The Prophet as One Who Convicts the Church of Sin unto Repentance in Order to Reform and Establish.
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 an individual or church into a different person or body if those individual or church welcomes it, believes it, and acts upon it.
Belief and obedience to a godly prophecy will bring God’s will and circumstances to bear upon that individual or church.
Their course of life will be radically altered and blessed by the Lord in accordance to the prophecy, making the church into a different church or the person into a different person.
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 believe in the prophets of God means that we must be first assured of their ministry as spokespeople of the Lord. Afterwards we are responsible to obey the words that come through them after proper discernment.
To prosper is to be able to accomplish successfully what one set out to do. Only our executing and accomplishing the will of God measure 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 truly never become successful in executing God’s will for it.
Isaiah 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
The building up and restoring of people’s lives and the growth of the church
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee(to set apart and devoted to the Lord; therefore the person becomes special or peculiar. He or she is considered sacred and holy to the Lord.) and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (I gave you as a prophet to the nations)
Before God can call us into “His Ministry” we must be thoroughly delivered, cleansed and a have a good grasp of the voice and the ways of God.
We are set apart to be given out.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Hebrew: Do not say to me that you are a lad: for you must go to every one that I send you as my ambassador with an apostolic mission, and you must speak with the same accuracy and intention, that, which I appointed or charged you with.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith (a prophetic revelation of) the LORD.
Hebrew: Do not be afraid of their faces, because part of my reason for being with you, is to rescue you, says the prophetic revelation of the Lord.
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put (given or bestowed) my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out(To uproot and expel) , and to pull down (to pull, tear, and break down) , and to destroy(to exterminate and cause to perish), and to throw down (overthrow), to build(build and establish),
Jer 1:17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise,(metaphorically; become spiritually ready, and stand up)) and speak unto them all that I command thee (and speak unto them with the same intensity, accuracy, and intention, all which I spoke to you and charged you with) : be not dismayed (do not break down and become demoralized) at their faces, lest I confound thee(cause you to be terrified) before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city( a city which has become a fortress), and an iron pillar, and brasen walls(a bronze wall) against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes(officials) thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19 And they shall fight(wage war) against thee; but they shall not prevail( not overcome) against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Jer 35:15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
The Prophet as a Foundation Layer Upon Which the Church is Built.
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 be always done 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 ministry of the prophets.
Zech 8:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
Ministry in laying down the foundation of the church.
Acts 15:32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
To strengthen, fix in place, and make steady and sure an individual or church by confirming God’s will as well as giving the person or church direction for growth in the Lord.
Rom 16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The labor of the revealed Person of Christ be with you all
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
God has the ability to strengthen you, and to make you firm and fast in your faith, (by my gospel and the preaching of the Person of Jesus Christ) only in proportion to the revelation of the mystery (which is the revealed Person of Christ)
Christ is revealed through the prophetic scriptures (prophets and prophecy reveal Christ) by the commandment of the everlasting God. This revelation of Christ is made known unto all the nations so that Christ may be obeyed by faith.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Being built up in the Lord while resting on the revelatory foundation of the prophets and apostles. Or the foundation laid by them. This foundation always being the very person of Christ. His direction, His will, wisdom, gifts, power.
The article not before prophets shows that apostles and prophets are of the same kind of people.
The Prophet as One who Brings the Church Out of Bondage
Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
The Lord by a prophet causes the church to be brought out of bondage.
The church is furthermore guarded and kept free by the prophetic ministry after being brought out of its bondage.
Until the prophetic ministry is fully welcomed in our churches it is impossible for the Bride of Christ to be made spotless.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the RHEMA Word or the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The church will only be purified and made holy by the revelatory prophetic word of God. The rhema word, or the voice of God’s Spirit is what washes the bride of Christ and heals and restores it.
The Prophet as a Spokesperson of God’s Voice, Will, Ways and Timing
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 the Lord’s faithful spokesperson to declare that which comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.
Prophecy is the accurate declaring forth of what the Lord Jesus speaks within a person’s spirit.
The prophet must be very careful to declare without what the mouth of God speaks within.
2 Samuel 16:23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
1 Kings 6:16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
1 Kings 6:19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
The oracle of the Lord in the Old Testament was sometimes used to describe the Holy of Holies, or the most inner room of God’s temple where the Ark of the Covenant resided. The Ark of the Covenant is symbolic of the very presence of the Lord, revealing His very essence, and thus testifying to the Lord upon the earth. This is why it is also called the Ark of Testimony.
The word oracle in the Hebrew comes from the Hebrew root for “word;” The phrase “the word of the Lord” uses this very same grammatical formation.
In the New Testament an oracle is a concise and brief prophetic utterance.
Hence when the prophet speaks the “word of the Lord,” he or she are declaring forth the oracle, or the testimony of the Lord, and manifesting the presence of the Lord through the spoken word hopefully with as much accuracy as is found in God’s presence in the Holy of Holies.
The closer in accuracy, intent, and God’s emphasis in the original rhema word, the more that the prophecy will act as the oracle of the Lord that will bring forth the testimony of the Lord into a church, and thus define His will, His ways, direction, and timing for that congregation.
This is why again I say that it is crucial that prophets and prophecy be reinstated and honored in our churches.
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.
The Piel verb, describes emphasis and decisiveness in action.
There must always be three dimensions to every prophecy.
First, every prophecy must be given without in the accuracy of the rhema word, or the voice of the Spirit, that is discerned within one’s spirit. One good rule in giving a prophecy is to speak only what one sees or hears; no more and no less.
Many a time the Lord will reveal something in our spirits that we cannot understand. Our responsibility is to speak out as faithfully as we see it. The Lord will then give us clarity in the situation.
Secondly, is the dimension of discerning the intent of the Lord’s heart in the word given to us.
Thirdly, the prophet must give the word with the same intensity or emphasis, which the Lord gave it to him or her. Sometimes, the prophet is to give the word with great compassion and gentleness, other times there is the tone of admonishment or warning behind the voice of the Lord. Practice makes perfect.
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.
We see the Hebrew Piel verb tense being used twice in the same verse. The Piel verb form is used in what the Lord gives to the prophet, and likewise in what the prophet speaks out. The Piel verb form illustrates intensity and emphasis. One Hebrew grammarian defines it as busying ourselves with a certain action. The prophet consumes him or herself with the spoken word of the Lord and is responsible to speak out that word with the same intensity of emphasis in which it was given to them.
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.
We find the same Hebrew “piel” verb form describing intense and emphatic action. As we said before, it means to busy or consume ourselves with a certain activity.” Thus, this verse tells us that the spoken voice of God is best heard and understood through the prophetic ministry.
Jose and Mary Alvarez 