3 Reasons To Demystify the Gift of Prophecy

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3 Reasons To Demystify the Gift of Prophecy by Jamie Rohrbaugh at FromHisPresence.comHave you ever heard somebody use the word “prophetic” and thought it was weird? Or, have you ever referred to anything “prophetic” and had someone else look at you funny?

A lot of people tend to think that the gift of prophecy is reserved for people who walk around calling themselves prophets.

They think that anything with “prophecy” or “prophetic” attached to it must be some mystical, pie-in-the-sky concept reserved only for those with special abilities. However, that’s not the case.

Prophecy is a spiritual gift that is necessary in the Body of Christ. Its purpose is to build up, encourage, and minister to people–both Christians and non-Christians. Every believer needs prophetic ministry from time to time, and every believer should learn how to function in prophetic ministry themselves. Prophecy and prophetic ministry should not be great mysteries in Christian culture.

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    So here are 3 reasons that the gift of prophecy should be demystified:

    (In no particular order …)

    1. It’s not about the title.

    Most people who are truly prophetic will not–I repeat, NOT–walk around claiming to be prophets. God might be using them as prophets from moment to moment, or even in full-time vocational prophetic ministry.

    Nevertheless, most people who are well-trained in the prophetic will shy away from that title. It’s about humility, and about not drawing attention to oneself (since most people that think of “a prophet” have an over-inflated view of what being a prophet means).

    Several years ago, I went to one of John Paul Jackson’s classes about how to hear God. The instructor there was talking to us about humility, and she said that even Mr. Jackson didn’t call himself a prophet.

    (In case you aren’t familiar with John Paul Jackson and Streams Ministries, suffice it to say that he is definitely used as a prophet of the Lord, and he has a rock-solid, international reputation.) I have always been struck by that. If John Paul Jackson won’t call himself a prophet, I don’t know of anybody else that should either. 😉

    So don’t think that in order to be used by God in prophetic ministry, or in order to prophesy, you need to call yourself a prophet (or have anyone else call you one either). You don’t. It’s not about the title.

    2. Prophecy means hearing God and saying what He says. This is not hard.

    Prophecy doesn’t have to be about when the next World War is going to start, or who will become President next, or what date and time the stock market is going to crash. It might be; but honestly, every time I personally have heard of someone “prophesying” about those things, they’ve gotten it wrong.

    No, prophecy is much simpler than that. To prophesy simply means you hear what God is saying, and you say that. Period, end of story. It’s not something you get a plaque for.

    It’s true that being able to prophesy requires preparation and discipline. Why? Because you have to learn how to hear God in the first place. Nevertheless, since every Christian is called to prophesy–

    Start-quotePursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

    –we don’t get to give ourselves a medal and act like we’re special when we speak out a confirmed prophecy. We’ve only done our duty, as every believer in Christ should do.

    3. Every Christian is called to prophesy.

    See 1 Corinthians 14:1 above. We should all desire all the spiritual gifts, and especially the gift of prophecy.

    The gift of prophecy is not reserved for an elite few. Anyone who puts in the time and effort to learn the Word and how to hear God’s voice can and must prophesy.

    Let’s get rid of the fear and the elitism in the Body. We’re all called to hear God. We’re all called to say what the Father is saying and do what the Father is doing. Saying what the Father says is prophecy, and it’s also basic to being followers of Christ.

    Should prophets be honored? Yes. However, we should not be afraid to pursue prophecy, or think that it’s reserved only for a special few. So let’s demystify the word “prophetic.” Let’s all seek God, hear what He says, and learn to build one another up.

    Can you think of any other reasons why we should demystify the gift of prophecy in Christian culture?

    Related:

    Image courtesy of Leo Reynolds on Flickr.

    9 Comments

    1. Sheetal Mazda says:

      Needed this. I am going to start prophesying all that God has spoken to me.

    2. Irene Jones says:

      Thank you I serve in ministry too. They call me prophetess but I feel uncomfortable with a title. We all have gifts from God as his children. I have many and don’t want to be locked into one. Great teaching.

    3. Am going through hardship in my calling am accused by many pastors. They are trying to kill my calling and visions

    4. joseph d schiavone says:

      Love the matter of fact way you put this Jamie. It should just be a part of who we are in the kingdom. If we are a carpenter, we dont walk around telling everyone “hey i’m a carpenter” although we could possibly say to someone, ” I can help you build that picnic table”. It can be very easy to get puffed up with the prophecy. So lets stay grounded, and remember what John the Baptist said, “ye can do nothing unless it was given you from above” ! And don’t forget, John was a prophet !

    5. Annanson John says:

      Great is JEHOVAH !! Today 24/04/2020/| 01:32 PM is marked as my day of release and relief from this fear of the ‘EXCLUSIVITY of Prophetic ministry ‘ I have always known that Prophetess Jamie, by the Grace of God, you hear God, but to have you speak blunt, honest as always and take a subject as sensitive as the prophetic gift is to THANK GOD FOR YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR MINISTRY, I KNOW YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON AND YOU HAVE THE ENERGY DESIROUS TO PEOPLE FREE AND PROSPEROUS, GOD BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR THIS SPIRIT LED PROPHETIC TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETIC GIFT!! HALLELUJAH AMEN!! TALKING ABOUT THE ELITISM SURROUNDING THE PROPHETIC, IS SO LIBERATING FOR ME!! I HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR A LONG TIME TO GET SOMEONE CONFIRMED MY DISCOMFORT ABOUT THE ELITISM AND THE NEAR TURNING OF THE PROPHET/PROPHETESS INTO A DEMIGOD AND THREAT AND FEAR SOME OF THEM INVOKE AROUND THEM. I AM GRATEFUL AND FREE TODAY.

      1. Elizabeth Tuinidau says:

        Amen for that phrase Jamie…it’s all about seeking God and hear His voice…Praise God

    6. Bless you Jamie for your message/teaching. We have to listen and believe to experience the gift of prophesy which will enable us speak the Word without giving any credit to ourselves. The glory should be given to the spirit of God that has used us.

    7. Annanson John says:

      Intriguingly humbling!
      Prophetess Jamie 1Cor15:58/Heb6:10

    8. Well said! I always love and appreciate your blog posts, Jamie! (I hope you don’t mind, and I know you already know most if not all I’m going to say here. I feel led to add some talking points as a comment. I realize your blog here is only addressing the gift of prophecy not the office of an anointed prophet.) It is true that real prophets of God will rarely label themselves as “prophets” though they may talk about their story for edification purposes after being discerned/recognized via the Holy Spirit as a prophet by the true church. In America, they generally won’t refer to themselves in that way nor use the “title” if they are legit. However, once they are recognized by the church, they do generally allow others to refer to them as a prophet though they’d never instruct them to do so if they are legit. Though a true prophet need not make any announcement of his office, things are becoming very confusing and convoluted if you don’t have eyes to see and ears to hear. In some countries, it is more normalized for prophets to use the “label” especially in non-Christian countries; thus, we certainly can’t assume anyone who uses the label/title to be false either. It’s not going to be black and white. Also, your flesh will probably want to reject true prophets….I speak from experience. God really does choose the “foolish” aka foolish in man’s eyes to confound the wise. He chooses who we’d never guess; this keeps away those who don’t deserve a “prophet’s reward”. The American religious system rarely recognizes true prophets because they don’t want to be edified/corrected or to step it up. They like their “traditions of men” and are more concerned with recognition in their human communities and numbers/dollar signs. These churches barely serve milk to their patrons, and they do not teach the narrow path as taught by Jesus and his disciples. They will likely call true prophets false! So if your church doesn’t believe in the gift of prophecy or the others gifts of the spirit, you should dust off your shoes as you leave and let the Lord lead you somewhere else. If they reject true prophets, they’ll reject you too! Count it all joy! These religious “Christians” are part of the reason “Christians” look so hypocritical. They give us a bad name and reputation. We know being in a church building doesn’t make one a Christian anymore than having a building called a church ensure that God’s presence dwells there. There are many religious systems and churches in America that do not serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob though they label themselves “Christian”. The religious system will reject true prophets and the true remnant. They always did! They would literally kick out the truly gifted and anointed ones from the church! This has been going on for almost as long as we have been the United States of America, but things are changing. Some churches are waking up to the true gospel and getting serious. Others are not going to survive because they are in apostasy. Though they be fewer, there are many legit churches and groups out there, and the true church is rising! Many are being called out of their church and being led to true family in Christ. God doesn’t need large numbers. In fact, he prefers a smaller, select group of truly dedicated real deals over the large numbers any day. The “church age” as a religious system is coming to an end though they will play a part in the one world religion/government of the antichrist. They are obviously using the “order out of chaos” tactic. Religious people who don’t know the word and don’t know Jesus will fall for this and participate. THAT SAID, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GIFT OF PROPHECY AND THE ANOINTED OFFICE OF THE PROPHET. The Holy Spirit can use anyone who hears God’s voice and is obedient to prophecy, but there are those called to the office of a prophet. Though they be fewer, they are increasing in number. Those called to office undergo a lot more time in the furnace of affliction and overall refinement in order to fully offer their life as a living sacrifice, and attain the character and obedience God requires of his prophets. We are living in a time that THE ONLY WAY TO DISCERN THE REAL FROM THE FALSE AND THE HOLY FROM THE PROFANE WILL REQUIRE DISCERNMENT FROM NONE OTHER THAN THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT, YOU NEED TO PRAY AND ASK FOR IT! ANOTHER WAY TO NOT BE DECEIVED IS YOU MUST KNOW THE WORD OF GOD YOURSELF, THERE IS NO GETTING AROUND THIS. YOU CAN’T JUST LISTEN TO SOMEONE ELSE OR BE A SUNDAY, PART-TIME, LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN. Sunday shouldn’t be our day of worship as a corporate body anyway! Why are Christian churches even adhering to this? Traditions of men? Because of the differences in culture and religious environments, the worldwide spread of the Bride of Christ, et cetera, we will not be able to discern people of God based on appearances, personalities, number of followers/supporters or even titles/labels whether they use them or not. Great deception is all over the world. If you have been reborn, baptized in SPIRIT & FIRE and you are being led by the Holy Spirit, ONLY THEN will you have any possibility of knowing the sheep from the wolves or avoid being deceived in other ways as well. . I am just speaking from myself here, but I bet there are more false prophets out their talking than real ones. As Jamie taught in this blog, a self-proclaimed prophet is definitely a red flag and obviously if ANYTHING they have said turns out to be false, you need to disregard everything else they are saying as well. The best lies are always mixed with truth, and our enemy is a PROFESSIONAL LIAR. You don’t have time to sift through a false prophet’s many words for a little truth. Matthew 7:15, Romans 16:18, Job 36:12, Proverbs 5:23, Proverbs 10:21, Hosea 4:6 God bless all who took the time to read this! Praise the Lord, thank you Jesus!

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