Prophetic warnings and rebuke can transform and change a person’s heart, motives, and intentions. Just imagine if one did not heed the warnings of the Lord, which is God’s unconditional love toward those He loves and those that are His. The Lord chastens those He loves. If God didn’t love you and want you to escape from the power of sin, He would never have sent His only begotten Son to save us from the law of sin and death. A prophetic word given in love is a blessing and not a curse.
If the prophetic wasn’t important to God, He wouldn’t have used and raised up prophets in the Old Testament to declare, foretell, and forth-tell His plans and purposes. I have borne witness and ministered to people who were once unemployed and became employed, were barren and then able to conceive children, sick and made whole, poor who became wealthy, depressed who became happy, in religious bondage or captivity and became liberated and transformed by the prophetic word of God. Prophecy can radically change a person’s life in twenty-four hours. The word of the Lord transforms lives. It did for Saul when he left the presence of Samuel the prophet and encountered God through the prophetic atmosphere created through worship by the prophets.
Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This indicates that when the power of the Holy Spirit comes on a person, that person is immediately changed, transformed, and different by nature. Moreover, we see in Acts 19:1–7 that in the early church Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ at Ephesus, found some religious persons who looked to Jesus as the Messiah. They had not been led to expect the miraculous powers of the Holy Ghost, nor were they informed that the gospel was especially the ministration of the Spirit. Paul disclosed to them that John never planned that those he baptized in water, or what I call “John’s baptism,” would stay there, but he told them that they should believe on Him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. They accepted the infilling of the Spirit and experienced new discovery of truth, and they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
UNDER THE PROPHETIC INFLUENCE
The Holy Ghost came upon them in a surprising, overpowering manner. They began to speak with tongues and prophesied, as the apostles and the first Gentile converts did. The people that received an infilling by the Spirit of God and the message that was presented to them by Paul were under the influence of the Spirit, and they were immediately changed. This was evidence that the power of the Spirit caused them to speak with tongues and prophesy as moved by the Spirit of God.
These believers of Christ received the baptism of Christ, which was by the Holy Spirit and not through John’s baptism by water, which they formerly experienced. They were filled by and through the hands of Apostle Paul. They received the full measure of the Spirit of God. Acts 19:6 (NKJV) says, “And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” Paul, through apostolic impartation, laid his hands upon them. It seemed proper that these men should not only enjoy the ordinary influence of the Spirit but that some supernatural, spiritual gifts would be transferred and imparted as well. Their lives were transformed when they encountered the supernatural nature of the Spirit, which caused them to speak in other languages and prophesy. (See Acts 8:17; Romans 1:11.)
HIS DIVINE WITNESS
The Holy Spirit comes to change the nature of a person and superimpose His prophetic spirit on them. In the Book of Acts there was also a prophetic word in regard to the promise of the Holy Spirit and the birthing of the church in the first century. In Acts 1:8 the prophetic promise was that when the Holy Spirit came on an individual, he or she would be His witness. It took this prophetic dimension to birth the church. The Holy Spirit was sent to those first believers in the Upper Room, and they were transformed when there was a sound of a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2).
We become divine witnesses when we are endowed by His Spirit. It is the spirit of holiness that comes on us and dwells on the inside of His people that makes them witnesses of His power and love in the earth. King Saul needed the transforming Spirit of God to anoint and appoint him as king over His people Israel. When Saul encountered the transforming prophetic spirit, which was the Spirit of the Lord, empowerment came for him to prophesy in worship like the prophets that came down from the high place. He was so transformed that others who knew him formerly thought he was a prophet.
Note that Saul was a king and not called to be a prophet. Even though Saul prophesied, he was not a prophet and did not walk in the same authority as that of Samuel. I have come across dozens of people who think that they are prophets because they prophesy, but this assumption is biblically incorrect. The prophetic office takes on a greater capacity and anointing than simply the possessing the spirit of prophecy and the gift of prophecy. If that were the case, the whole church at Corinth would have been loaded with prophets. There are senior leaders who may not be prophets but desire to come in contact with a prophetic environment by ministering first to the Lord, and then the gift of prophecy will be able to flow like a river the words from God.
I am reminded of someone who smokes cigarettes. If a person who doesn’t smoke themselves but comes in contact with the smoke, the person can experience the same results as if they took the cigarette up to their own mouth. They call it secondhand smoking, and secondhand smoking is just as dangerous as smoking yourself; the effects are more or less the same.
So, Saul the king came in contact with the prophetic glory cloud that was created by the company of prophets. When he came in contact with that prophetic culture and environment, it was secondhand prophecy that kicked in. I call it a “prophetic hangover.”
MINISTERING UNTO GOD RELEASES HIS VOICE
The prophets came down from the high place, which was the place of worship, so they were in a realm that caused anyone that came in contact with that prophetic climate to be radically and externally transformed. Prophets know how to minster unto the Lord first before they come out and give prophetic words. Samuel was a young, emerging prophet who ministered unto the Lord. Samuel ministered before the Lord and did not know Him personally. He served and ministered unto the Lord faithfully. He was found before the ark of God at Shiloh (1 Sam. 2:18; 3:1–21). Jesus ministered unto His Father in prayer. Paul ministered unto the Lord in prayer and with tongues of angels (1 Cor. 13:1). Prophets learn how to serve the Lord before they minister to others. The word minister simply means “to serve.”
It is important to know that what prophets prophesy comes from the place of intimacy with the Father. There is no way a true prophet of God can come out of intense worship, prayer, fasting, and devotion in the Word with an inaccurate word. During ancient times, if a prophet would come out and give a word and it wasn’t from the Lord, they would be stoned to death. Before any leaders come before the people to minster they must first minister to the Lord.
The word minister is simply to serve the Lord. Every believer is called of the Lord to do something and must learn how to minister to the Lord first before they are used to minister to people. Usually, I see people minister to people, and then when in times of trouble they go running back to the Lord to be ministered unto.
A person can discern when a person is changed, even if it’s bad or good. The point I am making is that prophets are changed and transformed. In other words, the person’s nature changes, and they are not the same person. The prophetic Spirit of Jehovah manifested itself in the prophesying of the prophets who Saul encountered, and it passed over to Saul so that he would prophesy along with them (1 Sam. 10:13).
Furthermore, Saul was entirely transformed by the Spirit of God. What is transformation biblically? Romans 12:2 (KJV) says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” In fact, the traditional meaning of the word can be found in Matthew Poole’s commentary from the 1600s, which e
xhorts: “Be you regenerated, and changed in your whole man; beginning at the mind, by which the Spirit of God worketh upon the inferior faculties of the soul.”12 Matthew Henry’s commentary further expounds, “The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more and living to righteousness more and more.”13
SPIRITUAL RENEWAL AND TRANSFORMATION
The Greek word for “transformation” is metamorphoo, from which we get the English word metamorphosis, which refers to a complete change, such as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. The New Testament Greek word metamorphoo is a verb founded in four places meaning “to transform” and “transfigure.”14 We can see its meaning in Mark 9:2 and Matthew 17:2 in regard to biblical transformation and transfiguration. Prophetic transformation can be a spiritual metamorphoo through prophecy that a believer receives through spiritual renewing of the mind and being transformed into the likeness of Christ. (See Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18.) One of the dynamic aspects of prophecy is that it brings renewal and refreshing. Biblical transformation, then, applies to an individual believer’s progress in sanctification.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the word transform means “to change in structure . . . appearance . . . [or] character.”15 It has a more distinct definition in regard to Saul, who was converted by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives believers an extreme makeover by the Spirit. One is changed internally, and then the change is witnessed by others externally. Prophecy, as I shared before, can cause a person to receive deliverance, healing, salvation, and a transformed lifestyle. Jesus Himself depended on the Holy Spirit to empower, anoint, and enable Him to do great signs and wonders.
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD EMPOWERS, EQUIPS, AND ANOINTS
Jesus proclaimed in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Jesus declared that the Spirit of God was upon Him. When the Spirit of God is on an individual, His Spirit covers and mantles them where others will not see, hear, or feel them but sense the presence of God instead. This was true of Saul. Others who knew him personally saw him as different person. He was changed by the Spirit of the Lord. The spirit of prophecy came on him to prophesy. The spirit of prophecy was activated while worship took place at the high place.
There had to be something significant and unique that caused those who looked on to question if Saul was among the prophets. When one encounters the Spirit of God and is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, there is a heart change that takes place immediately, and one is not the same after that encounter in the presence of the Lord. Jesus experienced and understood the importance of being anointed from on high to do what He was sent to do. John the Baptist, the prophetic forerunner of the King Christ Jesus, came in the spirit of Elijah. That type of spirit was a prophetic, transformational spirit that turned the hearts of the fatherless to their fathers and vice versa.
We read in Luke 1:13–17 (NKJV):
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH
The spirit of Elijah was the prophetic spirit or the prophets’ spirit. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. What was he asking for? Elisha, a son and successor of Elijah, asked for a double portion of Elijah’s prophetic spirit to carry out his own prophetic ministry. Elisha followed this man’s ministry. He left his family and business behind to pursue his destiny. Elisha needed the impartation and blessing of Elijah to fulfill his calling as a miracle-working prophet.
With any calling a person needs to be trained, monitored, groomed, prepared, challenged, aligned, tutored, mentored, and fathered. Elisha asked not just for Elijah’s spirit, but he asked for his inheritance, favor, endorsement, honor, and affirmation as a spiritual son. He wasn’t just one of the sons of the prophets at the prophetic university, but he was his protégé. Elijah validated and commissioned Elisha into his ministry. Elisha’s ministry was never the same after receiving the double portion of the spirit. He possessed the same spirit of Elijah but in a greater measure. We knew that he received his inheritance because when he hit the water with the mantle it supernaturally parted ways, just like it did for Elijah when he was on earth. When the sons of the prophet saw Elisha from afar, they perceived, discerned, and saw the spirit of Elijah on him (2 Kings 2:6–18).
The spirit of Elijah does what a man could not do on his own; it turns his own heart toward God and toward his family. We must understand that the spirit of Elijah is a prophetic spirit signifying an Old Testament type of the power of the Holy Spirit represented in the New Testament.
John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah, and his message was a message of repentance, which means to turn away from, make a decision, to change, reform, to reconsider, to reevaluate and to change in one thought, paradigm, heart and attitude. His message, accompanied with the Holy Spirit, was a message of transformation and reconciliation. Even though there is no record biblically that John the Baptist operated in miracles like Elijah of old, the urgency of his message to that first century generation to reform, change, or make an immediate decision was miraculous in itself.
A CHANGE OF HEART
Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
—1 SAMUEL 10:6–9, ESV
King Saul is one of the most memorable characters in the Bible. Even as a youth Saul was the kind of guy you’d choose to be a leader. He was tall, handsome, and well liked. He was the son of a powerful Benjamite called Kish. The first time we encounter Saul he is searching for some of his father’s donkeys that had wandered off. He was gone so long and so far on his search that he became concerned that his father would worry about him (1 Sam. 9:3–14). As a last resort, Saul and his servant enter the city where Samuel, the man of God, is living and worshiping, and that is where Saul’s life is changed.
At the beginning of Saul’s story we don’t see the enraged enemy of young David, nor the prideful king who rejects God’s commandments not to keep the spoils from pagan enemies. What we see here in this First Book of Samuel is a young man chosen by God to be the first king of His people, a man destined to unify the tribes and conquer the Promised Land of Canaan. This thoughtful young man Saul is to become King Saul of Israel. God alone is the one able to make the necessary changes to turn him into someone who would accomplish God’s will.
Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
—EZEKIEL 11:19–21, NKJV
God desires to give us a living, beating heart for Him. That’s what He did for Saul, transforming the young Saul into a king worthy to lead Is
rael. The Lord will bless those who embrace their new heart and know that God is the one true, living God. When we follow the signs God sends us, when we meet His Word at the intersection of our will and His, then we will be changed into a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and whatever we do, God will be with us.
The above Scripture gives a picture of how the Lord will deal harshly with those who refuse their God-given heart and who return to their fleshly desires and appetites. When we depart from God’s will to follow our own desires, when our hands are led by our head instead of our God-given heart, then God will not be with us to strengthen us nor protect us.
That is what happened to Saul. He allowed his heart to return to its old form, following his own pride. God withdrew His blessing and gave it to the shepherd boy David. Although David also had his personal problems, he kept his humility and his heart toward God. David was able to come back to the Lord because he knew that God would forgive him.
So when the Lord calls us and offers to change our hearts, how will we respond? When He says, “Follow Me,” will we drop everything and keep following Him no matter what may happen? Will we put aside our pride and our earthly desire for wealth, power, or success? Will we take up our cross daily to follow Christ? Is it our desire to walk in the ways of the Lord and to heed to His voice?
After Saul left Samuel that day, he went among some prophets and started prophesying, too, just as Samuel had foretold. When Saul’s friends saw him prophesying, they were amazed at the change in him. They even wondered if Saul was going to stay among the prophets. Saul’s friends recognized that this was a brand-new Saul. Are we so transformed that our family, peers, coworkers, and others hardly recognize us? Once we are transformed, then we can be on the prophetic cutting edge of what God is doing in the earth.
10 Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, s.v. “prophecy,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prophecy (accessed May 27, 2013).
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