Friday, December 28, 2012

Prophetic or Pathetic UPDATE

EDIT:

Deut. 13:1-5
    If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, [2] And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; [3] Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. [4] Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. [5] And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Ezekiel 14:1-5
    Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. [2] And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [3] Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? [4] Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; [5] That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Rev. 19:10b
   ...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.



At the end of this blog, I am posting a YouTube video that became somewhat viral of the dangers of not just prophecy but of those who proclaim themselves prophets in today's age.  Many readily accept any prophetic word, many believe they are prophetic from simply giving a "I feel the LORD" type of message.  I have heard many of these messages "flowing" in churches that promote more of the gifts than the Giver.  Other churches tend to squelch the Holy Spirit but only allowing Him to speak through leadership, and not those who He has bestowed the manifestation. 

There are many people who are proclaiming themselves prophets today, and quite a few regulate what is important to be spken through them.  The Prophetic Movement has promoted this manifestation to the point where has went from one extreme of believing "it didn't happen" to churches where it flies from every pair of lips in Pentecostal churches.  There needs to be some order.


I am not against prophecy.  It is needed and at times required to encourage the congregation.  But we should prevent the Holy Spirit from talking, but assume every time we get a vision, a word, or "inkling," we should automatically believe this is for everyone.  Also, I will NEVER accept every word spoken as "Thus says the LORD" as coming from the throne of God.  But remember this (this will be proven in the YouTube video later) that any word coming from a false prophet/teacher is wrong.  Even when King Saul sought a witch to contact Samuel, the witch was astonished that he actually appeared.  Understand, the witch in necromancy and seances deal with demons posing as dead people, so when God sent Samuel, it shocked her as well.  So truth can come in the midst of lies.

Now, the first thing that everybody seems to judge prophetic words is accuracy.  Yes, I agree but if this your only gauge, you are in danger of accepting words that may have been spoken to your heart without conviction or direction.  ALL prophetic should eventually lead you deeper to God, regardless if it is through conviction or grace.  Any word that sounds good to your flesh should automatically raise a red flag.

My wife was given a word that her and myself would help lead the city we lived in at that time to deliverance.  OK, some will say it may happen in the future but the message never was in agreement with the Spirit.   It has been almost eight years since that word and we have no desire to move back.  It spoke to her itching ears to have a big ministry but not what God was preparing us for. 

I was part of a prophetic prayer group for our church back around 2003-2004.  My wife also went through it but I refused to allow her at that time to be next to me, for I did not want her to rely on me to bail her out, I wanted her to rely on the Holy Spirit.  The danger I saw was when people were getting words of knowledge and confusing it with the prophetic.  Others never tersted the word BEFORE they spoke, while many never discerned of the people and situation to see if a prophetic is appropiate.

One time a couple came up while my wife was part of the group.  She prayed and felt that they were living in sin, and they asked for an apartment.  My wife chose to stand aside while the others went right ahead, giving "words of encouragement" for the two.  Afterwards, my wife asked if she did the right thing, and I assured her she did.

Let's get to the point of what I have used to gauge prophetic words.  I also consider the place and people either receiving or giving the word into account.  First, accuracy MUST be accompanied with the direction of the word.  If the word is correct, but it sends you in another direction BESIDES God, it is not from the throne.  We were given a word about people would give us money to help us.  At the time, we were strugging to make ends meet but it almost brought our eyes to waiting for people to bring us money, not to God or looking for a job.  The accuracy was right, we needed help but the church was not able to help, for it never set up funds to help others in need.  It sponsored several conferences a year and, through these gained much finances, but it mostly went to its own ministry.

Another one I distinctly remember from the same church.  Just one week prior, the pastor made notice to the congregation of needing a Cadillac to "ride in style" to different ministries (their two other vehicles I guess were not suiting for them).  The next week, a prophetess "prophesied" about someone helping with the weekly finances to purchase said vehicle.  This was then used in newsletters and conferences to promote this "need" spoken as it was from the LORD.  IN honesty, it was spoken to an idol in his heart and did lead him to trust the LORD in providing this for him.  It was not a prophetic word, because it is possible he spoke to her before the church meeting on Sunday morning.

Another is the "itching ears" type of prophetic word.  We do not examine ourselves first and determine if we have idols in our heart.  Usually, we tend to seek the prophetic word FIRST instead of allowing God to send a prophet(ess) for the word.  Somehow, we feel better when we come first, but many times on the OT did God send them, not vice versa.  The worst part to remember in Ezekiel 14 is that God will speak according the multitude of idols in our heart.  We need to discern correctly in our own life before we should discern the prophetic.

Lastly, since the testimony of Jesus IS the spirit of prophecy, it should be noted that testimony in the Greek is related to witness and martyrdom.  In simple words, prophecy should speak of Jesus, and the walk we should have with Him.  Certain words I can understand if it isn't directly leading you when it is spoken, like believing in a car when you need one, or healing and miracles but ultimately the goal should be for the glory of His Son.

In a group of people, the word says about the prophets being subject to the spirit of the prophets.  I have not been in a church where this was done.  Two or three should speak (at most), the others are to remain silent and allowed to judge.  The Holy Spirit will speak through He has blessed for that time.  If there are any more, it is not from God, for He is of order.

These are the questions to ask:
1.  Is it accurate?
2. Does it point me in the direction for a deeper relationship with God?
3.  Does it speak to any idols hiding in my heart?
4.  Does it glorify Jesus through the words?

5.  Will Jesus get the glory when it is fulfilled?

Finally, please note the fruits from one speaking.  If one is growing in the LORD, learn from the mistakes, as it will hapen.  But if it is a person who self-proclaims a prophet, I am wary.  The Holy Spirit does not anyone to promote the gifts, He can do it when the time comes.  Please note I am not an expert in this, but through my years I have seen the damage it can do when wrongfully used or manipulated.  The pride that comes from this power gift is dangerous when used in this manner, but shows God's grace and love through the humbleness of those who do not seek to promote self in public ministry. 

In this video, I believe the word to be given is true, but the woman giving it is so used to be giving words she deems as "true," she does not realize what is about to happen.  Her fruit shows in the end, as it was "her church," "her meeting," and she first prophesied he was a man of God, than later told him he was of the devil.  It can't be spoken both as from God.  Too much contradiction.  Later, note what she said the lady filming this, as she was innocent the whole time.  The fruits of a religious spirit, exposed on this video.

Blessings,

Michael

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cgd31xXE_g  




No comments:

Post a Comment

I, as moderator of this blog, hold the right to disregard and remove all comments that are hatred by nature. I uphold the rights of opinion and know there will be disagreements. This does not allow spewing of hate for another view for satisfaction. I am open to debate, but it should be kept civil, tranquil (if possible), and Biblical.
Thanks