Prophesy, Prophets, and the Prophetic Gift Part 3

I’m on a quest to reclaim what the New Testament church is supposed to become.  This all began 16 years ago in 2004 when the Lord closed one door of ministry to open a new door for me to walk through, leading me down a path of discovery of my true identity “hidden in Christ”. At that time the Lord said to me “I am shifting you into a new place.” This began an awakening of my soul and spirit to a whole new spiritual realm that I knew nothing about. A hunger and thirst for righteousness erupted in my spirit to press in for more. More of His Spirit and more of the knowledge of the Holy One. I journaled a lot, and now I’m able to go back and see what the Lord was saying to me.

I wanted to become a vessel fit for the master’s use. A process of becoming spiritually fit which meant uncovering the things (secret sins, negative attitudes, anger, hurts and offenses) that would keep me from the fulfillment of God’s plans for me. At times I nearly lost confidence; my faith was almost gone as the process became more challenging. Many times like Apostle Paul I would think, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25 ESV). I chose to continue to press toward the goal of the high calling in Christ (Phil. 3:14).

Whoever presents new truth has the dual fear that what if what he says is true, it may be hard to live with and thus be rejected, or worse, that it may be rejected because it ought to be.

John Loren Sandford, The Elijah Task¹

This is not new truth. This is not about me. I’m just one vessel along with others who have been sharing insight into God’s purposes for the New Testament church. The ekkelsia (call out ones) becoming what Christ and the early Apostles began to build “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is meant to be joined together and rise up to become a holy temple in the Lord “ (Eph. 3:20-21).

Learning to hear the voice of the Lord …

Scripture says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” As I was writing Holy Spirit reminded me of the shaking that occurred in 2004 when a deadly tsunami hit wiping away towns with mind boggling destruction. ² At the time I was asleep in my bed. I heard a rumbling and arose to look out the window to see what was going on. I remember saying, “has it already begun?” All was quiet in my neighborhood. The next morning at work I overheard the staff saying a tsunami took place off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. I was undone! I had been sensing in my spirit there would be a spiritual or natural tsunami that would take place. I just didn’t know which or perhaps both or what it meant.

In 2008, the Lord led me to the Book of Haggai the prophet. Holy Spirit impressed upon me that there would be a shaking that will once again awaken the His church to rebuild the house of the Lord. Haggai prophesied that the glory of the restored temple would prosper the land and provide for the final overthrow of the surrounding nations. I wrote several posts The Prophet Haggai: Getting Our Priorities Straight and The Prophet Haggai: Get Your Priorities Straight Part 2 sharing these thoughts. Haggai’s prophecy came at a time when the people of Judah were extremely vulnerable. They were in exile to Babylon, hopeful in their return to their Promised Land. They were discouraged by opposition in their rebuilding of the temple that they had quit (Ezra 4:24).

The time may be ripe in the church for serious consideration of prophecy as a crucial element in ministry.

Walter Bruggeman, The Prophetic Imagination³

You don’t have to be a prophet to sense that everything that can be shaken is being shaken. A level of discernment is needed, however, to interpret the nature and purpose of the shaking. Hebrew 12:26-28 (NASB). “And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;” Its not a time to walk in fear of the ongoing shaking, but to understand what the will of the Lord is for His Church.

I encourage you to read this post with an open heart and mind, and take to heed what the Spirit is saying to the church in these last days.

Minister A. Francine Green

Notes:

1. Sandford, J. and P. (2006). The Elijah Task, A Call to Today’s Prophets and Intercessors. Charisma House
2. The Deadliest Tsunami in Recorded History https://www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean
   
3. Brueggemann W. (2018). The Prophetic Imagination, 40th Anniversary Edition. Fortress Press