Daily Rhema: BELIEVING PROPHETS

Luke 1:20 KJV
And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

In 2Chronicles 20:20, we are told by the Holy Spirit, through this word from Jehoshaphat, that we are to believe the Lord God to be established, and to believe His prophets and prosper.

A prophet is one that prophesies, preaches and teaches the understanding of the purposes of God for His people: individually, locally and universally, as the times and seasons for those purposes approach.

The purpose of prophets is to cause God’s people to prosper spiritually in God’s purposes, having revelation knowledge and understanding of the purposes of God as individuals, or as a Church, be inspired and motivated to fulfill those purposes.

Prophetic messages; be they utterances, preaching or teaching for the universal Church, will contain some message for the local Church and for the individual. This is why it is so important to listen to prophets not only for individual, but also for local and universal purposes.

Now, a prophetic utterance is an utterance given by the gift of prophecy: spoken by the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when an unction which you sense spiritually like a cloak is present, usually prefaced by the statement ‘Thus saith the Lord’.

Prophetic preaching is inspired preaching based on revelation received by the prophet through the written Word. Prophetic teaching is inspired teaching based on revelation received by a prophet through the written Word.

How then do we believe the Lord our God to be established and then His prophets to prosper?

Believe the witness of His Holy Spirit in our hearts confirmed by His written Word. This establishes you in being led by the Spirit of God through His Word.

Why then do we need prophets if the Spirit of God through the written Word leads us?

To confirm, clarify and amplify what the Spirit is already witnessing to us in our hearts through the Word. The confirmation, edifies, exhorts and comforts you (1Cor. 14.3). The clarification and amplification cause you to prosper spiritually by bringing understanding and so inspiration to act on God’s Word.

Without the prophet’s confirmation, clarification and amplification you will not have enough understanding and inspiration to act on the revelation of the Word you may have a witness to, and so you may not fulfill God’s purpose.

We need the prophetic ministry, though we are not led by prophets, but by the Spirit of God through the Word.

Now the true prophetic word will bring physical, material and positional blessings; and also cause us to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit and a higher level of spirituality (Matt. 7:20).

The true prophetic word will also rebuke, correct and instruct us when necessary, to come up to higher levels of spirituality where these blessings will be our portion in God’s timing.

So you can recognize or identify a true prophetic message by:

Its accuracy as measured by its agreement with firstly, and most importantly, the written Word interpreted in the light of the character of God: loving-kindness, righteousness and justice.

Secondly, and less importantly, its confirmation of the witness in your heart, because the witness in your heart may be inaccurate because of your spiritual laziness in prayer and the Word (Pro. 28.26; Jam. 3.14-17).

This is why it is necessary to judge prophetic messages, so prove all things and only hold fast to that which is good.

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