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James
W. Goll
“The one who prophesies
speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” (1
Corinthians 14:3, NIV)
Years
ago, I was answering questions in a panel setting and someone asked, “Which
is the best spiritual gift?”
I
answered something like, “The one that is needed at the moment — that’s the
best spiritual gift.”
It
could be any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healings, wisdom, word of
knowledge — or prophecy.
At the
same time, we must remember what Paul wrote: “Desire earnestly
spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians
14:1).
The
gift of prophecy is often the most prominent, because through it, God can speak
directly into a situation.
Prophecy
displays a great breadth of applications and expressions and, as we will
explore in this chapter, what I call “levels.”
I know
there are different approaches to this topic, depending on a person’s
background.
I will
tell you up front that my understanding comes from my own prophetic journey.
It
started in the Jesus People movement of the 1970s, which planted my evangelical
roots in charismatic soil.
Along
the way, I learned to hear God’s voice through the Word of Faith movement and
the discipleship movement.
With
many others, I rode the Third Wave Movement that started rolling in the 1980s
and I was part of the birthing of the modern prophetic movement in 1988.
Over
the years, I became part of C. Peter Wagner’s endeavors toward global apostolic
and prophetic reformation.
Besides
Peter, the names of people I could honor along the way are too numerous to
mention, but some of them include Derek Prince, John Wimber, Bob Jones, Paul
Cain, John Paul Jackson, Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon,
John Sanford, Elizabeth Alves, and others.
Edification, Exhortation, and Consolation
In 1
Corinthians 14:3 Paul supplies three descriptive words to summarize what should
be the goal of any prophecy.
The New
International Version’s wording — prophecy is for “strengthening,
encouraging and comfort.”
Other
translations use words such as “edification and exhortation and
consolation.”
However,
experienced prophets, especially those who occupy a recognized office of
prophet, will have the capacity and authority to both equip others as well as
to speak words of correction and direction.
I want
to take some time to differentiate four levels of prophetic gifting and
authority:
Level
One — occasional inspirational prophecy;
Level
Two — consistent prophetic gifting;
Level
Three — proven prophetic ministry; and
Level
Four — the office of a prophet.
Helpful Distinctions
Throughout
any discussion of prophecy, we must remember the superiority of God’s living
word over anything that we can come up with on our own.
Even if
we are highly educated and very experienced, our knowledge and wisdom will fall
short.
Even if
we are dealing with what seems to be a straightforward and simple situation, we
should hold our own reactions in check until we verify them with the Holy
Spirit.
God’s
love is so much greater than ours. His oversight is so much more complete. Why
do we rely on ourselves so much when He is so much better?
It is
not that inspirational prophecy or weak prophetic words that express much of
the human heart are worthless — not at all.
But
throughout, our desire should be to be God’s mouthpiece, tainted as little as
possible by our pitifully inadequate comprehension.
Again,
as Paul put it, “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but
especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Many of
us move in and out of using various gifts and graces as our circumstances allow
and require.
In my
case, I prophesied early on, only to become fully occupied as a pastor, caring
for a congregation.
I did
not just sign on the dotted line to declare “I want to be a prophet.”
God put
a desire in me, and I believe He does that for anyone He calls. He does the
choosing and we do the responding.
The
important thing is to be faithful in whatever you are being called to do at the
moment, even if it is not very thrilling. Faithfulness brings increase. (See
Luke 16:10.)
By that
I do not mean that you earn your way into a new gift or a
higher level of usefulness.
No, all
of it is purely God’s free gift. But you can learn how to use
it capably, in the power of His Spirit and with His love, as you seek Him out
every day.
You can
learn from your mistakes and you can learn from your victories.
You can
learn how to discern the voice of God in the midst of other voices.
Activating
all of your senses, you can find out the different ways He speaks to you. You
learn His way of love.
Level One: Occasional Inspirational Prophecy
All believers,
not only those who have been identified as “prophets,” can prophesy.
Did you
know that? Remember what Peter said on the day of Pentecost, quoting the
prophet Joel:
“And it
shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
“That I
will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath” (Acts 2:17–19, nkjv).
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath” (Acts 2:17–19, nkjv).
In
other words, any believer is able to speak out something that God brings to
mind.
In
addition, as I noted above, Scripture urges us to seek the gift of prophecy (see 1
Corinthians 14:5).
Occasional
inspirational prophecy can take the form of casual (but inspired) words of
encouragement offered to other people.
It can
be really brief — like, “Yes.” If that is what God brought to your mind to say,
it is a little prophetic word.
Its
importance may seem slightly heightened to you, or you may know that it is
something you would not normally think of saying on your own.
You
just “give expression to the impression,” to borrow a phrase I have
heard.
You
notice that your heart is beating in time with God’s heart of love and His
fortifying comfort.
Most
often these are simply concepts, thoughts, or ideas that God brings to mind,
although occasionally people at this level receive visions, mental pictures, or
prophetic dreams.
While
the potential is there to speak the very words of God, these people use their
own words, primarily, to express a thought that has occurred to them.
Such
words are not to be spoken from public platforms but rather are meant for a
small group setting one-on-one situation, and all parties should be willing to
test them (see 1 Corinthians 14:29–33).
Level Two: Consistent Prophetic Gifting
The key
word here is “consistent.”
Prophets
at this level experience a consistent stream of words, open visions, snapshot pictures,
and dreams, which they are often able to report, interpret, and apply in an
accurate way.
Their
prophetic output is still limited primarily to upbuilding words, but they are
beginning to receive words with a greater weight of authority on them.
Often
people at this level of giving become quite interested in and committed to
intercessory prayer.
This
makes sense, because while prophets make the desires of God known to people,
intercessors make the desires of people known to God, even as they endeavor to
pray according to the will of God.
You can
start to pick up how they receive words by listening to them.
Some
will start out with, “I feel…” or “I sense that…” while others
will report, “I heard the voice of the Lord in a dream” or “I’m
getting a picture of…”
Others
may have “open visions” (a theophany) in which they can hear the Lord’s audible
voice.
(A
theophany is sometimes an indication of a calling beyond the prophetic ministry
to the office of prophet.)
Each
congregational body will include a number of people who will be recognized by
fellow members and leadership alike as having a prophetic gift.
In
time, someone with a consistent prophetic gifting could be invited to minister
publicly to the congregation (again, in accordance with 1 Corinthians
14:29–33).
This
would normally happen in the context of a local congregation, which is our
equipping place for ministry to the world at large.
These
people are gifted in that they have an unusual amount of revelation, but they
must be trained not only in following the protocol of the house, but also in
how to grow in maturity of character and wisdom about God’s corporate purposes.
Words
of direction or correction should not be spoken in a public, “unfiltered” way.
They
should first be submitted to the leadership in writing for possible later
public delivery when it is deemed appropriate.
Prophetic
people discover that their authority level increases with their track record. I
had to learn a lot about that one.
I could
not figure out why, when I would deliver a word, nobody would even seem to hear
it, but then when someone else would deliver an almost identical word, it would
be well-received.
It is
because revelation and authority are not the same thing.
Your
authority level goes up as it becomes recognized by others, and that does not
happen if you are forcing your way in with your gift.
It
depends on where and how you are serving and how much of a bridge of trust has
been built over time.
Level Three: Proven Prophetic Ministry
People
with a proven prophetic ministry have demonstrated over time that they possess
mature character and wisdom regarding God’s purposes for His people.
At
least occasionally, their prophetic gift will operate in tandem with “signs and
wonders” gifts such as healing, miracles, or deliverance, and they will have
earned the respect and authority to administer corrections and possibly
rebukes.
Like
all words from God, theirs will need to be confirmed by witnesses and judged by
other prophets, but they will be uncommonly accurate and edifying.
At the
same time, they have not become fiery “thus saith the Lord” prophets.
In
fact, they may appear to be weak instead of powerful, speaking in brokenness
and humility. (See 2 Corinthians 13:7–9.)
Thus,
they can be misunderstood easily.
Their
function is to provide, in addition to significant strengthening and
encouragement, sensitive direction and correction, and to help illuminate and
articulate the particular truths or doctrines that the Lord wants the members
of the body to know.
Level
three prophets may be recognized and commissioned by their local church or
apostolic network to minister not only inside the local assembly but also
outside, as God leads.
Often,
they are able to receive detailed information about those to whom they
minister, including names, faces, future events, and dates.
These
prophets will not be strangers to open visions, and they may also deliver words
in which they explain the symbolic meanings of what they are seeing.
They will
receive words, dreams, or visions in a spontaneous inspired flow, if not daily,
at least very regularly.
Level Four: The Office of a Prophet
A
person who holds the New Testament office of a prophet, although he or she will
speak God’s words in a powerful way, nevertheless has less authority than those
who wrote Scripture (see Ephesians 4:11–12).
I
challenge people who aspire to the office of a prophet by saying, “You are
not an office ministry prophet unless you have the capacity to equip and
multiply.”
This
level of prophecy goes way beyond the scope of an inspirational gift, and they
will be used most often to speak encouragement but also direction and
correction, equipping and commissioning.
Distinguishing
characteristics of an office ministry prophet may start at birth — a miraculous
birth or an angelic visitation.
The
prophet may not be recognized for many years, but in retrospect this would be
one of the signs.
Think
of the prophet Samuel, for example, born to a barren mother named Hannah who
promised him to the Lord (see 1 Samuel 1).
My own
mother, while she was not a Hannah, miscarried a baby on July 3, 1951 and she
prayed, “Lord, if You give me another son, I will dedicate him to Christ’s
service.”
And I
was born exactly one year later, to the day!
Those with
the office of a prophet have been proven over years of ministry, and they
receive an unusually prolific flow of revelatory information.
Sometimes
they seem to be more at home in heaven than on earth, especially when they
report an open vision by announcing, “I was there….”
Without
fail, their words carry much authority, as they speak with great accuracy and
power, frequently ministering in signs and wonders gifts as well.
More
often than other prophets, they have experienced rejection and misunderstanding.
I say that they are a little bit like Jacob at times, in that they walk with a
limp.
Through
their gifts, they provide edification, confirmation, direction, and correction
to those in church government and often to leaders in the secular world.
They establish,
articulate, and emphasize what the Holy Spirit wants to have highlighted.
In
addition, they may predict future events with accuracy to help the Body of
Christ mature in its position in the world.
As they
are fulfilled, these predictions are used to amaze and wake up unconverted
people so that they will want to encounter God for themselves.
This
may include the prediction of “unspiritual” events such as weather patterns and
natural signs (storms, droughts, earthquakes), international political shifts,
and so on.
Their
accuracy gains them recognition on a broad scale, and they are used to address
people of influence in the secular world as well as individuals, congregations,
and streams within the Body of Christ.
I have
been invited to pray and prophesy over billionaires, the chief justice of the
supreme court of Korea, a NASA director, and others.
I will
not divulge anything about our meetings, because they are private.
In
addition, since I live in Nashville, I have prayed over more famous musicians than
I ever would have expected.
And
then there was the lady I saw in the foyer of a building not long ago. She was
not famous or rich at all, but what happened was miraculous.
As I
started to walk out of the building, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to
take the money out of my billfold.
I do
not normally carry cash with me, but He said, “You have a hundred dollar
bill in your billfold.”
I
looked, and sure enough, I did. Then He said, “There’s going to be a lady
seated in the foyer as you are on your way out, and I want you to give her the
hundred dollars.”
I saw a
picture of a half-toothless woman in my mind.
I
started walking and guess what? There was an old lady sitting there who was
half toothless. I stopped and looked right at her and had her open her hand.
I said,
“Here, honey, this is for you. This is from God.”
I
kissed her hand.
She was
startled almost speechless, but she said, “Well, you mean this is for me?”
“Yeah,
it’s for you, because God wants you to know He cares. He loves you with an
everlasting love. He really does.”
And I
went on my way.
I found
out she had never been to church ever in her life, not even once, but she came
to church the next day.
She
recognized me and she said, “You’re that man who gave me that hundred
dollars. I never had no man touch me like you touched me.”
She
told me that she had just been released from prison, where she had been for
twenty years because she had murdered somebody.
(If I
had known that ahead of time, I probably would have run out the back door!)
I told
her, “Darling, there’s Somebody who wants to touch you, and His name is
Jesus. He’s going to touch you in the depths of your heart, and you will never
forget it.”
And she
gave her life to Christ Jesus on the spot.
For me,
that is just as grand as prophesying to a king or a president.
The Gift of Prophecy and the Office of a Prophet
Each of
the four levels of activity comes from the same Lord and Spirit and they
overlap in many ways.
In
fact, we must acknowledge the distinctions so as not to act presumptuously in
the outworking of the gift. This becomes especially important as we consider
the higher levels of operation.
Here I
have listed eleven of the most important distinctions between the gift of
prophecy and the office of a prophet so that we can compare them:
Gifts
of the Holy Spirit
· Given by Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
12; 14)
· All can prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:24, 31)
· Edification, exhortation, comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3)
· Given to help the Body, for the common good
· A member of the Body (1 Corinthians
12:12)
· Revelations of past, present (1 Corinthians
12:8–10)
· Primarily speaks to the one Body of which it is a member (1 Corinthians
12:14–26)
· Delivers the Word (1 Corinthians 14:12)
· Speaks to the Church (1 Corinthians 14:2)
· Intercessors make desires of people known to God
· Speaks God’s grace
Office
Gifts
· Given by Jesus (Ephesians 4)
· Some prophets (Ephesians 4:11; 1 Corinthians
12:29)
· Same, plus correction, direction (Old Testament prophets)
· Given to lay foundation of Church, lead (1 Corinthians
12:7) and equip the people (Ephesians 2:20; 4:12)
· A joint of the Body (Ephesians 4:16)
· Revelations of past, present, future (Acts
11:28; 21:10)
· May speak to one Body and to the nations (Acts
21:10; Jeremiah 1:5, 10)
· Becomes the Word (Agabus, Isaiah, Hosea)
· Speaks to the past, present, and future Church, social,
political, economic, geographical arenas. (Nahum, Hosea, Obadiah, Elijah,
Daniel, Agabus)
· Prophets make desires of God known to the people
· Speaks God’s grace and judgment
The
office of a prophet entails an increase of revelation and authority that cannot
be attained apart from long experience, attentive training, and recognition
(even commissioning) from others.
Keep It Simple
Our
good Father extends an invitation to every one of us to learn from Him and to
mature into the next level.
All
that is required on our part is a willing heart that hungers for more of the
Lord Himself.
Keep
small in your own eyes and God will do exceedingly, abundantly above all that
you can ever ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20).
Keep it
simple and always let His extravagant love pour through you. Remember that the
spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
May you
have the perseverance and patience to grow in the supernatural ways of God.
Pray with me now:
Father,
in Jesus’ great name we declare that we want what you want. That means that we
desire to bring edification and exhortation and comfort to our part of the Body
of Christ and to anybody You lead our way.
We
choose to lean into You, to press into Your love so that we can grow and mature
in the grace that You so richly supply.
Give us
wisdom to properly discern and steward the present level of our gifting while
we also hunger to grow and mature into a fuller stature in Your Son Jesus.
Grant
us increasing wisdom, revelation, and authority in in every prophetic venture
we undertake in the years ahead.
We are
truly grateful!
Amen.
Article by James W. Goll
James W. Goll is the co-founder of Encounters Network - a ministry
to the nations and the International Director of Prayer Storm. He is the author
of over twenty five books including The Lost Art of Intercession, The Seer,
Dream Language, The Coming Israel Awakening and many others. James (Jim) is a
member of the Harvest International Ministries Apostolic Team, the Apostolic
Council of Prophetic Elders, and other national and international ministries.
He has appeared on the 700 Club, TBN, 100 Huntley, DayStar, God TV and other
radio and TV broadcasts. He and his wife late wife Michal Ann were married for
32 years before her graduation into heaven in September 2008. Together they
parented four wonderful children: Justin, GraceAnn, Tyler and Rachel. James
continues to write, travel the globe preaching and ministering and lives in the
beautiful hills of Franklin, Tennessee. https://www.destinyimage.com/2019/08/26/4-levels-of-prophetic-ministry/
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