(continued) © by Gary W. Crisp
The Lord’s Prophets
(continued)
Be Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves
Continuing our thoughts about prophets and things of prophecy, it is important to be careful and cautious in our dealings with the people of the Lord. Any time a prophet of God opens his or her mouth to speak, it is best the prophet knows for certain that the words they speak are truly from God. Beyond that, it as just as important to use wisdom when
“ministering to people”. By this I mean that every time a woman prophet has told me she had “a word for me”, or else I sensed a woman may have something of a spiritual nature to say to me, I always, always, always have had my wife with me. I have had women say they “had a word to share with me”, to which I’d reply, “Fine, when can my wife and I get with you?”, or something to that effect. Granted, there may be times when my wife may not be available. Then I grab the pastor, another minister, or some close friends to accompany me as this woman ministers the words to me.
Conversely, if I feel the Lord may have something for me to share with a woman on a personal level, I’ll grab my wife’s hand and we’ll go together. If I feel the Lord wants me to pray for a specific woman, I’ll grab my wife’s hand and we’ll go together. I am very careful about this, and if my wife or someone else is not available, I’ll wait. God’s words to another can always wait another day or week. I know of prophets who have “carried” a word from God in their hearts for many days. God never pushes. Our flesh always will. One verse here, that sums this thinking up is 1st Thessalonians 5:21, 22 -- “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil”. Join with this the memory of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, and you’ll see where I’m headed (see Genesis 39:6-21). Joseph would not give in to temptation, but instead fled from its presence.
Why am I saying these things? Because I am afraid? No, but as 1st Thessalonians 5:22 states: “Abstain from all appearance of evil”, I just feel it is of the utmost importance to avoid any appearance of impropriety or carelessness. I have been taught by good Bible teachers to never allow myself or my ministry to be “compromised”. Even as Joseph fled from the presence of his master’s wife in Genesis 39:6-12, so must we flee even the “appearance of evil”. Wisdom dictates that we walk circumspectly (Eph. 5:15), and prudence tells us we need to be cautious in our dealings with the Body of Christ. Simply put, outside of ministering to a group of women (from a pulpit, etc.), married men should never “minister to” or “be ministered to” by other women without their wives present, or at the very least two more people present.
The same goes for married women: Have your husbands or two people present when being ministered to or when ministering to other men. Why do I say “two people”? Because, by the time you find those two people, maybe the “urgent message” to you has passed. It will also give you time to think if it’s really that important or not. I know people who “thought” they had “everything under control”, only to find out, too late, that they didn’t.
Married people: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER minister “one on one” with a member of the opposite sex in a private room or place! This is foolish, foolish, foolish!!! Don’t do it!! If you have done it and nothing happened, thank God for His watchfulness over you. If you’ve done it and something within you “stirred up” that has been troubling you, or if something even “happened”, then run to the Father and ask for forgiveness. Or find a trusted friend and ask for help and prayer. Not, of course, a member of the opposite sex! All of this, please understand, is for our own safety. Do not say, “It won’t happen to me”, because too many good people have “fallen” by senseless little “indiscretions” and careless situations. Be wise. Be wise. Be wise.
True Prophets Bring Peace and Unity
A true prophet will always edify, meaning he will “build up, strengthen, and enlighten the Church with the Truth of the Gospel”. And when Christ may give him a “new revelation”, you can rest assured that it will be easily confirmed by the Word of God. A “word” from a prophet will never lead you “away from God or away from His Word”. A “word” from a prophet will NEVER -- absolutely never -- contradict scripture. All prophetic words “spoken” in the New Testament were very easily confirmed and bolstered by Old Testament scriptures and Old Testament prophets. Now, how did those in the Old Testament “confirm” what the O.T. prophets said? There was some written history, or even “verbal history” passed down from family to family, and from generation to generation. And besides, if the Old Testament prophets were “wrong”, they stoned them. How blessed we are today.
A true prophet will always exhort the Body. This means he will “call the people of the Lord near; he’ll invite, invoke, implore, speaking words of consolation”. Part of the prophet’s calling is to “beseech, call for, and entreat”. A prophet expresses God’s Heart and God’s Mind, and many times God “implores us” to come to Him. He may “call us” to listen to Him, to be ministered to by Him or, when necessary, to repent before Him. That word, “implore”, is a very interesting word. It means “to invoke or call upon with tears”. Does this mean God cries? Doesn’t every father cry for his children? I believe there are times when our Father grieves also.
Finally, a true prophet will always comfort the people of God. Comfort is mentioned here, in Philippians 2:1, 2 : “If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any compassion and sympathy, fulfil my joy and be likeminded: Having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.” Comfort, defined as “solace or consolation”, means a prophet of the Lord will “bring moral comfort to, make amends for, and relieve grief, disappointment and loss”. That is a pretty high demand. A prophet must be sensitive to the needs, losses and areas of disappointment in the sheep of the Lord’s pasture. Many people “out there”, claiming to be prophets of the Lord, do not meet these criteria.
As Paul states in 1st Cor. 14:29 : “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other [prophet(s)] judge.” Prophets need to be willing to allow the words they speak and minister to “be judged” by other prophets. Are there no “other” prophets? Then pray and ask God to either send more prophets or ask Him to lay His Hand upon those in your midst. I believe all bodies of believers, who are truly seeking Him, have all five of the Ministry Gifts within their church -- or at least “accessible” to their churches. You may not can “see them” or “hear them” or “be aware of them”, but they are there...somewhere. Either in the “embryonic stage”, the “baby stage”, the “child stage” or some other spiritual growth stage. God is greatly desiring to “bring to birth” the giftings and the callings He has so graciously given. Pray that He will.
One final thought on the calling and office of the prophet. Matthew 13:57 : “But Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house’.” These words of Jesus speak for themselves.
The Spirit of Prophecy
As we mentioned a short while ago, there is a “prophetic flow”, called the Spirit of Prophecy, that may seem unusual to some of you, but like any new thing let us approach it with an open mind. I mentioned that this “prophetic flow” was brought on by a spiritual stirring within the Body of Christ, so let us take a look at what a “spiritual stirring” might be. Hopefully, by now you’ve read 1st Samuel 19:18-24. Here we see the first sign of the “atmosphere of the prophetic”, and how it can affect anyone who may be in its presence. An unusual thing happens in these verses, and if it were not so shameful, it would be funny.
In these verses, Saul is searching for David, so he sends messengers to Ramah, where David was hiding with the Prophet Samuel. The first group of messengers comes to Ramah, confronts David and Samuel, but something strange takes place. As I mentioned earlier, Samuel had a School of the Prophets in Ramah, and when Saul’s men came there, they were “exposed” to this spiritually-charged atmosphere. What happened next shocked the messengers of Saul. They began to “prophesy”, along with the prophets under Samuel’s care! Three groups of men are sent by Saul. All three ended up coming under the same spiritual influence, and all three prophesied. Finally, we see the rebellious King Saul going there himself. And what do you suppose happens? He, too, begins prophesying.
v.22 : “Then [Saul] also went to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu. There he asked, ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ And one said, ‘Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah’. v.23 “And he went to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on his way, prophesying, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. v.24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. This is where the saying came from, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’”
Here we see a glimpse of two things. First, we see just how powerful the anointing and the presence of the Lord really are. Second, we get a very clear picture of what the flesh is, in terms of how it is affected by the Holy Spirit. The flesh, when in the presence of the Holy Spirit, will do strange things, as evidenced by Saul’s naked, soulish display. Did he prophesy? Yes, the scripture tells us that. Was it edifying? No, and I can say that from the evidence of that scripture: He stripped off his clothes. Any words he may have said were completely lost on the fact that he had “insulted” God and Samuel and anyone else there. His shameful, “outward” display revealed the “inward” man.
Jesus, in Matthew 7:15 warns : “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Saul, who was an anointed king, may not necessarily be classified as a “false prophet”, but it is pretty certain he was not a “true” one. And since his desire was to kill David, it is pretty certain that he could be called “ravenous”. I have seen some very unsightly displays of the flesh, when that flesh is subjected to the Power and Might of the Holy Spirit. We may get into some of that later.
From the verses dealing with Saul’s soulish display, we can see that the Power of God’s Spirit, or the Power of His Anointing, is indeed very powerful. So much so that even sinful man can come under the effects of it. But when he does, his reaction is not wholly spiritual. It will be laced with sensuality and a fleshly output, such as Saul’s nakedness. Nakedness in the Old Testament is a very degrading and shameful thing; certainly not pleasing to God. There are many verses we could look at to search this out, but you look for yourself if you have doubts about the shame of being unclothed before the Lord or one of His prophets.
It’s interesting to note that none of Saul’s men were described as “naked” before Samuel, which brings up another much-more-positive-point to the “side effects” and influences of a spiritual stirring of the Spirit of the Lord. And this is where it may apply to us, as we find ourselves in the Presence of God’s Spirit. There may be times, while in the Presence of the Lord, that we find ourselves “stirred within” or “moved upon”. There are many ways to describe this feeling. Anything from “something bubbling up inside”, to a “sudden awareness” of things, or we may even feel the “urge” to speak or say something. When God’s Spirit moves in a Body of Believers in this powerful and gracious manner, it is quite often possible for everyone in the meeting to feel as though “even they could prophesy!” It doesn’t mean they all should; it just means it is possible. As believers, we all need to learn to be more sensitive to God’s Spirit and know when to speak and when to keep silent.
This is something we all must learn, and with God’s Grace, God’s Help and God’s Gifts, we can do just that -- all of us learn to edify, bless and encourage one another, thus building up His Body and His Kingdom; glorifying and magnifying His Great & Wonderful Name!
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