PURGE OUT THE LEAVEN~PURIFYING PROPHESY!

By Mary Ann Wray
December 15, 2013

The subject of prophesy and the prophetic has long been a topic of some bitter controversy within the Body of Christ; especially of late. The enemy has fought the prophetic along with the apostolic because he knows that the Church of Jesus Christ’s foundation is built upon the Apostles and Prophets with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone (Mark 12: 10). Christ was bitterly rejected by the builders of His day and so is the prophetic today. It’s always been this way and it always will be. We are not above our Master, Jesus. However, there is good news for prophetic people; Jesus was rejected before you were, so hang in there. He has a place for your gift!

As a side note here but related to the context of this article, spiritual leadership can sometimes forget who God’s people really  belong to (Eph 2: 20) i.e., they are His people not theirs. Therefore, church leaders are answerable to God for everything they do, including every word they teach and every decision they make about God’s business and flock. Not many should be teachers Paul said; there is a greater condemnation (James 3:1). Since it is God’s Church and God’s people, His business cannot be run by man’s raw ingenuity or at the exclusion of the complete leadership of Holy Spirit! Two main components of building any church are the two Ascension gifts of Apostle and Prophet. These are foundational and have not passed away any more than the other three :  teacher, evangelist and pastor.

Within the context of fivefold ministry including the prophet, it is important to note how the word pastor is defined. Vines dictionary defines pastor (Greek: poimen) as follows:

"A shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks" (not merely one who feeds them), is used metaphorically of Christian "pastors," Eph 4:11. "Pastors" guide as well as feed the flock; cp. Act 20:28, which, with ver. 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in 1Pe 5:1, 2, "tend the flock... exercising the oversight,"  this involves tender care and vigilant superintendence.”

If you are engaged in any fivefold / ascension gift function you are ministering to God’s flock. Therefore,  you should possess the nature of a shepherd to God’s people-one who nurtures and feeds. Prophet Kevin Leal has ministered this truth many times at our local church, and it has totally changed my thinking about  ministry paradigm. As prophet Leal explains, you may not preside over a local church as the ‘senior pastor’ but if you are tending and watching over God’s flock in some capacity you are doing the work of a shepherd. If you teach, preach, lay hands on, prophesy, counsel, correct, administrate and/ or guide God’s flock in a role other than  governmental leadership you are still functioning as a shepherd; your nature and heart is to care for God’s sheep.  

You see, the Chief Shepherd chooses to use all of us in some degree to care for His Lambs and Sheep! You may not be called as a senior Pastor yet or never may be, but if you touch God’s flock in any manner you are shepherding.

Let’s make no mistake about it, God has emplaced church government in every local Church, which He ordains, for a specific purpose. However, it is important to note that the Senior Pastor of a local church is still an Under Shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Head of His Universal and Invisible  Church. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism into the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4: 5)!

The Apostle Peter said, “We have  all gone astray but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls” (1 Peter 2: 25).  Jesus, The Bishop of our souls,  has set spiritual government in place in order to propagate God’s divine order on the earth: to guide, equip, and instruct God’s people to live the Christian life. Spiritual leadership’s role is not only to guide but to activate God’s flock for works of Christian service. This is accomplished by Church Doctrine (The Word of God), multiplicity in eldership and through godly example- not lordship! They are gifts to equip, not  governors to Lord over. Only Jesus is Lord!

It must be clearly understood that an under shepherd never replaces the Good Shepherd nor should they be given license by God’s people to do so through manipulation and control!  By plurality of eldership, checks and balances are emplaced to prevent this from happening and protecting God’s flock. One man/ one woman shows will eventually die because God does not author it nor will the Holy Spirit bless it. This is not God’s pattern or design, neither should it be ours.

Now, back to the prophetic…It is indeed very sad to see that there are ministers in God's House who believe they have  prophetic gifting but operate as manipulative psychics. They can read what is in a person’s soul rather than reveal the Father's heart of a matter from Heaven i.e., what HE wants to speak or address at a given time as the Holy Spirit wills. This holds true with every five fold office. The devil is a counterfeiter of everything God purposes on the earth. Therefore, we must become completely familiar with the real so we can learn to detect the false. 

I worked as a bank teller one summer and they taught us how to identify real money in order to catch counterfeit bills coming across the counter. We were taught in great detail how authentically minted paper money  looked: its distinct markings, its feel,  color, print etc. We then held the authentic bills  up against counterfeit ones to learn the difference. It was part of our training! It’s no different in spiritual matters my friends! It’s all the more important. There is nothing more valuable to God that a soul and when God’s sheep are mishandled it’s worse than a thief or bank-robber in His eyes.

Prophetic counterfeits may have started out right, but uncircumcised flesh and motives polluted the prophetic in their spirit man (See Jude, 2 Peter 2: 15, Revelations 2: 14). This is how the people of God get false vision, become puffed up, wounded and receive false direction. Others fall away from the faith altogether. For this reason many Pastors shut down the prophetic altogether or only allow certain ones to prophesy if at all. These 'special' ones can then become puffed up in their sensual minds and think they are the only ones who hear God for the rest church or in a group setting. This is an open door for the spirit of witchcraft to come in and operate! 

It is a weighty thing to speak in the name of the Lord and should never be taken lightly or taken for granted. Much prayer and humility needs to accompany the prophetic, as with any ministry gifting for that matter, but it must be noted that operating accurately in the prophetic is a supernatural feat that requires much training and discipline of the Holy Spirit. As a result, pure directive words are given, and God’s people are challenged to grow! I have found that every true prophetic word I’ve ever received has either challenged me to change something in my thoughts, heart attitude and perspective or corrected something in my mindset that I needed to repent of while edifying and encouraging at the same time. Prophesy by nature elicits change!

We need to understand that whenever a “God” prophetic word is given, the person or group receiving it bears the responsibility to respond in some manner. Some words require much prayer and meditation afterwards, but a true and tested prophetic word should never be flippantly overlooked with a mere, “Praise the Lord everybody” and no instruction or admonition afterwards. If it’s not timely to instruct right after a directive word is given, these should be recorded and addressed by senior leadership at another time. One reason why prophesy is rarely heard in some circles is because the true prophetic words that were given were either overlooked or not responded to properly by the leadership. God will not allow His word to return from the earth void. It is spiritual leadership’s responsibility to know how to handle His words properly and teach the people of God how to run with them! (Habakkuk 2:2)

In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, they ALL spoke in other tongues AND prophesied. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorted all Christians to desire prophesy because one who does, edifies the entire church. The Corinthians were a carnal bunch, full of strife and competition and some even engaged in the most perverted sexual sins. Paul corrected and disciplined them properly (1 Corinthians 5). However, after they were chastened and dealt with correctly he didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

He spent most of the rest of his letter instructing them on the “how to’s and why’s” of spiritual gifts. The apostle made it very clear that these are imperative for healthy thriving Church life! He explained in great detail that the more excellent way is love (1 Corinthians 12: 31 & 1 Corinthians 13). He placed prophecy within the context of love in 1 Corinthians 14: 1 i.e., “Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts but rather that you prophesy”. The apostle knew that operating in the spiritual gift of prophesy tends to puff up the mind. He himself alluded to it in 2 Corinthians 12: 7.

Paul was open and transparent in his second letter to the Corinthians, and explained why God allowed him to receive a thorn in his flesh. Being very prophetic and revelatory, he had visions the likes of none of us have ever seen. Pride is this type of gifting’s arch enemy!  However, agape love keeps us grounded in a wholesome fear of the Lord and provides the means to die to selfish ambition and pride for another’s spiritual benefit. God has a way of disciplining prophetic people that knocks the pride right out of the heart. Those who won’t heed are headed for a spirit of Jezebel and or witchcraft manipulation. Others can fall into a pit hopeless depression. Correction by the Holy Spirit and other seasoned prophetic ministers is a key principle to purity and it isn’t comfortable to the flesh. Without it Balaam’s arise!

Likewise, fear about prophesy needs to be kicked out of the church and replaced with sound Biblical teaching on the same. I don’t understand why some church leaders won’t provide more of this for their flocks. If they are not as knowledgeable on the subject, there are valid prophetic ministries out there who can and will minister without exorbitant fees in order to equip God’s Church. This will cause faith to arise in the hearts of God's people and remove wrong notions and suspicions about prophesy altogether. 

As mentioned before, Biblical Prophecy is imperative for spiritual growth and maturity in the Body of Christ. Its primary purpose is to build up, edify and comfort. The true spirit of prophecy also tears down religious ideologies, cuts off bad roots, plucks up religious fruit (traditions and attitudes) and levels everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ-pride (2 Corinthians 10: 5, Ecclesiastes 3: 2, Jeremiah 18: 7, Matthew 3: 10). Prophesy is the testimony of Jesus. These are the very things Christ came to do in His earthly ministry (Revelations 19: 10, Matthew 12: 33-42).

Sometimes God will speak warnings of future events as well as direction concerning a person’s gifting and function in His Kingdom (Acts 11: 27-30 & Acts 13: 1-3). I personally believe that personal prophetic ministry regarding one’s call or function will confirm what God has already decreed either in the person's heart and/ or in the mouth of two or more witnesses. The agreement of two or more witnesses is a scriptural pattern and precedent for all prophesy! (Deuteronomy 17: 6; Amos 3: 3; 1 Timothy 5: 19; 2 Corinthians 13: 1; Matthew 18: 16; Revelations 11: 3). Without this Biblical precedent we will have confusion and heresy.

If geographical or ministerial direction is given, it should be confirmed many times over before making a move! In the multitude of counsel there is safety. Never move out on ONE word folks “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Proverbs 11: 14

Spiritual Leadership should allow the flow of the Holy Spirit and not  control or cut off what God wants to do in His Church. Likewise, proper protocol needs to be taught so that God’s people know how and when to prophesy!  With proper scriptural judgment of spiritual gifts in place, there is nothing to fear. Again, if there are no mistakes, there is no learning. If there is no learning, there is no growth. Where there is no growth there is spiritual retardation. 

Sadly, in many instances more seasoned saints become frustrated and stifled and will leave a church. God sent them there to grow and minister but because they are not allowed or given liberty to function in the giftings He has placed within them albeit teaching, healing, prophecy, governing or administration and others (1 Corinthians 12: 28) they’ll be led elsewhere and the church they left will suffer lack because of it. How sad it is to see God’s lieutenants and generals leave a church because the senior Pastor is afraid to let the Holy Spirit have His way and delegate authority to someone other than himself/ herself!

I’ve been in too many services where a pastor cut prophesies completely off and quenched the Spirit because it didn’t fit with the agenda or for some other ‘unknown’ spiritually illogical reason. He/ she never gave the person another opportunity to give another word either later in the service or in a different one. The rest of the flock feared to ever step out and give a prophetic word in the future! Then there is the issue of not wanting to be ‘outshined’ by another congregant or allow someone who may be more gifted prophetically than you to stand up and prophesy.

How sad! Flowing with Holy Spirit is a learning experience for the entire Body of Christ including its leadership. The church needs to be taught how to judge prophecy correctly and how to prophesy correctly. We need to give each other space and time to learn without cutting off ears and plucking out spiritual eyes so to speak! 

Under-shepherds, really need to be students of the prophetic and apostolic because it IS the church of Jesus Christ’s foundation!  A leader can never take a group of people farther than what they have learned and have been themselves. God’s people need to be allowed to make mistakes and use these 'mis-takes' as a means to correct and teach the entire Body in Love which will in turn cause more growth and wisdom in this area. How else are God's people going to learn? Babies don't learn to walk without stumbling...neither do God's people when it comes to the supernatural.

As a very young woman I prophesied frequently in my local church at the time. My pastor was schooled in the prophetic himself and had a real shepherds heart. There was some strife and backbiting going on in the church at the time and I stood up to prophesy about it one Sunday morning. After the service, Pastor Jones (fictitious name) took me aside and explained that I started out well in giving the word but ended up flogging the sheep with a harsh tone. He said that he knew my heart was right in that my spirit was grieved over the strife but I needed to season whatever was being said with the spirit of Christ. That taught me a great lesson I will never forget and I really appreciate that pastor’s heart and instruction!

Prophetic people need to have all internal motives purified and prophesy by the Holy Spirit rather than prophy-lie out of the mind and human reasoning! We need to speak as the Spirit gives the utterance; not our soul. (Acts 2: 4). Frankly, some of God’s prophets need to go back to the woodshed and get a good dose of prophetic spanking from the Father! He still sends me there quite often and I’m not perfected yet. But when we resist the Holy Spirit and develop an air of arrogance about our ‘ministry’ it sends off the wrong signal to God’s people and the Father picks it up on His Spirit radar! His discipline comes in many forms, but it’s better to heed His voice before we become stiff-necked and end up kicking against the gourds (Acts 9: 5). We can actually wind up getting physically ill or incapacitated in some way in order for Father to get our attention because we wouldn’t listen to His correction in a gentler form!

There are wonderfully sound Biblical ministries out there who teach on this subject very accurately  from several different perspectives. Like a diamond, God’s truths are multifaceted and each prophetic perspective reflects a different ray of His light. Keep in mind, we only know in part and prophesy in part, so no one ministry has all the revelation and insight on anything! Here are just a few prophetic ministers I believe to be authentic: Jonas Clark, R. Loren Sandford, John and Paula Sandford (Paula deceased), John Paul Jackson, Jim W. Goll, John Bevere and a young emerging prophetic pastor we've just come to know recently, Jeremiah Johnson. I'm sure there are many more but I'm just sharing these recommendations because  I either know them and/ or have gleaned from them personally.

As another side note: a true prophet/ prophetic person is very honest and transparent about their weaknesses and past failures. These become teaching tools for the Body. They are not in the ministry for showmanship, mammon, performance or man's praise....They will preach to their own hurt, even if it means people, family or friends becoming offended at them. The truth will not be compromised by a true prophet of God. Their passion is not to just prophesy the Words of the Lord to others, but to equip Christ’s Body for greater works; they are true spiritual fathers/ mothers. 

"Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" 1 Corinthians 5: 6

“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4: 7