Thus saith the Lord or did He?

I just starting "Thus Saith The Lord" by John Bevere. Man oh Man. Let me share with you a part that really made me think about my ministry and those that I have comein contact. Sometimes I think we do things thinking we are hearing from the lord but are we truly hearing from god or are we hearing from self?


Ok here is what I want to share...

Flesh vs Promise

The Bible reveals that prophetic ministry will play a crucial role in preparing the church for the Lord's return. Peter quoted the prophet Joel, who said that sone and daughters, menservants and maidservants will prophesy (Acts 2:16-18 and Joel 2-28-31). The enemy know this as well. He longs to cripple or prevert the prophetic and diminsh its effectiveness. He wants the church to remain fleshy, for then the precious is mised with the vile.

It comes as no surprise that a biblical pattern exist that applies to much of the current prophetic ministry. More often than not the Ishmael precedes the Isaac. Flesh will try to bring forth what only the Spirit can. Allow me to explain. When he was seventy-five, Abraham received a promise from God that he would have a son. After eleven years of waiting he and his wife devised a plan of action. Hagar, his wife's slave girl, was given to Abraham, and a son named Ishmael was born.

God allowed this and must have thouhgt, If they think they can bring forth MY promise through their flesh; I will wait until Abram's reproductive system is dead. Then I'll bring forth MY son of promise. Why? Because He will not allow flesh to glory in His sight! Thirteen more years passed, and both of them were dead reproductively (romans 4:19). Then Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac. Paul wrote:

The son of the slave wife was born in a humnan attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God's Promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God's own fulfillment of his promise. (Galatians 4:23, NLT)

God has promised to restore the prophetic in full power before Jesus returns (Acts 3:20-21). This expectation permeates the church. However, I have witnessed flesh's attempt to bring forth what God has promised.

There is the prophetic ministry of promise born of the will of the Father and there is the prophetic ministry born of the flesh and the will of man. What is the difference? Though both are conceived through geniune desire to fulfill God's plan and promise, the one birthed in flesh must be maintained by flesh while the one birthed by the Spirit will be sustained by the Spirit. Flesh reproduces flesh and therefore speaks directly to the desires of man. Spirit reproduces Spirit and therefore speaks forth the desires of God. The purpose of this book is the deiscern between the voices. For though the words of flesh may be pleasant to our ears, they will lead us into defilement, destruction or possibly death. Words of the Spirt, even if initially unpleasant, lead to the heart of God.

Let's be mindful of the spirit we operate in when we are giving a word to the people of God.

Let me share this with you too...

Pastor Ted Haggard of new Life Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colorado wrote in Ministries Today a few years back.

There are three levels of Prophesy:

1." Thus saith the Lord..." or "I hear the Lord saying..."
This is the highest form of prophesy. This is given when a believer is claiming to speak for God Himself. This type of prophecy is either 100 percent right or 100 percent wrong. Using this type of prophecy means that there can be no other opinions or contrary thought. Because the Lord has spoken, the discussion is over.

2. "It seemed to the Holy Spirit, and to us" (Acts 15:28)
This type of prophecy reflects a general consensus about the will of God. It may or may not be 100 percent accurate, but by saying this a group is saying that to the best of their ability they believe this is the will of God for a particular situation.

3. "Does this mean anything to you?" or What do you think about this?"
When, as we pray for people, a word or thought comes to mind, we can inquire of them what God is doing in their lives. Sometimes the Lord leads us into prophetic intercession. This could also be called a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge (1 Cor 12:8). This type of prophecy makes no claims of authority.

We must read carefully what the word of the Lord says about those with prophectic ministries and how they should operate. In the same way we will not allow people to speak a false or pagan doctrine in our pulpits or churches, or we reject a liberal theology that doesn't line up with the Word of Truth, we must be equally vigilant that prophetic ministries line up with the Word of God. Not saying we reject it all but saying that we try the Spirit by the Spirit and that we test all prophecy as stated in I Thessalonians 5:19-21.

Be blessed and encouraged!
READY...AIM...FIRE!!!
Evangelist Linda Hillman







.