A
GUIDE TO
RECEIVING
PERSONAL PROPHECY
IN THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST:
(BASED ON PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE)
How
to receive direction from God
through His
prophets
An End Time
Issues Publication
Produced by
Dr James A Robertson PrEng
COPYRIGHT
This document may be
copied in part or in full for the benefit of all
believers provided it is not copied for commercial gain. It is only
required that authorship and contact information be supplied.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION -
1
2. THE ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE OF TRUE PROPHECY
-
1
3. HOLINESS AND SANCTIFICATION IN THE LIFE OF
THE PROPHET -
2
4. THE PENALTY FOR FALSE PROPHETS IS ETERNAL
DEATH -
2
5. NOT ALL ARE PROPHETS
- 2
6. DISCERNING THE VOICE OF GOD
- 3
7. DARK SPEECH : APPARENT ERRORS
-
4
8. CHOICE OF WORDS -
4
9. LIMITATIONS OF THE PROPHET's AND YOUR
PARADIGM - 4
10. LIMITATIONS OF PROPHETIC ACCURACY
-
5
11. SEEKING CONFIRMATION OF PROPHETIC WORDS
-
5
12. THE GUIDANCE OF PEACE
- 5
13. THE GUIDANCE OF OTHERS
- 5
14. WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU HAVE HEARD FROM GOD
-
6
15. PROPHECY DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE
ARRIVED -
6
16. PROPHETS ARE HUMAN TOO
- 6
17. INTERPRETING YOUR PROPHECY
- 7
18. PARTIAL PICTURES
- 7
19. TIMING OF FULFILMENT PERSONAL PROPHECY
-
7
20. CONDITIONS OF PERSONAL PROPHECY
- 7
21. SATAN IS NOT EXCITED BY YOUR PROPHECY
- 8
22. PRAY PROPHECY INTO EXISTENCE
- 8
23. STRIVING
- 8
24. ACTION REQUIRED -
8
25. INACTION REQUIRED
- 8
26. DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROPHECY
- 9
1. ETERNAL
PROPHECY -
9
2. CAREER
PROPHECY -
9
3. OPERATIONAL
PROPHECY -
9
27. ROBUST PROPHECY
- 9
28. CONCLUSION
- 10
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- 10
A
GUIDE TO
RECEIVING
PERSONAL PROPHECY
IN THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST:
(BASED ON PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE)
How
to receive direction from God
through His
prophets
1. INTRODUCTION
This document has come about as a result of personal
observation over several years, both as a recipient of personal
prophecies and
as an observer of the response of others to personal prophecy given by
me. In particular, I have been greatly saddened by the extent
to which I have seen people who have received personal prophecy
regularly go off and do exactly the opposite of what I heard God
tell them to do.
By way of example, God informed a woman, recently divorced
from a man who was involved in Satanism, that He would cut her
off from her past and gave a detailed picture of Him surgically
extracting her from all to do with the past. He warned of a few
weeks discomfort whereafter He would start to restore what had been
stolen. She proceeded to resolutely hold onto the house that
belonged to her ex-husband and, when he moved into the house she
proceeded to got to bed with him. In another case, a man whose
wife had deserted him for another man and who together with her lover
was subjecting his son to unmentionable abuse was told
by God that He had delayed the serving of the divorce summons by the
wife in order that the husband could serve first. He went
out and, based on the counsel of well meaning fellow believers,
withdrew his summons. In both cases, the victory that God had
planned for them was totally frustrated by their wilful disobedience to
the word of God delivered through His prophet.
It is important when considering the issue of prophecy in the
Church of Jesus Christ at the end of the age (time of writing 1998)
to realize that the gift of prophecy has been largely suppressed and
neglected throughout most of the centuries since the death of
the Apostles who wrote the New Testament. Prophecy, the voice of God
through His earthen vessels, the prophets, to His people,
is one of the most powerful gifts available to the church today.
Accordingly, Satan has done much to discredit modern prophecy. The
Apostolic is even less evident.
As a consequence, whereas in the heyday of prophets such as
Elijah and others, there were "schools" of prophets where it appears
that young prophets underwent an apprenticeship, today, there is hardly
any such training. Consequently, most modern prophets,
including the author, have learnt how to use the gift of prophecy by
way of a process of Holy Spirit led discovery.
2. THE ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE OF TRUE PROPHECY
Rick Joyner, in his book, The Final Quest, reports the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself as saying the following:
"What you are thinking is true, but this comparison
of man to God is not Just in size. You began to experience the power of
My
words. To be entrusted with My words is to be entrusted with the power
by which the universe is held together. I did not do this
to make you feel small, but to help you to understand the seriousness
and the power of that with which you have been entrusted --
the word of God. In all of your endeavors, remember
that the importance of a single word from God to man is of
more value than all of the treasures on earth. You
must understand and teach My brethren to respect the value of My
word. As those who are called to carry My words, you must also respect
the value of your own words. Those who will carry the
truth must be true."
We thus see clearly the significance that the Lord Jesus
places on the words that He speaks to us. From this, the true value of
personal prophecy becomes apparent but, at the same time, so does the
magnitude of sin of those who claim to prophesy in His name
but whose claim is false. This document is intended to assist you to
reap the full value from any word that you receive from God
and, at the same time, to assist you to evaluate whether the vessel
through whom the prophecy is delivered is, in fact, speaking as
God's instrument.
3. HOLINESS AND SANCTIFICATION IN THE LIFE OF
THE
PROPHET
Allied with the limited extent of modern prophecy, there is
an associated failure on the part of most Christians to recognize that
God is calling them to Holiness and Sanctification. This is the subject
of a number of discourses in course of preparation by the
author. The first, entitled "Poverty in the Church of Jesus
Christ: a Discourse on Contributory Factors (Based on Personal
Experience) (Towards Holiness and Sanctification / Circumcision of the
Heart / Growth IN CHRIST)" is available in draft. As a
consequence, God has found himself speaking through vessels which are
seldom as "in tune" with His Spirit as He would probably
like.
Any prophet whom you permit to speak into your life should be
seeking God and seeking to become Holy before God in order to
be a vessel for honour. If he is, he should have a reverence for words
and concern for the truth. A prophet who makes jokes,
particularly those that involve untruths, is unlikely to have a full
revelation that "the power of life and death is in the tongue" and
that we will be called to account for every idle word we speak.
At the same time, do not overlook the fact that God once
spoke through a donkey and on various occasions spoke through men who
were anything but sanctified at the time. The condition of the person
prophesying is therefore not always an indicator. Conversely,
a person who prophesied a week ago with great accuracy will not
necessarily prophesy again with the same accuracy if something
has gone seriously wrong in his life. There is a great onus on prophets
to live a life of integrity and constant seeking of God.
4. THE PENALTY FOR FALSE PROPHETS IS ETERNAL
DEATH
As a consequence of the above, there has been a tendency for
prophets to "miss it" on a regular basis and to regard "missing it" as
acceptable. Another phrase for sin happens to be "miss the mark", that
is, missing it is a sin. Therefore, no prophet can afford to
be complacent about "missing it". The nett effect of this sloppy
attitude is a reluctance on the part of many people to accept any
form of prophecy and, certainly, a reluctance to base critical life
decisions on prophecy. Since I truly believe that God has primarily
given us prophecy in order to assist us to make critical life
decisions, you will see that Satan has had a measure of success in his
efforts to discredit prophecy.
In this regard, it is vital that every person who claims to
be a prophet and particularly any person who gives prophecy of a
directional nature, understands that they are taking their life in
their hands. It is clear to me that any person who claims to speak
for God but speaks from his own intellect or understanding or hears
another voice such as a spirit of divination or a familiar spirit,
is lying. As I read the Bible, it is quite clear, all liars and ALL
false prophets will ultimately face death, in the form of separation
from God by way of the lake of fire and brimstone. Simply put, they
will burn in hell for eternity! As far as I can see, any prophet
who does not admit this consequence of false prophecy AND FEAR IT,
should not be given the time of day. A prophet who does
not fear God and the possibility of error, will not seek God with the
determination necessary to hear God clearly and will not have
the integrity to confess and repent should he realize that he was not
hearing God clearly at a particular time.
5. NOT ALL ARE PROPHETS
There is a tendency in the modern church to confuse the
"Office of Prophet" and the "gift of prophecy". All spirit filled
believers
may prophesy from time to time but this does not make them prophets. It
seems to me that people who encourage people to "stir
up the gift" and prophesy over others are making a serious mistake. In
my experience and understanding, it is GOD who
determines when a person will prophesy. Trying to hear God on demand is
likely to lead to witchcraft and divination, if God is
not speaking to you and you really desire to hear something, rest
assured, Satan WILL accommodate you.
The office of prophet is a senior office in the army of God,
the Bible says, "first Apostles, second prophets" (1 Corinthians 12:28;
Ephesians 2:20 & 4:11). God speaks to His church primarily
through His apostles and prophets. He speaks to every individual
who is willing to listen, for their personal edification, instruction
and guidance, He speaks to evangelists in order that they may
minister effectively as evangelists, to pastors so that they may pastor
effectively and to teachers so that they may teach with authority
and revelation. In each case, the person involved may hear the voice of
God in accordance with his calling and office, this does
not make them prophets. All may, on occasion, at God's discretion,
prophesy, either because He does not have a mature prophetic
vessel available, because He wishes to confirm the word of a prophet,
because He wishes to let the person know that they will be
called to the office of prophet in due course or for other reasons
which it is not our preserve to know.
It seems to me that only a person called to the office of
prophet will truly comprehend the awesome responsibility associated
with
giving directional prophecy to any person.
6. DISCERNING THE VOICE OF GOD
From the preceding sections, it is apparent that any
recipient of prophecy in this age is faced with a challenge. On the one
hand,
there is a distinct possibility that a prophecy could come from an
earthen or even contaminated vessel and may not be from God
AT ALL. There is also the possibility that the core of the message was
from God but that the prophet amplified it from his own
understanding, thus corrupting the message.
If the prophecy is of any import to your life, then it is
vital that you assure yourself that God has spoken to you and not man
or
Satan. Following are a few suggestions that may help:
1. It seems to me that you should be in a place spiritually
where you desire to hear from God. This does not mean that God will
not speak to you at other times but at those other times when you are
not where God wants you to be, be prepared to receive
words of correction and even rebuke, depending on your level of
maturity. Many do not wish to believe that God delivers words
of rebuke today, in my experience He does.
2. The Word of God is quite explicit, God knows the thoughts
of our minds and the desires of our hearts. Satan cannot read your
heart or mind. Satan can only plant thoughts in your mind and watch to
see the response, if you are not on your guard, it is
possible for Satan to get you to think that the thought was yours and
the response was from God. This can be avoided.
If you are seeking guidance from God, make an effort to
sanctify yourself. If you are aware of any sin in your life, deal with
it
and through reading the Bible and praying daily, seek to come into a
position where, as far as possible with your present level
of maturity, Satan is not contaminating your thoughts. I am not
advising you to seek to become perfect before God speaks to
you, I am only suggesting that if you start asking questions of God
while in sin, the questions may not necessarily be coming
from you. Equally, in such circumstances, you may not be willing to
receive the answers. Particularly, recognise that YOU not
Satan are the biggest single obstacle to receiving from God.
At all times, test your questions AND the answers you
receive, against the Word of God.
3. Recognizing that God knows your heart and your mind, you
should make a point of ONLY discussing your most vital concerns
and questions with HIM silently in your spirit (your heart through your
mind). If you never articulate your questions to God to
any other person and do not even articulate them to the open air (which
is heavily infected with demons and fallen angels), then
only God knows that you asked the question and therefore, only God can
answer you.
In my own experience, this has proved to be an almost
infallible aid to communicating with God and discerning His answers,
not only those given through prophets but through His Word and even
through secular sources.
Accordingly, if, in your heart, you have cried out to God for
an answer to specific questions and have NEVER, EVER,
communicated those questions to any other person and never spoken them
out, even in a seemingly empty place, you can have
a high degree of confidence that a person claiming to be a prophet who
gives you the answer to that question has been sent by
God.
4. If the person prophesying over you has never met you
before
and knows absolutely nothing about you, it is much more difficult
for their own understanding to get in the way. Prophets are human and,
sometimes, can desire to help people they know by
giving a word from God. Sometimes, their own understanding adds to what
God is saying. This is not to say that a prophet you
know well cannot prophesy over you, simply that a prophet who knows
nothing about you has no possibility of adding or
subtracting from the word he gives you.
For this reason, a true prophet who is mature and
responsible, should restrain you from telling him too much about
yourself
before he prophesies and should limit his social interaction before a
meeting to the absolute minimum. This way, all concerned
can have the assurance that at least the element of the flesh has been
minimized.
5. If a prophecy is truly directional, God will often but not
always, include elements of information that could not be known to the
prophet other than by the Spirit of God. This will enable you to have
greater confidence in the prophet. Be cautious in reading
too much into such statements, Satan also knows what is going on to a
great extent (hence my emphasis on not talking about
your questions).
Such clues may not be very specific, virtually all the
prophets that I know of today are not that well attuned to hear the
Spirit
of God that they can give exact dates, places, names and the like all
that frequently. Be alert for clues such as "you are facing
a major decision", "God shows me that you have been facing a brick
wall", etc. If you immediately recognize such phrases as
describing something that you have been crying out to God about, there
are strong grounds to believe that God has spoken. However, if you have
heard that a prophet is coming to town and you have told all and sundry
that this is your problem, such
guidance is not worth much, even if God has spoken, how will you be
sure?
Silence and discretion are important elements of receiving
guidance from God.
Many times, if God speaks through a mature prophet in a
sanctified atmosphere, you will not have a moments doubt that God
has spoken. A truly directional prophetic word will contain sufficient
pointers for you to have absolutely no doubt that you have
heard from God.
7. DARK SPEECH : APPARENT ERRORS
It is important to understand that, nearly all the time, God
speaks to all of us, including His prophets in what is referred to by
some
as "dark speech". Dark speech as I experience it is not an audible
voice, it is something that wells up in my spirit and which I
communicate in words. As best I can determine, most prophets hear God
this way.
Thus while the words that flow out of a prophets mouth may
come with power and authority, he is still responsible for framing
those
words. Consequently, his understanding can get in the way. As an
example, I once prophesied over a young man of about twenty
one years of age who was at University. However, in appearance, he did
not look older than about sixteen and I mistakenly assumed
that he was still at school. As a consequence, throughout the prophecy,
I referred to "school" not university. I think that I also
adjusted some of what I said in order to conform to my incorrect
assessment that I was speaking to a school pupil. The nett effect
was that I later heard that most of the prophecy had been rejected as
being incorrect. I was at fault for not checking at the start but
sometimes these errors do occur. Consequently, I appeal to you to give
careful consideration to any prophecy that you receive that
contains this sort of error. It does not mean that God has not spoken
to you, it simply means that the vessel through which He
spoke, slipped up and applied inappropriate words to certain contexts.
8. CHOICE OF WORDS
As indicated in the previous section, the prophet speaks
using the words that he knows. In other words, a prophet who is an
engineer, such as I am, will speak using a vocabulary that is
consistent with his knowledge and experience. A prophet who is a
farm labourer will deliver the same word in a vocabulary consistent
with his occupation. A prophet who only reads the King James
Version will tend to prophesy in Elizabethan English. Do not be
offended or misled, it is the heart of the message that is important,
the choice of phrases and words should not be a stumbling block. At the
same time, I believe that God will seek to be as precise
as possible within the constraints of the vocabulary of the prophet.
9. LIMITATIONS OF THE PROPHET's AND YOUR PARADIGM
As an extension of the thoughts in the two preceding sections
on dark speech and choice of words, it is also important to understand
that a prophet can only hear God within the limits of what He can
believe God can say. Likewise, YOU can only hear God and
the prophet through your paradigm.
As a simple example. God rested on the seventh day of the
week and declared it to be the Sabbath. We all know that Sunday is
the first day of the week. If we stop and think about it we will all
realize that the Sabbath is really Saturday and NOT Sunday. Accordingly
if, in church on a Sunday morning, the Lord tells you through a prophet
that He requires you to start observing the
Sabbath, he will first have to find a prophet who knows that the true
Sabbath is Saturday otherwise the prophet will almost certainly
fail to deliver the word correctly because his paradigm will tell him
that you are already observing the Sabbath, after all you are
in church on Sunday! For the same reason, you will have a problem
receiving that word.
This principle applies to many other things that God may say
through His prophets. Another example, a man who has not satisfied
God's requirements for divorce but is divorced in the eyes of the world
is told to make right with his wife otherwise Satan will
continue to attack his finances. According to his paradigm, the man is
not married, therefore, he rejects the word. Beware of
paradigm paralysis, as God draws His church to ALL truth, MANY
paradigms and doctrines are about to be challenged. His
apostles and prophets are the people who will be at the cutting edge.
10. LIMITATIONS OF PROPHETIC ACCURACY
As you will see from the above, it is a rare prophet who will
be 100% accurate with every word that he delivers. Accordingly, you
are faced with the challenge of sifting the wheat from the chaff in
every prophecy you receive. While the prophet is accountable
to God for delivering the word as accurately as he is able, YOU are
accountable for discerning the will of God and acting on it.
11. SEEKING CONFIRMATION OF PROPHETIC WORDS
If unsure about the accuracy of a prophetic word, pray about
it and ask God to confirm His word.
If you had previously been sloppy with the words of your
mouth, now is the time to get serious about harnessing your tongue. The
Epistle of James is a good place to start, particularly chapter 3
verses 1 to 12. I suggest you read the entire Epistle several times
and pray over it. It is strong medicine but strong medicine is called
for if you truly desire God's guidance in your life.
Do not discuss the prophecy with ANYONE, particularly do not
discuss your concerns, until you have prayed about it and studied
the Word of God insofar as it applies to the situation. For as long as
you keep your MOUTH SHUT, Satan cannot gain any
information with which to attack you and further confuse you. As long
as you pray silently in your heart to God the Father in the
name of Jesus Christ His Son, you have the assurance that only He can
hear you.
As you commune with God on the prophecy that you have
received, you will either gain assurance of that word in your spirit or
you will begin to increasingly reject it. At the same time, IN YOUR
HEART, not out loud, you can ask God to confirm His word
to you by way of scripture verses, actions and words spoken through
other people, etc. As long as your sincere desire is to do God's
will in the situation and NOT your own and as long as the questions
that you ask Him are asked in faith without doubting and are
sincere, my experience has been that He always answers. In my
experience, the only time He does not answer is when He knows
that you already know the answer and are trying to "play it safe". At
that point, He requires you to stand on your own feet.
I have found that God has met me with all sorts of signs.
Words spoken by people at next meeting. Happenings which most people
would call coincidences but which, by virtue of my silent prayer of
faith, I have been looking out for and know could not have come
from any other source and which I have not been striving to see
fulfilled, all have been powerful confirmations of God's hand in
my life. If you do not know what sign to ask for, pray and ask Him what
sign He wants you to request. but DO NOT pray out
loud!!!
12. THE GUIDANCE OF PEACE
Many people place reliance on "having peace about it".
Several years ago, God anointed me to administer His peace, the peace
that
passes all understanding. This is a supernatural peace that cannot be
compared to anything else. Frequently I perceive that the
peace that people refer to is a degree of comfort with what has been
said. In my own experience, God frequently denies me that
sort of peace (that is own comfort) when He speaks to me. In many
cases, He will require us to do things which are extremely
uncomfortable, like making amends to someone we have badly harmed. In
such cases, most people have anything BUT peace, they
feel uncomfortable, threatened and unsure. Carnal peace in a case like
this will lead to inaction and disobedience to the will and
word of God. In such circumstances, Satan will do everything possible
to give you disquiet when faced with that action and will
give you a carnal selfish "peace" when you decide that you are in the
will of God. Beware of basing difficult decisions on "peace"
unless you are absolutely certain that you have prayed the thing
through to a point where you have "the peace of God". In a case
such as those referred to, the peace of God will come when you have
settled it in your heart that you WILL DO what God has told
you to do, no matter how difficult and how painful it will be and that
you will not count the cost. Then peace may be a guide but,
the rest of the time, I do not understand the word of God to indicate
that you can be lead around by "feeling peace".
13. THE GUIDANCE OF OTHERS
If you are still unsure, discuss it with your pastor or some
other mature believer. They may be able to immediately confirm that
what you were given is something that God had already shown them but
which they had realized you needed to hear directly for
yourself.
Be aware, however, that other people are just that, people,
like you they are imperfect vessels who do not always hear God clearly.
They also have a tendency to "lean to their own understanding", in
other words, if they think that you should do something contrary
to the prophecy that you have received, they will counsel you that was
not of God. Remember, throughout the Bible, God has made
a point of doing things that the majority of the people did not think
was God. He has also made a point of constantly doing new
things, there was only one Ark, only one occasion that He led people
with a cloud by day and fire by night, only one occasion that
He sent His Son to be crucified, etc. He is quite likely to lead you in
ways others do not understand and to require you to do things
others do not agree with.
You must realize that you are ultimately accountable to God
for what you do with your life and what you do with every word that
He speaks to you in person. NO ONE ELSE is accountable. You will
eventually stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ entirely
on your own, you will have to account for your obedience or
disobedience to the word that God gave you.
In certain cases, you can go back to the prophet who gave you
the original word. In that case, DO NOT TELL HIM ANYTHING,
simply request that he pray for you again and seek clarification. The
less you tell a prophet about yourself and the more you avoid
making friends with him, the longer he will be able to speak into your
life effectively. Don't feel bad about it, God requires His
prophets to be lonely, that is the way He gets them to spend time with
Him. In reality, they are not alone at all, they have a level
of fellowship with the Most High God that most people cannot
comprehend, do not allow soulish pity to interfere with your
relationship with the prophets God sends across your path.
14. WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU HAVE HEARD FROM GOD
Having satisfied yourself that at the very least, the core of
the prophecy that you received, is from God, what do you do?
In the first instance, you are faced with a challenge in
terms of understanding and applying the word that you have received.
Prophecy frequently comes in the form of metaphors and parables.
Prophets may see visions of forks in roads, mountains, walls
and any other picture that God chooses to use in order to communicate
to him and to you quickly, effectively and accurately the
message that God has for you. In other cases, God may speak through the
prophet as though the prophet were taking dictation,
he has no prior knowledge of the words that will issue from his mouth
and will in many cases almost immediately forget most of
them. In the highest form of prophetic anointing which I have ever
experienced, and that only twice, God spoke through me for
a total of about an hour where I had absolutely no idea what would
happen next.
Having received these words, metaphors and pictures, you are
now faced with discerning God's will and His direction in your life
and then taking action according to what you understand God to have
said.
15. PROPHECY DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE ARRIVED
At this point, it is important to stress that the fact that
you have received a personal prophecy does not mean that you have
"arrived"
in the kingdom of God or, in fact, that you are any more special in His
sight than any other believer. Perhaps the worst thing that
you can do after receiving personal prophecy is to become puffed up. Be
blessed, be grateful and stand in awe of the God who
created the heavens and the earth taking the trouble to send a prophet
to speak to you personally. Do not become proud. God resists
the proud!
In my own experience, once you become aware that God will
speak to you through His prophets, one becomes very conscious of
this gift and tends to seek it constantly. A point may come where God
declines to speak to you further through His prophets because
He now wants you to concentrate on hearing Him. At one point, after I
had cried out for further guidance, I received a gentle rebuke
to the effect that I knew the answer and should concentrate on hearing
God myself.
You may find it interesting and, I hope salutary, to realize
that even prophets seek to hear direction from God through other
prophets! It seems to me that any prophet who becomes overconfident of
his gifting will rapidly open the door for attack by spirits
of pride and vanity (the demonic spirit of the false prophet).
16. PROPHETS ARE HUMAN TOO
As noted elsewhere, prophets are human too. This means that
they are not gods and should not be treated as such. It also means
that they should not be expected to act as gods. Because of the power
of prophecy, prophets are subject to a high level of attack by
Satan and his demons and fallen angels, second only to the attack on
apostles. Consequently, expect to find that there are areas
in the life of a prophet which are not necessarily the way you think
they should be! Equally, indications are that God permits
prophets to fall from time to time in order to keep them humble, do not
be duped into rejecting your prophecy because the prophet
is a man of clay like you are.
Remember always that Jesus told you NOT to judge others.
Accordingly, judge not His prophets and do NOT speak against them. The
only issue for you is whether God spoke through the man in question or
not. If God chooses to speak through an imperfect
vessel, be thankful, there are very few perfect vessels around.
17. INTERPRETING YOUR PROPHECY
The steps necessary to understand your prophecy can include
all those set out in section 6, discerning the voice of God, section
11,
seeking confirmation of prophetic words, section 12, the guidance of
peace and section 13, the guidance of others. The same
cautions apply.
In some cases, the interpretation may be instantly obvious to
you, in other cases, it may seem very unclear. Because it is unclear,
do not reject it. God sees things very differently to us and, as you
seek to understand His word to you, you may come to see yourself
and your current situation differently.
Also be wary of jumping to conclusions. I am aware of cases
where the immediate understanding of the person receiving the
prophecy, sometimes coloured by partial recollection, led them to
interpret part of a prophecy incorrectly and thereafter to take
incorrect action.
If you have a copy of the prophecy on tape, listen to it
several times until you have heard all the finer nuances. God places
great
emphasis on words, accordingly, do not ignore words lightly. As with
reading the Bible where you may have to read a verse and
pray over it repeatedly before you have a revelation of it's meaning,
so with prophecy.
18. PARTIAL PICTURES
It is not uncommon for God to unfold a picture gradually.
Sometimes there is insufficient time, other times, if you were given
the
whole prophecy in one go you would be overwhelmed and could not receive
it.
In one instance in my own life, I received something like
fifteen personal prophecies in the space of about six months after I
specifically prayed and asked God to speak to me through His prophets.
In some cases I received short words but I also received
several prophecies of over an hour duration at private meetings
arranged specifically because God had shown a prophet that He
required to speak to me in that detail.
Accordingly, do not be disappointed because a particular
prophetic word does not answer all your questions. God may unfold the
picture gradually or, having perhaps reassured you about your
direction, He may then require you to seek Him personally in prayer
and His word. There can be no hard and fast rules. God leads each one
of us personally and individually according to our
personalities and His plan for us.
19. TIMING OF FULFILMENT PERSONAL PROPHECY
As with prophecy in the Bible, one prophecy can have more
than one interpretation. It can apply to an immediate situation,
"tomorrow" and also to a situation years ahead. Within one prophecy,
some parts can be fulfilled immediately or within days or
weeks, other parts may not come to pass for years.
I have heard a number of cases of personal prophecy that has
taken years to be fulfilled. Because God spoke to you today, do not
make the mistake of expecting it all to happen tomorrow.
In particular, recognize that long term prophecy will assist
you to position yourself within God's calling on your life and to
better
understand apparently inexplicable events in the years between the
receipt of the prophecy and it's fulfilment.
20. CONDITIONS OF PERSONAL PROPHECY
While most personal prophecies do not contain an explicit IF
clause, please realize that almost without exception they are all
subject
to certain conditions.
There is an unfortunate tendency in the Church today to
believe that God will bless His children "at any cost" and irrespective
of
their behaviour, this does not accord with my experience.
All the blessings in the Bible are associated with
conditions, do not judge, obey the commandments of God, love one
another as
I have loved you, etc, etc. If, at the time that you receive a
prophecy, you are in a particular place of obedience to God, the
fulfilment of the prophecy is, at the very least, almost certainly
dependent on your maintaining that level of obedience and
sanctification. If you have been diligently reading the Bible and
praying for several hours a day and you then receive a personal
prophecy and stop, Satan will come in and do everything possible to
prevent the prophecy being fulfilled.
For a detailed analysis on the footholds that Satan can use
to attack your life and prevent you walking in the blessings of God,
please
read the "Discourse on Poverty" by the same author. From this you will
gain an insight into how your actions grant Satan footholds
whereby he can attack you, your finances, your family, your health, etc.
God requires us to walk in obedience, accordingly, seek to
draw closer to Him after receiving a personal prophecy, do NOT rest
on your laurels.
21. SATAN IS NOT EXCITED BY YOUR PROPHECY
Recognize throughout that Satan will do everything possible
to prevent you receiving what God has promised you. Very few
prophecies are delivered in a truly sanctified atmosphere, accordingly
it is almost certain that some of Satan 's demons or fallen
angels will have been in the vicinity when the prophecy was delivered.
Be certain that Satan will do everything he can to prevent
that prophecy coming to fulfilment. Accordingly, if you are excited by
your prophecy because it opens up new vistas of your
Christian walk or career, expect Satan to be "as mad as a snake". It is
quite likely that "all hell" will break lose immediately after
you have received a major prophecy and that the onslaught will be
directed at causing you to sin, to stumble, to backslide, or any
other action that Satan assesses will prevent you from moving forward
with God.
Receipt of a personal prophecy is time to press in to God as
never before.
22. PRAY PROPHECY INTO EXISTENCE
All authority on earth was handed over to Satan by Adam and
recovered for true believers by Jesus. It is up to us to exercise that
authority. God has chosen to restrict His actions on earth to those
which are mandated by His believers taking authority and praying
to the Father in the name of Jesus.
In many cases, you will be expected by God to pray that which
He has revealed to you prophetically into existence. This does not
involve strident or petulant demands of the "God YOU promised" variety,
but thankful, authoritative prayers, prayed in faith and
led by the Holy Spirit as far as you are able to submit to Him.
23. STRIVING
In the same way, whatever you do, do not go out to make the
prophecy happen in your own strength. I once received a very specific
prophecy about a situation that was very dear to my heart and which
involved a situation which had major import for my two small
children. Based on that prophecy, I went out and presumptuously took
certain action that under normal conditions I would never
have taken. My justification at all times was that God had told me that
He was going to give me victory in the situation and I was
now doing what He had said He would do. The nett effect was that I
proceeded to do a string of extremely foolish things which
caused me to lose the battle, not because God was unwilling or unable
but because I got in His way and, instead of resting in Him
and trusting Him, I tried to do what He had said He would do, on His
behalf.
Increasingly, it seems to me, God gives us personal prophecy,
as much to show us how immature and disobedient we are as to
physically grant us things. The lesson that we HAVE to learn, if we are
to grow is that God can only operate in our lives to the
extent that we permit Him to move, are obedient to Him and do not get
in His way. There is a period in our Christian walk where
I think we get in His way more than anything else. It is a period of
many disappointments but also a period of dramatic growth
and development of maturity, provided we "press in" and seek to
overcome.
24. ACTION REQUIRED
In many cases prophecy received may require action. This
could include, resign from your job and go into full time ministry, the
decision that you are about to take is correct or is incorrect. You are
not coming under attack from Satan, your flesh is rising up,
deal with it. You are at a cross roads, the path that seems attractive
is the wrong path and will take you out of the will of God, etc. Once
you have satisfied yourself that God has, indeed, spoken to you. Do
whatever He has told you to do as expeditiously as
possible, unless you are certain that it is something for a later date.
If, as in the case of the two examples in the introduction,
you do not take the necessary action or take contrary or conflicting
action,
you will get out of the will of God. In some cases, you may lose very
little, in other cases you could lose everything. In the case
of striving referred to in section 23, I lost my business, my children
and virtually all that I owned. Personal prophecy is NOT to
be taken lightly or carelessly. If God takes the trouble to speak to
you through His prophets, accept that Satan will consider that
you warrant his attention. Broadly speaking, the more attention God
gives you, the more attention Satan will give you. Do NOT
be discouraged, rejoice that your name is written in the Lambs Book of
Life! Seek the Joy of the Lord which will truly be your
strength.
25. INACTION REQUIRED
Conversely, there are some prophecies which will not require
any immediate action on your part other than prayerful observation.
Such prophecies may unfold according to God's timing over months or
years. All that God requires of you is a settled assurance
that He is guiding you and a quiet obedience which causes you to
evaluate anything that happens in the light of the prophecy and
to seek His guidance on resultant decisions which may, at first glance,
have little to do with the prophecy.
26. DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROPHECY
There appear to be a number of distinct classes of prophecy
that we may receive:
1. ETERNAL
PROPHECY
Eternal prophecy is the category into which the Revelation of
Jesus Christ and other prophecies in the Bible of similar import,
fall. This relates to prophecy regarding things which SHALL come to
pass. These things are part of God's time table and plan
for His creation. Nothing that man or Satan does will prevent these
things from coming to pass.
2. CAREER
PROPHECY
Career prophecy is that prophecy which relates to the
direction of a man, a church or a nation. It outlines God's intended
direction. In some cases, this prophecy may have elements of eternal
prophecy, in other words, God is intent on that direction
whether men obey Him or not. Be assured that if you ever get a word
like this over your life that you should stand in reverent
fear of God over it. If God says He WILL bring it to pass, rest assured
that anyone who gets in His way will have a very
uncomfortable ride.
I recently was required to deliver a word to a man whom God
had equipped throughout his life and career to perform a very
specific function in this age. God reminded that man, through me, that
he was the only man on the earth with that particular
knowledge and gifting and informed him that His purpose for that
individual would be fulfilled in him whether he liked it or
not. The Lord then went on to inform the person concerned that He would
"break pride and selfishness" in that man's life and
that God would preserve his life but take everything else from him if
he did not repent. I even saw a vision of the man (a former
millionaire) begging bread. I was left in no doubt that if that man did
not repent and turn around very rapidly, he was in for
a VERY rough ride.
As far as I am able to discern, there are very few people who
find themselves in such a privileged position, Jeremiah was one,
John the Baptist another. Accordingly, I conclude that, in most cases,
what I have called career prophecy will be subject to the
obedience of the individual, nation or body receiving the prophecy. In
general, God will call someone else if the first person
is disobedient.
3. OPERATIONAL
PROPHECY
Operational prophecy is that prophecy that is given for the
day to day conduct of the believers' life. It can be of great short
term
import and can give rise to major changes in direction or it may merely
confirm or encourage the believer in certain
understanding. In my experience, most personal prophecy falls into this
category.
As such, the fulfilment of this prophecy is largely dependent
on the conduct of the believer, as set out elsewhere in this document.
27. ROBUST PROPHECY
I have made reference in passing in previous sections to
words of correction and rebuke. It is vital that you understand that
God
the Father loves you. His love is a robust, no nonsense love. He wants
you to be prepared as a "spotless bride" for His Son Jesus. He wants
you to wage war effectively against Satan on His behalf in this life,
He wants you to reach out and touch the lives of
billions of hurting people by being His hands and feet on the earth.
Accordingly, as you mature and accept greater responsibility
from Him, expect Him to correct you robustly if you get out of line. In
the "Discourse on Poverty", I present a military analogy,
when you reach a level of maturity where you are being trained up to
become a front line soldier for Christ, expect Him to exercise
the sort of discipline over you that you would expect a soldier in
training to receive.
Accordingly, rejoice when you receive words of robust
correction, as long as they are given prophetically and not in the
flesh. The
fact that God now deems you mature enough for Him to treat you fully as
a maturing son and not a whimpering baby is cause to
rejoice. Only when you reach that level can you truly begin to become
effective in His service.
One of the reasons, as I understand it, that God refers to
David as "a man after My Own heart", was because David was quick to
repent when rebuked. God is looking for that attribute in each one of
us. Accordingly, if you receive a prophetic word of rebuke,
I appeal to you to be quick to repent and turn around.
For as long as you are so self willed, selfish and immature
that you cannot receive rebuke and correction from God, please
recognize
that the label "Christian" is not of much significance. Jesus went to
the Cross on the express will of His Father, why should His
Father treat you as a baby in nappies for your entire Christian walk?
28. CONCLUSION
I pray that I have covered enough ground for you to have a
better understanding of the context in which you have received your
prophecy, how to satisfy yourself that God has indeed spoken to you
and, more importantly, how you go about receiving what He
has promised and avoid inadvertently sabotaging the blessings that you
have been promised.
If you have suggestions for improving this document, please
do not hesitate to contact us. If you have queries regarding your
prophesy and have prayed about it and truly feel that you need
assistance from us, please write, we will respond as the Holy Spirit
leads us, in other words, we do not guarantee to reply -- we will seek
to reply only if and when He leads us to, you may be on your
own with GOD! (not a bad place to be).
God bless you,
JAMES ROBERTSON
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOYNER, RICK "The Final Quest"
Whitaker House. 30 Hunt Valley Circle, New Kensington, PA 15068, USA :
ISBN 0-88368-478-0