Prophetic Things

(This was written for the Wings of Prophecy FORUM and Chat Site.
They can also be viewed at these links:
1Wings Of Prophecy Home
2WOP-FORUM Post)

In the FORUM and in the Chat area we have been gathering together to discuss the events of our times as Men and Women of God. We have spoken of issues in the news, issues in our lives, shared Words and shared links, but in all things we have pointed ourselves and each other toward Him. Understanding the prophetic is not easy and understanding prophetic people can be ever harder, but let’s step back from the doing to speak a little of the about what we are doing and why.  Now we must speak plainly of a few things that normally are not discussed, but get passed over at times in the doing.

Many times we are caught up in the doing and so we pass over the “why we are doing” to quickly. At the beginning of the journey simply saying “because the Lord” was enough for a time, but as we have grow and experience more we demand more of ourselves. All this is to answer the question our own hearts, “Am I doing the will of God, or simply fulfilling my desires?” This question opens wide the door for others, and once they begin satisfactory answers must be found, for these comprise the vision of our lives, and is part of understanding and doing the will of God.

These are three big questions I have asked myself over time about the “Wings Site”, exploring the answers to these have come during challenges in other areas, for now these questions provide us a structure to talk about the vision God has given me for “Wings”, I hope that you share the same.

“Who are We to Say Such Things?”

                                    Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are

                                    differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are

                                    diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all

                                    in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to

                                    profit withal.   (1Co 12:4-7)

Here we will see all kinds, variety at its best:

People who have the gift of prophecy

People whom God calls a prophet

People growing in their calling and  gifting

People failing in their growing, and making a mess

Wounded people speaking a word out of their pain

People speaking from the heart of God

Prophetic intercessors

Prophetic prayers

People giving a word of exhortation

People giving a word that is predictive

People with strong gifts of discernment

People involved with deliverance ministry

This list is long, but not exhaustive; it is the very beginning of a rich part of the Church we broadly term “prophetic”. The diversity of the “prophetic” is made even more complex because each calling and gifting comes through a specific child of God who themselves are unique, could be misunderstood and maybe even be wounded. People who have been rejected, hurt, damaged and broken will be in our midst; some seeking a word, some giving a word, and some messing it all up: and sometimes these people will be us.

There are farther complications, as we ourselves might not even know ourselves, know to whom we are speaking or what we are speaking of. There are people which God has called to the office of a prophet,  but will not admit such to others: even these will be growing in God before our eyes. The Bible is curiously silent as to the training of prophetic people especially in the OT: they seem to appear from the back side of some God-forsaken place fully trained and speaking the Word of the Lord with power and accuracy: this is not realistic. This is God’s training ground, and our little corner of the backside of the desert. From experienced people walking in a Prophetic call, to the newest believer just looking for help understanding what God has done to them: we are in this together! Every flavor of the prophetic and prophetic person will be here, and must be treated with respect and Godly Fear, for we are responsible to God not only for the words we give, but also our behavior toward one another and even the growth of others.

“Who are we to say such things?” The answer for us all is: “I am absolutely no one! I am a person, a brother/sister in Christ Jesus, who believes God has spoken, and has commanded me to speak.” This truthfulness is simple, but not simplistic and not easy.

All will be growing! By definition growing in new areas is uncomfortable, unsettling and not done with much skill, so we will fail many times. Miserably fail, publically fail and personally feel our failure; for this gift and calling is tightly wrapped up in the identity, character and humility of the speakers: God won’t have it any other way.

                                    For we know in part, and we prophesy in part…

                                    For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:

                                    now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

                                                                                                                        (1Cor 13:9,12)

God does not allow a person He is training in the prophetic to become prideful and so the best answer as to who we are is “I am no one”. As we learn and grow, we have come to know that God has a “program of humiliation” specifically designed for us. Some words seem to be given specifically for the purpose of getting us a beating, literally and figuratively, and such is God’s dealing with pride, even when we have spoken in Him. “Earthquake” words, “wife/husband” words are two that I have experienced and I think most prophetic people have at one time or another.

What are We Doing Here at “Wings”?

                                    Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

                                    If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first

                                    hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all

                                    may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets

                                    are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion,

                                    but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.   (1Cor 14:29-33)

One of the things Wings has become is a place for prophetic people to gather. This instruction in scripture is clear, yet we find another force at work within us, something akin to spiritual DNA. If we are being grown properly in the Lord, we will not just hear these verse as an external commandment to do and do not, but it will be to us like a need or hunger for such circumstances to made real in our lives. We have a need as prophetic people, not just to hear and be heard, but to sound out the word of the Lord with one another; in one another’s presence, before the Lord and before the Church of Jesus Christ.

I have heard the scripture above (1cor 14:29-33) from the perspectives of pastors and teachers many times as the Biblical prescription for exercising the prophetic in congregational churches. Their emphasis has been on “judging” if a word is biblical or not, and if it is, it is judged as from the Lord and received. I challenge you with this word! This is more than a Biblical prescription for making sure an unbiblical word is not released to the church, but this is God’s training program and our deep prophetic need. The actual context of the scripture above is not that the pastors and teachers are judging, but that other prophetic people are. We have ignored the portion of that verse which speaks “that all may LEARN and be COMFORTED” and exchanged it for “that the church might be sake from doctrinal error.”

This program is like DNA to prophetic people; without it we feel we are not ministering to the fullest, that we are growing deformed in some way and we are not properly manifesting the life of God to the people of God. We have unconsciously, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, sought for the conditions prescribed in this scripture, so that we can be whole spiritually. This search has lead us here, and this is the exact relationship described in the verse we have found on the Wings Site, in this FORUM. We need to foster it, protect it and understand it, so that we might by all means live in it, live by it and live through it. If we do these things we shall know the life of God through the prophetic gift and minister it to others. We NEED one another!

                                    After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison

                                    of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come

                                    thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming

                                    down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe,

                                     and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: the Spirit of the

                                    LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and

                                    shalt be turned into another man. (1Sam 10:5-5)

To our heartbreak this condition exists in so few congregation churches we are forced by practical needs to seek this training, fellowship and judgment in other places; this has brought us here. The sounding out of the words of the Lord, in the presence of other prophetic people is the New Testament model we hunger for and need to be whole. Sadly we have found it here, but not found it there.

“Is our Behavior Regulated by the Scripture?”

                                    Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which

                                    is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1Th 5:20-22)

                                    Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

                                    If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first

                                    hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all

                                    may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets

                                    are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion,

                                    but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.   (1Cor 14:29-33)

The New Testament pattern for judging prophetic words applies vitally here. Over the past few months I began to wonder how we could adapt the model given for judging prophecy in church to our activities of speaking/giving/releasing a prophetic word on the FORUM. My final conclusion, after prayerful consideration is that the scriptures are sufficient without any need for “theological gymnastics”.  Posting a prophetic word and the comments which follow are satisfactory to fulfillment the scriptural mandate. If we judge properly, our FORUM and format are sufficient, but if we do not judge properly they are not sufficient. The emphasis is then upon the hearer, as much as the speaker.

1 Thess 5:20-22 gave us a look into our prophetic need inter mod DNA and desire, but now we turn to the more practical need of judging and discerning. Just because we found more in the scripture than we expected, do not exempt us from the practical doing what it says to do. The application of these principles is sufficient to both growth together and to keep the church free from prophetic impurity. Future purity in prophetic ministry is actually dependant on the growth happening at the time; for without growth we will continually stumble at the exact place we stumble over now. 1Cor sets the scene, and 1Thes gives us the specifics.

Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. The word for judge here means “separate thoroughly”, but how do we go about this? Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. We are to both “hold fast” and “abstain” depending on what our “picking through/judgment” has uncovered. To “prove”, is a restatement of judge/separate, yet there is a subtly to it that implies giving the deference to the speaker: for when refining or proofing metals we are looking to find precious metal, not just collect the slag. There is a plainness to this process, an ordinariness that comes naturally to the prophetic person carrying this out.

Those who have spoken have spoken in the name of the Lord have not done so lightly, but have fully believed they have apprehended the heart of God, and have spoken in faith. Seldom have I heard gross error, real intentional deception or someone just “making something up”: these are rare conditions and are spotted and addressed easily. What I have heard MUCH of, and seen MANY do, is miss the heart of what God was saying. The manifestations of gross error are for correction, but missing the heart of God is a matter for discipleship.

A few times, words that I thought had utterly missed the mark were even proved right, so tread gently. In offering a word of instruction focus upon discipleship, giving deference to the speaker. The format we are presented with on the “Wings” site makes this easy to accomplish compared to being before a congregation, and handling it in the it is spoken. We have the time to be thoughtful, prayerful and careful in our love and correction.

                                    But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse

                                    cherisheth her children: (1Th 2:7 )

Employing proper judgment and discernment means that we judge the word given and not the person giving it. A person might give a good word on one occasion and a word in error on another: we must recognize the difference and speak accordingly; not doing so could be a worse error than saying nothing. Many who have exercised this previously have not done this fairly, thus showing a lack of maturity in themselves. These are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we should treat them as such.

                                    Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the

                                    other judge. (1Cor 14:29)

Judging of a word is not just in the “negative”, it is also for the good. Without judging, without “separating thoroughly” real encouragement based that has substance to it is not possible.  Real encouragement cannot be grounded in our desires just to make someone feel better, but must be factual, honest and is best delivered at the place a person is growing. For this reason we must judge, because not even a pure word of compliment can be given without it. Without this form of judgment, the word spoken will have no “proof it was a right and pure word.  

The practical application of these things is carried out in the comment boxes just below the FORUM post: gentile correction if needed, encouragements with discernment and growth through experience. Everyone desires positive and encouraging feedback, but past just desire, we NEED positive and encouraging feedback in order to grow. Appropriate comments on a posts gives deference to speaker, encourages them and when needed, lovingly corrects them. Without this function we are failing to become what God would have us to become. We are becoming this to one another and the other prophetic people standing by are just as indispensible as the speaker.

                                    And let us consider one another to provoke unto love

                                    and to good works:   (Heb 10:24)

Many who have come through this site have ranged of spiritual maladies that have nothing to do with the prophetic, but more to do unbelief of scriptures they profess. Some believe the Lord no longer speaks save through the scriptures. These are cessationalists, who actually must ignore portions of the very scriptures they claim are sufficient. At the other end of the spectrum are those who come expecting to find a word of such exceptional quality of prophetic expression that it rises to the level of the prophetic scriptures. Without recognizing that such words and speakers are rare, their expectations are not me, these also tend to mock and dismiss our efforts. To both of these is the word of instruction “Despise not prophesying” (1Th 5:20). It is plain enough, but often ignored. To add to this many have felt the need to “despise” such speaking in the comments section, they just couldn’t move on without comment. While not right, it is also not unusual.

In your dealings with others here, there will be many critics, but there are also many well meaning friends. As we grow in relationship we will more quickly recognize which is which. This is part of the process; that both a compliment is paid to the speaker and at times critical questions must be asked. We gather together not because we know completely or have spoken completely, but because we know in part and have spoken in part and we need one another to be whole.

God bless us all.

Brian D. McClafferty