My Desire is That You all Would Prophesy

 

My Desire is That You all Would Prophesy

(A portion of this message was Gleaned from a study by Ron Cantor)

Paul urges us all to prophesy, although we may not all be a PROPHET. He says, “I would that you all prophesy.” There is a difference between the Old Testament Prophets and the New Covenant Prophets.

Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly calls prophets to do strange things that other people might think of as “crazy or weird” in order to convey a message — God’s message. Usually the message was one of Judgment but also of Hope for the future if the people would serve God only.

Put bluntly, the behavior of some of the Old Testament prophets was often so bizarre that by today’s secular standards of sanity they would end up institutionalized, or, at the very least, in some form of intensive therapy.

Consider Isaiah, who stripped off all his clothes and wandered around naked (Isaiah 20) And the LORD spoke to Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying. Go and loose the sackcloth from off your loins, and put off your shoes from your feet.  And he do so, walking naked and barefoot for three years as a sign about coming events. 

Or Jeremiah, who not only hid his underwear in a rock but then went back to retrieve it after a “long time” (Jeremiah 13.) - - Jeremiah apparently didn’t mind parting with under garments, but he couldn’t be separated from the cattle yoke he had fastened to his shoulders until another prophet broke it off (Jeremiah 27 and 28).

Yet another was Hosea, who married a prostitute and named his children “Unloved” and “Not-My-People” (Hosea 1). The book of Hosea illustrates that God loves His people— even when they disown him.” Later in the book, Hosea delivers God’s message that, "I will show love to those who were called ‘Unloved,' and to those who were called 'Not-My-People' I will say, 'You are my people,' and they will answer, 'You are our God.’” (Hosea 2:23)

The word prophet occurs 30 times in Acts:  25 times it refers to the Hebrew prophets and their writings, and only four times does it refer to New Testament prophets. This leads me to believe that New Testament prophets are different from the Old Testament prophets and do not function exactly in the same way. Here are some examples.

• The prophetic bar is not set at 100% accuracy, as it was in Deuteronomy. There is no stoning for a wrong prophecy (If it were, we would have a lot of dead prophets on our hands!). Paul was not encouraging the Corinthians to risk their lives by saying “For you can all prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:31).

• Consider this regarding Prophets of today:

• New Testament prophets do not write scripture.

• They are not isolated, like Elijah and others.

• All prophecy is submitted to the written Word.

• Prophecy from modern prophets must not contradict end-time prophecy in the Word of God.

• And it should be judged by other leaders before being released to a wide audience.

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said…The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.  (1 Cor. 14:29, 32)
“But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:3-4)

When someone prophesies over you, it is okay for you to consider if this is from God? Does it glorify Jesus, edify the believer, Encourage, comfort, and line up with God's Word the Bible. Do you have an inner witness?

How to consider if a person is a prophet and if you can trust their prophesy.

A Prophet is Humble: A true prophet carries God’s heart. Jeremiah was broken in tears. Tears are a mark of a genuine prophet, not proving that they are right or merely using their gift to build their platform.

Prophecy is not like a Horoscope – It is not fortune telling - - Although other gifts may be in operation such as the Word of Knowledge where God shares secret information with those who prophesy.

New Testament Prophets might at times expose Sin and Wrong Motives (as God reveals information)

There is no question in my mind that Paul was a prophet. Before Paul was an apostle he was with a gathering of “prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1). When Paul encountered Elymas, the sorcerer he exposed his sin and his evil motives.  In this instance two gifts were in operation, prophesy and the gift of God's knowledge.
(1 Corinthians. 14:24-25) But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

What does it mean to prophesy from your soul? Understand your soul is your mind, your will and emotions, and this means your words, may be from your own thoughts, and not from God. It is good to wait before God and hear his voice and then share what He is saying when the time is right.

Prophecy is more than predicting things that come to pass.
Prophecy comes to encourage us when everything else says the opposite.

There is little accountability when prophets give incorrect prophetic words that alter people’s life decisions. Example, Beware of a prophet who tells you to move elsewhere, predicting disaster where you now live, or tells you to marry a certain person.

Prophecy from humans is filtered through Imperfections of Humans

All prophecy is filtered through our emotions, theology, hurts, victories, past, and is why we must test all prophecy. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21) The word of God, on the other hand, is not subjective and has no negative experiences or hurts that can cloud it. It thus becomes the first standard by which we seek to test prophecy, and the second is by the witness of other prophetic people.

The witness of the Spirit

The Old Testament prophets (and saints) could not test a word by the “witness” of the Holy Spirit in their spirit. This is the primary way that the Spirit speaks to most believers—through an inner witness. And we have the Word of God.

Warning We are to respect the teaching of a true prophet.

After Paul lays out his very clear teaching on prophecy, he makes it clear that if you disobey or reject his teaching you are not a prophet.

If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. (1 Cor. 14:37-38) 

Final Thoughts - - I love prophecy and prophetic ministry. I believe in it! I also believe that we need to sharpen our theology on prophecy and prophets and have a deeper accountability so we can serve the Body of Christ better. We need to hear God speak in our day. Yes, we hear the Lord speaking to us from the Word, and the inner voice, but we also need to hear prophecy.