In yesterday’s article we opened up a new series discussing the importance of competency in prophetic ministry today. We began talk openly about some of the delusion in prophetic ministry which is both tolerated and celebrated in the prophetic movement today, and how this likened unto to the false idol Dagon falling and eventually losing his head when He was confronted with the glory of God in the ark (1 Sam.5:1-7). Today we will continue this subject talking about the importance of biblical orthodoxy in prophetic ministry, as well as continuing to expose some of the major glaring issues in this movement which is putting it in danger of great apostasy if it’s course is not changed.
THE PREEMINENCE OF THE WORD IN PROPHETIC MINISTRY
Delusion & deception become the children’s bread the moment you start to elevate the telling of subjective spiritual experiences above the preaching and teaching of God’s word.
(John 1:1-5)
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.â€
The “Word” is Jesus, yes indeed, yet Jesus did validate the Scriptures as being the Word as well through his own teachings (John 5:39; Heb.10:7). He used the authority of Scripture to vindicate his birth, his life, his death, and his message, thus elevating the Holy Scriptures above any other written or oral record known to man. Therefore, we as the Church of Jesus Christ (which includes the Prophetic Movement) have a sacred and solemn responsibility to preach the gospel and to preach those Scriptures, giving them eminence in both our lives and ministries.
No prophetic ministry has the right to replace time in the word with time in the telling of their subjective spiritual experiences. At best, prophetic experiences and stories of angel visits can be used as a “companion” to the Scriptures. At worst they become a distraction which can then lead to a whole other gospel and a whole other Jesus. Jason Westerfiled, case and point.
Prophetic Ministry is used to encourage, build up, and exhort the body of Christ in our mutual faith which we all share in Christ. It can be used in the capacity of spiritual gifts to aid the hearer with the Spirit, to better grasp the truth of the Scriptures, but by no means should we devote entire facebook pages or entire conferences to the telling of spiritual journeys through our own human lenses. Not if we want to be taken seriously by the rest of the church and by God himself as faithful ministers of the gospel. There is no compromise which can be permitted concerning this. The way of the apostate from the beginning, even in the garden when Eve was beguiled by the serpent, is to move away from God’s Word (Gen.3), many times replacing it with a spiritual supplement that mimics the effects and nourishment of the Word. By being more fascinated with the fireworks of modern day prophetic ministry we have bitten the apple of Eve. We have led the people away from the Rock of Scripture onto the sinking sand of spiritual fascination and indulgence, and the cost for souls has been and will continue to be dear.
THE SAME RULES DON’T APPLY FOR THE FALSE GODS KNOWN AS PROPHETS
Lately I’ve been particularly fascinated with Jesus’ parable of the talents in (Matt.25:14-30). The parable is about many things, including but not limited to: finances, stewardship, faith, eschatology, the coming of the Lord, and competence. Jesus started this parable off by saying that this is what the “kingdom of heaven is likened unto” (Matt.25:14). It’s likened unto a Master that delivers to his servants talents (a form of gold currency in that day), and demands that they multiply the talents by the time He returns. We know it to be his demand by the way He responds to the servant who buried his talent. It was impossible to please this Master without having faith, without believing in yourself and putting action to that faith to produce more talents, just like it is impossible to please the living God without faith that works (Heb.11:6). As the story goes, for the man who had not (which was the one who didn’t do anything with his talent), even what He had was taken away and given to them who had (which were the ones who multiplied their talents) (Matt.25:29). This is where the statement “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” really originates. Jesus said that this is what the “kingdom of heaven” is likened unto, not wicked Capitalism. Think about that for a while. Selah.
The kingdom of God rewards those who move with faith and multiply what they’ve been given. The kingdom of heaven rewards those who are faithful and competent with their talents. When you have an infiltration of an evil spirit, such as the one that runs Marxist countries and domains in the earth, you have this kingdom system violated. No longer are the faithful and competent rewarded, but the corrupt and wicked are rewarded for their allegiance to a spirit which makes slaves out of the common man. People lose hope and their spirits are broken in these systems because the laws which God set in place to govern the universe have been violated. One’s faithful and intelligent stewardship is no longer rewarded, as is natural in the order of God’s kingdom, therefore the people lose their incentive to sow and reap. They lose their incentive to multiply their talents. As a man sows so should he also reap (Gal.6:7-8). As it is with Marxist countries being dominated by evil spirits, so is it now in the prophetic movement. The natural kingdom order has been violated.
In the prophetic movement, incompetence and unfaithfulness with the “prophetic talent” if you will, is being rewarded, contrary to the laws of God. This is one of the telling signs that an evil spirit has changed the laws which govern this movement. It’s a sign that this movement, by and large, is no longer operating according to the laws of the kingdom. This is scary stuff. We must face the truth concerning this movement.
In many parts of our still “functioning society” the kinds of things that prophets get away with in the church would cause them to lose their influence in a heartbeat in the world. (I emphasize “functioning society” because places like Washington D.C. and the Entertainment Industry no longer function according to these god-given laws). But in the prophetic movement they don’t lose their influence, but rather grow more influential the more they abuse God’s people. They don’t lose power through incompetence, prophetic usury, bearing false witness, and being delusional. They gain power through it, which once again tells us that there’s an evil spirit involved.
We will continue this series tomorrow.
In His Service,
Stephen Powell
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