Prophets
must reflect the heart of the Father toward His church.
Eph. 4:9-13 says 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 fullness of Christ.
The prophet is a critical modern day
ministry within the 5 ministries spoken of in this scripture.
In the last post I stated that a key
aspect of the New Covenant prophet is they operate out of love.
They have the heart of the Father toward His people. This love is not
necessarily a warm, fuzzy emotional feeling. It is much more of a deep
desire to reveal the fullness of the Father’s heart toward His people through
the prophetic voice. Internationally renowned apostle and Prophet Rick
Joyner said in one of his books ‘no other ministry carries the potential for
either blessing or disaster as does the prophetic’ (The Prophetic Ministry,
Morning Star Publications, 1997).
In order to function as a revelator of
the Father’s heart the modern prophet must walk in quality of character that
reflects the transforming power of grace. If a prophet speaks a word that
implies it is a direct word from the Lord, e.g. ‘thus says the Lord’,
then it must be as pure as possible in reflecting the character of the
Lord. Character development and personal integrity are prerequisites to
walking in the role of prophet. Prophets must be well seasoned in
ministry and mentored by more mature ministers to walk in the fullness of their
calling.
Character development includes four
key heart attitudes, the first of which is (1) intimacy with the Father.
Intimacy with the Father is foundational to the prophet’s
ministry. A mature prophet’s primary passion and position is being a
friend of God. Jesus said, ‘I no longer call you servants…I
have called you friends’ (John
15:15). THIS is their life goal...being so
close to the heart of the Father that they speak only what He speaks.
The Apostle John is a good example of this character quality. Throughout the
New Testament it was John who was so very close to Jesus. It was John’s gospel
that speaks so strongly and clearly about Jesus' relationship with the
Father. Through this intimacy with the Father the prophet gains a heart
of love for the people. Without this intimacy a prophet may prophesy
but the words will often come tainted with a harshness and hardness that does
not reflect the grace or love of God. A lack of intimate relationship will
reflect hardness toward God’s people. This does not mean a prophet cannot speak
corrective words to individuals and churches, but he/she will speak such words
encased in the Father’s heart; the nature of Jesus. If a prophet say’s ‘thus
says the Lord’ it must be the intimate heart of the Lord they are
reflecting.
This series is from Pastor Harvey
Wittmier of the CrossFire Church Centennial Colorado.
Coming in the next post…the second
character attribute of the prophet-humility.
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