God's Pattern For Deliverance Part 5 - The Uprooting Begins

God’s Pattern For Deliverance

 

Part 5 – The Uprooting Begins

 

Time to Start Pulling the Tares…

 

               So if we’ve followed the step-by-step Deliverance Pattern that God lays out in the Word up to this point, we’ve watched as God has turned the power of our oppressor against itself. We’ve also seen that its source of nourishment has become abominable to it, and how He’s made those things a source of weakness for it. So now what?

              

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. Exo 8:5-6

 

And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Exo 8:16-17

 

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. Exo 8:21

 

And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. Exo 8:24

 

               At the time of the exodus event, the Egyptians believed that nature, and all things natural, consisted of four primary elements. These elements were water, earth, air and fire.

               By causing frogs to come from the water; lice from the dust of the earth; and swarms of flies to fill the air, Jehovah was teaching the Egyptians a very important lesson. He was proving to them that He was so powerful, that He could turn all of created nature into a weapon that could be used against the nation of slave-owners. If this had happened during our time, we would see a guy on every street corner holding a sign, reading “Repent! The end is near!”

               Water, air and earth were the three elements of nature that man had absolutely no control over. As a result, the ancient world both feared and revered them. Every civilization on the earth at the time worshipped gods of air, earth, and water.

In Egypt, the gods that were based in and around the Nile – the greatest source for water and nutrition in the land – were especially revered. In fact, only the god of the sun, the king of Egypt’s deities, was more powerful and more worshipped than the gods centered on the Nile. And even part of his worship was tied to the Nile. For the Nile to produce legions of frogs had to turn the spiritual and supernatural beliefs of the Egyptians upside down.

This whole process of nature turning against the oppressors is still part of the pattern that God uses today. Once the uprooting process has begun in earnest, God empowers His children so that our very nature; the one thing that any source of bondage cannot control, turns against the oppression.

 

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Rom 6:16

 

               Bondage of any sort may only enter our lives through our submission to it. In one form or another, we have invited our oppressor to begin operating in our bodies, hearts and minds. Usually, it is an act of disobedience to the word of God that opens the doorway for it to enter our lives.  

 

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:23

 

               Because we have all sinned, we have all disobeyed the word of God at some point in our lives. As a result, all of us can be oppressed, because we have all opened doorways into our lives through disobedience. Oppression is not a “them” issue, it is an “us” issue

 

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. Exo 8:8-10

 

But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Exo 8:15

 

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Exo 8:18-19

 

               It is at this point that we see cyclical effect on Pharaoh’s attitude. First, he is going to let the Israelites go. Then he decides not to. We see this time and again.

               Once our recreated nature, the nature of God within us, begins to rise up in holy indignation to our oppression, we see the same effect in our own lives. This cyclical effect of strength and weakness is a good sign. It means that our spirits and our flesh are starting to defy our oppressor.

               We see this manifest as a cycle that is repeated time and again. On some days, we will be stronger than the addiction, illness, etc. On other days, it will be stronger than us. This cycle will continue until the last stages of our deliverance.

 

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

Exo 8:22-23

 

We see at this point that God has drawn a line in the sand between the Egyptians and the Israelites. He has separated them so the plagues He sends against Egypt do not affect His children.

The same thing happens with our oppressor at this point in this process. God separates us spiritually from whatever bondage we have been struggling against.  This spiritual division, or breaking of covenant with it, causes its power over our lives to diminish even further. Now the cycles of strength and weakness begin to grow longer and longer in our favor. Whatever need that this thing used to satisfy, it cannot satisfy any longer. Deliverance is coming.

 

The Negotiations Begin

 

And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exo 8:25-32

 

               Now we notice that Pharaoh starts to look like he’s tired of sleeping with a bed full of bugs, and he becomes willing to at least talk about giving in to the demands of Jehovah and Moses. At least he’s willing to negotiate to see if he can get a little better terms than what he’s been offered.

               Our source of bondage will use the same tactic at this point. This will generally happen in the battlefield of the mind. This is usually where an alcoholic will begin to think, “I’ll keep drinking, but just on the weekends.” Other forms of oppression will use similar tactics to make us believe that we are being partially released, and that we’ll be given terms that we can live with.

 

And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exo 8:32

 

               First of all, we need to understand that any attempt to negotiate with any form of oppression is doomed to end in failure.

 

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2Co 6:15-17

 

               If we are to be free from our bondage, we cannot be partially free. We cannot continue to associate with our oppressor in any form or fashion.

 

And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. Exo 8:26-27

 

               Instead of accepting the terms offered in any attempts at negotiation, we must continue on the path to complete freedom. We must not waver.

 

This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Gal 5:8-10

 

               If we allow any oppressor room to operate in our lives, even under negotiated terms, we will soon find ourselves completely under its control again. A little oppression is still not freedom. We must continue with this process until we are completely free.

 

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36

 

               It is always God’s will for us to be completely set free. It was not His plan that we should continue to be oppressed by anything in any part of our life.

 

The Powerless Oppressor

 

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Exo 9:1-7

 

               At the time of the exodus event, horses and cattle represented power just like tanks and helicopters represent power today. When God threatened the cattle and horses of Egypt, He was in fact, threatening their power base.

               Horses represented military power at home. Camels represented power to cover great distances to trade, and military power abroad. Oxen and donkeys represented power to feed the nation by plowing and reaping the harvest. They were also used to carry great loads for Egypt’s building projects. So when God threatened the health and welfare of Egypt’s herds, He was threatening to eliminate their military power, and their power to acquire or replace the wealth and power that had already been stripped from them.

               After we have successfully gone through all the previously outlined steps in this process, we will begin to see the power of our oppressor over our life begin to falter. It is at this point where many deliverance ministers feel the time is right to jump on whatever is binding us and cast it down. The time is not right just yet, however. We need to complete the process. Don’t be in a hurry to jump ahead of God.

And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. Exo 9:8-12

 

               Once God released the plague of boils against the Egyptians, their ability to do any sort of productive work was stopped cold. The power of their workforce was instantly brought to almost zero. As a result, all types of productive work needed to sustain the nation was ceased.

               As God continues to strengthen us against our oppressor, we will begin to notice that our new spiritual strength begins to manifest in our flesh, as well. Whatever is keeping us in bondage will begin to lose all of its ability to exert its power and authority over our daily lives. As it loses its ability to operate in any sort of power, it becomes weaker every day, just as the nation of Egypt did.

               As long as we continue in the steps of this process, it will be unable to ever regain the ability to operate as it once did. Just like the nation of Egypt, it has become a diseased, weakened opponent, unable to muster any sort of power to operate against us.

 

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Exo 9:13-35

 

               Fire is the fourth, and most powerful element in the natural world of the Egyptians. Although it is also the most fear-inspiring and destructive, it is the one element that the Egyptians had the power to control. At least to some extent. Now, we see that their power to control this most destructive of elements has been harshly wrested from their grasp, and is destroying their wealth and substance.

               To the Egyptians, Amun-Ra, the sun god and king of the Egyptian deities, appears to have broken forth upon them, destroying everything that makes them a wealthy and powerful nation. To make it even worse, their second most powerful gods, those of the Nile, are completely unable to assist them in putting the fires out. The fires of wrath that have descended upon their nation are consuming all of their belongings as they stand around helplessly and watch.

              

And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Exo 9:23-26

 

To the average Egyptian, it must have appeared that Amun-Ra and the rest of the Egyptian deities had either deserted their nation, or been defeated by Jehovah. This foreign God was destroying their nation, and all they could do was to watch helplessly as it happened.

               As God releases the purifying fires of His wrath against our powerless oppressor, He begins to destroy every outward sign that it ever had any life in it to begin with. And this all happens without any negative effects on us, His children. At this point, drug addicts will begin to notice that they are able to go long periods of time without any withdrawal symptoms. Alcoholics may see long periods of recovery where there aren’t any shakes or any of the other alcohol-related withdrawal symptoms. That doesn’t mean that the cure has been administered. It means that the process is working and we must continue with it.

 

And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. Exo 9:27-28

 

               Pharaoh appears to finally be getting the message. It appears that he has figured out that the only hope of saving what is left of his nation is to repent and set the children of God free.

               It is at this point in our deliverance that our oppressor will begin to repent, as well. Disease may go into complete remission. Drug and alcohol withdrawal symtoms may completely stop. But still, we must continue.

 

And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up. Exo 9:29-32

 

               We are not to be fooled by the apparently complete remission of our oppressor at this point in time. Notice from the text above that everything was not destroyed. The wheat and rye were still in the ground, not having grown up, yet.

               It is the same with our pattern of deliverance. If we allow ourselves to be fooled by the apparent remission of our bondage, we will find out later that it had planted seeds that we were not aware of. As a result, there are still roots which may spring up at any time, restoring life to it once again. This is how diseases like leukemia and cancer can spring back up after years in remission. This is also why a recovering alcoholic will fall off the wagon after five years of sobriety. The entire pattern must be completed for deliverance to actually occur.

 

And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Exo 9:33-35

 

               Notice that as soon as Moses leaves the city and the pressure is off, the Pharaoh is no longer repentant. He no longer plans to release the Israelites.

               It is the same in our deliverance pattern. As soon as we turn our backs or stop this process, whatever is oppressing us will rise up again, no longer in fear of the consequences. As soon as we are no longer vigilant, it returns. It will return in power, and we will be captive once again. The only solution is to continue to the end of this process and let God have His full work in our lives.

               To those truly seeking deliverance please be on the look-out for the next article in this series: “God’s Pattern For Deliverance Part 6 – The Oppressor Humbled.”

 

 

 

 

              

              

 

 

 

The Consecration of the Prophet, Priest and King Part 1 - The Anointing and Consecration of the Prophet

The Consecration of the Prophet, Priest and King

 

Part 1 – the Anointing and Consecration of the Prophet

 

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Rev 1:5-6

 

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

1Co 14:1-5

 

               God has designed each and every Believer to be a king and a priest before Him to the nations. In addition, we are all called to prophesy in His name. So, in some form at least, we are all called as kings, priests, and prophets. It may not be that we are all called to operate in the office of prophet, but we are all called to at least operate in a portion of the gifting of the prophet at some time or another, as God chooses.

               So what does it mean to be a king and a priest before the Lord? What does it mean to be a prophet? How does one become a king, priest or prophet? What are the responsibilities of these callings? Are we fulfilling them? How does a Believer become active in the ministries of king, priest and prophet? What is required to be anointed and consecrated for these ministries? We will answer all these questions and more as we study this subject together.

 

The Anointing of the Prophet

 

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. Isa 6:8-12

 

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Jer 1:5-10

               The first thing that we must understand about the calling of the prophet is that there is more than one type of prophet. First, there is the Office Prophet, or five-fold ministry prophet. The Office Prophet is always operating in the prophet’s gifting. It doesn’t matter where they are or what they are doing, the gifting of the Prophet will always be upon them.

               Usually, the Office Prophet is a person that is called to be a prophet from before their birth. Even though they may never claim the full mantle or crown of the office, that doesn’t change the fact that they have been called to be office prophets. We see many such individuals living in the world, never having come to Christ. Some of them become very talented sales people, and always seem to be able to “read” those that they are speaking to. This gives them quite an advantage in the world of sales. Others become fortune tellers, actually false prophets that operate through the spirit of the enemy. In order to be a false prophet, the calling and gifting of the real prophet must be there.

               Others still become false prophets that enter into the Body of Christ and are mistaken as real office prophets. They are hard to distinguish by anyone that is not a genuine prophet or apostle, operating in their calling as God leads.

               Then there is another kind of prophet. This is the occasional prophet. The occasional prophet is not born being gifted as an office prophet. They operate occasionally in the gift of prophecy through the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. This type of operation is not “always on” like an office prophet, and these individuals may go months or years between prophetic utterances.

               There is a special reward that is given to faithful occasional prophets. If they are faithful to use what the Lord has given them in the area of their prophetic gifts, He will give them more. Eventually, they may, in fact, become office prophets if they continue to be faithful. While this is rare, it does happen.

               There are a couple of traits that all prophets have in common. First, the prophet must be called to be a prophet by the Lord Himself. This is not a position that one can earn through promotion in the Church. It is not a position which one can aspire to through hard work and long hours of study. Either you are called to be a prophet or you are not.

               The second requirement of any type of prophet is that they must respond willingly to the calling. A prophet that is unwilling to be a prophet will find themselves walking out of God’s will time and again. However, if they are completely unwilling to become what God has ordained them to be, God will respect their wishes. That means a life time of walking in a dysfunctional lifestyle because they are not fulfilling their purpose, but that choice is theirs to make.

               We must also understand that it is God Himself that decides when and where a prophet will be ordained and sent forth. Other prophets may train a young prophet, but it is God Himself that decides when a young prophet is to be sent forth and used.

 

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 1Ki 19:16

 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph 4:11-12

 

               There are several qualities by which we may identify a genuine prophet of the Lord. God is very specific about what a prophet’s ministry must accomplish in order to be valid in His eyes.

               One factor by which we may identify a prophet of the Lord is that they are always at work reproducing their ministry in others. They will nearly always train the man or woman that is to be their replacement when they go home to be with the Lord, but it is more than that. They must spend the life of their ministry training and bringing up other ministers, most of them prophets.

               While many prophets are also called as pastors, teachers, etc., and may reproduce pastors and teachers, any genuine prophet will reproduce more prophets than any other type of minister. That is one of the reasons that God gave prophets to the Body; to equip and train other prophets for the work of the ministry. Any genuine prophet which is not doing so is not fulfilling their purpose, and is walking a dysfunctional lifestyle before the Lord.

               Also, any person that claims to be a prophet will be obedient to the Lord in all things. More than any other class of minister, prophets must take responsibility for what they hear from the Lord. The message must be delivered in the timing the Lord gives, and the way He wants it given. The book of Jonah is all about God teaching a prophet how to be obedient.

               Don’t misunderstand me. We all have areas where we struggle with our flesh. We all have areas of disobedience in our lives. Even seasoned prophets have these areas. However, when it comes to the messages they deliver, a genuine, seasoned prophet will do whatever the Lord tells them to do. As a result, they may look pretty ridiculous from time to time, because the Spirit of the Lord may have them do some things which look pretty silly to the natural eye.

When a prophet starts to do something that we do not understand, we need to just get out of their way and let them do whatever the Lord is telling them to do. Even if we don’t understand what they are doing, or why they are doing it, we need to have enough faith in the Spirit of the Lord within them to get out of their way and let them do whatever it is they are doing. There are many times when the Lord will have a prophet do things that have a special significance in the Spirit, but are not easy to understand with the eyes of the flesh. Regardless, we need to let them operate as the Lord has instructed them.

 

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 1Ki 18:18-40

 

               Another trait of any every genuine prophet is that they are called to warfare. Always. While every Believer practices warfare on some level, it is the prophets and apostles that are called to warfare on a large scale. With prophets, especially, the call to warfare is such a large part of their ministry that many tend to be loners because a large part of the Body of Christ is afraid of their gifting and the kind of warfare they engage in. As a result, many tend to shy away from the prophet due to the fear that God is going to reveal some awful secret to them, or because they are afraid of the level of warfare the prophet engages in.

               First of all, let me say, as a prophet, God did not design me to be a loner, separate from the Body of Christ. But because others fear what I may be hearing from the Lord, I tend to spend most of my time alone. It is not my desire to do so, but other Christians are afraid of me. So I tend to affiliate with a very small group of friends that know better.

               I want to say, here, that God is not going to “clean out your trunk” in a public setting so as to embarrass you.  Even if He does reveal private things about you to me, He would never allow me to repeat those things in such a way as to humiliate you in public. That is not the nature of the God I serve, and to think that He would operate that way is ridiculous.

               Second, it is not my heart to see anyone humiliated. It is my heart to see people set free. If a person that claims to be a prophet is humiliating people in public, they either need training, or they need to be shown the door because they are not a genuine prophet. Generally speaking, only prophets or apostles will be able to make the distinction. Regardless, a “prophet” that is ministering by calling people on the carpet in a public setting needs to be stopped before they hurt someone.

               The warfare calling of the prophet is unique amongst all other ministers. While we are all engaged in spiritual warfare on some level, the prophet’s entire ministry will be a ministry of warfare. And prophets tend to specialize, just like commandos.

               For instance, just like Elijah, many prophets tend to specialize in warfare against witchcraft. As a result, the Lord will place them in direct confrontation with Jezebel, Ba’al, Python, etc. on a regular basis.

               Because many in the Body of Christ are scared to death of the realm of the demonic, they tend to shy away from such ministers. It’s like they believe that if they get too close, that one of the demons that the prophet is engaged against will jump on them, or something. It has never been my experience that this happens. Once a prophet is engaged against something in warfare, the battle is his and those that choose to come to his side to assist him. I’ve never seen someone get jumped by a demon just for being too close to a prophet.

               Then we have the other extreme that I’ve seen in the Body: those that chase prophets, always wanting to hear from the Lord. I’ve encountered many of these in time in ministry. While there is nothing wrong with wanting or needing to hear from the Lord about a particular situation, it becomes wrong when we begin to worship prophets. These individuals tend to become disillusioned with the minister when the message they are given is not the one they wanted to hear. They will generally be the first ones to start screaming “false prophet” when they dislike what they hear.

               What these individuals need to understand is that God speaks to us in many ways, not just through prophets. He will speak directly to us in our spirits. He will speak to us through the Word, or even through another Believer.  Whenever we do hear from a prophet, it should just be confirmation of something we’ve heard before. If it is not, then we need to set it on a shelf until we get confirmation. Don’t get married to a perfect stranger and move to Zimbabwe because a prophet tells you to do so unless you are sure it is the will of God and has been confirmed as such!

 

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. Luk 4:1-20

 

               Another trait of the genuine prophet is that they will always have to defeat a demonic force to pick up their full ministry. Elijah had to defeat Ba’al. Jesus had to defeat satan, himself. Prophets are God’s warriors against the demonic, and there will always be a test to see if they are truly ready to walk in their office. While a prophet will begin ministering prophetically before claiming their full mantle for ministry, it is only after this test that they will truly walk in the fullness of the power of their office.

               While this is a controversial doctrine, it bears witness in the Word and in the experience of the young prophets I have seen raised up. It certainly bears witness in my own life.

 

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 1Ki 19:16

 

               In the Old Testament time period, Israel had schools for prophets. It mentions the students of these schools numerous times, and calls the pupils “sons of the prophets” (1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 4:1, 38, 9:1, etc.). This was a common practice for nations in this time, and even Daniel was schooled in the Chaldean’s school for prophets when he was taken captive into Babylon (Dan. 1:4).

               Today, there are very few schools for prophets that are operated by the Body of Christ. In fact, I haven’t seen any in operation that I would truly consider a school of the prophets. I know that there must be a few out there, but I haven’t seen them in action.

               One thing that God designed prophets to do is to reproduce their ministry in others. This means establishing a mentoring relationship with young prophets, pouring your life into them until they are ready to branch out into their own ministry. It is a life-long commitment, and should not be undertaken without the leading of the Holy Spirit.

               One joy of becoming a mentor to a young prophet, is the mentoring process, itself. It is a blessing to be used as a spiritual father or mother to a young prophet. It can also be extremely frustrating, as well. This is because all prophets seem to share certain personality traits. One of these is stubbornness.

               In a father-son relationship between an elder prophet and a young prophet, it is generally the mentor that will be given the joy of anointing the student for ministry. This is the day of graduation, when the young prophet is sent forth into their own ministry. This is not the end of the relationship, but a substantial change in the dynamics of the relationship.

              

And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 2Ki 2:3-15

 

               Another privilege that the Lord grants a spiritual father, is that of handing down their mantle, or portions of it, to their spiritual children. When we do so under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have the privilege of seeing a double portion of our gifting for ministry manifest in the life and ministry of our spiritual son. As a result, we are honored by having the opportunity to see everything we have poured into the life of that person manifest in such a way that their ministry will be bigger and go further than ours did. That is the greatest honor a spiritual father can be given. Knowing that our spiritual children will benefit from the battles we have fought and the lessons we have learned. As a result of the relationship, their ministry will jump over hurdles that proved to be barriers for us, and their accomplishments for the kingdom of God will be much greater as a result.

When we are not raising up spiritual children and handing down our mantle, we are taking everything that God has poured into us to our grave with us. What a waste! If every disciple of Christ since He ascended had been raising up spiritual children and handing down their mantle, imagine what a different place the earth would be now. The devil wouldn’t have any place he could hide, because we’d all be walking in the full power of the kingdom!

 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Joh 14:26

 

               When mentors aren’t available for young prophets, the Spirit of the Lord will train them up. However, they lose the benefit of having a godly man or woman to speak into their life, and they never receive the benefit of having a mantle handed down to them.

               As a prophet that was raised up this way, I can tell you that it is a difficult road to walk. It is difficult enough to become fluent in the prophetic. Without having that umbrella of an elder prophet to seek shelter under, it is just that much more difficult. And that is not the way that God designed it to work.

               The fact that there are so many young prophets that are being brought up without spiritual fathers or mothers is just another indication that the Body of Christ is not doing its job. We lose many young prophets to the enemy because of this. They get off into some weird stuff because they don’t have anyone to help them discern between the voice of the Lord and the voice of the enemy. It is sad to know that this is happening time and again all over the world, and we are not even trying to put a stop to it!

               The Spirit of the Lord teaches mentored prophets just as much as unmentored prophets, but the unmentored prophets lose that human connection in their ministry. Some of them never are able to find it again, and become full fledged false prophets just because of a lack of training.

                             

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Eph 4:11-15

 

               The truth is that we are responsible for the training up of young ministers in the Body. God gave us that responsibility when He gave us the five-fold ministry. To say that we do not need to do so because the Spirit of the Lord will teach us all things is just another example of how lazy and uncaring the Body of Christ has become. Jesus did not depend on the Spirit of the Lord to raise up twelve disciples. He poured His life into them. Foe us to be doing anything different is sin.

               In short, if a young prophet, or any other minister, is not being mentored by an elder minister, someone has dropped the ball, somewhere.

 

 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 1Co 14:31-32

 

               For a young prophet to be mentored, they must be willing to bring themselves under subjection to an elder minister. Prophets tend to be strong-willed, so there are many times that this is the reason that a young prophet is not being mentored by someone.

              

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1Pe 5:1-11

 

               Just as an elder prophet must be willing to be a mentor, a young prophet must be willing to submit to being mentored. And that means that they  may have to accept hearing from another man that the voice they have heard was not the voice of God.

               Without the mentoring process, a young prophet will find the training process to be very difficult. If they are unwilling to submit to the elder prophet that God has placed in their life as a mentor, they will find that before anything else, they will have to conquer their pride. This is one more additional battle that can take young ministers years to get past.

               Without the mentoring of an elder prophet, a young prophet will find the going to be very difficult, and they are bound to get into some bad places. Without the covering of an elder minister, they will be seriously hindered in their struggle to discern between the voice of the Lord, the voice of the flesh, and the voice of the enemy. It is unfortunate, but if a prophet can hear the voice of God, they can hear any voice from the realm of the Spirit.

               Because of the prophetic personality type, they may also be seriously hampered in their struggle to understand grace. It is not unusual for an unmentored prophet to bring condemnation upon everyone they “minister” to. The personality of the prophet is one that sees everything in black and white, and grace can be a difficult concept for them to understand.

               Most untrained young prophets will act like Old Testament prophets, because they have a misunderstanding of how the New Testament prophet is to minister through grace. They will not understand that the purpose of judgment is to bring repentance, not to inflict shame and guilt. They will also tend to “call people on the carpet”, believing that just because they have heard something, or just because they believe something to be true, that makes it truth.

               It is through the mentoring process that young prophets learn to distinguish all the other voices from the voice of God. As they learn to discern, they also learn about grace. Unfortunately, most untrained young prophets will lack the discipline to restrain their mouths to speaking only that which edifies, exhorts, or brings comfort.

That is the key to a well-trained, seasoned prophetic ministry. It is the understanding that just because you are hearing something does not mean that it should be blurted out. God restricts Himself to speaking that which exhorts, edifies and comforts. As His messengers, we are to do the same.

 

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

1Co 14:3

 

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Rev 19:10

 

               If prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ, then it only makes sense that it would be expressed through His personality, the personality of love and grace. Prophecy will not be used to embarrass people. It is not used to publicly humiliate people. It is used only to exhort, edify, and comfort.

               We serve a God of love. Because genuine prophecy comes straight from the mouth of God, it will always come across lovingly, even when it is used to bring correction and repentance. Always.

               I hope this article helps to clear up some misconceptions about the prophet. Please be on the look-out for the next article in this series: The Anointing and Consecration of the King.