UNDERSTANDING PROPHECY PART 3.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROPHETIC part 3.

We have looked at a number of things about the prophetic in the part one and part two of this series. We see from the scriptures that all it takes to prophesy is to have the Spirit of God. We have also seen that there is a difference between the office of a prophet and the gift of prophecy. We have seen the validity of the office of a prophet. In this final part of the series, we will look at the essence of prophecy, how to prophesy and the new testament prophetic ministry. For proper understanding of this series you can click here to read the part one and part two of the series if you have not read them.

NEW TESTAMENT PROPHETIC MINISTRY
The new testament is a covenant centred on the sacrifice of Jesus for the remission/forgiveness of sin. In manifesting the prophetic we must know the covenant we are in now.  The covenant you know regulates the voices you hear. You have seen some people that all they prophesy is God’s anger just like the old testament prophets. This is because they have not understood the covenant we are in now. New testament prophetic ministry is centred on what Christ has done and who we are because of what He has done. Jesus  in eating the Passover  with His disciples said “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. “ Matthew  26:28.  The new covenant is in the remission of sin. In this covenant sins are not imputed.
Hebrews 8
7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: note note
11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Notice the details of the New covenant in Christ. In this covenant, we have God as our God. This means that any prophecy that makes the believer looks far from God is not God. Also notice that in this covenant, sins are not imputed. He said your sins and lawless deeds, He will remember no more and He will be merciful to your unrighteousness. It is easy to see sin in people. Some people believe that until a prophet calls out sin in people, he is not prophetic. Are you a prophesier of sin or of Christ? God doesn't impute sin. So obviously if you are seeing sin, it is you picking it prophetically.  You don’t need to be deep in prophetic to see sin. Prophetic depth is in seeing the true nature of the man in Christ amidst the sins. So if you sense sin in someone, what you ought to do is to tell the person what the Lord is saying about his sins. The LORD CAN NEVER SAY ANYTHING THAT IMPUTE SIN. God is not seen in the dark. He is only seen in the light. We serve a God that sees darkness and call it light.
In this covenant there is no condemnation. Romans 8:1.  We are ministers of reconciliation not minsters of condemnation. The ministry  we have received is in telling people that they have been reconciled to God . So our prophetic ministry must be in reconciliation.

But man of God what of the devil and the enemies? Can’t we prophesy about them? Any prophecy we must give must be in reference to what Christ has done. We know that in the death of Christ, the devil has been destroyed. He has been disarmed. He has been made powerless.
Hebrews 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Colossians 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
So if you must talk about that it called the devil, it must be in reference to its defeat. The devil only exist in ignorance and unbelief. Sin and the devil are in the dark. We are not ministers of darkness but minsters of the light.  We see many errors in this light as regards the prophetic. In fact some people  believe that to know a true prophet, the person must be able to point out your human enemies. We see people saying, Prophet visit my village, to do what ? To farm? Or to uproot cassava? This is because it is generally believed that it is in the village the devil is stronger. All of these are fables. Satanic myths. The question is, is it the devil that Jesus has dealt with? If It is the one, then know that the victory is sure. So when you sense satanic work prophetically, you must  deliver the word in the victory over the devil. I once had an experience with a relative who met a prophet, and the prophet told her that they have planned death against her. That he is seeing her in the grave and that there is nothing anyone can do to change it. Immediately, the person became scared and called me. I laughed, one week before the call, I had sensed death around the person, and I have cancelled it. So I just told the person to relax. She wanted to enter a fast, I insisted she should not. This is because anything she does then will be out of fear. That was what settled it. Does it mean, we should ignore the devil  when we see it? NO. We are to cast out devils, rebuke the devil. Don’t give it so much attention. The guy is so poor that he is always looking for attention. POOR DEVIL as I call  it. For more on how to deal with the devil click here to visit my post on THE POWERLESSNESS OF THE DEVIL.
In summary about new testament prophetic ministry, we must realise that the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy.
Revelation 19: 10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The testimony of Christ is the spirit, Vital principle, the mental disposition, the breath of prophecy. Our Prophecy must be based on the testimony of Christ. It must be based on what Christ has done and who we are in Christ.  We are prophets and prophesiers of Christ and all that pertain to His testimony. We are not prophesiers of sin or the devil.

WHY WE NEED PROPHECY TODAY
Reading through the scriptures we see that prophecy is very important . Like I said in the part one of this series, that we have many abuses of the prophetic doesn’t mean we should throw away any thing prophetic. The reason why we could have the fake ones is because there is the real one. For example there is nothing  like fake #2,000 note because we have no real #2,000 note.  But, we have #1,000 fake note because of the real one. Let’s look at some importance of prophecy.
1.Prophecy helps to edify, exhort  and comfort people. 1 Corinthians 14: 3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.  Prophecy helps to build up people. It edifices the church. It also comforts people. Comfort from prophecy is not sorry. It's a consolation that comes with peace and solution. When someone is going through an issue, a word of prophecy can console the person. Prophecy also helps to encourage believers.  We know that in this world we are bound to see challenges. Amidst the challenges,  discouragement can come. This is the essence of prophecy to encourage people.
2.Prophecy helps to reveal divine purpose for the saints. Acts 13:1-2. We see here Paul and Barnabas were commissioned for ministry by a prophetic instruction. By prophecy someone can discover what the Lord would have him do
3.Prophecy helps to foretell events and advert there negative effects.  Acts 11:  27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.  28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.  29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Here we see that Prophet Agabus foresaw famine. This helped the believers to take necessary actions during the famine.
4.Prophecy helps to reveal details, and secrets of people.    1 Corinthians 14: 24  But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: 25  And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on hisface he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

There are several other importance of prophecy. In fact, in the epistles, we are told  not to despise prophecy and prophesying. 1Th 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.  We are to esteem prophecy.
No  one is above prophecy. Not every one is sick, so not every one needs healing. Not every one needs miracle. But, everyone needs to be edified, built up, encouraged, and comforted in prophecy.

HOW TO PROPHECY
Having seen many things about prophecy, let's look at how to prophesy. First realise that we have established in the part one that all It takes a man to prophesy is to have the Spirit of God in him. This we saw even right from the old testament books of the Bible. Now that you are born again, you have the spirit of God forever in you  So you can prophesy. The ability is already in you.
Now that you know you have the ability, how do one actually prophesy?
First, you must have a desire to prophesy. We are told to covet to prophesy. 1Co 14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. The desire is to manifest the gift knowing that you have the ability already. The word covet here means, to burn earnestly for. To have strong desire for or to burn with zeal. We are to have strong desires to prophesy.
Second, you must learn to recognize God’s voice. Every believer can hear God’s voice, the issue many times is not recognizing the voice. Many times, what we call “something”  is God’s voice. The voice is always correct. Prophecy can come through the still small voice. It can also come  via other channels, like dreams, trances, open visions, impressions in Our heart or even am overwhelming feeling.
Third, we can apply the principle of ask and receive. Matthew 7:7. You can ask the Lord for a word for somebody and listen after that. Many times the word will be as if it is your thought. No. Thinking is active. You choose to think about something. But when the Lord speaks to you, it just come to you in your mind. It is not you that originate the thoughts.
Fourth, you can speak in tongues and interpret. Tongues plus interpretation equals prophecy. But man of God, how do we interpret tongues? Simple. Speak in tongues as if you are talking, then listen to your heart. Have you not noticed that when you start praying in tongue about an issue, thoughts starts entering your heart. Many times that is the interpretation. That interpretation is the answer. When  you want  to interpret tongues, you speak in tongues and listen. You can pray loud in tongues first to calm your heart, thereafter speak in tongues. How do I know when I am speaking in tongues or praying in tongues? When you pray in tongue is to God. When you speak in tongue, you make it conversational. Same way you speak to people, then you listen for replies.
Finally, go for impartations from people that manifest in the prophetic. Apostle Paul said in Romans 1: 11  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;  The impartation is to call out what is in you. It is not to give you what you don’t have. My prophetic ministry came alive when I met a man, the person of pastor Eghosa Alvin Osunde. What you are looking for is in a man. Why not go for it. Don’t be found always despising  people in the name of age, background, sex etc.  Do you want to prophesy always, then be among people that prophesy. Honour and keep honouring the gifts in men among you that are prophetic. I will talk more on impartation in subsequent teachings on honour.
To sum this series on the prophetic, dear believer, never you forget that since you have the spirit  you can prophecy. Go about edifying, comforting, encouraging, and revealing secrets via prophecy.

To the body of Christ, there is a rising of a strong army who are given to the prophetic. They see

things before they happen. For where others have said, the church is weak and failing, there is

strength there. Where there have been many abuses in the prophetic, the pure and new

covenant prophet and prophesiers are rising, doing the mighty works of Christ. Glory to God.

Stay blessed.

By OBIAZIKWOR EMEKE MODESTY
www.emekemodesty.com