I remember two of Apostle Paul’s instructions to two of the New
Testament churches he planted:
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.(1 Cor. 14:1,NIV)
“…do not treat prophecies with contempt .Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thess.5: 20-21, NIV).
These instructions continue to serve as head-lamps to our response to the use of true,accurate Prophetic Ministry.
Now, Lee Grady (former editor Charisma magazine) fingered 5 main mistakes we should guard against when operating the prophetic ministry. They are :
1. Giving prophets elite status. Nowhere in the New Testament are prophets exalted to a privileged class. Paul himself said all members of the body need each other, and in his discussion of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, he warns against ranking spirituality by gifting. He wrote, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21, NASB). Many prophets get a disease that I call ‘egotisticus giganticus’. They are puffed up by their revelations. Then, when people line up to hear them, they are forced to come up with more sensational claims—along with names, dates and exotic manifestations.
2. Promoting charismatic chaos. Some people act weird when they prophesy in order to get attention. Some shake in funny ways, speak in affected tones or use archaic “Listen thou to me!” lingo.
In New Testament times, pagan prophets spoke in ecstatic speech because they were possessed by demons. But Paul told the Corinthians, “The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32).
You should never be out of control when you deliver a word from God. The fruit of the Holy Spirit includes both gentleness and self-control.
3. Allowing harsh prophetic words to abuse people. In giving personal prophecy, some people routinely give personal words to people warning of calamities or judgments. They even say that God wants to kill them! Usually these angry “prophets” claim to know all the unconfessed sins in a person’s life.However, New Testament prophecy is specifically used to encourage, comfort and exhort believers (see 1 Cor. 14:3). That rules out condemnation and harsh criticism disguised as a word from God. Our heavenly Father does not speak to His children in a hateful, scolding tone. He is an encourager, even when He brings correction. Remember: Paul said that if you use the gift of prophecy without love, it is useless (see 1 Cor. 13:2)!
4. Not mentoring prophets. Today we have forgotten the importance of mentorship. We have Bible colleges for preachers, but we neglect training in other vital areas. We wrongly assume that if a person is blessed with a spiritual gift like prophecy, it just flows without any instruction.
In the Old Testament, there were schools of prophets. Second Kings 6:1-6 tells how Elisha went with some younger prophets to build an expansion to their school, and one of the men lost the blade of the axe he was using to cut down trees for timber.
Don’t assume you know everything. Don’t be so eager to go until you grow to maturity.
5. Shutting down prophecy because the gift was abused. Because of the problems I’ve mentioned, some pastors just give up and shut prophecy down. They’d rather have a safe church environment than expose people to any possibility of a prophetic catastrophe.
If this were the wisest thing to do, why didn’t Paul clamp down on all charismatic expression among the Corinthians? Things were wild there—with off-the-wall prophecies, out-of-control prophets and harsh messages. Yet Paul offered these life-giving words: “Desire earnestly spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1), and he ended his discourse by saying “desire earnestly to prophesy” (v. 39). Shutting down charismatic gifts is unbiblical. Instead of limiting the way God wants to communicate to us, let’s honor the Holy Spirit and learn to exercise prophecy the way He intended.
Whatever you do,only remember that indeed "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy"(Rev 19:10).
Happy sailing!
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.(1 Cor. 14:1,NIV)
“…do not treat prophecies with contempt .Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thess.5: 20-21, NIV).
These instructions continue to serve as head-lamps to our response to the use of true,accurate Prophetic Ministry.
Now, Lee Grady (former editor Charisma magazine) fingered 5 main mistakes we should guard against when operating the prophetic ministry. They are :
1. Giving prophets elite status. Nowhere in the New Testament are prophets exalted to a privileged class. Paul himself said all members of the body need each other, and in his discussion of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, he warns against ranking spirituality by gifting. He wrote, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21, NASB). Many prophets get a disease that I call ‘egotisticus giganticus’. They are puffed up by their revelations. Then, when people line up to hear them, they are forced to come up with more sensational claims—along with names, dates and exotic manifestations.
2. Promoting charismatic chaos. Some people act weird when they prophesy in order to get attention. Some shake in funny ways, speak in affected tones or use archaic “Listen thou to me!” lingo.
In New Testament times, pagan prophets spoke in ecstatic speech because they were possessed by demons. But Paul told the Corinthians, “The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32).
You should never be out of control when you deliver a word from God. The fruit of the Holy Spirit includes both gentleness and self-control.
3. Allowing harsh prophetic words to abuse people. In giving personal prophecy, some people routinely give personal words to people warning of calamities or judgments. They even say that God wants to kill them! Usually these angry “prophets” claim to know all the unconfessed sins in a person’s life.However, New Testament prophecy is specifically used to encourage, comfort and exhort believers (see 1 Cor. 14:3). That rules out condemnation and harsh criticism disguised as a word from God. Our heavenly Father does not speak to His children in a hateful, scolding tone. He is an encourager, even when He brings correction. Remember: Paul said that if you use the gift of prophecy without love, it is useless (see 1 Cor. 13:2)!
4. Not mentoring prophets. Today we have forgotten the importance of mentorship. We have Bible colleges for preachers, but we neglect training in other vital areas. We wrongly assume that if a person is blessed with a spiritual gift like prophecy, it just flows without any instruction.
In the Old Testament, there were schools of prophets. Second Kings 6:1-6 tells how Elisha went with some younger prophets to build an expansion to their school, and one of the men lost the blade of the axe he was using to cut down trees for timber.
Don’t assume you know everything. Don’t be so eager to go until you grow to maturity.
5. Shutting down prophecy because the gift was abused. Because of the problems I’ve mentioned, some pastors just give up and shut prophecy down. They’d rather have a safe church environment than expose people to any possibility of a prophetic catastrophe.
If this were the wisest thing to do, why didn’t Paul clamp down on all charismatic expression among the Corinthians? Things were wild there—with off-the-wall prophecies, out-of-control prophets and harsh messages. Yet Paul offered these life-giving words: “Desire earnestly spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1), and he ended his discourse by saying “desire earnestly to prophesy” (v. 39). Shutting down charismatic gifts is unbiblical. Instead of limiting the way God wants to communicate to us, let’s honor the Holy Spirit and learn to exercise prophecy the way He intended.
Whatever you do,only remember that indeed "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy"(Rev 19:10).
Happy sailing!
