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5 Questions To Help Leaders Weigh Up
Prophecy
.
A prophetic insight is going to align with God’s Word and the
principles and values laid out in Scripture - prophecy is going to be
consistent with God’s heart and purpose for redemption, and the nature of the
Father as expressed through Jesus in the New Testament - a prophetic word is not going to be brought from an Old
Testament platform of judgment, but from the grace of God expressed
through the cross of Christ
Helen Calder
‘Do not quench the Spirit. Do
not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good,
reject every kind of evil.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, also 1 Corinthians 14:29)
The Apostle Paul indicates that we have a duty of care to
consider prophecies carefully, and to ‘hold on to what is good.’
One of the
characteristics of New Testament prophecy is that it is subject to being tested
and weighed up.
Today I want to consider the
question, ‘How do those of us who are in leadership weigh up a prophecy that
has been submitted to us privately, or shared publicly in a church meeting or
group?’
Can I Test Prophecy if I do not Have a Strong Prophetic
Gift?
Sometimes leaders feel
inadequate when it comes to addressing prophecy, especially if they do not have
a strong gift themselves.
If you can relate
to this, be assured that God has given you a leadership responsibility to
protect those you lead — and that He has equipped you accordingly.
‘Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers.’ (Acts 20:28)
The ability to
weigh up prophecy is not dependent on whether or not you have a prominent
prophetic gift yourself.
Leadership, Biblical knowledge,
wisdom and discernment are all invaluable when it comes to weighing up a
prophetic insight.
Above all, you can rely on the
anointing of the Spirit within you to be the witness to what is of Him. (1 John 2:27)
5 Questions To Help Leaders Weigh Up
Prophecy
A prophecy may be clearly confirmation, encouraging, and
you have a strong witness that it is of the Spirit — in which case, you can
receive it immediately without reservation.
However there are also going to be occasions when a
word needs to be considered more carefully.
Here are some questions to keep
in mind as you weigh up a prophecy that is brought concerning yourself, your
ministry or the church that you want to take time to consider:
1. Is it Consistent with Scripture?
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.’ (2 Timothy 3:16)
A prophetic insight
is going to align with God’s Word and the principles and values laid out in Scripture.
This relates to the
prophetic revelation, and also the way it
is interpreted, handled, delivered and applied.
Prophecy is going
to be consistent with God’s heart and purpose for redemption, and the nature of
the Father as expressed through Jesus in the New Testament.
This also means that a
prophetic word is not going to be brought from an Old
Testament platform of judgment, but from the grace of God expressed
through the cross of Christ.
2. What is the Fruit of this Prophecy?
‘But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then
peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial
and sincere.’ (James 3:17, NIV)
Good fruit means
fruit that characterises the very nature of God.
‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ (Galatians 5:22-23)
Good fruit has to with
Godly outcomes.
What is the outcome of this
prophetic insight that I foresee as a leader?
A word from God will not result
in confusion, manipulation or control.
Manipulation means
that the recipients of the word or the church oversight feel that the word
applies pressure to respond or do something that they do not feel comfortable
with.
Protecting the Unity of the Church
‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the
bond of peace.’ (Ephesians 4:3)
A prophetic insight
that projects a different vision, direction, mission or values from that which
is being led in the church needs to be handled with care.
To protect unity,
we encourage anyone who feels strongly that God has spoken to them to
bring this kind of message privately to
oversight — and leave it there without expectation of it being responded
to.
This doesn’t mean it is not of
God — in fact, it may concern a future season, or even be confirmation of
something being discussed privately at leadership level.
3. What is the Attitude of the Person Bringing the
Word?
Attitudes are vital in
prophetic ministry. If a person’s attitude is unhealthy, it
can affect and infect the prophetic word and those who hear
it.
· Is the person open
to having their prophetic insights weighed up, and has their word been
presented in such a way that leaves room for the church oversight, and anyone
it is addressed to, to weigh it up?
· Is their attitude
towards leadership one of honour? Are they free of pride, or judgments and
criticism concerning the church or ministry — if not; are there issues that
need to be addressed?
Sometimes when
weighing up a word, the word itself may be a true (or partly true) revelation
from God, but there is something in the attitude or spiritual life of the
person that has affected the delivery of the prophetic insight negatively.
If a word is not of God, or is
not brought in a Godly way, that does not mean that the word is demonic in
nature.
It may be that the person
sharing it is immature, or misguided and needs to be taught more about
prophecy. They may have unhealed hurts, or need to be adjusted in a loving and
caring way.
4. Does the Prophetic Insight Fall into the Category of
‘Encouragement, Exhortation and Comfort?’
‘But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their
strengthening, encouraging and comfort.’ (1 Corinthians 14:3)
This should be the
chief characteristic of prophetic ministry in church life, as well as those who
are maturing in prophetic ministry.
‘Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to
encourage and strengthen the believers.’ (Acts 15:32)
The Apostle Paul also makes the statement, ‘the one who
prophesies edifies the church.’ (1 Corinthians 14:4b)
The word ‘edifies’ means to build. The purpose of prophecy is to help grow, edify
and build the church.
5. If a Prophetic Insight Falls Outside of this
Guideline, has it Been Brought in a Fitting Way?
Examples of prophetic insights
that fall outside of ‘general encouragement and exhortation’ include words
concerning guidance, direction and future vision, words of adjustment
(correction) and prophetic warnings.
What constitutes
‘an appropriate person’ and the ‘fitting way’ is determined by those who have a
God-given mandate to protect the church and provide a safe place for its people
— that is, church oversight. (Acts 20:28)
Guidelines and protocols concerning prophetic ministry are unique to each church and situation.
Guidelines and protocols concerning prophetic ministry are unique to each church and situation.
An
appropriate person to bring these kinds of
insights may be someone who is appointed or received by leadership in the role
of ‘Prophetic Office’.
However, it may
also be a person who is a member, intercessor or leader in the church who
submits in the proper way, with an attitude of honour and humility.
The
appropriate way to bring a word that goes
beyond general encouragement may be to share it privately with leadership so
that it can be weighed up before it is shared with others.
Enliven Blog is authored by Helen Calder of Enliven Ministries.
We are a prophetic ministry based in Melbourne, Australia, in the
David McCracken Ministries family.
Helen Calder began writing blog posts in July 2009. Today,
Enliven Blog is helping to empower, inspire and mentor thousands of people
globally.
The purpose of Enliven Blog is to help prophetic people grow
in their gifts of prophecy, discernment and prayer.
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