God's Truth In Love

Archive for August, 2014|Monthly archive page

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 14

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 25, 2014 at 4:03 pm

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

It should be noted that in prophets the gift of prophecy and the gift of exhortation are typically present, along with Words of Knowledge, which is a form or aspect of prophecy and Words of Wisdom, which is a form or aspect of exhortation. In addition, keep in mind the gift of prophecy is not merely about foretelling the future. Today it operates most often in different areas; say approximately, 80% in various means of operation and perhaps 20% in foretelling. We must always keep in mind that prophets today are not exactly the same as the ancient biblical prophets.

When the prophet is prophesying or exhorting, to those listening the words of the prophet can sound like a roar in the ears of the hearers. In some cases, the prophet may appear in somewhat of a state of frenzy, given to excessive emotionalism but for the prophet in these moments, in their mind and heart, he or she seems to be showing restraint in their view as they are trying to communicate the emotions of the Almighty in the meager idiom of man.

The words of the prophet are not meant to be bitter, though often mistaken as such, nor is the prophet attempting to make the people fearful or excessively alarmed. The prophet is reaching inward, to the spirit and soul, when communicating with the people, attempting to make an inner impact on the hearer. The prophet is merely doing what is necessarily to honor God’s purpose for them. One must never forget that the prophet’s purpose is to be used of God as a voice that moves people to repent, to convert or renew the inner man, to revive devotion to Christ, to love God, self, and/or each other, and to bring reconciliation between Jesus and the hearer.

When examining the intensity and emotions of the prophet, one must keep in mind that the prophet has contained within his or her spirit the love of God and the anger of God, both there, enraptured or en-fevered. The prophet lives in that divine space between divine patience and divine indignation. The infilling of God’s thoughts, emotions, and words creates intense emotion[s] for the prophet especially during the receiving of a Word and/or vision, for they are being moved by God Himself to understand how God views a situation. This causes the excessive passion, perhaps what appears to be nervous energy, superior vigor, amplified strength, increased expression or motor activity, et cetera that one witnesses.

Man often views the anger of God in such a way that it incites fear of pain. However, to God the anger is the pain. Prophets try to express what that anger means but doing so is very difficult – the sorrow, the disillusionment, and the disappointment caused to God by His creation’s (people’s) disloyalty.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 13

In Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christianity, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 20, 2014 at 11:59 am

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

The prophet present and represent a Holy God, a God who put in place and defined all the virtues we would like to see in people. Holiness originated with God, comes from God, and is imparted to mankind by God through the surrender of self-will.

Despite all the fear the wrath of God brings to people, the prophet is not crushed or shaken in his or her understanding of God and trust in God. To the prophet what is Divine is never strange, odd, or weird. Amazingly, the prophet can convert fear, shock, or terror into a song of praise, for the prophet sees that when the Lord smites He is often both smiting and healing (Isa. 19:22 and Hos.6:1). People look at their lives, the problems they are in, and rail against or complain to God, the prophet looks at the problems and recognizes that God is disciplining because someone refuses to change, to obey, to surrender their self-will.

Hosea 6:1 (AV – KJV)

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

Isaiah 19:22 (AV – KJV)

And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

When it comes to injustice or sin done against a person the prophet internally suffers those harms done to another in their own self, they so identify and empathize with the injured that it seems to them that they too are the injured party or prey. This is an aspect of the ‘anger of God’ that they carry in their spirits – the end to indifference.

Exodus 22:21 (NKJV)

“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

“The man who is angry at the right things and with the right people and further, as he ought, when he ought, and as long as he ought, is praised.” – Nicomachean Ethics – This is not someone or something I would read or recommend, as philosophy cannot be reconciled with Scripture but this particular quote is fitting as it support Scripture’s views on righteous anger or righteous indignation.

“Severity must tame whom love cannot win.” – Abraham Heschel

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 12

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christianity, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 18, 2014 at 6:37 pm

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

Since the prophets see the world through the eyes of God, they perceive the world in terms of justice or injustice. When it comes to acts of ritual or things of beauty both, when associated with injustice, become an abomination to the prophets. You must remember that the prophet’s preoccupation with injustice and the passion with which they condemn injustice is rooted in their sympathy with God, as they have a divine understanding of God’s heart.

Prophets simply proclaim God’s concern for justice. Divine concern is at the heart of, and the key ingredient, in prophecy. Morality, especially prophetic morality, derives from the Truth that God demands morality and thus prophecy fulfilled is the realization of God’s concern over a moral matter.

The great dilemma is that what seems rational to the prophets seems irrational to the men and women steeped in sin, immorality, worldliness, carnality, and/or denial. Prophets can be some of the best and the worst people you would ever want to know depending on your moral health and your devotion to God.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 11

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 14, 2014 at 7:27 pm

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

A common theme since I started this series has been comments to the effect of, ‘Thank you so much for this series, I now understand my spouse so much better. It has been hard to connect with how they think and their passions but this series has helped me understand them in a deeper way.’

I thank you for your comments and I encourage each one of you who has a prophet or prophetess for a spouse to pray fervently and often for your spouse. They need your love and prayers daily in order to continue in their call. Also, if your spouse is new to their call or for whatever reason they lack full understanding of their call please encourage them to read this series; the better they understand their call the better they will understand themselves and the greater their peace will be.

Now to continue…

By God revealing His Word to the people through the prophets, He is acting to exemplify justice. One of the purposes of prophecy is to be one of the tools God uses to maintain His covenant with His people and to establish and/or keep right relationships between Himself (God) and man.

Because the prophet has such a profound awareness of injustice this drives them in what appears to be their endless preoccupation with justice and righteousness. Prophets have no remorse about unveiling injustice and oppression whether the oppression and injustice be motivated by political, social, or religious evils.

The presence of oppression and corruption is always uppermost in the prophet’s mind. The prophet’s urgency regarding justice is about aiding and saving the victims of oppression. Oppression and injustice angers a prophet extremely. God will often allow prophets to go through injustices of their own to deepen their understanding, empathy, and compassion for the problem and to expand their understand regarding just how much, and why, God hates injustice so much.

A prophet’s calling could be described in part as an advocate, activist, or champion who speaks for those who do not have their own voice with which to plead their case. Prophets often run interference dealing with wrongs imposed on other people; this can happen to the degree that they might be viewed as interfering in matters that are not their responsibility. Prophets will step in and intervene in a situation even when they have not been asked to do so or authorized to do so. They do this because they are not tolerant of the injustices and the wrongs done to other people and they actually identify with the suffering of another person to such a degree they can resent other peoples injuries as if they were their own.

Prophets call other people to be the champions, defenders, backers, advocates of …

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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Return to Full Devotion

In Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 11, 2014 at 6:27 pm

Ezekiel 34 – Today we see a similar situation among the spiritual leadership of, and within, the Body of Christ in America and elsewhere. The words recorded in the Book of Ezekiel, Words given to the prophet, stand as a warning to us even today.

May the apostate leaders and apostate church congregations, those who have left the path of being solely devoted to Jesus, the Christ, and His gospel, turn back to full wholehearted devotion to Christ.

Ezekiel 34:1–31 (NKJV)

Irresponsible Shepherds

34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”—9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! 10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

God, the True Shepherd

11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.’ ”

31 “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

 

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 10

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christianity, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 9, 2014 at 11:48 am

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

Righteousness and peace are interdependent Ps. 85:10. “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” Isaiah 32:17 (NKJV)

Prophets are adamant about the need for mankind’s redemption. Without redemption, there is no hope for mankind. People need redemption both in this life and redemption in the next, when all people shall stand before God’s throne of judgment.

We find with the prophets that despite their inner identification with God they are not always ready to accept Divine judgment as final. They often attempt to plead and intercede before God for the people. They might even complain about God’s way of doing things in a particular circumstance. However, once God acts and the affliction, scourge, or punishment begins the prophets are neither crushed nor aggrieved.

The state of feeling perplexed is not foreign to the prophets. Their experience and observation has brought them to a rather haunting awareness; the Truths of what they are called to proclaim they often find difficult to sustain.

The prophets are also perplexed at the power, impact, and work of God; the voice of God is so clear to them yet, seems to remain unnoticed by most people. The prophets are set on fire by the Word of God yet the people are not. For the prophets human situations and circumstances can only be understood in combination with God and what God is doing yet not so for the people. To the prophets God and/or His Truths can be seen in everything yet not true for the people. The prophets view, experience, and interact with life differently than most people, which leads to both a closeness to God and a barrier with their fellow mankind.

There are two absolute facts about the life of a true prophet. 1 – God sought them, they are chosen by God and God’s Word is so clear to them. 2 – People will reject and to some degree fear the prophet because God’s Word through them is incomprehensible to them.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 9

In Bible, Christian Living, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 5, 2014 at 5:00 am

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

Let us continue to examine Jeremiah as an example of the prophets. God had to transform Jeremiah as a person because God had to use Jeremiah with a defiant person. In essence, God had to transform Jeremiah into the opposite of who he had been. The same is true more times than not for modern day prophets.

Jeremiah 17:14,17 (AV)(KJV) – Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

Because prophets are gentle and compassionate by birth, traits found in their temperament, the idea of the task they are called to as prophets is often difficult for them to accept and at first somewhat distasteful to them. This explains the need for the transforming work of God in their lives.

The role of the prophet to some of his or her contemporaries is indefinite at times. People often confuse the godly indignation they feel, which is born out their sympathy with God’s Divine wrath, with the prophet having a personal axe to grind with them. This happens because the indignation they feel becomes so much a part of them through that Divine sympathy that it is hard for them and others to distinguish the difference between the prophet’s personal feelings and the feelings coming through their sympathy and understanding of God and how God feels toward His creation at times. The prophet is not giving vent to personal hostility; most of the time the indignation he or she feels is not something they control the presence of in any manner it is independent of their being yet, it is also something they must not lose control of when they are dealing with people.

Please read that last sentence a couple of times in order to absorb what I am expressing through that statement because the statement is of vital importance to understanding a prophet or being a prophet.

There is little doubt that the prophets feel the extreme of emotions. They can go from agony and pit to tremendous joy. They might also be enveloped in Divine wrath or ache with compassion for people. Prophets will go from words of accusation and admonition to pleading with God on the people’s behalf for mercy. However, get in the way of God’s prophetic Word and the prophet will call for retribution from God. God’s Word is always first priority for the prophet or prophetess.

These extremes in emotions can be misleading to people because it makes the prophet appear to lack consistency, which can be misunderstood as a lack of integrity. This makes people wonder if there is a moral problem. However, one must understand that a prophets inner life is not solely their own. His or her emotional state reflects Divine relationship to the Body of Christ, God’s people, and the world. Both the compassion and anger they feel does not always originate with them. It is often more than the prophet feels he or she can bear as well.

Jeremiah was accused of taking delight in the harsh words of negative future events if the people refused to turn from their sin or they refuse to begin to act; yet, he took no such delight in the Words he had to speak. A man who loved his people and served his people was now considered an enemy to them because he spoke Words they refused to hear or accept. Such is true in this period in history with the current prophets. This leaves the current prophets feeling much the same as Jeremiah felt, they must accept the anguish of having to bring the Words and the aching soul, which comes from the defamation.

The prophets and prophetesses of today are similar to Jeremiah in that they are continuously exposed to the situation of God. They are assiduously attentive to the mood of the people offering with boldness the challenge, warning or call needed to untangle the knots in the relationship between God and man.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 8

In Biblical Principles, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on August 2, 2014 at 5:15 am

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

Although the prophets and prophetess have revelation about the future along with insight and understanding of the past, they also have a responsibly to the present. The prophets have a responsibility to the period in history in which they live. For that matter, the prophets have a responsibility to be open to God in every moment, to what He is revealing to him or her in every moment, within every encounter.

There have been in biblical times and there are today what one might call ‘prophets of wrath’ who express the anger of God against injustice, evil, sin, and ungodliness. These individuals house a passion within their spirits that requires, if not demands, release because trying to contain it for them is like carrying around a fireball in the center of their being that scorches their hearts, spirits, mind, and souls. They feel this Divine wrath spring up from deep inside their spirits. In a society, that values vanilla, no opinion, politically correct, empty people their passion can both inflame and inspire those around them.

The prophet’s Divine wrath is an inner condition of sympathy with the Divine anger of God. This fire of anger against ungodliness that burns within them is something that must be expressed by the prophet. For a REAL godly prophet that inner prophetic sympathy with God is stronger than their will and that inner passion much more powerful than their personal disposition.

Just examine the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah, it is safe to say, hated his prophetic assignment. For a person filled with love, it is horrible to be a prophet of correction, discipline, restraint, penance or wrath. They love the people so much they do not desire any harm or hurt to come to them and they certainly do not desire personally to injure them yet, it is because of that same love they cannot stay silent. Ungodly people’s responses to and views of the prophets today are much the same as it was for Jeremiah in his day; prophets are considered a laughingstock by some, mocked by others, publically rejected by most and suffer from inner misery often. Reference Jeremiah chapter twenty especially verses seven and eight.

Despite their inner struggle with their calling, despite the misery they often feel the real prophet is unable to disengage from God’s Words and/or revelations and is unable to discard the Divine burden they carry. The root of the prophet’s aguish is that those he or she loves dearly he or she is also called upon to correct, exhort, or rebuke. As God Wills, the prophet must bring about Words of correction to the person or peoples actions.

Those individuals that long for or desire a prophetic prophet calling are most likely not really true called prophetic people or prophets; for the true prophets have typically wrestled against accepting their calling, at least in the early stages. Those individuals who seek after a prophetic call are usually immature and do not understand the prophetic call for what it is, if they did they would have the same type of response we find in the true prophet. Some individual seek to find a means by which they can feel seen and valued within the world and Body of Christ thus they seek a prophetic calling or the prophetic gifts. They too are most likely not truly called of God or not truly prophetically gifted. Still other individuals are simply confused and do not understand the difference between a prophetic call, a prophetic call as a prophet or prophetess, and flowing in the occasional act of prophesying. These individuals believe that if they have prophesied on occasion, that equals a prophetic call and gifting or a prophetic call as a prophet and it does not.

Back to the response of people to the true prophet. When a prophet is sent by God to approach a person regarding sin or ungodly behavior, it is almost always because the individual failed to search their own lives for the sin and ungodliness or refused to respond to God’s previous promptings on a matter. The result of their own failure to do what they should have done is transferred to the prophet in the form of resentment toward the prophet for accusing them of ill-will – as though their behavior or lack of response to God was the prophet’s fault. In this situation if the prophet is not a seasoned prophet their love for the person can lead them to be deeply hurt by the person’s response and they may even protest to God because after all it was God who sent them, who told them to open their mouths – the Word was not born in their own hearts but in the heart of God.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.