Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb!!!
There will always be those that speak against the true prophet of God. Was I not evil spoken of when on this earth. I am Lord and yet I was called Beelzebub prince of devils. I say to you that you are no different than your Master! They hated me and the day is soon coming that those that come against you will think they do God service. The hour is here and there is a great divide between truth and error. Light and darkness do not mix and the gap will widen as the day of the Lord fast approaches. Fear not those that that can kill body but fear Me and do not bend under pressure from the enemy. You will not break except to be more and more pliable in My hand. Fear not but move forward, steadily and I will protect you from harm.
Apply My blood to your family and cover yourself in the blood of Jesus daily. The power that is in the blood of Jesus will overcome all obstacles!!! You are an over comer and walk with Me in white and your name is written down in the Lambs book of life. Fear not but move forward and take the territory I have given you. Move forward with new zeal and take all that I show you. I have given you the fields that are white to harvest. Harvest them! Go and harvest that which you see before you! Souls are precious and one cannot put a price on one soul. There are so many that do not yet know Me! The fields are white to harvest. Go and bring them in. They are those that you know and those that you see far and wide. Bring them in and teach them of Me sharing your faith. Teach them, here a little there a little line on line.Teach My Word also to those that know Me. Let the teaching anointing mature in you, for you have been called prophet of God to teach and teach you shall. The anointing is increasing and as you step out in faith doors shall open even in that place where you are and they shall be taught of the Lord. Fear not, step out in faith and go and mingle with the people and I shall use you says the Lord.
"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. Rev. 12:11 (NASB)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Stand Fast Prophet Of God!!!
Stand Fast Prophet of God!!!
The Lord has not made all prophets social butterflies. In fact there are moments that many would rather hide in their caves from assault,after assault, against them. This does not always come in the forum of big attacks, but those little foxes that have been sent to try and spoil the vine. Let the enemy receive notice that he will not thwart what the enemy Lord is doing in the life of God's prophets! They have been chosen before the foundation of the world and God's plans through them will be completed! Though he rattle and rant, let him know that he is a defeated foe! One great weapon of the prophet is to know His source of comfort is the Lord. When all around you seems to be falling apart and there are no kind words, know that you have the approval of the Lord. When the skies seem dark, know that God has called you to be that one to listen to the Lord and pray and decree His plans into the earth.
Know the Lord says, that you have been called by My name prophet of God and it is to me that you rise or fall!!! My eyes are on the sparrow, how much more my eyes are on you. I have seen your tears and discomfort and longing for those of like precious faith in Me. I have seen your longing to give birth that which is soon to come. I have seen the longing of your heart and the long nights and the days that seem without favour and yet know prophet of God that I am standing with you. I am standing with you My beloved and you are carrying My will into the earth in your times with Me.They are not formal times but times of deep communion and often these moans and groans deep within are the cry of My Spirit for a need that you are unaware of. I see you heart and desire to please Me prophet of God. I have seen you desire for peace and that you have looked upon world situations and feared that which I will do. You see Me as I Am, holy and that I hate sin and so you have a certain knowing that in time My hand will move and I will do that which is necessary to see My Kingdom come and My will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Prophet press in and seek My face. Press in during the night hours when sleep feels good. Put your hand to the plough with fresh determination and do not be deterred for I am the Lord and you have been chosen by Me for such a time as this. Declare My Words with new zeal, listen with an attentive ear, wait on Me and My will is going to be done through you, says the Lord.
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 1:8
The Lord has not made all prophets social butterflies. In fact there are moments that many would rather hide in their caves from assault,after assault, against them. This does not always come in the forum of big attacks, but those little foxes that have been sent to try and spoil the vine. Let the enemy receive notice that he will not thwart what the enemy Lord is doing in the life of God's prophets! They have been chosen before the foundation of the world and God's plans through them will be completed! Though he rattle and rant, let him know that he is a defeated foe! One great weapon of the prophet is to know His source of comfort is the Lord. When all around you seems to be falling apart and there are no kind words, know that you have the approval of the Lord. When the skies seem dark, know that God has called you to be that one to listen to the Lord and pray and decree His plans into the earth.
Know the Lord says, that you have been called by My name prophet of God and it is to me that you rise or fall!!! My eyes are on the sparrow, how much more my eyes are on you. I have seen your tears and discomfort and longing for those of like precious faith in Me. I have seen your longing to give birth that which is soon to come. I have seen the longing of your heart and the long nights and the days that seem without favour and yet know prophet of God that I am standing with you. I am standing with you My beloved and you are carrying My will into the earth in your times with Me.They are not formal times but times of deep communion and often these moans and groans deep within are the cry of My Spirit for a need that you are unaware of. I see you heart and desire to please Me prophet of God. I have seen you desire for peace and that you have looked upon world situations and feared that which I will do. You see Me as I Am, holy and that I hate sin and so you have a certain knowing that in time My hand will move and I will do that which is necessary to see My Kingdom come and My will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Prophet press in and seek My face. Press in during the night hours when sleep feels good. Put your hand to the plough with fresh determination and do not be deterred for I am the Lord and you have been chosen by Me for such a time as this. Declare My Words with new zeal, listen with an attentive ear, wait on Me and My will is going to be done through you, says the Lord.
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 1:8
Except A Corn Of Wheat.......
CALLED FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Except A Corn Of Wheat.......
It is the fruit of My Spirit that brings peace! It is the fruit of the Spirit that brings joy! It is the fruit of My Spirit that I am looking for in your life! I am looking for fresh fruit in the lives of My children. Fruit that will be seen by those in the world. They will then desire Me for they shall look and see that I am good and worthy to be served. You are seeing the need of a greater yield of fruit and you desire to see the one hundred fold fruit but cannot in your own self attain. Death is the way of yielding fruit one hundred fold. It is the way of the cross. Dying to self, taking up your cross and following Me will bring life, abundant life and resurrection power, There are no short cuts. Only a life of self sacrifice and self denial will bring about My resurrection power. Did I not die for My resurrection power to come forth? You too must die to all that you are. It is foreign to the natural man but the spiritual man can comprehend death to bring life. Except a corn of wheat go into the ground and die it cannot bring forth fruit and neither can you except you die daily, take up your cross and follow Me. The struggle to live is always there within man but it is only in giving up your life for My sake that you truly life. Die today and die quickly and you will bring forth life. Without Me you can do nothing.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24
Except A Corn Of Wheat.......
It is the fruit of My Spirit that brings peace! It is the fruit of the Spirit that brings joy! It is the fruit of My Spirit that I am looking for in your life! I am looking for fresh fruit in the lives of My children. Fruit that will be seen by those in the world. They will then desire Me for they shall look and see that I am good and worthy to be served. You are seeing the need of a greater yield of fruit and you desire to see the one hundred fold fruit but cannot in your own self attain. Death is the way of yielding fruit one hundred fold. It is the way of the cross. Dying to self, taking up your cross and following Me will bring life, abundant life and resurrection power, There are no short cuts. Only a life of self sacrifice and self denial will bring about My resurrection power. Did I not die for My resurrection power to come forth? You too must die to all that you are. It is foreign to the natural man but the spiritual man can comprehend death to bring life. Except a corn of wheat go into the ground and die it cannot bring forth fruit and neither can you except you die daily, take up your cross and follow Me. The struggle to live is always there within man but it is only in giving up your life for My sake that you truly life. Die today and die quickly and you will bring forth life. Without Me you can do nothing.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I Am Your Strong Tower!!!
I AM YOUR STRONG TOWER!!!
Come close to Me and know My love. I am your dwelling place. I am a place of refuge in the storms of life and the wise will live there. Your mind cannot comprehend all that is taking place but know that there is peace in the storm and shelter from the enemy. Lean heavily on Me and I will strengthen you. Be encouraged to know that My Word is a safe place to dwell! Too few of My children live there. They live in fear and doubt when I have told them to come to Me for I am a strong tower from the enemy. Strength and honor will be their portion as they trust in Me. Again I say, I am a strong tower from the enemy!!! Run to Me this day and be safe for I am the only safe place to dwell in this dry and thirsty land. Let Me comfort you. Let Me give you joy and peace for I am the light of your life. Fear not! Fear not! Trust in Me. I am a strong tower from the enemy.
1Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
2From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
4Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
5For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
6You will prolong the king's life;
His years will be as many generations.
7He will abide before God forever;
Appoint loving kindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day. Psalm 61 (NASB)
Come close to Me and know My love. I am your dwelling place. I am a place of refuge in the storms of life and the wise will live there. Your mind cannot comprehend all that is taking place but know that there is peace in the storm and shelter from the enemy. Lean heavily on Me and I will strengthen you. Be encouraged to know that My Word is a safe place to dwell! Too few of My children live there. They live in fear and doubt when I have told them to come to Me for I am a strong tower from the enemy. Strength and honor will be their portion as they trust in Me. Again I say, I am a strong tower from the enemy!!! Run to Me this day and be safe for I am the only safe place to dwell in this dry and thirsty land. Let Me comfort you. Let Me give you joy and peace for I am the light of your life. Fear not! Fear not! Trust in Me. I am a strong tower from the enemy.
1Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
2From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
4Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
5For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
6You will prolong the king's life;
His years will be as many generations.
7He will abide before God forever;
Appoint loving kindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day. Psalm 61 (NASB)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
How Does God Raise Up A Prophet?
HOW DOES GOD RAISE UP A PROPHET!
How does God raise up a prophet? My answer would be, S-L-O-W-L-Y. God is not in a hurry even if you are, but has a perfect plan for your life. God called Jeremiah while He was yet in his mother's womb.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:4-5 (NKJV)
God knew His plan for your life before the foundation of the world.
God's Chooses His Prophets
A prophet is no more special than any other person in the body of Christ. God sets each one in His body as He wills for His purposes. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; Eph. 4:11 (NKJV)
No man can make a prophet out of you if you are not called to be one and if you are called it is God who will bring you to that place of absolute surrender to His will and ways and make you into one of His prophets.
Some prophets are raised solely at the feet of the Lord. Many are also mentored along the way. Iron sharpens iron and we do need to be around those of like precious faith to rub off the rough edges. We need those that will speak into our lives. God will place those there that He will use to help you on your journey. One must be hungry for the things of God! Pray for His Divine connections to be brought into your life.
Hearing the Voice of God
As the little child Samuel had to learn the voice of the Lord. The Lord said My sheep hear My voice and it is imperative that a future prophet learn the voice of God. In spending time with Him you will learn the genuine from the counterfeit. Some of us take longer than others and this can be because more time is needed at Jesus' feet to hear.
Fear of Man
Fear of man can bring a snare. We need to walk in faith and not fear man. We prophesy according to our proportion of faith. Jeremiah was told not to fear the people and we too need to walk without fear.
"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Jer. 1-8 (NASB)
Obedience
Obedience is not something we come by naturally. Just look at a little child out at the store with their mother and you will often see some very undesirable traits that need to be curbed. Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered. As parents teaches their child to obey, so the prophet to be, must learn to obey the Lord in everything. He must also be able to obey those set in authority over him. Obedience is a must for a prophet of the Lord. God sets authority in the home and in His church. When in a meeting at church the prophet must learn that they need to submit to the Pastor in the house. When the prophet is outside of the house than they are free to pray the way the Lord calls them to pray etc. but while in the meeting they will submit to the Pastor. God is not the author of confusion and there must be order in the house of God.
The Word of God
In retrospect I thank the Lord for My first Godly Pastor whose preaching was filled to overflowing with the Word of God. Precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line He places His Word in our hearts. It is by partaking of those exceeding great and precious promises that you will take on His Divine nature. You will need to stay filled with His Spirit and have a good understanding of His Word and be able to teach it to others. The Lord says His people perish for a lack of knowledge. Study to show yourself approved to God and love His Word for it is a two edged sword in your mouth. As His prophet you must always back up His Word. You are called to speak His words only and declare and decree His Word. Jesus said He did only what He saw the Father do and you must speak only what you hear from Him.
Character of the Prophet
God is more interested in forming His character in you than in your having a mighty ministry. The heart of the Father needs to be formed within the prophet if He is going to minister our of the love of God rather than a judgmental or wounded spirit. The fellowship of His sufferings will touch a prophets life. We learn obedience through the things that we suffer. We also come to understand and have a heart for others when we have gone through trials in our own life. You need to be able to stand strong in the battle. You will fight a new level of enemy when you are ordained into the office of the prophet. There are a lot of pressures in ministry and the Lord wants you to stand for Him. He knows what you can handle and it is His love and mercy for you that is causing the delays. God is just saying wait on Me and I will do it. He is going to make you into a vessel of honor with the character to hold the gift. Repentance must become a way of life for God's prophet.The things others get away with God will not let you do and it may seem at times that the Lord is heavy on you to bring about change. One day you will cry out Lord change Me instead of blaming others for your circumstances.
Your character will be one of your most important assets and yet God will first kill your need of approval.You will go through much time in the wilderness and must be willing to pay the price. God is going to kill the self in you before He can raise you up. You will go through death of the vision and the time will come when He will ask you to lay it all down for Him. The horses bit will need to be in your mouth so that you will speak His Words and not that which is from your flesh. After Jesus' time in the wilderness the enemy came along to temp Him. You will be tested and tried and need to resist falling into temptation. God is often merciful when you fall but it will mean a delay in your becoming His prophet. He is looking for faithfulness in you.It is His mercy that holds you back from a premature birth for if you are put into that position before you are ready you will fall and do damage to the Kingdom of God and to yourself and those around you. So...you will go around Mt. Sinai again if you fall. You see ,it is one thing if you fall before you are in leadership though this is never good or God's will. It is another if you fall when the eyes of all the church and world are on you. We are to be His gift and not a stumbling block to others. So...be willing to pay the price of being trained in God's school of learning.There are many lessons to be learned in this school and much to be learned in humbling yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord.
God is going to use your life for His glory. You will be on the potter's wheel many times over and even be put on the shelf for a good season of time. All to bring about His death in you so that one day you might be raised up as His prophet. God knows what He needs to do in your life to make you into His image. This scripture says it so well.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. Jer. 18: 1-6 (NKJV)
In the natural a potter needs to remove all of the air bubbles from the clay. We too can have a lot of hot air that needs to be removed from our lives. smile. Sometimes the potter will cover the clay with plastic and walk on it to removed those air bubbles. Only then is the clay even ready to be taken into the potters hand. The Lord makes and molds us and kills all that is not of Him to conform us to His image. Sometimes we are not centered in Him and the Lord will need to realign us. He uses people, circumstances and even the things the enemy throws at us to mold us into His image. The Word of God working within us is what changes us. In the natural water is applied to the clay and we need the Word of God to flood our entire being. The Physicians scalpel may seem sharp and yet the cutting though painful produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Healing needs to take place in the life of the future prophet of God. Pottery is often fired at a very high temperature. It will at times seem like you are in the fiery furnace. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace there was one like the Son of God in the furnace with them. The Lord will never forsake you and will stand with you even in the furnace of affliction and be with you in all of the fiery trials that you go through.
Each prophet is being specifically made for His purposes and each one will have his own DNA. No two prophets are alike but all are very individually created by the Lord and are His workmanship. A vessel fully formed will be able to stand a lot of heat or cold because of the years of training. You will endure hardness as a prophet of God without complaining. God is not raising up whiny prophets. One will learn to handle rejection well. The death of the cross becomes a way of life. Jesus Christ was rejected by men and hung on a cross for being perfect.
Intercession
42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees 1 Kings 18:42 (NKJV) This scripture is a type of intercession. Elijah put his face between his knees and this is the birthing position. He gave birth to the rain and all prophets are intercessors and will stand in the gap for the sins of mankind. The Lord will show you what to pray for and you will learn to wait on Him. You will not wear your prayer life on their sleeve but stand in the hard place for God's people and bear burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. You must also learn to keep confidences for the Lord is trusting you with many of His secrets. It is often in the hidden place that most of the work of a prophet is done. It is not how many prophetic words a person gives that makes them a prophet but did God call them to be a prophet?
Persecution
Yes, you will go through persecution. Those around you will often not accept your calling and it may come that you need to make a choice for the Lord and even separate from those that you thought were friends. There are those that started with you in the journey that will not necessarily continue with you.Jesus said it so well.
But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:4
Revealing His Plan
God often does not reveal all of His plans at once. Some hear from the Lord about their calling much earlier than others. Often He reveals one piece of the puzzle at a time. He reserves that right because He is the Lord. Who are we to question His ways and purposes in our life? Should we question the one who formed us?
9 “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Isaiah 45:9 (NKJV)
Looking back one sees that it is only as they press in and take steps toward the Lord that He reveals the fuller picture to them. Unknown to me in my early years much of the training that I had gone through in would one day work together for good. It was through my Pastor in a service that the Lord first revealed to me that He desired to use me in the simple gift of prophecy. One Wednesday night that faithful Pastor said God wanted to use someone to speak a Word and he was sensitive to the Holy Spirit and waited. My heart pounded as I realized it was me and he waited for several minutes and finally I gave five words only. Someone else finished it off at the back of the church. This was my first time prophesying around thirty four years ago. Then I prophesied no more and did nothing with the gift for a few years. He also gave me a small taste for seven minutes of teaching His Word. God was giving me a little taste in my journey of what He had for me in the future. It took a step of faith on my part to prophesy a few years later. It was a learning experience.
There was a lot of flak from the enemy along the way. I felt like I was living in the furnace at times and it was a real struggle. One evening a Pastor and his wife invited me to a prophetic meeting.I heard a prophet speak for the first time and received my first prophetic word.Still I had no idea I was called to be a prophet. God started to reveal His plans a little at a time. Approximately a year later this prophet came to our church and I received a word that God had given me word of knowledge and that I was not sure what to do with it. That was right on! I really did not know what to do with the things the Lord was showing me. On a few occasions I had seen the word of knowledge operating in my life when something needed revealing. A few years later God again spoke through that same visiting prophet and said the Lord had given me word of wisdom and word of knowledge. od is very patient. A few years later another prophet this time a Canadian called me out in a meeting and said that the Lord had given me discerning of spirits and that the Lord would sharpen it in my life. He said that when walking into a room that I would know what spirit was operating, whether it was God, the flesh or the devil. He also said you have gone through many deep waters. That was so true! Through all this I learned to swim. Later God sent another prophet who said you are called to the deliverance ministry. For a good while I thought this was my only calling.
About seven years later that God opened the door for me in online prophetic ministry. One day God a prophet came to our nation and said God has called you to speak the Word of the Lord and that it was a ministry. Then another Word came that the Lord would use my writing to help others. God was honoring my stepping out in faith. Prior to this I was so hungry to know more I gobbled up every book I could read on the prophetic. This is not always the answer as one must be careful also what they read but I did my best to make wise choices and God honored it. He put prophetic people on my pathway that helped me, encouraged me and who also spoke into my life. It was not till God's set point in time that one day He separated me for that office confirmation being given through three different prophetic people that it was God's timing. Then a few months later He ordained me into that office. So...you see there was a long journey from the day of my salvation at the beginning of 1974 to the day of my ordination in 2009. I share this with you so that you realize it is a journey and not one for the faint of heart. There is often such a time span for prophetic words to come to pass and God knows the time frame. Call in those prophetic words you have received and ask that they be fulfilled in His timing.
Perhaps one would get a big head if they were told everything before they had been through the fire enough and had their hopes and dreams crushed many times over. It is that crushing that brings forth the new wine. One comes to the realization in the journey that God is out to kill all that is not of Him and the enemy is out to kill them too! God is doing it for His purposes and so we learn to die daily take up our cross and follow Him.
God has given me a heart for His people and a desire to see His own raised up to be all they are called to be. It is with His heart that I have shared this with you today. Press in and go forward and be all He has called you to be for His glory.
How does God raise up a prophet? My answer would be, S-L-O-W-L-Y. God is not in a hurry even if you are, but has a perfect plan for your life. God called Jeremiah while He was yet in his mother's womb.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:4-5 (NKJV)
God knew His plan for your life before the foundation of the world.
God's Chooses His Prophets
A prophet is no more special than any other person in the body of Christ. God sets each one in His body as He wills for His purposes. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; Eph. 4:11 (NKJV)
No man can make a prophet out of you if you are not called to be one and if you are called it is God who will bring you to that place of absolute surrender to His will and ways and make you into one of His prophets.
Some prophets are raised solely at the feet of the Lord. Many are also mentored along the way. Iron sharpens iron and we do need to be around those of like precious faith to rub off the rough edges. We need those that will speak into our lives. God will place those there that He will use to help you on your journey. One must be hungry for the things of God! Pray for His Divine connections to be brought into your life.
Hearing the Voice of God
As the little child Samuel had to learn the voice of the Lord. The Lord said My sheep hear My voice and it is imperative that a future prophet learn the voice of God. In spending time with Him you will learn the genuine from the counterfeit. Some of us take longer than others and this can be because more time is needed at Jesus' feet to hear.
Fear of Man
Fear of man can bring a snare. We need to walk in faith and not fear man. We prophesy according to our proportion of faith. Jeremiah was told not to fear the people and we too need to walk without fear.
"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Jer. 1-8 (NASB)
Obedience
Obedience is not something we come by naturally. Just look at a little child out at the store with their mother and you will often see some very undesirable traits that need to be curbed. Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered. As parents teaches their child to obey, so the prophet to be, must learn to obey the Lord in everything. He must also be able to obey those set in authority over him. Obedience is a must for a prophet of the Lord. God sets authority in the home and in His church. When in a meeting at church the prophet must learn that they need to submit to the Pastor in the house. When the prophet is outside of the house than they are free to pray the way the Lord calls them to pray etc. but while in the meeting they will submit to the Pastor. God is not the author of confusion and there must be order in the house of God.
The Word of God
In retrospect I thank the Lord for My first Godly Pastor whose preaching was filled to overflowing with the Word of God. Precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line He places His Word in our hearts. It is by partaking of those exceeding great and precious promises that you will take on His Divine nature. You will need to stay filled with His Spirit and have a good understanding of His Word and be able to teach it to others. The Lord says His people perish for a lack of knowledge. Study to show yourself approved to God and love His Word for it is a two edged sword in your mouth. As His prophet you must always back up His Word. You are called to speak His words only and declare and decree His Word. Jesus said He did only what He saw the Father do and you must speak only what you hear from Him.
Character of the Prophet
God is more interested in forming His character in you than in your having a mighty ministry. The heart of the Father needs to be formed within the prophet if He is going to minister our of the love of God rather than a judgmental or wounded spirit. The fellowship of His sufferings will touch a prophets life. We learn obedience through the things that we suffer. We also come to understand and have a heart for others when we have gone through trials in our own life. You need to be able to stand strong in the battle. You will fight a new level of enemy when you are ordained into the office of the prophet. There are a lot of pressures in ministry and the Lord wants you to stand for Him. He knows what you can handle and it is His love and mercy for you that is causing the delays. God is just saying wait on Me and I will do it. He is going to make you into a vessel of honor with the character to hold the gift. Repentance must become a way of life for God's prophet.The things others get away with God will not let you do and it may seem at times that the Lord is heavy on you to bring about change. One day you will cry out Lord change Me instead of blaming others for your circumstances.
Your character will be one of your most important assets and yet God will first kill your need of approval.You will go through much time in the wilderness and must be willing to pay the price. God is going to kill the self in you before He can raise you up. You will go through death of the vision and the time will come when He will ask you to lay it all down for Him. The horses bit will need to be in your mouth so that you will speak His Words and not that which is from your flesh. After Jesus' time in the wilderness the enemy came along to temp Him. You will be tested and tried and need to resist falling into temptation. God is often merciful when you fall but it will mean a delay in your becoming His prophet. He is looking for faithfulness in you.It is His mercy that holds you back from a premature birth for if you are put into that position before you are ready you will fall and do damage to the Kingdom of God and to yourself and those around you. So...you will go around Mt. Sinai again if you fall. You see ,it is one thing if you fall before you are in leadership though this is never good or God's will. It is another if you fall when the eyes of all the church and world are on you. We are to be His gift and not a stumbling block to others. So...be willing to pay the price of being trained in God's school of learning.There are many lessons to be learned in this school and much to be learned in humbling yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord.
God is going to use your life for His glory. You will be on the potter's wheel many times over and even be put on the shelf for a good season of time. All to bring about His death in you so that one day you might be raised up as His prophet. God knows what He needs to do in your life to make you into His image. This scripture says it so well.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. Jer. 18: 1-6 (NKJV)
In the natural a potter needs to remove all of the air bubbles from the clay. We too can have a lot of hot air that needs to be removed from our lives. smile. Sometimes the potter will cover the clay with plastic and walk on it to removed those air bubbles. Only then is the clay even ready to be taken into the potters hand. The Lord makes and molds us and kills all that is not of Him to conform us to His image. Sometimes we are not centered in Him and the Lord will need to realign us. He uses people, circumstances and even the things the enemy throws at us to mold us into His image. The Word of God working within us is what changes us. In the natural water is applied to the clay and we need the Word of God to flood our entire being. The Physicians scalpel may seem sharp and yet the cutting though painful produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Healing needs to take place in the life of the future prophet of God. Pottery is often fired at a very high temperature. It will at times seem like you are in the fiery furnace. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace there was one like the Son of God in the furnace with them. The Lord will never forsake you and will stand with you even in the furnace of affliction and be with you in all of the fiery trials that you go through.
Each prophet is being specifically made for His purposes and each one will have his own DNA. No two prophets are alike but all are very individually created by the Lord and are His workmanship. A vessel fully formed will be able to stand a lot of heat or cold because of the years of training. You will endure hardness as a prophet of God without complaining. God is not raising up whiny prophets. One will learn to handle rejection well. The death of the cross becomes a way of life. Jesus Christ was rejected by men and hung on a cross for being perfect.
Intercession
42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees 1 Kings 18:42 (NKJV) This scripture is a type of intercession. Elijah put his face between his knees and this is the birthing position. He gave birth to the rain and all prophets are intercessors and will stand in the gap for the sins of mankind. The Lord will show you what to pray for and you will learn to wait on Him. You will not wear your prayer life on their sleeve but stand in the hard place for God's people and bear burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. You must also learn to keep confidences for the Lord is trusting you with many of His secrets. It is often in the hidden place that most of the work of a prophet is done. It is not how many prophetic words a person gives that makes them a prophet but did God call them to be a prophet?
Persecution
Yes, you will go through persecution. Those around you will often not accept your calling and it may come that you need to make a choice for the Lord and even separate from those that you thought were friends. There are those that started with you in the journey that will not necessarily continue with you.Jesus said it so well.
But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:4
Revealing His Plan
God often does not reveal all of His plans at once. Some hear from the Lord about their calling much earlier than others. Often He reveals one piece of the puzzle at a time. He reserves that right because He is the Lord. Who are we to question His ways and purposes in our life? Should we question the one who formed us?
9 “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Isaiah 45:9 (NKJV)
Looking back one sees that it is only as they press in and take steps toward the Lord that He reveals the fuller picture to them. Unknown to me in my early years much of the training that I had gone through in would one day work together for good. It was through my Pastor in a service that the Lord first revealed to me that He desired to use me in the simple gift of prophecy. One Wednesday night that faithful Pastor said God wanted to use someone to speak a Word and he was sensitive to the Holy Spirit and waited. My heart pounded as I realized it was me and he waited for several minutes and finally I gave five words only. Someone else finished it off at the back of the church. This was my first time prophesying around thirty four years ago. Then I prophesied no more and did nothing with the gift for a few years. He also gave me a small taste for seven minutes of teaching His Word. God was giving me a little taste in my journey of what He had for me in the future. It took a step of faith on my part to prophesy a few years later. It was a learning experience.
There was a lot of flak from the enemy along the way. I felt like I was living in the furnace at times and it was a real struggle. One evening a Pastor and his wife invited me to a prophetic meeting.I heard a prophet speak for the first time and received my first prophetic word.Still I had no idea I was called to be a prophet. God started to reveal His plans a little at a time. Approximately a year later this prophet came to our church and I received a word that God had given me word of knowledge and that I was not sure what to do with it. That was right on! I really did not know what to do with the things the Lord was showing me. On a few occasions I had seen the word of knowledge operating in my life when something needed revealing. A few years later God again spoke through that same visiting prophet and said the Lord had given me word of wisdom and word of knowledge. od is very patient. A few years later another prophet this time a Canadian called me out in a meeting and said that the Lord had given me discerning of spirits and that the Lord would sharpen it in my life. He said that when walking into a room that I would know what spirit was operating, whether it was God, the flesh or the devil. He also said you have gone through many deep waters. That was so true! Through all this I learned to swim. Later God sent another prophet who said you are called to the deliverance ministry. For a good while I thought this was my only calling.
About seven years later that God opened the door for me in online prophetic ministry. One day God a prophet came to our nation and said God has called you to speak the Word of the Lord and that it was a ministry. Then another Word came that the Lord would use my writing to help others. God was honoring my stepping out in faith. Prior to this I was so hungry to know more I gobbled up every book I could read on the prophetic. This is not always the answer as one must be careful also what they read but I did my best to make wise choices and God honored it. He put prophetic people on my pathway that helped me, encouraged me and who also spoke into my life. It was not till God's set point in time that one day He separated me for that office confirmation being given through three different prophetic people that it was God's timing. Then a few months later He ordained me into that office. So...you see there was a long journey from the day of my salvation at the beginning of 1974 to the day of my ordination in 2009. I share this with you so that you realize it is a journey and not one for the faint of heart. There is often such a time span for prophetic words to come to pass and God knows the time frame. Call in those prophetic words you have received and ask that they be fulfilled in His timing.
Perhaps one would get a big head if they were told everything before they had been through the fire enough and had their hopes and dreams crushed many times over. It is that crushing that brings forth the new wine. One comes to the realization in the journey that God is out to kill all that is not of Him and the enemy is out to kill them too! God is doing it for His purposes and so we learn to die daily take up our cross and follow Him.
God has given me a heart for His people and a desire to see His own raised up to be all they are called to be. It is with His heart that I have shared this with you today. Press in and go forward and be all He has called you to be for His glory.
First Love
FIRST LOVE
One day we all want to hear well done you good and faithful servant. Jesus summed it up clearly in the gospels that we needed to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We are sinners saved by grace and God is calling us to a repentant walk. There is a cost to following Jesus! Men will know of our love for Jesus by our love for one another. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NKJV)
What kind of gospel are we hearing? Are we discerning what we are hearing before we let it take up residence in our spirit? The Lord is speaking and we want to hear Him. We also need to be aware of the counterfeit. The Galatians were told that they had so soon turned to another gospel and this was not a gospel at all but a counterfeit. There is one that appears as an angel of light .Test and try every spirit to know whether it is of God or not. Just because prophet or apostle said it does not make it true? Jesus said one sign of the last days would be false prophets. Let us back up what we see and hear by the Word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for correction and instruction in righteousness. Let us take time to sit down with the Lord and hear Him. What kind of signs followed those that believed? Mark 16:17-18 says 17"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (NASB)
The gifts and fruit of the Spirit need to be maturing in our life. We are not to judge but should test the fruit. Rotten fruit is not very appealing and we need to be fruit inspectors. Patience is also needed with those new in the faith and need to grow up in Him. A good tree will bring forth good fruit. Where there is the genuine there will also be the false. The wheat and tares will grow together to the end. In being married for any period of time one realizes that relationships take work. Two people loving one another helps much in making a good relationship. Think of the effort you put into the relationship when you first met. Likewise, when you first met Jesus you your heart was full of love for Him. The book of The Revelation speaks clearly about Jesus being our first love.
But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Rev. 2:4 We are being admonished to come back to our first love! What has taken you from your first love! What keeps you too busy from spending time with Jesus? Make your calling and election sure. Make loving Jesus your priority and give Him first place in your life. The Lord is saying to come to Him and not delay. Deception and a great falling away are signs of the end times so daily let's get close to Him. Little foxes spoil the vine. Let us root them out of our lives. Weeding your garden will yield good fruit. Come closer to Him and out of your relationship to the Lord you will touch the lives of others.
One day we all want to hear well done you good and faithful servant. Jesus summed it up clearly in the gospels that we needed to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We are sinners saved by grace and God is calling us to a repentant walk. There is a cost to following Jesus! Men will know of our love for Jesus by our love for one another. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NKJV)
What kind of gospel are we hearing? Are we discerning what we are hearing before we let it take up residence in our spirit? The Lord is speaking and we want to hear Him. We also need to be aware of the counterfeit. The Galatians were told that they had so soon turned to another gospel and this was not a gospel at all but a counterfeit. There is one that appears as an angel of light .Test and try every spirit to know whether it is of God or not. Just because prophet or apostle said it does not make it true? Jesus said one sign of the last days would be false prophets. Let us back up what we see and hear by the Word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for correction and instruction in righteousness. Let us take time to sit down with the Lord and hear Him. What kind of signs followed those that believed? Mark 16:17-18 says 17"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (NASB)
The gifts and fruit of the Spirit need to be maturing in our life. We are not to judge but should test the fruit. Rotten fruit is not very appealing and we need to be fruit inspectors. Patience is also needed with those new in the faith and need to grow up in Him. A good tree will bring forth good fruit. Where there is the genuine there will also be the false. The wheat and tares will grow together to the end. In being married for any period of time one realizes that relationships take work. Two people loving one another helps much in making a good relationship. Think of the effort you put into the relationship when you first met. Likewise, when you first met Jesus you your heart was full of love for Him. The book of The Revelation speaks clearly about Jesus being our first love.
But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Rev. 2:4 We are being admonished to come back to our first love! What has taken you from your first love! What keeps you too busy from spending time with Jesus? Make your calling and election sure. Make loving Jesus your priority and give Him first place in your life. The Lord is saying to come to Him and not delay. Deception and a great falling away are signs of the end times so daily let's get close to Him. Little foxes spoil the vine. Let us root them out of our lives. Weeding your garden will yield good fruit. Come closer to Him and out of your relationship to the Lord you will touch the lives of others.
How Does God Raise Up A Prophet?
HOW DOES GOD RAISE UP A PROPHET!
How does God raise up a prophet? My answer would be, S-L-O-W-L-Y. God is not in a hurry even if you are, but has a perfect plan for your life. God called Jeremiah while He was yet in his mother's womb.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:4-5 (NKJV)
God knew His plan for your life before the foundation of the world.
God's Chooses His Prophets
A prophet is no more special than any other person in the body of Christ. God sets each one in His body as He wills for His purposes. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; Eph. 4:11 (NKJV)
No man can make a prophet out of you if you are not called to be one and if you are called it is God who will bring you to that place of absolute surrender to His will and ways and make you into one of His prophets.
Some prophets are raised solely at the feet of the Lord. Many are also mentored along the way. Iron sharpens iron and we do need to be around those of like precious faith to rub off the rough edges. We need those that will speak into our lives. God will place those there that He will use to help you on your journey. One must be hungry for the things of God! Pray for His Divine connections to be brought into your life.
Hearing the Voice of God
As the little child Samuel had to learn the voice of the Lord. The Lord said My sheep hear My voice and it is imperative that a future prophet learn the voice of God. In spending time with Him you will learn the genuine from the counterfeit. Some of us take longer than others and this can be because more time is needed at Jesus' feet to hear.
Fear of Man
Fear of man can bring a snare. We need to walk in faith and not fear man. We prophesy according to our proportion of faith. Jeremiah was told not to fear the people and we too need to walk without fear.
"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Jer. 1-8 (NASB)
Obedience
Obedience is not something we come by naturally. Just look at a little child out at the store with their mother and you will often see some very undesirable traits that need to be curbed. Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered. As parents teaches their child to obey, so the prophet to be, must learn to obey the Lord in everything. He must also be able to obey those set in authority over him. Obedience is a must for a prophet of the Lord. God sets authority in the home and in His church. When in a meeting at church the prophet must learn that they need to submit to the Pastor in the house. When the prophet is outside of the house than they are free to pray the way the Lord calls them to pray etc. but while in the meeting they will submit to the Pastor. God is not the author of confusion and there must be order in the house of God.
The Word of God
In retrospect I thank the Lord for My first Godly Pastor whose preaching was filled to overflowing with the Word of God. Precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line He places His Word in our hearts. It is by partaking of those exceeding great and precious promises that you will take on His Divine nature. You will need to stay filled with His Spirit and have a good understanding of His Word and be able to teach it to others. The Lord says His people perish for a lack of knowledge. Study to show yourself approved to God and love His Word for it is a two edged sword in your mouth. As His prophet you must always back up His Word. You are called to speak His words only and declare and decree His Word. Jesus said He did only what He saw the Father do and you must speak only what you hear from Him.
Character of the Prophet
God is more interested in forming His character in you than in your having a mighty ministry. The heart of the Father needs to be formed within the prophet if He is going to minister our of the love of God rather than a judgmental or wounded spirit. The fellowship of His sufferings will touch a prophets life. We learn obedience through the things that we suffer. We also come to understand and have a heart for others when we have gone through trials in our own life. You need to be able to stand strong in the battle. You will fight a new level of enemy when you are ordained into the office of the prophet. There are a lot of pressures in ministry and the Lord wants you to stand for Him. He knows what you can handle and it is His love and mercy for you that is causing the delays. God is just saying wait on Me and I will do it. He is going to make you into a vessel of honor with the character to hold the gift. Repentance must become a way of life for God's prophet.The things others get away with God will not let you do and it may seem at times that the Lord is heavy on you to bring about change. One day you will cry out Lord change Me instead of blaming others for your circumstances.
Your character will be one of your most important assets and yet God will first kill your need of approval.You will go through much time in the wilderness and must be willing to pay the price. God is going to kill the self in you before He can raise you up. You will go through death of the vision and the time will come when He will ask you to lay it all down for Him. The horses bit will need to be in your mouth so that you will speak His Words and not that which is from your flesh. After Jesus' time in the wilderness the enemy came along to temp Him. You will be tested and tried and need to resist falling into temptation. God is often merciful when you fall but it will mean a delay in your becoming His prophet. He is looking for faithfulness in you.It is His mercy that holds you back from a premature birth for if you are put into that position before you are ready you will fall and do damage to the Kingdom of God and to yourself and those around you. So...you will go around Mt. Sinai again if you fall. You see ,it is one thing if you fall before you are in leadership though this is never good or God's will. It is another if you fall when the eyes of all the church and world are on you. We are to be His gift and not a stumbling block to others. So...be willing to pay the price of being trained in God's school of learning.There are many lessons to be learned in this school and much to be learned in humbling yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord.
God is going to use your life for His glory. You will be on the potter's wheel many times over and even be put on the shelf for a good season of time. All to bring about His death in you so that one day you might be raised up as His prophet. God knows what He needs to do in your life to make you into His image. This scripture says it so well.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. Jer. 18: 1-6 (NKJV)
In the natural a potter needs to remove all of the air bubbles from the clay. We too can have a lot of hot air that needs to be removed from our lives. smile. Sometimes the potter will cover the clay with plastic and walk on it to removed those air bubbles. Only then is the clay even ready to be taken into the potters hand. The Lord makes and molds us and kills all that is not of Him to conform us to His image. Sometimes we are not centered in Him and the Lord will need to realign us. He uses people, circumstances and even the things the enemy throws at us to mold us into His image. The Word of God working within us is what changes us. In the natural water is applied to the clay and we need the Word of God to flood our entire being. The Physicians scalpel may seem sharp and yet the cutting though painful produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Healing needs to take place in the life of the future prophet of God. Pottery is often fired at a very high temperature. It will at times seem like you are in the fiery furnace. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace there was one like the Son of God in the furnace with them. The Lord will never forsake you and will stand with you even in the furnace of affliction and be with you in all of the fiery trials that you go through.
Each prophet is being specifically made for His purposes and each one will have his own DNA. No two prophets are alike but all are very individually created by the Lord and are His workmanship. A vessel fully formed will be able to stand a lot of heat or cold because of the years of training. You will endure hardness as a prophet of God without complaining. God is not raising up whiny prophets. One will learn to handle rejection well. The death of the cross becomes a way of life. Jesus Christ was rejected by men and hung on a cross for being perfect.
Intercession
42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees 1 Kings 18:42 (NKJV) This scripture is a type of intercession. Elijah put his face between his knees and this is the birthing position. He gave birth to the rain and all prophets are intercessors and will stand in the gap for the sins of mankind. The Lord will show you what to pray for and you will learn to wait on Him. You will not wear your prayer life on their sleeve but stand in the hard place for God's people and bear burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. You must also learn to keep confidences for the Lord is trusting you with many of His secrets. It is often in the hidden place that most of the work of a prophet is done. It is not how many prophetic words a person gives that makes them a prophet but did God call them to be a prophet?
Persecution
Yes, you will go through persecution. Those around you will often not accept your calling and it may come that you need to make a choice for the Lord and even separate from those that you thought were friends. There are those that started with you in the journey that will not necessarily continue with you.Jesus said it so well.
But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:4
Revealing His Plan
God often does not reveal all of His plans at once. Some hear from the Lord about their calling much earlier than others. Often He reveals one piece of the puzzle at a time. He reserves that right because He is the Lord. Who are we to question His ways and purposes in our life? Should we question the one who formed us?
9 “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Isaiah 45:9 (NKJV)
Looking back one sees that it is only as they press in and take steps toward the Lord that He reveals the fuller picture to them. Unknown to me in my early years much of the training that I had gone through in would one day work together for good. It was through my Pastor in a service that the Lord first revealed to me that He desired to use me in the simple gift of prophecy. One Wednesday night that faithful Pastor said God wanted to use someone to speak a Word and he was sensitive to the Holy Spirit and waited. My heart pounded as I realized it was me and he waited for several minutes and finally I gave five words only. Someone else finished it off at the back of the church. This was my first time prophesying around thirty four years ago. Then I prophesied no more and did nothing with the gift for a few years. He also gave me a small taste for seven minutes of teaching His Word. God was giving me a little taste in my journey of what He had for me in the future. It took a step of faith on my part to prophesy a few years later. It was a learning experience.
There was a lot of flak from the enemy along the way. I felt like I was living in the furnace at times and it was a real struggle. One evening a Pastor and his wife invited me to a prophetic meeting.I heard a prophet speak for the first time and received my first prophetic word.Still I had no idea I was called to be a prophet. God started to reveal His plans a little at a time. Approximately a year later this prophet came to our church and I received a word that God had given me word of knowledge and that I was not sure what to do with it. That was right on! I really did not know what to do with the things the Lord was showing me. On a few occasions I had seen the word of knowledge operating in my life when something needed revealing. A few years later God again spoke through that same visiting prophet and said the Lord had given me word of wisdom and word of knowledge. od is very patient. A few years later another prophet this time a Canadian called me out in a meeting and said that the Lord had given me discerning of spirits and that the Lord would sharpen it in my life. He said that when walking into a room that I would know what spirit was operating, whether it was God, the flesh or the devil. He also said you have gone through many deep waters. That was so true! Through all this I learned to swim. Later God sent another prophet who said you are called to the deliverance ministry. For a good while I thought this was my only calling.
About seven years later that God opened the door for me in online prophetic ministry. One day God a prophet came to our nation and said God has called you to speak the Word of the Lord and that it was a ministry. Then another Word came that the Lord would use my writing to help others. God was honoring my stepping out in faith. Prior to this I was so hungry to know more I gobbled up every book I could read on the prophetic. This is not always the answer as one must be careful also what they read but I did my best to make wise choices and God honored it. He put prophetic people on my pathway that helped me, encouraged me and who also spoke into my life. It was not till God's set point in time that one day He separated me for that office confirmation being given through three different prophetic people that it was God's timing. Then a few months later He ordained me into that office. So...you see there was a long journey from the day of my salvation at the beginning of 1974 to the day of my ordination in 2009. I share this with you so that you realize it is a journey and not one for the faint of heart. There is often such a time span for prophetic words to come to pass and God knows the time frame. Call in those prophetic words you have received and ask that they be fulfilled in His timing.
Perhaps one would get a big head if they were told everything before they had been through the fire enough and had their hopes and dreams crushed many times over. It is that crushing that brings forth the new wine. One comes to the realization in the journey that God is out to kill all that is not of Him and the enemy is out to kill them too! God is doing it for His purposes and so we learn to die daily take up our cross and follow Him.
God has given me a heart for His people and a desire to see His own raised up to be all they are called to be. It is with His heart that I have shared this with you today. Press in and go forward and be all He has called you to be for His glory.
How does God raise up a prophet? My answer would be, S-L-O-W-L-Y. God is not in a hurry even if you are, but has a perfect plan for your life. God called Jeremiah while He was yet in his mother's womb.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:4-5 (NKJV)
God knew His plan for your life before the foundation of the world.
God's Chooses His Prophets
A prophet is no more special than any other person in the body of Christ. God sets each one in His body as He wills for His purposes. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; Eph. 4:11 (NKJV)
No man can make a prophet out of you if you are not called to be one and if you are called it is God who will bring you to that place of absolute surrender to His will and ways and make you into one of His prophets.
Some prophets are raised solely at the feet of the Lord. Many are also mentored along the way. Iron sharpens iron and we do need to be around those of like precious faith to rub off the rough edges. We need those that will speak into our lives. God will place those there that He will use to help you on your journey. One must be hungry for the things of God! Pray for His Divine connections to be brought into your life.
Hearing the Voice of God
As the little child Samuel had to learn the voice of the Lord. The Lord said My sheep hear My voice and it is imperative that a future prophet learn the voice of God. In spending time with Him you will learn the genuine from the counterfeit. Some of us take longer than others and this can be because more time is needed at Jesus' feet to hear.
Fear of Man
Fear of man can bring a snare. We need to walk in faith and not fear man. We prophesy according to our proportion of faith. Jeremiah was told not to fear the people and we too need to walk without fear.
"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Jer. 1-8 (NASB)
Obedience
Obedience is not something we come by naturally. Just look at a little child out at the store with their mother and you will often see some very undesirable traits that need to be curbed. Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered. As parents teaches their child to obey, so the prophet to be, must learn to obey the Lord in everything. He must also be able to obey those set in authority over him. Obedience is a must for a prophet of the Lord. God sets authority in the home and in His church. When in a meeting at church the prophet must learn that they need to submit to the Pastor in the house. When the prophet is outside of the house than they are free to pray the way the Lord calls them to pray etc. but while in the meeting they will submit to the Pastor. God is not the author of confusion and there must be order in the house of God.
The Word of God
In retrospect I thank the Lord for My first Godly Pastor whose preaching was filled to overflowing with the Word of God. Precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line He places His Word in our hearts. It is by partaking of those exceeding great and precious promises that you will take on His Divine nature. You will need to stay filled with His Spirit and have a good understanding of His Word and be able to teach it to others. The Lord says His people perish for a lack of knowledge. Study to show yourself approved to God and love His Word for it is a two edged sword in your mouth. As His prophet you must always back up His Word. You are called to speak His words only and declare and decree His Word. Jesus said He did only what He saw the Father do and you must speak only what you hear from Him.
Character of the Prophet
God is more interested in forming His character in you than in your having a mighty ministry. The heart of the Father needs to be formed within the prophet if He is going to minister our of the love of God rather than a judgmental or wounded spirit. The fellowship of His sufferings will touch a prophets life. We learn obedience through the things that we suffer. We also come to understand and have a heart for others when we have gone through trials in our own life. You need to be able to stand strong in the battle. You will fight a new level of enemy when you are ordained into the office of the prophet. There are a lot of pressures in ministry and the Lord wants you to stand for Him. He knows what you can handle and it is His love and mercy for you that is causing the delays. God is just saying wait on Me and I will do it. He is going to make you into a vessel of honor with the character to hold the gift. Repentance must become a way of life for God's prophet.The things others get away with God will not let you do and it may seem at times that the Lord is heavy on you to bring about change. One day you will cry out Lord change Me instead of blaming others for your circumstances.
Your character will be one of your most important assets and yet God will first kill your need of approval.You will go through much time in the wilderness and must be willing to pay the price. God is going to kill the self in you before He can raise you up. You will go through death of the vision and the time will come when He will ask you to lay it all down for Him. The horses bit will need to be in your mouth so that you will speak His Words and not that which is from your flesh. After Jesus' time in the wilderness the enemy came along to temp Him. You will be tested and tried and need to resist falling into temptation. God is often merciful when you fall but it will mean a delay in your becoming His prophet. He is looking for faithfulness in you.It is His mercy that holds you back from a premature birth for if you are put into that position before you are ready you will fall and do damage to the Kingdom of God and to yourself and those around you. So...you will go around Mt. Sinai again if you fall. You see ,it is one thing if you fall before you are in leadership though this is never good or God's will. It is another if you fall when the eyes of all the church and world are on you. We are to be His gift and not a stumbling block to others. So...be willing to pay the price of being trained in God's school of learning.There are many lessons to be learned in this school and much to be learned in humbling yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord.
God is going to use your life for His glory. You will be on the potter's wheel many times over and even be put on the shelf for a good season of time. All to bring about His death in you so that one day you might be raised up as His prophet. God knows what He needs to do in your life to make you into His image. This scripture says it so well.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. Jer. 18: 1-6 (NKJV)
In the natural a potter needs to remove all of the air bubbles from the clay. We too can have a lot of hot air that needs to be removed from our lives. smile. Sometimes the potter will cover the clay with plastic and walk on it to removed those air bubbles. Only then is the clay even ready to be taken into the potters hand. The Lord makes and molds us and kills all that is not of Him to conform us to His image. Sometimes we are not centered in Him and the Lord will need to realign us. He uses people, circumstances and even the things the enemy throws at us to mold us into His image. The Word of God working within us is what changes us. In the natural water is applied to the clay and we need the Word of God to flood our entire being. The Physicians scalpel may seem sharp and yet the cutting though painful produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Healing needs to take place in the life of the future prophet of God. Pottery is often fired at a very high temperature. It will at times seem like you are in the fiery furnace. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace there was one like the Son of God in the furnace with them. The Lord will never forsake you and will stand with you even in the furnace of affliction and be with you in all of the fiery trials that you go through.
Each prophet is being specifically made for His purposes and each one will have his own DNA. No two prophets are alike but all are very individually created by the Lord and are His workmanship. A vessel fully formed will be able to stand a lot of heat or cold because of the years of training. You will endure hardness as a prophet of God without complaining. God is not raising up whiny prophets. One will learn to handle rejection well. The death of the cross becomes a way of life. Jesus Christ was rejected by men and hung on a cross for being perfect.
Intercession
42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees 1 Kings 18:42 (NKJV) This scripture is a type of intercession. Elijah put his face between his knees and this is the birthing position. He gave birth to the rain and all prophets are intercessors and will stand in the gap for the sins of mankind. The Lord will show you what to pray for and you will learn to wait on Him. You will not wear your prayer life on their sleeve but stand in the hard place for God's people and bear burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. You must also learn to keep confidences for the Lord is trusting you with many of His secrets. It is often in the hidden place that most of the work of a prophet is done. It is not how many prophetic words a person gives that makes them a prophet but did God call them to be a prophet?
Persecution
Yes, you will go through persecution. Those around you will often not accept your calling and it may come that you need to make a choice for the Lord and even separate from those that you thought were friends. There are those that started with you in the journey that will not necessarily continue with you.Jesus said it so well.
But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:4
Revealing His Plan
God often does not reveal all of His plans at once. Some hear from the Lord about their calling much earlier than others. Often He reveals one piece of the puzzle at a time. He reserves that right because He is the Lord. Who are we to question His ways and purposes in our life? Should we question the one who formed us?
9 “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Isaiah 45:9 (NKJV)
Looking back one sees that it is only as they press in and take steps toward the Lord that He reveals the fuller picture to them. Unknown to me in my early years much of the training that I had gone through in would one day work together for good. It was through my Pastor in a service that the Lord first revealed to me that He desired to use me in the simple gift of prophecy. One Wednesday night that faithful Pastor said God wanted to use someone to speak a Word and he was sensitive to the Holy Spirit and waited. My heart pounded as I realized it was me and he waited for several minutes and finally I gave five words only. Someone else finished it off at the back of the church. This was my first time prophesying around thirty four years ago. Then I prophesied no more and did nothing with the gift for a few years. He also gave me a small taste for seven minutes of teaching His Word. God was giving me a little taste in my journey of what He had for me in the future. It took a step of faith on my part to prophesy a few years later. It was a learning experience.
There was a lot of flak from the enemy along the way. I felt like I was living in the furnace at times and it was a real struggle. One evening a Pastor and his wife invited me to a prophetic meeting.I heard a prophet speak for the first time and received my first prophetic word.Still I had no idea I was called to be a prophet. God started to reveal His plans a little at a time. Approximately a year later this prophet came to our church and I received a word that God had given me word of knowledge and that I was not sure what to do with it. That was right on! I really did not know what to do with the things the Lord was showing me. On a few occasions I had seen the word of knowledge operating in my life when something needed revealing. A few years later God again spoke through that same visiting prophet and said the Lord had given me word of wisdom and word of knowledge. od is very patient. A few years later another prophet this time a Canadian called me out in a meeting and said that the Lord had given me discerning of spirits and that the Lord would sharpen it in my life. He said that when walking into a room that I would know what spirit was operating, whether it was God, the flesh or the devil. He also said you have gone through many deep waters. That was so true! Through all this I learned to swim. Later God sent another prophet who said you are called to the deliverance ministry. For a good while I thought this was my only calling.
About seven years later that God opened the door for me in online prophetic ministry. One day God a prophet came to our nation and said God has called you to speak the Word of the Lord and that it was a ministry. Then another Word came that the Lord would use my writing to help others. God was honoring my stepping out in faith. Prior to this I was so hungry to know more I gobbled up every book I could read on the prophetic. This is not always the answer as one must be careful also what they read but I did my best to make wise choices and God honored it. He put prophetic people on my pathway that helped me, encouraged me and who also spoke into my life. It was not till God's set point in time that one day He separated me for that office confirmation being given through three different prophetic people that it was God's timing. Then a few months later He ordained me into that office. So...you see there was a long journey from the day of my salvation at the beginning of 1974 to the day of my ordination in 2009. I share this with you so that you realize it is a journey and not one for the faint of heart. There is often such a time span for prophetic words to come to pass and God knows the time frame. Call in those prophetic words you have received and ask that they be fulfilled in His timing.
Perhaps one would get a big head if they were told everything before they had been through the fire enough and had their hopes and dreams crushed many times over. It is that crushing that brings forth the new wine. One comes to the realization in the journey that God is out to kill all that is not of Him and the enemy is out to kill them too! God is doing it for His purposes and so we learn to die daily take up our cross and follow Him.
God has given me a heart for His people and a desire to see His own raised up to be all they are called to be. It is with His heart that I have shared this with you today. Press in and go forward and be all He has called you to be for His glory.
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