Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Where Are the True Prophets of God?

"When will Christians begin to seek out and find true and mature prophets and other ministers of God who are making true and mature disciples of Jesus Christ?"

Mourning Over the Church

Blessed are those who mourn. Recently, someone who was teaching about the Beatitudes during our Wednesday night gathering shared that she was mourning over the ungodly things taking place at a church she was aware of. I responded by saying that as part of God’s call on my life, He has put in my heart a concern for the Church as a whole. The Church as a whole is far from what Jesus Christ intends for her to be and, in many cases, things seem to be progressively growing worse. Actually, things are in a crisis state and need urgent attention.

We need Christians who will respond to the Spirit of God and mourn in spirit in a way that will touch the heart of God to bring change, whether it is over part of the Church or the Church as a whole. The Lord is looking for faithful disciples who will mourn and weep over the Church as He mourned over Jerusalem. Jesus followed through on His mourning and went to the cross. Perhaps it is time to ask, “What am I willing to do?”

Seeking out True and Mature Ministers
One of the most important things that any true disciple of Jesus Christ can do is to seek out true and mature ministers of God. Specifically, they need to seek out true prophets of God! Each true disciple needs the ministry of a true and mature prophet of God. "When will Christians begin to seek out and find true and mature prophets and other ministers of God who are making true and mature disciples of Jesus Christ?

We need true prophets who will call the Church to repentance and point her in the right direction, the direction of taking up her cross and following after Jesus. We need men who are real prophets and look humble, loving, and bold, rather than men who are false prophets and look like proud, strutting peacocks! There are many people in the Christian Church who are presently following immature, carnal, and even false teachers, false ministers, and false prophets. When will Christians realize that false prophets are using the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life to hook them into feeding their greed? When will they begin to discern wolves in sheep’s clothing? When will the Church begin to seek out and find true prophets and ministers who are making true disciples of Jesus Christ? Is there a faithful remnant who are not being taken in by carnal, deceitful, greedy, and errant ministers and prophets?

Heed the Warning!
There is an ever growing need in the body of Christ for discerning believers. I recently observed some men on television who are perceived as moving in the prophetic. As I watched them, I was reminded of hearing a true, and proven, minister say that several years ago some men posing as prophets moved from country to country saying to each country that revival would uniquely begin with them and then spread. Regretfully, people in each country were taken in by these men, these false prophets as it were. Well, my discernment says that people are still being taken in. They were definitely being taken in by the ones I observed on TV. We do need true prophets, but we do not need this stuff that is currently taking place. My heart was grieved when I saw a young person in the clutches of one of the “prophets.” He was asking personal and inappropriate questions about a condition on their body. A real prophet would have been sensitive enough not to ask, and discerning enough not to have to ask. The crowd didn’t seem to have a clue; in their desperation for help, they were spiritually blind and undiscerning about all that was taking place.

I heard a minister on tape teaching on the spirit of the Antichrist. He said that the Charismatic movement was a likely place for the spirit of the Antichrist to work because it was largely ignorant of the Word of God, lawless, and crazy about spiritual gifts. He went on to say that in spite of this, he does think that the Charismatic movement is of God. This minister has since gone to be with the Lord, but I do believe his discernment was correct. I am not singling out the Charismatics just so the other parts of the Church can say I told you so. There are some issues, major issues, in all parts of the Church that God wants to address. I am looking for Baptists, Methodists, Charismatics, Pentecostals, etc., with maturity and discernment who will unite in faith as disciples of Jesus Christ and mourn and weep over the present state of the Church.

Where Are the true Prophets of God?
Many are in the wilderness or on the edge of the wilderness. Seldom are they presently well known or accepted, but they are out there for those who are willing to seek for them. If you do not want to accept that there are still true prophets of God, just cry out for real ministers who will address the issues with truth and power, and will move the body of Christ in the right direction. Let the Church be the Church! Let there be a Church with Christ formed within, united in faith, holy as God is holy in all her conduct, ministering truth, and shining for Jesus Christ.

Conclusion
When will true prophets be received, accepted, and listened to? When will enough people in the body of Christ wake up and unite in faith to be what Christ called His Church to be? Until this happens, the types of things I warned about are going to grow and spread like a cancer, or a wildfire. Will you please understand that you cannot ignore what is going on? Will you please understand that what happens in one part of the Church affects all of the Church? Will you wake up and look beyond your personal situation and/or group? God, help us, please!

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BIBLICAL APPLICATION:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Matthew 23:37-39 NIV

4 comments:

NanWills2 said...

It seems to me that most people view a prophet much like a fortuneteller. They are looking for someone to speak good things over them and magically make them come true. We must remember that our goal as disciples of Jesus is not feathering our own nests but doing the will of the Father. So when seeking out a prophet of God, should we not be first and foremost asking what God would say to us?

R. Wayne Wilson said...

Excellent discernment and a very good analogy! Yes, we should be asking what God would say to us.

Anonymous said...

True prophets not only prophecy but are the trouble shooters to get things right so God's people can flourish. He promises His people a land of Milk and Honey, not droughts and flooding rains or financial collapses like we are seeing now. It is not so much as when will the church listen because God said "My words (meaning quickened words) shall not return unto me void and it shall accomplish that for which is sent. The big question is when will the prophets listen to what God is saying to them to activate His Words into an action.
Firstly there has got to be a repentance as Paul did when he went into Ephesis when he called to a public burning of all witch craft objects and evil things and it says that the word of God fell on the city and spread and became established. More info contact me on my email address. daisy37@sctelco.net.au

Anonymous said...

I LOVE THIS, I HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR HELP FOR SOMEONE TO COME FORWARD AND FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AGAINST FALSE PROPHETS...PLEASE COME TO FACEBOOK!!! THERE ARE SO MANY FALSE PROPHETS THAT NEED DELIVERANCE AND BE TOLD THE TRUTH I HAVE COPYED AND PAST OF YOU STUFF THERE, BUT YOU ARE MOST NEEDED THERE PLEASE JOIN PLEASE!!