Prophesying Prophecy
Updated: Dec 20, 2021
I have been silent for a while -- not because I have nothing to say, but because I have so much to say I can't get it out. So I'm going to create a leak in the dam by telling you about others that are speaking.
Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His
purpose to His servants the prophets. - Amos 3:7
Uh-oh. Kemala, are you about to tell us that there are prophets still today? Yes, I am, and you'll be glad there are when you learn more about them. How can I make this claim? I'm not -- God is, and your pastor who has probably quoted this next scripture a hundred times:
He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and
teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and
for the building up of the body of Christ, - Ephesians 4:11-12 MEV.
This is popularly known as the Five-fold Ministry verse. These offices were assigned for church leadership, so if the church still exists, the office of Prophet still exists.
And why should you be glad there are still prophets today? Because they are here to build up the church, and that means you -- to edify and encourage you, to let you in on God's plans, to convey His goodness to you, and to make sense of what is happening around you. So if you're running scared these days, you should be paying attention to what the tried-and-true prophets have to say. Why? Because God is GOOD, God is LOVE and He always has a redemptive plan no matter what the circumstances around you look like. This is what the prophets will tell you, then they'll tell you what has been revealed to them about how God plans to implement this redemptive plan. God's news is always good for His kids.
And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to
which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining
in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star
rises in your hearts, - 2 Peter 1:19
You'll find that you have no reason to fear in the love of God as revealed by true prophets.
In fact, God tells us through Paul that not only can "official" prophets prophesy, but so can regular Christians! Remember always that God is no respecter of persons, so whatever He does for another, He'll do for you. He even urges us to ask for the ability to prophesy.
Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that
you may prophesy... he who prophesies speaks to men for
their edification and exhortation and comfort...he who prophesies
edifies the church. 1 Corinthians 14:1-4
There you go -- prophecy edifies (builds up, instructs or improves morally or intellectually), exhorts (stongly encourages) and comforts. Who wouldn't want to be able to speak those things into people's lives?
Prophecy from God is always encouraging. You know how God is (or at least I hope you do) -- even if He needs to correct us, He presents it as redirection and guidance, not as burden and punishment. And if He needs to warn you, be grateful He's told you ahead of time.
In fact, last year much of the church declared 2 Chronicles 20:20 the verse for the year. Get it? 20:20? Here it is:
Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld;
have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:20 NIV
Meditate on that one for a while -- wow. When you trust God, you will not be struck down. When you act on what He reveals through the prophets, you will have succes.
Our enemy has prophets, too, unfortunately. Network news anchors come to mind. Did you know there are Christian news channels? And there are some secular ones that still try to report just the facts and let you make up your own mind. A few online networks: One America News (OAN), Sky News out of Australia, Facts Matter/Epoch Times, NewsMax. Try them out -- I haven't watched them all, I just know they're out there. I highly recommend the twice-daily Christian, conservative Victory News (youtube and govictory.com) for the most interesting interviewees and the fact that they don't leave you worried or depressed, always exalting Jesus. There's also a companion news magazine-type show two evenings per week on that network called Flashpoint (there's another program called Flashpoint that is definitely secular, so be sure you have the right one) that has some of the same guests joining their regular panel of prophets -- so encouraging. If you don't want to live in fear, you need to surround yourself with the good news of God's love. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
You've heard me talk about how important our words are, and here's where we play a part in the future of our world... Prophecy, in the common use of the word, comes in many forms, and one is simply what we speak in our everyday lives. How does that work? Our words carry power -- the power of life and death, blessing and curse (Proverbs 18:21). Quick recap: our words have power because God gave US dominion over the earth at creation (Jesus took that dominion back from satan), and because Jesus told us to use His authority to carry out the Father's will in the earth (The Great Commission in Mark 16 and in Matthew 28). So by our words we are prophesying what will come because of the authority those words carry. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts (Luke 6:45). So when Mark 11 tells us we'll have what we believe, that's true for good and for bad.
For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be
removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in
his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he
will have whatever he says. - Mark 11:23 MEV
When you believe and repeat what is being said on the news, social media and other secular sources, you are cooperating with the enemy and furthering his agenda for mankind! Instead, when you look at the circumstances or hear the propaganda of the day, stare it in the face and say, "Devil, you're a liar!" and speak in agreement with the Word of God. That's acting in faith and furthering God's agenda. What does God's Word say? That no plague shall come nigh thy dwelling, that when the righteous rule the people are happy, that He is our provision, our peace, our health, our government, our defender, our strong tower, our protection, our righteousness, that we are joint heirs with Christ, that we are His ambassadors and that angels encamp about us. And that's just scratching the surface. Now you can receive all the good things God is pouring out on the earth today.
What good things, you ask? We're surrounded by fear -- of a pandemic, of vaccines that may be dangerous and/or ineffective, of communism trying to take hold in North America, of an administration that is inviting in criminals, drugs and covid carriers, of an effort underway to destroy the Constitution, of grown men being allowed in restrooms with our little girls. What good things?!
Honey, there's so much good starting to rain down from Heaven, I can't even tell you -- but then, you'd already know if you were keeping up to date with what God's prophets are saying. So fear not!
I've been on the west coast for something like 13 years now, and I remember 10 or so years ago, attending conferences and revival services where several different men at different times shared that they'd just seen (during prayer or prophecy) a tremendous wave of God's glory and revival hitting the west coast and traveling all the way across Canada. People who'd never given Him a second thought were falling to their knees and worshipping God. So I wasn't surprised when I started hearing the same thing last year about California seeing the beginnings of a massive revival that was headed for New York. Well, I was a little surprised, because it was, you know, CALIFORNIA. But it's happening now. We're at the beginning of a move of God like the world has never seen, or at least hasn't seen since the time of the book of Acts.
Example: one evangelist, Mario Murillo, is having meetings in a huge tent, ministering to mainly teenagers, addicts, drug dealers and gang members in the roughest parts of the roughest cities in California, and they're being saved in droves. He has to stop during sermons for periodic alter calls because there's so much repentant moaning coming from the crowd that he knows they need the relief of salvation. Signs and wonders, healing and deliverance, are following the preaching of the Word. And notice these are crowded tents, with no reports of the police trying to enforce covid restrictions. On March 4, Murrillo hosted a luncheon for California pastors. Nine hundred attended, from all denominations, all around the state. Every one of them vowed his/her church would be open the following Sunday. Revival has hit the Left Coast.
And it's coming to the entire earth. I don't think we're at the end of time yet -- there's still too much to be done. But the harvest is at hand. And with it will come a massive increase in signs and wonders, visions and dreams, deliverance and healing -- and prophecy. If you've been taught to disbelieve these things, get ready for the surprise of your life!
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour
out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams; - Acts 2:17
There's so much to unpack when it comes to prophecy, and all I can do is to wet your appetite. I'm certainly no expert in this subject, but I do recognize its importance, and I certainly benefit from the encouragement the prophets bring from the throne room to the church. Remember Paul saying we should desire the gift of prophcy? God says it's simple:
Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not
know about things to come. - Jeremiah 33:3 NLT
Ask God and He'll give you insider information.
- Kemala
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