churches where you're comfortable in your sin. If you enter God's house with sin in your life, but you're not convicted of it, you're sitting at a table of devils. Run! Run from pulpits that are filled with politically driven men who use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. Run! Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. Run! Run! Get out! Turn it off. They know nothing of God. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. Beloved Church. Run for your life! Run from preachers that stand, who tell only stories and jokes. Run like you've never run before. Run from those that are only after money and they use one gimmick after another to get your money. One foolish thing after another to get your money. Run!"

God is going to get the attention of us. He is going to shake "everything that can be shaken." We should be on our face brothers and sisters. Great times of shaking are coming. Are we standing firm on truth of God or are we allowing the world and its cares to choke our spiritual life? God is going to raise up a new modern breed of preachers that will be uncompromising and unrelenting in their proclamation of the heart of God.

Hear this blunt blaring word from the late Dr. Joseph Parker:

Oh, ye white-faced, weak-kneed believers! Believers in what? Ye shifty speculators, stealers of prophetic mantles! go, drink yourselves to death, and go to your proper devil! Ye are not the Church of Christ, might well be the speech which ascended Pauls might deliver to us, as we reshuffle the theological cards, and rearrange our credenda, and modify and dilute our doctrinal positions and enthusiasms.

Let us also hear one of Mr. Ravenhill's often quoted lines: "Our pulpits today are occupied with puppets rather than with prophets, with organizers rather than with agonizers." Does that smite? It is true! Let us start praying to see God revive, restore, renew and revolutionize the Church as we know it. We need a mighty touch of God's Spirit and men that will speak with that anointing from heaven. God is raising a new breed of preachers in these last days. Oh how we need them!

-SOURCE: www.sermonindex.net