The Prophetic Voice

For nearly two millenniums the public prophetic voice has been silent. Now in our time it is being restored (Tom Marshall - The Coming of the Prophets).

There is a lack of vision and direction in the modern Church. Many Christians just go from fad to fad, but nothing is followed through to completion. Many churches are weak in vision and only obtain one by copying other successful churches.

The Bible says that without a vision the people will perish (Prov 29:18). A dearth of prophets has caused a lack of vision in the church. Paul says,

If the trumpet does not give a clear call, who will get ready for battle
(1 Cor 14:8).

The Church needs prophets who can give this clear call to battle. At present it is losing the battle because it has no clear goal. We are surrounded by a great babble of voices all claiming to have the truth and many Christians are tossed around by every new wave that comes along. A clear prophetic word is needed to prepare the church for victory.

Prophets bring the guidance of the Lord to the church. Christians can get so caught up in the events of the world that they do not see what God is doing. This is particularly true in tumultuous times, when it can be very hard to see the hand of God at work. Prophets will give direction and vision in these situations, so that God’s people know what is happening, and what they should do. For example, the prophet Gad provided guidance to David and showed him how to avoid trouble.

But the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth (1 Sam 22:5).

For a people or nation to be without prophets is a sign that they are under a curse.

We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be (Ps 74:9).

We presently have little or no understanding of the ultimate and full purposes of God in and through His people. The church is bored stiff, lacking an orbit, a line of thought and a direction because it lacks this understanding. We condemn ourselves, therefore, to programs and services whose forms are unhappily predictable (Art Katz – What is the Prophetic Church).

In both the church and in the world, there is a new hunger for the prophetic. This hunger stems from an increasing desire for guidance in order to survive the rampant confusion of our times (Rick Joyner - The Prophetic Ministry).

A striking feature of our time is that so few of the voices have a distinctive message. There is a painful lack of a clear word of authority for the times. While there are many good preachers of the Gospel, and while we are not without champions of the vital verities of the Faith, we are sadly in need of the Prophet with his "Thus saith the Lord", which he has received in a commission born of a peculiarly chastened fellowship with God. There is a growing concern to know, as distinct from the generalisations of truth and service, what is the Lord’s word for now, where we are, and what in the Divine purpose belongs to this present hour (T. Austin-Sparks).

The prophet sees the sweep and the purpose of God, the larger picture, the panoramic view. He is not one for the 'nuts and bolts', for the details: 'how do you do this and that'. He sees the arching overview, and that is what the church needs to see if that is the framework of its life. Without that overview, fellowships will be fixed entirely in the present moment. They will remain in the things that are really so narrow and so petty because they cannot see what they are doing and what they are about in this moment in the context of something much larger of which they are in connection and moving toward. Without the prophetic overview, they are caught up in the immediate program, which very likely has been birthed out of their flesh or out of a necessity to 'do something', and is not consciously in the continuum of things apostolic and prophetic. (T. Austin-Sparks - What is Prophetic Ultimacy?).

At times we need the voice of the seer- the prophet- to help us see beyond the obvious and to recognize the hand of God in our providential circumstances (Iverna Tompkins - Advancing in the Prophetic, p.14).

God requires men with a vision. To do a great work only requires one man with a vision who is prepared to burn himself out for it. God takes a man and burns a vision onto his heart. To be a disciple means that God has to take everything that person has. If a vision is to be fulfilled we must give everything for it (Clark Taylor on Prov 29:18).

In recent years we have seen an increase in the manifestation of the gift of prophecy in the church. This gift is given by the Spirit for the encouragement and edification of believers. It is a gift that is available to all believers and any believer can experience it. In fact we are told that we should all earnestly seek the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1,3). However, not everyone who prophesies is a prophet.

An Exhortation is when someone senses in their spirit that something needs to be said. It’s a sermonette. The temptation to add ‘Saith the Lord’ must be avoided. Exhortation is easier to correct than prophecy. The aim in Prophecy is quality and purity rather than quantity (Peake -Jeremiah).

It takes humility to know the difference between prophecy and exhortation. Exhortation is not prophecy (Mario Murillo- Prophecy).

You can have spiritual gifting and insight, but that does not mean God has set you in a position of governing authority. God gives gifts to men by His Spirit, but the governing offices are established by the Lord Jesus. We get into trouble when we mistake gifts for offices (John Bevere Thus Saith the Lord p.131).

There is a difference between the gift of prophecy, and the ministry of a prophet. Being a prophet is a eldership ministry and a calling from God. A prophet is an elder called to speak the word of God. He is a spokesman for God. Whereas the gift of prophecy can be given to any believer as the Spirit wills, the ministry of the prophet is a calling on a person’s life. It is this ministry that the church really needs.

In practice, there will be a continuum of gifting. Some people will give an occasional prophecy (this is where most prophets begin). Others may prophesy more frequently. Some people who are appointed as elders may be just beginning in the prophetic. Others elders may have developed into a fuller prophetic ministry. The main goal is for all Christians to develop into their ministry. We should not constrain people by trying to put precise labels on them. They should be free to be what God has called and equipped them to be.

When surveying the landscape of the prophetic movement today, often humility, holiness, and spiritual maturity are lacking in those who claim to be voices for God. Sadly, pride, presumption, and a lack of spiritual maturity are far more visible in their lives.

Titles, in and of themselves, are not bad. But our flesh being what it is, we tend to love self-glorification and human applause. By giving ourselves the title of "prophet," we are yearning for distinction and recognition. But we need to beware, doing so is giving in to the subtle, religiously acceptable means of calling attention to our gift.

For those of us who still feel entitled to use the title "prophet" should note that Scripture only records two instances where people identified themselves as prophets. The first is in 1 Kings 13:18 where the old prophet meets a younger prophet and says, "I am a prophet just like you" and so convinces him to go home with him. But listening to the old prophet cost the younger prophet his life. The second instance occurs in the Book of Revelation and refers to Jezebel, "...who calls herself a prophetess" (Revelation 2:20) (John Paul Jackson).

The gift of prophecy has been a great blessing to the church, but much of the prophecy that is given is rather tame. This is not the way it should be. Paul said:

if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you! (1 Cor 14:24,25).

Prophecy with this power is not common in the church. Jeremiah said that the word of the Lord is like fire, or like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (Jer 23:29). The church will only experience powerful prophesying, when prophets are taking their proper place in the church.

The restoration of the prophetic ministry is essential for the vitality of the church. Whereas the gift of prophecy can be given to any believer as the Spirit wills, the ministry of the prophet is a calling on a person’s life. The church urgently needs this ministry

May the Lord send us prophetic preaching that searches and scorches! Send us a race of martyr preachers - men of burdened, bent, bowed and broken under the vision of impending judgement and the doom of unending hell of the impenitent (L Ravenhill - Why Revival Tarries).

And it's my contention this morning that this pulpit is no place for puppets In this day in which we live it's prophets that we need (Leonard Ravenhill - Weeping Between The Porch And The Altar).

There is a power in prophecy, which nothing can stand against (Anne Van Niekerk).

Most prophets will function in the context of the church. A prophet is just an elder who sees things in black and whites. They will ask the tough questions and challenge Church members with besetting sins. A prophet is really an elder, who has a passion for truth and righteousness.

Each church will be led by a team of elders (Acts 14:23). The minimum number of elders would be three or four. A church should be led by a group of elders working together (Acts 13:1). The circles in the diagram below represent the elders of a church. The lines represent their commitment to each other and the relationships between them. The strength of these links between the elders is the source of the strength of the church. (For more on how this works, refer to radical leadership model).

Paul describes the role of elders in his letter to the Ephesians. Their role is to build up the body of Christ to maturity. There are four different functions that are necessary for this to happen.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ (Eph 4:11-15).

Building up the body of Christ is the responsibility of the elders, so these gifts represent different tasks that an elder may do. An elder can be an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, or a pastor and teacher. Each elder will fulfil one of these functions, according to the gifts that Christ has given him. All of these ministries should be represented in the church eldership. One or two of these elders will be a prophet (R). One will be an evangelist (V). Several will be pastors (P).

Prophets, evangelists and pastors are just elders. Having all these ministries present in the eldership gives balance to the church. Without this balance the church will not grow to maturity and unity. The prophet (R) will provide vision for the church and keep it on the right track. He will ensure that there is an emphasis on holiness. A prophet is really an elder, who challenges church members with besetting sins and specialises in getting vision for the church.