Where does it say in scripture that New Testament prophesy is void of prediction, bad news, correction and warnings of things to come? Where does it say New Testament prophets no longer warn God’s people of their sin and call his people to repentance? Where does it say that New Testament Prophets are ONLY to preach and prophesy a positive message in the case that the people would get afraid?
Let’s take a look at a New Testament prophesy to the Church in Smyrna given by Jesus Himself.
Revelation 2:10
“Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is indeed about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and proved and critically appraised, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be loyally faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Ok so clearly we see prediction type prophesy and we also see bad news in this prediction or forecast, (trials, afflictions and for some of them death). The good news or His admonition to them was for them to stay loyal in this trial and not to fear.
Ok let’s have another look at New Testament prophesy.
In Revelation 2:18-23 it is a message to the church of Thyatira. Here we see there is a flat out CORRECTION, WARNING and DECLARATION OF CONSEQUENCE to all those who have tolerated Jezebel. Yes, consequence. It is stated that unless they REPENT of their doings, the Lord will throw all those who commit spiritual adultery with Jezebel on a bed of sickness / anguish and will bring them down to pressing distress and severe affliction. He goes on to say, He will strike her children dead and wipe them out (verse 23 AMPC). In fact, if you read the “exhortation” to the seven churches in Revelation there was a call to repentance to five of them with a consequence of action in the event they didn’t heed the word of the Lord.
Hmm that sounds a bit heavy you might say!! Well I want to ask the question. Since when has the modern day church been given the authority to decide what in the bible is too heavy or not? Is it not the Lords words? Is all scripture relevant for us today? Why did all of a sudden the prophesies to the early church only become for them and now for some reason our society has got so soft and self serving that we can’t handle a straight word from God because it might traumatize the people into fear.
The actual fact the church is too immature to handle the full weight of NEW TESTAMENT PROPHESY is the very reason the church is in the mess it’s in!
One trial comes in the earth and a lot of the body of Christ turns to mush! This is because leadership have failed to prepare their people in the mature gospel and let the word of God challenge their hearts into maturity. Fear comes from a self-preservation mindset and not from a son ship mindset. Matthew 6 and the ways of the kingdom have not been taught to the modern day church.
A mature son knows who they are and they know they are loved. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). They know they don’t have to fear what man can do to the body but should fear the one who has the power over the soul and the body ( Matthew 10:28). A son knows in the face of uncertainty they have nothing to fear.
Now for all of you who write me and misinterpret where I am coming from I will say this. I am not judging those who struggle with fear from time to time. We all do, it is a spirit that is in operation and is an enemy that stands at the gates of inheritance and breakthrough.
What I am addressing is the problem the people of God haven’t been taught the FEAR OF THE LORD which will set them free from any earthly fear. They have instead been taught to seek, strive and pursue the earthly riches in the name of the kingdom.
SAUL LED GOVERNMENT – FEAR OF MAN – SELF SERVING – SELF PRESERVING
Let me suggest to you a people who cannot handle the sound and voice of the REAL prophets and this includes, corrections, warnings and predictions, are a people who have been under a Saul led government. The western church in many ways has kept their people babies by preaching a self-seeking gospel that is in pursuit of comfort, riches and worldly success. Let me tell you something, when people are fed this self-serving gospel, when trials and tribulations come they will fall apart. The scriptures even say that persecution causes the people of God to be OFFENDED and desert the Lord! (Matthew 24:10)
As leaders we have a responsibility to preach the whole gospel which brings the saints into the “maturity of faith”. This gospel will challenge, exhort, correct and instruct. Why are we only seeking and wanting the exhorting? This is an unbalanced gospel and does not represent the heart of a father who loves his kids. (Hebrews 12:5-7 AMPC version)
IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LEADERSHIP IN THE HOUSE OF GOD TO PREACH THE UNADULTERATED WORD OF GOD, WHETHER IT IS WELCOME OR UNWELCOME
This is a message from Paul to Timothy in how to conduct himself with the word of God.
2 Timothy 4:2
“Herald and preach the WORD! Keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.”
Wow on the strength of that scripture I could rest my case but let’s go further;
Verse 3-4
“For the time is coming when people will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, and will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man- made fictions.”
I believe we are in that day, where people cannot tolerate or endure sound and wholesome instruction because they seek to please and gratify themselves.
Mature sons relish in the word of the Lord, however that comes, correction, warning, prediction or otherwise.
HANDS IN THE EARS SINGING LALALALALA
I woke up the other morning from a disturbing vision of a people with their hands in their ears going lalalalala. Not wanting to hear the instructions and warnings of God.
This not only reveals to me an immature people but it reveals to me a REBELLIOUS HOUSE!
Now I am not suggesting the whole body of Christ are positioned as such. I believe there is a remnant. The remnant have sought the heart of God and have relished in the chastisement of the Lord. They have allowed the refining fires to purify, consecrate and mature them in the chambers of intimacy.
A PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HEAR ONLY WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR WILL BE GREATLY DECEIVED IN THIS HOUR
Many are not going to like the words the TRUE prophets are going to bring in this hour to the body of Christ. They will be accused by the religious and those of Sauls house as being “OLD TESTAMENT” style prophets. But let me tell you these prophets have paid a high price to carry the lead weight words that are about to be released in this hour that will serve as a plumbline awakening alignment.
My good friend Lana Vawser has been heralding a word that God is coming “ready or not”.
My friends I would like to add to that and say, not only is He coming ready or not, but whether you LIKE IT OR NOT!
GOD IS GOING TO SAY WHAT HE WANTS TO SAY WHETHER HIS PEOPLE LIKE IT OR NOT!
His word is like fire and it consumes all that can’t stand the test, and His word is like a hammer and breaks in pieces the most stubborn resistance. (Jeramiah 23:29)
WHO ARE YOU WHO TROUBLES ISRAEL? – AHAB LEADERS WILL LABEL GODS TRUE PROPHETS AS TROUBLE MAKERS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
Many TRUE prophets will be accused of causing trouble in the body of Christ in these days to come. Many leaders will openly and publically oppose them and action their people to not listen to them. They will be called trouble makers but the real fact is that their leadership is the very reason these prophets have had to come on the scene.
Let’s have a look at the story of Elijah in 1Kings 17-18. We see Elijah came on the scene because Ahab the king of Israel at the time was married to Jezebel a murderous, covetous harlot, and he allowed her demonic, pagan, wicked idolatry to be practiced in Israel. His passivity and tolerance to this dark evil defiled Israel and saw another style of prophet brought on the scene in Israel at the time. These were the prophets of BAAL. Baal was the god of rain, lightning and season. WE see here that this worship was offering a counterfeit to the true prophetic voice of God. It was the prophets of Yaweh that pronounced the times and seasons of God to His people, and lightening is also a prophetic metaphor for the voice of God.( Job 37:4) Idolatries around these gods of Baal and Ashteroth, exalted the practices of sexual immorality without restraints, which invited all sorts of vile perversions, child sacrifice, sorcery, witchcraft and worshipping of mammon, just to name a few.
So we see here the level of evil and defilement called for a prophet to arrive on the scene and once again call God’s people out of deception of mixture back into pure consecrated worship.
But Elijah wasn’t welcome. He was labelled a troublemaker by the King because Elijah declared famine on the land by reason of their wicked harlotry. The Lord would usually bring calamity upon Israel to get their attention in order for them to have open ears to the prophets and repent and return to the Lord.
1 KINGS 18:17-18
“When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Are you he who troubles Israel? Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals.”
The Ahab leaders who have tolerated passivity and idolatry will accuse the TRUE prophets for troubling Israel, (which is a type of the church), because they will bring corrective words that may carry consequences and expose their idolatrous leadership.
Again I am not talking about angry prophets who have roots of bitterness that hate the body of Christ and want to see destruction. These are not true prophets. Neither are they a person who carries a message of peace in a time of trouble.
TRUE prophets carry the heart of God, are tempered in the flames of love and have paid a very high price to herald a beckoning message of return and repentance to a confused and rebellious house.
They do not trouble Israel (the House of God – the body of Christ), but will expose the structures and systems of man that has. They are ready for the fires of persecution because they have been forged in the fire of the FEAR OF THE LORD.
Yes, their words may be hard to bear for a people who are mixed with the world and have not sought maturity and consecration.
Jesus’ disciples found his words hard to bear when he spoke of drinking his blood and eating his flesh. He then confronted them and asked them if His word were a stumbling block and offense to them (John 6:60- 61).
Do you have your fingers in your ears going LALALALALALALA? Are you of the rebellious house who only wants to have your ears tickled and your fur stroked? Are the words and messages of God too hard to bear and endure? Are they an offence and a stumbling block?
We read over these scriptures and think to ourselves if I was in that time I would have believed every word of Jesus. REALLY? Would have you? I beg to differ. I believe we are to all examine our hearts and know we are all vulnerable to His words offending our minds.
But those of us who have ears to hear will hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying, even though it may challenge us to the core.
Is the church really ready to hear from the TRUE prophets? Do they really want to ready themselves for what is to come? Which by the way will be the greatest showdown of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth up to this point in the ages. Or do they just want to keep their fingers in their ears singing LALALALALALALA.
Why should a prophet not release the pure word as they hear it from heaven because they are afraid of a people who have not been prepared in maturity to hear the voice of the Lord.
WHY IS THE CHURCH AFRAID OF THE VOICE OF THE LORD?
Are the Lords people that far from the intimacy of His presence like the children of Israel that they would fear the Lords voice when it came from the mountain and run away?
Exodus 20:18-20
“Now all the people perceived the thundering’s and the lightning’s and the noise of the trumpet and the smoking mountain, and as they looked they trembled with fear and fell back and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, You speak to us and we will listen, but let not God speak to us, lest we die, And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God has come to prove you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
We see clearly here they were afraid of the voice of God because they thought they would die. Their need to save their life was greater than their need to hear God’s voice.
See when we want to save our life and the things of this world, we are afraid of the voice of the Lord and what the Lord says whether warning, instruction, prediction or correction. It will freak us out because it will bring the fear of the Lord to deal with sin. But the problem is people want to hold onto their sin and not “die” to their old carnal nature, and that is truly what the VOICE of the Lord will do. It will challenge those idols and false belief factors that act as a ceiling to the full freedom Christ has paid for in our lives.
I encourage you to seek and pursue maturity, that you may be one who runs to the voice of God instead of running away. That you would not tremble and fear what is to come, but would tremble and fear at His word! (Isaiah 66:5)
