THE CALLING BEGINS IN GOD
The Bible says that we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). This shines light that whatever personal trial, tribulation, suffering, and hardship one may face, it all is working together to fulfill what God desires to fulfill in the lives of those who love Him and are called. We must understand that we have been called according to His purpose. The call originates with God and not in another person. Jeremiah was called, chosen, ordained, and set apart as a prophet in his mother’s womb. Even the Bible says that God chose us before the foundation of the world, and that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love because He has predestined us to be adopted as sons by Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:4–5).
This is great news for the redeemed of the Lord. We have received the spirit of adoption as sons of the King. We have been predestined to be a kingdom people. Who we really are is found in Christ. So that being said, the prophetic call like Jeremiah’s began in God, who knew you first. God doesn’t want a prophet or Christian believer walking around looking for validation from man, but from Him alone. Once a person discovers his or her calling in God, that will release clarity of assignment, purpose, relationship, resources, and provision that is needed to fulfill it. The prophetic ministry can bring clarity of one’s identity in God.
PROPHECY COMING TO PASS
As I mentioned before about prophets who presumed a word that God has not revealed, they were not to be received, and called presumptuous. One thing that I must say is that we cannot make a prophecy happen if it is not God’s will. I have found people wasting valuable time in the realm of the spirit chasing after a call that wasn’t there or looking for a prophecy to meet their needs or objectives. Consequently, the person will abort the true prophetic promise of God over their life because they refuse to cooperate with the Lord. I do believe in pursuing fulfilling the word of the Lord over your life and walking in total obedience. There are specific anointings that are available and active in the season that God requires them, so that what He spoke over you can be fulfilled in His timing. What I am saying is that certain words that we receive from the Lord are not for right now but for a divine time. Most prophecies are conditional and provisional. We must partner with heaven to fulfill the call of God on earth.
In his book Developing Your Prophetic Gifting, Graham Cooke states: “There are no unconditional personal prophecies. Personal prophecy refers to the possibility, not the inevitability. If your response is poor and full of unbelief or your lifestyle is one that continually grieves the Holy Spirit, you may not expect those prophecies to be fulfilled.”63
I believe this is a sound and true statement. There are those who may argue that if God said it, then it will just happen; but I didn’t agree, solely because it’s called “personal prophecy.” It is your word and it’s up to you to do everything in your power to align with that word. Obedience is the key to fulfilling your personal prophecy. Moreover, when a prophecy is fulfilled in a person’s life it is a sign that God is with that person. A lot of times in the body of Christ people get jealous, envious, or even covet someone else’s gift because of a measure of success.
When a person walks out their prophecy, then God makes sure you succeed in it. Success and prosperity is connected to true prophetic ministries. The Bible says it like this, “ . . . have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful,” in 2 Chronicles 20:20. Having faith in God and in His prophets will release success. The prophet Samuel was one who had faith in His Lord and spoke what God said as a young prophet, and none of his words failed (1 Sam. 3:19, 20).
How many prophets are there today whose prophecies keep failing or falling? Are we honorable before the Lord? And are we prophesying our will or the Father’s will? As Jesus was moved with compassion to heal those who needed a physician, we as kingdom believers should be moved by the Holy Spirit to prophesy what the Lord reveals to us. A prophet’s calling will be recognized by the local church leadership. Samuel did not have to make claims that he was a prophet; the city knew. All Israel recognized his calling and accepted his ministry. A true prophet will be recognized by other believers.
FALSE PROPHETICS
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods”—which you have not known—“and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
—DEUTERONOMY 13:1–3, NKJV
This passage of Scripture is profound and moving because the Lord was putting His servant leaders to the test when it came to discerning the motives of their hearts and loyalty to Him. The Bible says that God is a jealous God and a jealous lover (Deut. 4:24; Exod. 34:14). The Lord was informing His people not to follow after false prophets and dreamers of dreams. The Lord so totally abhors the worship of false gods that He commands any city in the midst of the Israelites that worships them will be wiped out (vv. 5, 9, 15).
Moreover, God was testing the hearts of His people by seeing if they would follow after other gods when they were influenced by false prophets and dreamers of dreams who performed miracles that came to pass. And if these false prophets told them to worship other gods the people were not in relationship with and did not know, then He instructed them not to listen. This is a picture of God’s love for His people, seeing if they loved Him or any other god. False prophets lead you to other gods or things. We are not to receive them nor follow after them. We can also see that these prophets and dreamers of dreams were able to produce signs and wonders. Prophecy and dreams are normal means that God uses to communicate to His people, but both unique channels of communication can be misused, abused, and mishandled. True prophets have the authority and power of God to work miracles with signs and wonders; but false prophets, magicians, and the like can exercise such power as well. (See Exodus 7:10–12.)
Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
—JUDE 11, NKJV
Balaam is an example of a greedy prophet whose only agenda was not the agenda of the Lord, but his own self-gain for power, wealth, honor, and authority, which caused him to walk in error. Balaam was once a genuine prophetic voice. The prophecies that came forth from were keen and precise; Balaam’s reputation for being accurate had reached the ears King Balak. King Balak, with itching ears, was drawn to Balaam and wanted to prostitute or merchandise his gift for a profit. Prophets are not for profits! Just like there are a lot of nonprofit churches and organizations, there are also a lot of non-prophet churches and organization. We need prophets in the midst of us today speaking the word of the Lord. The prophetic ministry is not for hire and there are lots of false prophets that are hirelings. We must understand that when the prophetic ministries are prostituted by pastors or senior leaders for the purpose of drawing a crowd, to raise their offering, or for entertainment, then they run the risk of walking in falsehood. I have seen churches despise prophecy and prophets; but if they see how the gift can change things, people will misuse it for all the wrong reasons.
Balaam compromised himself for profit, and because of that he ended up shorting his prophetic ministry and life. Balaam died as a soothsayer and false prophet (Josh. 13:22). It took a donkey to speak and stop a prophetic donkey (Balaam) from self-destructing. The donkey saw an angel, which prohibited him from moving forward. The nature of a donkey is stubbornness, rebellion, and resistance. Prophetic people should not be so selfish or stubborn in their own pursuit if God hasn’t permitted them. I have been offered housing allowances, big honorariums, and positions in churches if only I did and said what the pastors told me to. But I have refus
ed these offers because I have already been bought with a price through Christ Jesus, and I am God’s prophet, not man’s. God is not raising up rebellious prophets like Balaam, but obedient ones like Samuel.
PROPHETIC INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER IS KEY
Graham Cook, a major prophetic voice, makes a good point in his book Developing Your Prophetic Gifting in regards to relationship prophecy and character. He states, “It is important that we allow others access into our relationships, marriage, sexuality, finances, parenting, how we run our home and our ministries, to speak into these areas of our lives. It is always the unshared areas of our life where Jesus is not Lord. The enemy is flying around our lives looking for a landing strip; relationship of openness and honesty will plough up any fertile ground where sin may grow.”64
Character is one of the ways to test a person. There is a saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” which is a true statement. We are to judge people by their fruit. Even though we can’t judge a book by its cover, we can judge a book by the “table of contents” of a person’s life. Prophets and prophetic people must be in vertical and horizontal spiritual relationship with others in the kingdom of God. I know some young ministers who are not in relationship with anyone and will not submit to a local church for relational and accountability purposes, but they will throw a baby tantrum if someone doesn’t invite them in to minister. God is not raising up “lone rangers” today, but prophets and leaders who will submit mutually to each other in love. True accountability is not control but protection, honor, love, and liberty. Prophets must walk in a godly character and fruit of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22–23.)
Galatians 5:19–21 outlines the works of the flesh, which are:
• Adultery
• Fornication/sexuality immorality
• Uncleanness
• Lewdness
• Idolatry
• Sorcery/witchcraft
• Hatred
• Contentions/arguments
• Jealousy
• Outbursts of wrath/rage
• Selfish ambitions/pride
• Dissension/disputes
• Heresies
• Envy
• Murders
• Drunkenness
• Revelries
These above are the works of the flesh that fights against the Spirit.
In addition, we are to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We need true, healthy, transparent relationships in the body of Christ that will bring restoration, reconciliation, and healing to a fallen believer in the kingdom. We must work out any soulish and fleshly areas that may manifest in our lives. If we have any of these enemies of the Spirit working in our lives then it will manifest through our character and even our ministry. Prophets must be clear from any areas of the flesh that will cause a backlash, retaliation, and sabotage to the advancement of the kingdom.
DISCERNING CORRECT BIBLICAL TEACHINGS
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. But this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
—1 JOHN 4:1–3, NKJV
In the twenty-first century there are all types of weird, perverted, and demonic doctrines and new teaching that even some churches adopted in their church bylaws and constitutions. Some churches have secretly and publicly supported same-sex marriage and other behavior that is contrary to law of God. I remember being invited to speak at a church that believes in same-sex marriage, and of course I declined the invitation. The pastor wanted an explanation, and I told him that I do not support inclusive teachings or any progressive church that advocates homosexuality. I went on to say that I only support what the Word of God supports. Prophets and prophetic people must discern what spirit is in operation in churches.
The antichrist spirit is a spirit, not an individual. The Bible said that this is a spirit of the antichrist. Any teaching, doctrine, lifestyle, etc., is considered an antichrist spirit. John was talking about discerning truth and error when it came to the things of God. He stated that every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and is not of God, and he identified it as an antichrist spirit. Prophets, apostles, and Christian believers should not compromise their belief and standard of righteousness when it comes to the Word of God. I have been among different streams of the prophetic and I also have heard many strange teachings that didn’t sound right. It was the Spirit of God and the discerning of spirits raising red flags in my spirit.
Discernment of Spirits
The gift of discerning is a vital gift that is needed to detect any diabolical presence at work. The early church was aware of false prophets, teachers, and witches that would try to hinder the apostolic mission. The apostle Paul and Silas encountered resistance in Philippi. Prophets and apostles will face many hindrances when advancing the King and His kingdom. We can see an example of Paul being annoyed and distressed by a demonic spirit at work in a slave girl in Acts 16:16–18 below:
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
We can see in the above passage of Scripture that when Paul and Silas went to prayer, a slave girl possessed with the spirit of divination met them. She followed them, crying out that they were the servants of the Most High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation. Note that the spirit did not confess Christ but said that they are servants of the Most High God. We must understand that demonic spirits knows that there is power in the name of Jesus and also they recognize the Most High God. The spirit of divination in the slave girl was following them to distract them. Have you ever purposed in your heart to do something, then you were distracted by something or someone? Have you decided in your heart to pray, read the Word, or go into worship, and your phone rang, a text message came through, or someone needed you?
I have encountered this a lot in my Christian walk. I am not saying that everything is demonic or a distraction, but that whenever you want to do something good, evil is always present. This slave girl was crying out the truth of who they were in God, but she had the wrong intentions of making public their godly identities. The Bible says that she did this for many days, following them, and Paul was annoyed in his spirit and discerned the spirit at work in her. So Paul, being irritated, turned and commanded that spirit to come out of her. Paul moved in a supernatural power that brought great deliverance to a fortune-teller. It is evident that Paul didn’t cast the spirit of divination out of her on the first day that she followed him, but he was patient and probably was discerning the motives of this spirit.
WARNING SIGNS OF THE PROPHETIC
The Word of God gives us warning signs of the false and those who operate with the wrong spirit in this day and age. While testing and discerning demonic spirits, prophetic utterance, dreams, visions, false prophets and the like, we must maintain a godly poise and attitude at the same time. We are not called to run around looking for demons or false prophets, but we are to not be ignorant or naïve of their existence. On the other hand, we are to be very careful when it comes to the true prophets of God and not mock, misuse, take advantage of, abuse, disrespect, and shun them.
The Bible in 1 Chronicles 16:22 declares, “Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.” God’s chosen
people and prophetic leaders were the apple of His eye. We are to value God’s Word, His prophets, and leaders that He has sovereignly called. Prophecy and utterance should be value. Our personal calling from the Lord should be first priority. We have to learn to honor and value each other and not think to ourselves that everyone has a demon or spirit. Sometime we can be cutting down with our words what God is building and we don’t even know it. Prophecy is conditional; are you meeting the condition? Rejecting to come into compliance to God’s Word or rejecting true prophets or despising prophecy can be lethal. An example of this is seen as follows.
Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
—2 KINGS 7:17–20
But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
—2 KINGS 5:26–27
Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
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