Born to Prophesy

by Hakeem Collins

  Again, nothing is wrong with the Antioch type of model for churches, organizations, and networks that release leaders into their holy call, but it’s not limited to only these models and structures. The people of the cities recognized Samuel’s gift and what he was born to be as a prophet. The Word said that all of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that he was an established prophet of God. God confirmed his calling at Shiloh several times, and then the public recognized and affirmed the prophetic call on his life.

  People will notice something particular about you without you needing to find people to validate you. I am not speaking about being a lone ranger and an island while lacking mutual accountability; my point is that one must know who they are first, who created them, why they were born, and what they were born to be and do. In God’s timing you will be established in your calling. Having a license or ordination paper still does not validate that someone has been called.

  IF IT BARKS AND ACTS LIKE A DOG, IT’S A DOG

  Even those who have been called and received an ordination certificate through the local church or network may not necessarily fully walk in their calling. It is all up to the individual to make their election and call sure. Have you ever heard the saying, “If it barks like a dog and walks like a dog, it’s a dog”? A person can convince themselves all day long that they are a prophet or an apostle, but it’s all in the calling and grace. So again, there is nothing wrong with cross-pollinating with others of like heart, mind, and vision, but to pursue them solely for the purpose of the organization and apostolic network to make you something is an identity fault.

  Samuel the prophet had continued visitations of the Lord through God’s revealed Word. In verse 21 of 1 Samuel 3, it says that the Lord again appeared at Shiloh, and He revealed Himself by the word of the Lord. Whenever a person encounters God personally, God always reveals Himself through His Word, and that is an element of the prophetic or prophecy. The Word of the Lord confirmed Samuel’s prophetic ministry while he was a youth being trained and tutored as an assistant priest under the high priest Eli. Samuel did not have a clue regarding his prophetic destiny as a priest, judge, and prophet, but he was faithful in the presence of God at Shiloh, which is the place of encountering God. Shiloh is also a place of prayer, peace, tranquility, and calmness. It is where the ark of God was.

  In your own personal Shiloh, where you have one-on-one devotion and intimacy with the Lord, God will appear to you and bring revelation of the calling on your life, and men will take notice of the anointing and grace on your life. So if you never receive a public ordination by a religious organization, just do what you have been called to do, and the public will recognize and validate what heaven has sanctioned.

  Ordination is important in establishing government in the local church and for those who are emerging leaders called to impact nations, governments, systems, and territories as kingdom prophets and apostles. We need present and emerging leaders to be released in every generation in what they have been born to accomplish in the earth with the assistance of leaders to help them to get the spiritual and natural education needed to fulfill such a public service.

  It is the Lord’s will, according to Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28, for leaders to function in biblical offices, positions, and functions and not any extra manmade biblical terms such as pope, chief apostle, archbishop, copastor, cell leader, first lady, etc., which lack true biblical integrity, power, authority, and patterns.

  PROPHECY BRINGS LIFE AND IDENTITY

  My point and emphasis here is that prophecy can birth you into who you were originally called to be and solidify a person’s identity. In other words, the prophetic ordination with prophets, apostles, and prophetic elders prophesying becomes a spiritual birth certificate for the candidate, just like when a person receives salvation and is regenerated by the Holy Spirit into a new creature in the kingdom. Jesus said that the words that He speaks are spirit life. The word of the Lord becomes the life seed and also a spiritual midwife to transition one into their destiny and purpose.

  In 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NLT) we read, “The Scriptures tell us, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living person.’ But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.” The word spirit in this passage of Scripture was referring to Christ as the life-giving spirit, coined by the apostle Paul when giving the expression of the reference to the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). The first Adam was made a living soul, while the last Adam, Jesus Christ, was made a “quickening spirit” or a “life-giving” spirit. In other words, the first Adam is of the earth or made from the dust, which makes him earthly, while the last Adam’s origin is heaven, which makes Him spiritual. The contrast in this passage of Scripture is not so much an emphasis on the difference between the soul and the spirit as it is between “living” and “life-giving.”

  The first Adam was only limited to receiving spirit life by the very life source of life, by the only life-giver, and that is the Father who breathed (ruach) into his nostrils and he became a “living being.” On the other hand the second Adam offers so much more than that, according to John 5:26. Therefore, the first Adam does not have the spiritual power, ability, and authority to impart spirit (pneuma) life.

  We must understand that the principle of life is common with all men. Jesus made this clear in John 5:26 (KJV) by saying, “For as the Father hath life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself.” We must understand that our spiritual bodies will be like Christ’s. The first Adam was of the old creation, but those born of the spirit receive so much more as New Covenant believers—eternal life and the new creation that is given by the Spirit through the last Adam, who had a resurrected, glorious body.

  The prophetic dimension, when released, begins to resurrect an individual’s vision, purpose, dream, destiny, calling, and identity. God’s Word is spirit (pneuma) life that brings spiritual vitality and productivity. That is the prophetic nature of God, who is life, and His word is spirit life. So when the prophetic is in operation, it becomes a womb in the spirit realm and causes people to be birthed into that which God has released out of His own mouth. God is a prophetic God and a prophetic Spirit as well, because everything created in the universe was conceived through words or through spoken words.

  GOD’S WORD IS HIS REPUTATION AND AUTHORITY

  John 1:1–3 is a prime example of the power of God’s spoken word expressed. The Lord can communicate and speak any language because He is the originator of communication, languages, and speech. The Word of God is just a powerful as Himself. God takes His Word spoken seriously, and we should as well when we hear Him speak to us. In Psalm 138:2 (NKJV) it says, “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” According to Hebrew custom and culture the name of someone referred to his authority and reputation. Thus, the name of God refers to His power and reputation, just as the name of Jesus refers to His greatness, power, and distinguished reputation. That is why today we pray in the “name” of Jesus Christ, i.e., we pray according to His authority (John 15:16); we command through the power of spoken word, healing in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:6); why devils must come out when believers use the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:18); and why water baptism was done in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:48). God’s name was His power and distinguished reputation, so a cultural knowing of this translation is, “God exalted His Word above all other things that are under His power and authority, even His authority itself.”

  When a prophetic word is spoken through a prophet or someone in godly authority, the person must understand the integrity of God’s word when released. God’s word is His authority, reputation, and integrity, which, when spoken, is sure to come to pass and fulfill what He has sent it to do as Creator, Father, and King of the universe.

  PROPHECY ACCOMPLISHED

  Take a look at one of my favorite Scriptures, which has strong emphasis on the prophetic nature and integrity of God. According to Isaiah 55:11 (GW), “My word, which comes from my mouth, is li
ke the rain and snow. It will not come back to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.” It is a unique function of the prophetic or prophecy that the word drops on us like rain or snow. When I use the term prophecy, I am simply referring to hearing the voice of God and speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The inspiration and unction to prophesy can be described as raindrops coming upon a believer and a water fountain springing up from the inside of them when moved by the Spirit of God. Teaching and preaching are preplanned and prepared, but prophecy cannot be calculated. The prophetic unction and utterance must be stirred up and activated by faith in the Holy Spirit.

  The Bible tells us that we are to, “Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things” (1 Thess. 5:20–21, KJV). When a prophecy is given, we are to test it and hold on to what is good in it. God’s prophetic word over your life is tested and approved by God, and it shall not return to the Lord without accomplishing that which the Lord intends.

  God has various ways of giving His word to people. In John 1:1–4 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Jesus being the Word (the Greek term for “the word” being logos) and in relationship with the Father and solely involved in creating the universe and all things that were made. The word of the Lord that comes to a person is not just mere speech or language but a person being revealed and actively involved in a person’s life through revelation, which is the light of men.

  I believe the divine witnesses that we need from heaven are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are very much involved in a person’s prophetic affirmation, confirmation, and birthing process. When a person receives a word from the Lord to be a prophet, they are not just receiving divine self-expressions of Christ toward them, but they receive Jesus the prophet Himself, imparting His very own life, mind, will, plan, and purpose to them. The Scripture reads, “By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Cor. 13:1, NKJV). So it’s not just hearing a word only one time that makes you a prophet, apostle, or healing evangelist, but there must be other witnesses to confirm and make strong what you have been created to become. Not that you go around announcing who you are in God, but allow in God’s timing confirmation to come through outside witnesses of your calling and mandate.

  THE LOCAL ASSEMBLY BECOMES A TRAINING AND EQUIPPING CENTER

  At my local church, Destiny Christian Church, I served as a leader on the prophetic team under Apostles Dale and LuAnne Mast in Dover, Delaware. Services at my church became one of many spiritual hubs and bases to sharpen my gift and serve in the prophetic to the body of Christ. This local expression and assembly was used of God to confirm and also affirm my calling, but it was done in God’s timing publicly. Many local assemblies that I have served at and been a part of became springboards for myself and my twin brother, Naim, as we matured in the gift of God on our lives. I believe the local church becomes a spiritual womb or birthing place for ministry gifts to be exposed and cultivated.

  The local church is the household of God where the saints gather together to worship God and to be baptized into the family of God. The local church becomes the spiritual womb and acts as the prenatal care unit for the gifts of God to be nourished and raised up before they are birthed out in full maturity, in the timing of the Lord. I can remember several times throughout my walk as a believer and a young prophetic minister being called out, hands laid on me, and prophesied to hundreds of times. I was encouraged and edified to walk in the power of the Lord and in that holy calling, but at the same time I never received a piece of paper of that affirmation and identification.

  I did not understand why these ministries would never give me my credentials and ordination papers. It was due to wanting to have ownership and control over what a minister of the gospel should and should not do, but I realized that my credentials came from the Lord. In that, the Spirit of the Lord would confirm over and over the anointing of God that rested on my life. It was ironic to me that many great leaders would recognize the prophetic and apostolic call but did not want to be in relationship with me to develop and father me in the faith.

  Through many years in the prophetic ministry, the Lord used my pastors, Apostles Dale and LuAnne Mast, to identify myself and my twin brother, Naim, and on February 19, 2012, we were ordained and recognized as prophets of God before our local congregation. Prior to this public ordination, my brother and I had received public recognition from many leaders who were not our pastors, although it’s nothing like your own pastors and leaders who are prophets and apostles commissioning you into ministry.

  I am thirty years old right now, writing my first book on the prophetic. I believe that the ordination has released the godly potential and eternal purposes of God for me to impact the world with the message of the kingdom.

  OTHER PROPHECIES SHOULD ESTABLISH AND CONFIRM ONE’S CALLING

  I was given my prophetic birth right legally. Back in 2002—I was nineteen years old at the time—I had met Bob Jones of Statesville, North Carolina, who was a seer prophet. My brother and I received powerful prophetic words from him that we were going to be some of the new, emerging, major African-American prophetic voices who were to be a part of bringing a great harvest of 1 billion young people to the Lord. This prophecy that seer prophet Bob Jones received was a word from the Lord Jesus that he received when died in 1975 and came back to life. This powerful word Bob Jones received was that God was going to send him different prophets from different ethnici-ties who would be the next fire-starters on the East Coast, from the bottom of Florida up to Canada, in the shape of the number seven.

  These new young prophets would evangelize a whole new generation of young people and win them to the Lord. He went on to say that God was going to cross-pollinate all the races together, and they would learn from each other. Collectively all the five new emerging prophets and apostles from different ethnicities would be a part of this end-time harvest of souls coming into the kingdom. The Lord informed Bob Jones that those who were in the prophecy were coming soon to meet him, and when they finally met him, he was happy because it was a fulfilled prophecy of the Lord.

  He blessed us and taught us how to be “caught up,” or in other words “raptured” up to sit on the lap of Papa, Father God. Bob Jones is considered our “spiritual prophetic papa.” He was used instrumentally to recognize and ordain us as prophets. The unique part about the impartation, wisdom, and recognition that we received from him was that it was done in his own home in Statesville, North Caroline, with other well-known prophets present.

  In addition, God allowed us to meet Kenneth and Brenda McDonald of North Carolina, who activated the gift of prophecy on the inside of us and released us to be all that God called us to be in the earth. This is just to name a few of many who were key leaders and who played a major role in our prophetic ministry office. Ordination in the local church is something life changing for the candidate, but it is a blessing of honor from the prophetic and apostolic presbytery of a local church.

  David Cartledge states in his book The Apostolic Revolution:

  Ordination is necessary to establish government of the local church and to release ministers at large. Ordination is not some empty ritual or rite of passage that elevates a person to a level of ministry. It is actually an impartation as much as recognition. All too often people have been ordained to ministry without the power that should accompany their call being released through the laying on of hands of apostles. The use of prophecy as a means of impartation will most often rest with apostles and prophets. It is difficult to measure the impact of such prophetic words in the moment of ordination, but it is obvious that many emerging ministries have been catapulted to another level of authority and faith through this type of impartation.68

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sp; Ordination and confirmation through such prophetic and apostolic leaders that do not confirm and identify the gift of God on your life by not giving you a record of that birthing and call is like a baby being born and not receiving the birth certificate confirming the sex, name, date, mother and father, and location of the birthing. It is also like a person graduating and not receiving their diploma or degree for finishing their education. I believe ordination and credentialing serves as public announcement that records your promotion in the spirit and recognizes in the earthly realm what heaven has ordained before the foundations of the world.

  The ordination certificate should be your ministry birth certificate. That is not saying that you are a babe in Christ or in your Christian walk, but it’s an identification for the person being recognized. This certificate has recorded in history the time, place, and the ministry leaders who participated in the ordination for accountability and provides full release to do what you have been designed and sent to do for Christ. Even in ancient times, whatever a king decreed and declared something, his words were written and recorded as law. Therefore, what God says about you and calls you is recorded and written and becomes law.

  Through the Holy Spirit’s enablement, a believer can operate and prophesy with the authority of God through the power of the spoken word that brings life. If the kingdom is within us, then we as kings have the power and authority to cause things to happen.

  66 Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “exousia,” www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G1849 (accessed June 5, 2013).

  67 Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, s.v. “ordain,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordained (accessed June 5, 2013). See also http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ordinare.

  68 David Cartledge, The Apostolic Revolution (Chester Hill, Paraclete Institute, 2000).

  Chapter Fourteen

  POWER OF THE SP OKEN WORD