The Ministry of the Prophet

Living by the Word

1Sam 3:19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

The Lord did not allow any of Samuel’s words to fail or not to come to pass.
The Lord did not allow the words of Samuel to fail. This was not because He was under obligation to please Samuel, but because Samuel had a great discernment and obedience to God’s voice.
If Samuel had discerned the voice of the Lord inaccurately, his words would have failed. God would have not honored them.
The Lord per se was not concerned about Samuel but about the accuracy of His word working through Samuel.

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

Knowledge: A complete and thorough knowledge that grasps the fullness of understanding about what is sought.

Judgment: Discernment

It is not enough to become born again and then run to save the world.
The Lord wants His love to increase in proportion to our fullness of understanding of His Word.
Our discernment of not only His voice must intensify, but our discernment about what either comes from Him, Satan, or even the flesh must become precise.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Truth is what is genuine and correct according to fact.
It is not what we erroneously believe about the Word of God that will set us free, but what we believe about it, which is according to fact.
We must dig deep, research, and study the Word to walk in the fullness of freedom.
A superficial knowledge of the Word will never set us free.

Eph 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:}

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

The believer has been already blessed with every spiritual blessing.
We do need the Lord to bless us.
The abundance of the Lord’s blessings comes to us in the realm of wisdom and prudence.
Wisdom is the will of God, prudence is the understanding His will, to then fulfill it step by step in accordance to His voice.
Therefore, the blessings of God come only to the extent that we lay down our own will to do His.
The prophet Elisha had tremendous faith in the voice of God.

2 King 4:38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

There was a famine in the land and food was so scarce that there was not enough of the making of stew for the school of the prophets. One of Elisha’s disciples went out to the field and gathered wild vegetables.
Mistakenly , one of the items was lethal.
The soup was highly noxious.
God told Elisha to throw flour into the soup and then eat. Indeed the Lord healed the soup.
I’ve struggled with that story. Would I have the faith to be responsible for the lives of a number of people based upon what I discerned in my spirit?
Yet Elisha knew the great value of possessing a sharp awareness of the voice of the Lord.
The growth of the voice of the Lord has no shortcuts.
It takes unbending obedience which motivates us to step out in faith time and time again until recognize and live solely by that voice.
It also takes the working of God’s holiness within us, which is birthed from a very intimate relationship with God.
Without purity of heart we will not see the Lord Jesus.
Purity is the result of much prayer and a deep knowledge of the Word.
The Lord desires every one of us to work solely by His voice.
The greatness of the prophet or any man or woman of God is found in how much they confine their lives to that voice.

Raise Not Yourselves Up

1Sam 3:20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established(passive tense)to be a prophet of the LORD.

God confirmed Samuel to be a prophet because He found him faithful and dependable to a point that satisfied Him.
The Hebrew verb tense found in this verse in in passive. This means that Samuel did not strive to take the calling of the prophet. God had anointed and called him into it, and the Lord likewise raised him up as He him obedient, trustworthy, and faithful.

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me(empowered me ; from the word for dunamis), for that he counted me (esteemed me) faithful, putting me into the ministry;

Paul received power to fulfill His calling in proportion to how spiritually ready the Lord saw him.
It is a sad to see many a minister attempting to serve the Lord out of his power or devises, instead of living out of God’s power. This is because he raised himself up instead of awaiting God’s timing.
It is important that we do not raise ourselves up into ministry. One of the reasons for this is timing.
Every act of God’s will has the cause of God’s timing.
Only the Lord knows when we are spiritually fit to be raised up.

The Prophet and The Ministry

In the Hebrew, a prophet is a nabi.
This means to boil and bubble up. Hence the prophet pours forth the Lord’s words thorough the action of the bubbling or boiling of the Spirit.
The for prophet is naba or “announcing,” making the prophet into a spokesperson for God.

Numbers 3:16 And Moses numbered them according (at) to the word (Heb: mouth)of the LORD, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:39 All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment (Heb: mouth) of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

The prophet is not only a foreteller of future events, but is a spokesperson to declare that which comes from the mouth of God.
Prophecy is the correct declaring of what the Lord Jesus speaks within.
The prophet must be very careful to declare without, what the mouth of God speaks within.

Numbers 3:16 And Moses numbered them according (at) to the word (Heb: mouth)of the LORD, as he was commanded.

We notice Moses and Aaron executing God’s commandments in accordance to the “mouth of the Lord.
We appreciate the magnitude of the prophet is in his or her limitation to live regulated to the voice of the Spirit.

Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak( Piel verb form )unto thee, that thou shalt speak( Piel verb form).So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

There must be three dimensions to every prophecy.
Every prophecy must be given externally in the accuracy of the rhema word.
In giving a prophecy one speaks only what is seen or heard; no more, and no less.
Many a time the Lord will show something that cannot be understood. Our responsibility is to speak it out as faithfully as it’s discerned.
The Lord then will then give us clarity in the situation.

Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion(measure)of faith;

True faith is not our faith, but the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ living in us.
God’s faith always resides within His rhema word.
God’s faith causes His rhema word to come to pass.
When we prophesy according to the proportion of faith we are prophesying in accordance to the rhema word.
In proportion to the measure of the clarity of the rhema word, will be the proportion of the anointing.
We must learn to hear the voice of the Lord as accurately as possible.
Obedience, faith, and holiness are the keys.
Thirdly, the prophet must give the word with the same intensity or emphasis, which the Lord gave it to him.
Sometimes, the word is given with great compassion and gentleness, other times there can be admonishment or warning.
Practice makes perfect.

In Numbers twenty-two and thirty-five, we see the Hebrew Piel verb tense being used twice.
The Piel is used in what the Lord gives to the prophet, and also in what the prophet speaks out.
The Piel illustrates intensity and emphasis.
It is defined as busying ourselves with a certain action.
The prophet is consumed with the spoken word of the Lord and is responsible to speak it out with the same intensity of emphasis in which it was given.

1Sam 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Hebrew: Yahweh uncovered or disclosed Himself to Samuel through His word.
The word discloses the Lord to the world as it is faithfully spoken forth by the prophet.
The apostle and the prophet uncover the hidden Lord Jesus dwelling in the form of mystery, to the church.
As He is disclosed, the church participates or fellowships in what the Lord purposes.

The more revelation, the more participation into the Lord.
The Lord will never show Himself fully to the church until the ministry of the prophet is welcomed.

1 sam 9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man;

(Hebrew: Glory or glorious: This also means to be weighty and heavy with honor and glory.
Samuel is heavy and weighty in the Spirit of God; he discloses the invisible God and makes Him become visible through his prophecies.
This is the definition of glory or glorifying the Lord.

6 all that he saith cometh surely to pass:(Hebrew: All that he says will come to pass, surely comes to pass)now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

8The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD hath spoken,, who can but prophesy

Hebrew: The Lord Yahweh emphatically spoke, who will not begin to and continue to prophesy at repetitive times?
The more glory, the more the anointing, and the more will be the spirit of prophecy. The more the revelation of the Lord, the more will be the release of prophecy.

Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.(The presence of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy)

1 Cor 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ (the presence of Christ)was confirmed in you:

7So that ye come behind (You are not lacking or inferior)in no gift;( in no charismatic gift)waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

1Sam 10:6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy (Hebrew: reflexive verb; You will be able to prophesy by your own capabilities and actions once that the Spirit of God has come upon you)with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

Prophecy, which is received, can turn the person or church into a different person or body, if it’s welcomed.
Belief and obedience to a godly prophecy will bring God’s will and circumstances to bear upon an person or church.
Their course of life will be radically altered and then blessed by the Lord in accordance to the prophecy; thus making the church into a different church or the person into a different person.

Acts 13:27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not,(ignorant) nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Many churches today are ignorant, or have no knowledge of the voice of the prophets.
One of the most disconcerting things that I have experienced is the incredibly small percentage of churches and people that welcome godly prophecies.
Most comments have been “ that’s a nice word.”
I have seen little, if nothing, been done to test out prophecy and execute in obedience to God.
The person or church misses the privilege of being turned into another man, or body of believers.
One church closed its doors after disputes between the leadership over insignificant issues.
The prophecies for this church was that the Lord wanted to use it greatly in a large city.
Instead of seeking the Lord for wisdom and understanding in how to take the steps towards this fulfillment, the church is no more.
The prophet was not heeded.
Years later I was to find out that the Lord called a pastor who has a huge church in Colombia, South America, to start a church in this very city.
Could it be that churches established in this city, did not heed the prophetic voice, and the Lord looked to another country?
Another church in this city received prophecies that revival would follow if it allowed for the glory of the Lord to come .
This church it has become a “seeker sensitive church” which prohibited the gifts of the Spirit.
I was part of this church and saw God’s anointing withdraw, into an unbearable spiritual dryness which almost made me rush out of the service.
Look with me at the church of Antioch. This “model” church gave immediate heed to the voice of prophecy within it.

Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

29Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:

2 Chronicle 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

To “believein the prophets” means that we first are assured of their ministry as spokespeople of the Lord. Afterwards, we are responsible to obey the words that come through them.
To prosper is to be able to carry out successfully what one sets out to do. Our executing the will of God measures true success in life.
Individual believers and churches shall prosper as they take heed to the charge of God through His prophets. Without the prophetic ministry a church will never become successful.

Hos 12:10 And I have spoken( Hebrew: Piel verb) by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.

Vision

The Hebrew “piel” describes intense and emphatic action. As I said, it means to busy or consume ourselves with a certain activity.” This verse says that the spoken voice of God is best understood through the prophetic ministry.

Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in thechurch in the wildernesswith the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

The Lord by a prophet causes the church to be brought out of bondage.
The church is guarded and kept free by the prophetic ministry after its being brought out of bondage.
Until the prophetic ministry is fully welcomed it is impossible for the Bride of Christ to be made spotless.

I Cor 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification(the building up of the body of Christ), and exhortation,(encouragement , admonition, and warning) and comfort.( to persuade, arouse and stimulate into Christian action)

Ezr 5:1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.

Ezr 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them(supporting, sustaining, encouraging, and exhorting).

The building of the house of God must always occur in part through the ministry of the prophets.

Ezra 6:14 And the elders of the Jews builded(they were building), and they prospered(and succeeding)through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Building and successfully completing the house of God can only be done in part through the prophets.

Acts 15:32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

The Ministry of the Prophet

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