{"id":17,"date":"2024-10-16T01:20:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T01:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/10things\/?p=17"},"modified":"2024-11-26T03:19:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T03:19:11","slug":"chapter-5-prophesying-is-easy-but-being-a-prophet-can-be-very-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/10things\/chapter-5-prophesying-is-easy-but-being-a-prophet-can-be-very-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 5: Prophesying is Easy\u2014But Being A Prophet Can Be Very Hard!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cBut Jesus said to them, \u2018Only in
\nhis hometown and in his own house is a
\nprophet without honor.\u2019 \u201d
\nMatthew 13:57<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

The Race Car Drivers of the Body of Christ<\/b><\/p>\n

When Jesus taught farmers and fishermen he used farming and fishing symbolism. When Paul taught people to have perseverance and stamina he used examples from the emerging Olympic games of his era and things like running races: <\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 9:24-25\u201424<\/sup> \u201cDo you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.<\/b> 25<\/sup> Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hebrews 12:1\u2014\u201cTherefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us …\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n

So to explain \u201cprophets\u201d to a modern audience I\u2019m using a culturally appropriate analogy and will compare prophesying to driving a car\u2014and being a Prophet to being a Race Car Driver. <\/p>\n

And God actually told me that maturing in the Kingdom of God is the same as with any learning: \u201cFirst, introduction, then basic concepts, then more advanced intermediate concepts, and then the real truth that the uninitiated cannot comprehend<\/b>.\u201d So as a true supernatural speed freak <\/i>I want to find that \u2018real truth\u2019 for myself and then help to reveal it to others\u2014but who can handle it? <\/p>\n

We hope to soon get there but first, where do we start? Well, right here and everyone is invited, anyone can drive! Ye all may prophesy. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Anyone Can Drive\u2014Ye All May Drive!<\/b><\/p>\n

So yes, anyone can prophesy and anyone can drive a car or even a motorcycle for that matter. So this analogy is quite useful. I learned to drive when I was 16, like most Americans and at the entry level everyone is invited! Anyone can drive a car! Where I now live in the rural provinces of the Philippines you often see 10- or 12-year-olds driving motorcycles to market doing errands for their mothers. So really anyone can do that. A lot of race car drivers at the higher end started racing when they were 5 or 6 years old, driving go-karts and the like. At 5 years old!!! That\u2019s a little precocious but it\u2019s still quite common. Do you know anyone who had their first prophetic vision at 5? I do! Maybe that was you?<\/p>\n

But not everyone who goes on to serve the Lord as a prophet or apostle starts out like this. Amos didn\u2019t get started until late in life and was a shepherd and farmer instead. The famed Smith Wigglesworth, who has without a doubt the most memorable name in all Christendom, well, he was a plumber until past 50 I think. He got a late start but was raising the dead, and he raised his wife from the dead twice\u2014the second time she yelled at him! \u201cLet me go and be with the Lord!\u201d OK! Fine! Have it your way! And he let her go. But he didn\u2019t get stared until near retirement age, did he? Yet he is known today as a major pillar of the faith. Don\u2019t despise the day of small beginnings\u2014and don\u2019t despise fifty year old plumbers either. <\/p>\n

So while at an entry level anyone can prophesy, ye all may prophesy, and in fact most people should, and so everyone should learn\u2014but when we start we are only learning the basics PEOPLE teach us: there are pedals, a steering wheel, some lights and switches. They tell us to stay in the lane! Assuming you have lanes on your roads, here we often don\u2019t. You read the Safe Driving Manual. Good, good! You\u2019re learning. There are stop signs, traffic lights, right of way, speeding tickets (not here, we don\u2019t have police who give them. Instead we have frequent checkpoints, which we face all the time!) … but anyway you must first learn the basic rules and concepts for wherever you are learning to drive. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Following the House Rules <\/b><\/p>\n

So when we start we are focused on the rules people give us: what to do and what not to do. As a driver they make you read the Safe Drivers\u2019 Manual, watch safety videos and then test you on it. You practice with a coach who at least in the US has an extra brake pedal on their side of the car, just in case. <\/p>\n

Man\u2019s Rules and training are a helpful framework to start within, even if it\u2019s not always correct. When people make rules there are always cases when it\u2019s unhelpful or just plain wrong to follow them. God is PERFECT and he wrote the Bible and it\u2019s a work of GENIUS, never going too far to the left or to the right. But people are not like that and often make hard and fast rules, off-the-cuff\u2014always <\/i>and never<\/i>\u2014but God is very careful knowing when to make a rule and also showing us when to break it. <\/p>\n

But people are trying their best and well, their rules exist and they are generally good. It mostly revels your attitude at this stage if you will follow them. Play nice! Everyone, get along! <\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s like when you begin driving and all you can do is barely operate a vehicle. But ever look under the hood? Ever use an error code reader? Do you know the real difference between a gasoline and a diesel engine? No? That\u2019s OK. You\u2019re just a driver and you can find someone else to ask if you have a problem. Just follow the maintenance schedule, find a good mechanic, you\u2019ll be fine. <\/p>\n

So you start out and you can drive a car but you still can\u2019t fix one\u2014let alone be able to invent new parts for one. I was told my grandfather who was a motorcycle race team owner and renowned mechanic back in the day invented fuel injection for motorcycles and a crank case oil spray system\u2014this was in the 1940\u2019s and early 50\u2019s\u2014which he didn\u2019t patent because they were just racers and all he wanted to do was to go faster! About 65 years later I began to drive a motorcycle almost every day in the Philippines and I still don\u2019t know what he was doing. I\u2019m still only a driver while he was some kind of master mechanic. I still need to follow the rules\u2014stay within the lines\u2014fill up the whole crank case with oil!\u2014but he was breaking the rules and blazing new territory\u2014do not put so much oil in the sump, just use a fine spray on the shaft! <\/p>\n

I was told my grandfather\u2019s modified motorcycles became so fast they could not be raced on their small dirt tracks anymore\u2014they were just too fast to stay on them. That\u2019s why they began to race on Daytona Beach because there was no other place flat enough long enough to get up to speed on! It was called the Birthplace of Speed because so many speed records were broken there on that long strip of fine white coral Florida sand\u2014a far cry the muddy New Hampshire dirt ovals!<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

If God Speaks who wouldn\u2019t Prophesy!? <\/b><\/p>\n

So everyone can prophesy. It\u2019s a real fact. It\u2019s actually quite easy. Remember in Numbers 11 when Moses said he wished all of God\u2019s people were prophets, what did he actually say? <\/p>\n

\u201cI wish that all the Lord\u2019s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!\u201d <\/b>(NIV)<\/p>\n

Sounds like a foreshadow of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, doesn\u2019t it? But so what made people able to prophesy was simply having God\u2019s Spirit on them\u2014<\/b>prophesying is a natural result of being near the Spirit of God\u2014it\u2019s intimacy that causes people to be able to know what the Spirit of God is thinking. <\/p>\n

And this is exactly what God has freely given his people in Jesus\u2014they all carry his Spirit within them, at least a \u2018deposit\u2019 or \u2018seal\u2019 but others have the same baptism of the Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus to carry out his ministry! We are now the very Temple of God, where his Spirit dwells on Earth! At a minimum this clearly means we can all prophesy!<\/p>\n

I also think of what Amos said later, which is my favorite verse about prophecy\u2014not Amos 3:7, but Amos 3:8. Everyone quotes verse 7, \u201cSurely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

But to me the real revelation is in verse 8!<\/p>\n

\u201cA lion has roared!
\nWho will not fear?
\n The Lord God has spoken!
\nWho can but prophesy?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

or in the Contemporary English Version<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is terrified
\nwhen a lion roars\u2014
\n and ordinary people
\nbecome prophets
\nwhen the Lord God speaks.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

So if everyone can hear, what then separates those people who are chosen to speak what God is saying in difficult situations, to confront the false prophets and to rule over cities, from everyone else? Well, a bit later we can look at some of the challenges they face and maybe you can decide that on your own? <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Intermediate to Advanced levels<\/b><\/p>\n

So after first getting your license you then have people who go on to drive as a part-time or after school job. As they so often say here, any Juan can do that! Any old Joe can drive delivery for an on-line shopping service or food delivery for Uncle Bob\u2019s Pizza down the street\u2014anyone can wear that stock uniform and discharge those simple duties. There may not be much room for personal expression\u2014maybe you can choose what shirt you wear, probably not; you can choose what hangs from your rear-view mirror maybe; you have to work on and polish your greeting speech and how you ask for a tip\u2014but otherwise there is very little room for personalization: get the pizza, take it to the house, knock, exchange pizza for money, get a tip, don\u2019t be rude, go back to work. Anyone can do that simple job.<\/p>\n

The gear and kit and fit-out for these kinds of duties are perfectly generic. The most unique or specialist knowledge you may need to have could simply be to remember to use the pizza warming bag or turn on the roof lighted advertising board. That\u2019s about it. <\/p>\n

It takes much more training and meeting higher requirements to drive a cargo truck full-time or be a heavy machinery operator or ambulance driver\u2014so likewise there is an intermediate level of ministering in the church community which requires greater knowledge and which also carries with it greater responsibilities. <\/b>I have a friend who is a commercial driver and can operate a large coach bus. He\u2019s known as a full-time \u2018driver\u2019 and is focused on safety, service and having some engineering or mechanic\u2019s knowledge is always helpful.<\/p>\n

But as you start to grow further and find work as a heavy machinery operator for example those beginner rules people gave us back in school soon become nearly 100% useless. You\u2019re driving a forklift? You\u2019re operating a backhoe or excavator? Bulldozer or sheepsfoot vibrating rolling compactor? There are no white lines or even lanes to stay inside because there is not even a road yet! You\u2019re the one making it! You\u2019re driving an ambulance? Who cares about traffic lights! No one is going to give you a ticket for speeding\u2014but there are other dangers, limitations and boundaries you must learn instead. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

F1 vs IndyCar<\/b><\/p>\n

For me I was not interested in car racing as a kid growing up. It wasn\u2019t until I was much older and by then living overseas that God let me study car racing to prepare me for my calling hosting a car racing series in the Philippines\u2014I looked into a few series and found I most liked the American IndyCar series, and so I focused on that sport primarily to learn about the industry. F1 is much more about the car manufacturers and technology and an F1 car costs about 10 times the cost of an IndyCar and only adds maybe 10% more speed\u2014yet they never even drive on fast ovals anyway. And watching F1 race videos on-line is very tightly controlled, so as a missionary for so long I never had the money to subscribe to a channel to pay to watch videos. If it wasn\u2019t free on YouTube I couldn\u2019t watch it. If God wanted me to or if I really asked for it he\u2019d make a way, but I still have never even seen one full F1 race\u2014thank you Bernie Ecclestone! <\/p>\n

Anyway IndyCar is maybe more about the drivers and the mechanics and the racing itself as the teams can only use one of the same two engines offered and have to use the same chassis, aero package, etc. This enforced parity keeps costs down, and makes for closer competition between big and small race teams, so the races are more competitive and results are more about the drivers\u2019 skills\u2014at least that is the intention. I like the focus being on the racers and their skills. I don\u2019t really root for car manufacturing brands, but I do root for people. But at the end of the day I also just love the feeling of going fast!<\/p>\n

But everyone begins just like me as a mere spectator. And I\u2019m learning! Do you know people who can change the timing on an engine? Can you? Do you know people who can replace a head gasket? Or grind a piston ring? Or rebuild a Chevy small block 430? There are people who do. But no one is born knowing that. Everyone has to learn. Everyone has to start somewhere. And even if they aren\u2019t professionals yet these people are still learning the intermediate secrets of engine building. Good for them!! <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

But then we have … the Prophets<\/b><\/p>\n

Basic ideas and intermediate skills can be a stepping stone on to higher levels\u2014if you allow them to be. But we quickly find we must think very differently in a new environment and what worked before may now actually be a barrier to our success here, now. We have to think differently about serving the Lord in a dangerous calling such as being a dedicated full-time prophet of the Lord, especially when compared to how we used to think about beginning and even intermediate roles. <\/b>Because what prophets get up to on a regular basis would scare the stuffed-crust pizza out of the regular car drivers in the Body of Christ. Sometimes the lower wisdom, especially if it becomes a mind-set, can keep us from thinking the way we must to operate in a higher level; it would keep us from being successful and may even be the cause of our failure. <\/p>\n

This is especially a problem if your training is mixed up with the ways of Man. <\/b>When God asked me to train prophets he even said the first thing I needed to do was UN-TRAIN them from the ways of Man regarding prophecy. I never knew there was such a thing! Now it\u2019s become crystal clear, and when you have man\u2019s ways in your mind it causes you to resist the Holy Spirit even while thinking you are serving him. It makes you serve Man\u2019s needs and desires even when it is in direct conflict with the will and ways of God. <\/p>\n

Jesus told me the Flesh is the Human Level Understanding, Human Level Intellect, Human Level Perception, Human Level Motives and Human Level Desires. <\/b>Jesus actually told me that. This is the enemy of God within us and the ruin of the prophetic ministry through us\u2014and yes, we each have a carnal mind\u2014and no, it won\u2019t go away just because you say so. <\/p>\n

To be a Race Car Driver, a Prophet I mean, so many things are now somehow different <\/i>compared to when we started as beginners. You need a new mind-set, and you must learn new skills, some of which are the exact opposite of what Man told us to \u2018always and never\u2019 do when we were babies. So it takes more training but also a different kind of thinking <\/i>about things, of seeing things in a new light. This is necessary to even compete at this level, let alone to be able to qualify for the biggest car race on Earth, the Indy 500\u2014or be someone who could actually win it. <\/p>\n

Race Car Drivers love speed\u2014again, I\u2019m talking about prophets\u2014they love to go fast in the things of the Spirit. They do not shy away from danger and in fact some of them are actually drawn towards it! High risks, high rewards, but it takes a lot of personal sacrifice and endurance to reach such a high level of performance. The price, Jesus told me, to be a prophet is high.<\/b> Personal uniqueness is the rule and this makes uninitiated people feel like they can mimic being a prophet simply by wearing funny clothing and acting mental, I mean mystical. True prophets are never shy but also are never showmen like this and usually prefer solitude and often even isolation.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Custom Kit and Fit-out<\/b><\/p>\n

I drive a typical city scooter to bring the kids to school usually. And you can drive anything with wheels to deliver a pizza, even a bicycle! But stepping up to a race car it is literally built around the shape and weight of the driver, and custom built just for the one or two races it\u2019s going to be in. Just the steering wheel alone on a professional race car can cost from $40- to $100,000! Just the steering wheel! That\u2019s more than five times what a regular house costs in my adoptive country! Their controls are customized to each driver\u2019s preferences in ways I can\u2019t even explain to you here now\u2014engine control settings, fuel-to-air mixture settings, weight jacker position, \u2018roll-bar\u2019 or suspension settings, tire air pressure and temperature monitoring, drinking water delivery, pit lane speed limiter, overtake boost, radio controls, race warnings, race position, gear information … everything is available and personally customized to what each driver wants to know at the flick of a switch and the turn of a dial\u2019s knob. One driver has his car set up to monitor his blood sugar levels on his steering wheel, and a guy on the pit crew is trained to give him his diabetes medicine injection during a race if needed. <\/p>\n

Likewise anyone can prophesy; it\u2019s the same Holy Spirit behind every manifestation we read about, but moving up to the higher role, ministry and mantle of a real prophet things become highly customized and bespoke for the person themselves\u2014very much unlike the way things often look in beginner levels. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Can you keep a Secret? <\/b><\/p>\n

The training and knowledge you need to start is fairly public and open and general\u2014but the higher up you go the more privy you are to secrets and knowledge that beginners often can\u2019t even grasp. <\/b>This is what God told me, remember, that learning God\u2019s secrets is like anything else as we first start with an introduction, then basic ideas, then more advanced intermediate concepts, \u201cand then the <\/b>real truth <\/b><\/i>that the uninitiated cannot comprehend,\u201d <\/b>he said.<\/p>\n

This was how he described learning about his Kingdom and spiritual things like prophecy to me. Prophets are given many, many secrets! You just have no idea what is really going on all around you until you hang out with some prophets for a while. Bob Jones had become personally acquainted with Michael the Archangel, he knew your dreams before you had them, and told people whom he was praying for, \u2018When you have a problem, don\u2019t call me, I\u2019ll call you first!\u2019 Sadhu Sundar Singh was rescued in the Himalayas by a 300 year old man and I already shared how Bobby Connor got to meet a 500 year old man during prayer\u2014these elders are people who were just tarrying and praying, interceding for mankind in remote places for hundreds of years<\/i>. You\u2019re normally not even allowed to know they exist! <\/b>But prophets may deal with them personally on various issues relevant to the expansion of the Kingdom of God and do so on a regular basis. The Bible says God\u2019s secrets (which is to say he has them) are reserved for those who fear him\u2014it\u2019s not just for anyone.<\/p>\n

Psalm 25:14\u2014\u201cThe secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant [or promises].\u201d<\/p>\n

Amos 3:7\u2014\u201cSurely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.\u201d<\/p>\n

I Corinthians 2:7\u2014\u201cBut we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.\u201d (ESV)<\/p>\n

So note: if people do not teach the fear of the Lord, people will never be able to know his secrets. God therefore must train his servants the prophets first and foremost to fear him.<\/b> This is also the beginning of wisdom\u2014God\u2019s wisdom I mean. Seeing God\u2019s judgments is scary and many modern Bible teachers just say it does not exist anymore. God\u2019s not angry. He\u2019s my big buddy in the sky! The Israelites also didn\u2019t fear God\u2014until they saw what he did to the Egyptians. So if we don\u2019t tell people plainly the truth but hide scary things from them, they will grow up without fearing the Lord, without wisdom and without ever hearing his secrets like his servants the prophets do. <\/b><\/p>\n

Are these things beginning to make your head swim? Just forget I said all that, maybe it\u2019s just none of your business anyway! But yes, prophets routinely visit heaven to attend council with heavenly beings, saints and angels and the Lord himself.<\/p>\n

A guy mocked me one time when I shared this and he said he looked in the Bible for this \u2018council\u2019 and Ha! He doesn\u2019t see it. There is no such thing as a council in heaven! He said I was lying, making it all up, a false teacher. In reply I heard God said this man \u2018squandered the opportunity\u2019 God had given to him to learn his higher ways. God\u2019s secrets are reserved for those who fear him.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen the council chamber in heaven a few times and it terrified me so much the first time I saw it that I hid in the hallway. The prophet I was standing next to who was preparing to share a prophecy with the city of Hong Kong was not put off one bit! He was standing right out in the middle of the circular chamber talking with ancient saints and a few angels about God\u2019s plans for the city, as comfortable as can be. The sheer weight of holiness was overpoweringly frightening to me, but he just stood right there, at ease and engaged in serious debate and conversation with these holy beings. <\/p>\n

That man who mocked God\u2019s revelation to me also said there are no such things as prophets anymore because prophets wrote scripture and if the Bible is complete there cannot be any more prophets. I said really, and in the New Testament Paul\u2019s personal letters became scripture, so now that the Bible is complete, how we can have any more personal letter writing either? <\/p>\n

Prophets did so much more than write scripture and in the New Testament there were prophets still, like Agabus and others, and they never wrote anything. This is false logic trying to quench the Holy Spirit. <\/b>My daughter saw a vision of people trying to board up a waterfall. Wooden boards can represent Man\u2019s ideas. They were trying to stop the flow of God\u2019s Spirit with their wooden doctrines. This won\u2019t stop God\u2014in her vision it had no effect on the water moving actually\u2014but it can keep the Holy Spirit away from blessing those men who built it, their families and churches. They may soon wish they had never done that!<\/p>\n

But maybe it\u2019s only because this is MEAT that some people are just not ready for yet, those who are still being bottle-fed milk? Or \u2018do not cast your pearls before swine,\u2019 right? Swine are unclean, un-sanctified people. Yes babies, but dirty ones. <\/p>\n

People deny the Holy Spirit is real, deny the Holy Spirit baptism, or like this guy in my house denied prophecy exists\u2014yet he also one time personally experienced an amazing prophetic event with word of knowledge in Mexico himself which ought to have opened his eyes\u2014but even after having personally experienced prophecy he still denied God did those things today! <\/p>\n

So yes, being a swine is a weird problem, but if we are merely immature, our mindset and thinking can still change\u2014and it has to allow us to move from beginning levels up through the intermediate and yes, going up higher still to the top echelons, where oh, there is just too much specialist knowledge prophets are given to know for me to try to summarize here. Spirit travel, instant knowledge of new languages, healings and resurrections are mundane! Seeing outer space, playing with angels, destroying Satan\u2019s works on a global scale, visiting any person or any place at any point in time, sometimes at will. No, there is nothing \u2018normal\u2019 or routine or predictable about being the Lord\u2019s prophet, especially in this day and age. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Burning Down the House Rules<\/b><\/p>\n

So to consider, ye all may prophesy, and when you start people give you a lot of guidelines and rules. For the country boy with errands to run, me driving the kids to school on a 155cc scooter, or the simple job description of delivering pizza\u2014these rules are a helpful framework to get you started and keep you safe. But actually, once you begin to expand your service to God and really start to be comfortable enough letting HIM TEACH you, what good are traffic rules? The sky is the limit! Are there white lines to stay in between, traffic lights or speed bumps up in the clouds? Do angels give speeding tickets? Do you need to change the oil in a blazing chariot of fire, flying in the heavenlies? <\/p>\n

So learn the rules in your local church. Be nice. Do what they ask you to do. But also learn when NOT TO follow their rules. <\/b>Learn when to step out and try your wings sometimes. And sometimes, yes, the Lord will give you a word for the leaders who are in secret sin that you are forbidden to share\u2014forbidden by the leaders I mean who are trying to hide their sin, not forbidden by God who wants all men to repent and come to salvation. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Sex, Lies and Prophecy<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to talk about the current tragic scandal. But I heard a guy give a word a few years ago about his own ministry and he said he saw giant snakes falling from the sky destroying everything. These \u2018giant snakes\u2019 are common symbols of unclean spirits of wickedness in heavenly places, principalities and the like. And he openly shared that he saw them falling all over his ministry in Kansas City destroying it. <\/b>I knew serious trouble was brewing. A few years later and the sex scandal broke and it was not one young lady, it may be more than 10 that he was having sexual relations with over the last 20 years. Someone says, I need to write \u2018allegedly\u2019 or I\u2019m guilty of libel (in print) or slander (in speech), but actually the defense to libel and slander is \u2018substantial truth\u2019 so I\u2019m good. The problem is the accused man is a brother in Christ, and the scandal is destroying a major prayer movement and what can I gain by attacking him over his sin? I am in the Philippines and surrounded by dozens of the most beautiful young ladies I\u2019ve ever seen on the Earth. Before I figured my spiritual protection out I was getting marriage proposals daily by strangers, a few times I got four offers in one day and most of these women were by all metrics 100% perfect potential mates. You deal with temptation? Don\u2019t move to the Philippines! This is a deadly threat. It\u2019s dangerous. And I\u2019m not pretending it\u2019s not real. What happened to this guy in Kansas, well, I can\u2019t accuse him, we face the same enemy. I can accuse him because I face it much worse and yet without sin. They say he had messed up with nearly 20 ladies possibly. Ten is a crisis<\/i>. ONE is already a serious failure. Yet God, I am 100% certain, provided him with the way out, the right mate. Just get married. He was married. Then be faithful to her. Protect yourself. Do the right thing. Protect your ministry. Protect the youth you minister to. The danger is real. The failure is tragic. And God, not YouTube, is the real judge. <\/p>\n

But maybe he didn\u2019t really want to do all that. <\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: this was also the birthplace of the prophetic movement in Kansas City! <\/b>How can no one have seen this coming? It is impossible. The man himself shared a vision of \u2018giant snakes\u2019 falling all around him, destroying the ministry. This vision was given before he was exposed but while he was engaging in sexual sin. Why did none of the thousands of people who were trained to prophesy there not share the word of rebuke?<\/b> They say his teaching on prophecy was manipulated to ensure all words given to him were \u2018good\u2019 and no one was allowed to criticize or correct or man-forbid, rebuke him. That sounds familiar. <\/p>\n

I said it was impossible for people not to know what was going on. People themselves definitely knew, let alone prophetic \u2018voices,\u2019 let alone actual Prophets. But it is still possible, I admit, that they might not have been told to rebuke him or share it publicly. Not because God won\u2019t do that, he will and he does and I am sure God showed people what was going on, told them of the coming judgment, told ladies and some young men of the danger too. But if the heart of that man was really so bad God may have not \u2018given him to repent,\u2019 as the Bible words it; I mean God warned him but if he really was like Saul, God would have just let him prove to everyone what he was really made of, and it turns out it was not wonderful stuff. <\/p>\n

And when that man started to tell his people never to share words of correction or rebuke, to manipulate the prophetic ministry to protect and exalt himself, and make sure he himself did not turn from his own sin, God knew it all and may have said, \u201cOh ho ho! You throw MY words behind you? Let\u2019s see how that works out for you.\u201d<\/b> <\/p>\n

It\u2019s like Micaiah warning Ahab in 1 Kings 22, which I\u2019ll discuss in a later chapter, or like the judgment against king Amaziah when the prophet gave him a warning not to worship the idols of the people he conquered in 2 Chronicles 25:16\u2014<\/p>\n

16<\/sup> \u201cSo it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, \u2018Have we made you the king\u2019s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?\u2019 Then the prophet ceased, and said, \u2018I know that God has determined to destroy you<\/b>, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

So no, people certainly knew. But yes, God may have decided he was too unrepentant to force <\/i>a correction on before. He obviously exposed it now. This now is his perfect chance to repent and come clean. If indeed he wants to. If indeed he can.<\/p>\n

But what a mess. So I guess, OK, follow the house rules. \u2018No words of correction! Never give a leader a rebuke. No words on mates.\u2019 But also know when NOT TO FOLLOW the house rules. But whatever you do or don\u2019t do, whatever happens, know this, God is ALWAYS in control. <\/b><\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

DO GIVE words on Mates and Dates <\/b><\/p>\n

But someone will say \u201cYou\u2019re freaking me out! Stop!\u201d<\/p>\n

But no! I won\u2019t! You need to know the truth that Man and Satan have kept hidden from you. <\/p>\n

And you know we take care of a lot of kids, and as teens and young adults they begin to date and we ALWAYS ask God to give us words on their future mates and lives. Is this relationship serious? Should we encourage it? How soon should we expect them to get married, and when will they start to walk in their callings? This year? Next? Parents need to know. So we always ask God to talk to us on what is important to us and them\u2014and God always tells us his word, yes, on both mates and dates. When I began hearing God speak to me it was mostly in dreams and I think 75% of them were on my future mate. <\/p>\n

So I\u2019m not sure … well, yes I am\u2014this habit of putting man\u2019s limits on God\u2019s prophecy cannot bring God\u2019s blessings. <\/b>But, they say, it\u2019s a chaotic area of a chaotic time of life! Yes, it is\u2014so be more careful to get God\u2019s real word <\/i>to help them navigate it. Treat a word on a mate like any other word! Check it, ask an elder for confirmation. Ask them to give you a word not knowing your question. If it\u2019s confirmed, stand in faith on it, act in faith about it. Don\u2019t act in the flesh, don\u2019t force your will, don\u2019t make an Ishmael. Trust God … and everything is going to be OK. <\/p>\n

A word on a mate is just another word. The word is not usually the problem anyway, it\u2019s how people react about the word. And if Satan is actually active lying to your young people, giving them false visions then you ignoring the problem won\u2019t make it go away\u2014<\/b>Satan actually scared you <\/i>away and he now claims ownership of his part of their walk with God. How is that going to help anyone? It\u2019s not! Train people to hear God\u2019s voice first and foremost, and learn to test and be clear what exactly is God saying. Be patient, be diligent. Face the problem head on! Solve it! Win! This habit of banning God talking on things he is already talking to his people on just because you\u2019re confused is giving Satan room to be active in their lives, and allows the Flesh to wreak havoc. <\/b>Help them navigate this difficult season WITH the gift of prophecy. But putting Man\u2019s restrictions on God\u2019s Spirit cannot somehow bring us more blessings than letting God prophetically guide us will. So I definitely understand their predicament, I just don\u2019t agree with their solution. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

But who are the REAL Prophets? How to tell? <\/b><\/p>\n

Someone else may say, \u201cNever mind all that, I just want to know how to tell who the real prophets are. How can I know? What\u2019s the test.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is hard because people ask a lot of silly questions. And worse, they think being a prophet is somehow like being a pizza delivery guy. So they want to check to see if he has a sign on the roof of his old car, is he\u2019s carrying an insulated pizza bag or wearing a dirty uniform with a pizza symbol on it\u2014well then he\u2019s clearly a pizza delivery guy! That\u2019s how they think you can tell if someone is a prophet! So they want to know what does a prophet look like, what does he wear, or what does he always say or carry around with him so they can judge whether you are a real prophet or not by those external indicators. How else would you know if we don\u2019t have a checklist of visible items we can see to tick off? <\/p>\n

We do need to know who the real prophets are so we know who to listen to, right? But as God told me we first have to lean to ask the right questions. <\/b><\/p>\n

Note that when Peter talked about false teachers in 2 Peter 2 he actually only mentioned doctrines once saying some of them <\/i>would go so far as denying the Lord who bought them. Some false teachers wouldn\u2019t. Other than that, he never raises doctrines or beliefs as a test of who is false. What he does go on and on about is character. Ultimately a false teacher is walking in the Flesh, which yes, is also under the dominion of Satan, <\/b>but it is all the motives and desires of the Flesh that he identifies to reveal who false teachers are saying they are: <\/p>\n

\u201c … covetousness, they exploit with deceptive words, live ungodly lives, walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed, not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, and are like natural brute beasts meant for slaughter. They speak evil of the things they do not understand, are corrupt, count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime, have eyes full of adultery and cannot cease from sin; enticing unstable souls, they have hearts trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children, who speak great swelling words of emptiness, and allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, promising liberty, but are themselves slaves of depravity …\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter, be honest, tell me how you really feel. <\/p>\n

So immature believes should not presume to be teachers, but should focus on growing in grace and character of Christ first. And just notice how Peter goes on and on about their character instead of just making a long list of doctrines they have to espouse. This is the real way to test. The Born Again nature, the Spirit-Filled character is proof people are walking with Jesus\u2014patience, humility, kindness, love\u2014not whether their doctrines or experiences are confusing to you, especially when they are on controversial or confusing topics. But people still called Jesus a liar, and every true Prophet of the Lord as well, and all the Apostles too. Jesus also said to watch because false prophets flatter people \u201cbut inwardly are ravenous wolves.\u201d <\/b>Again, it is the character of Christ in us that makes us known to the world as his disciples. Do we love, or are we looking for something to take<\/i>?<\/p>\n

This is the closest thing we have to an objective test. The REAL way to test who is a real prophet of the Lord … is to ask the Lord. Test by the Spirit. Ask Jesus. Jesus will tell you straight. But immature or fleshly people cannot even do this and so will always come to wrong conclusions based on their flesh perceptions. <\/p>\n

So first, ask the right questions. But people somehow want to see a uniform or a badge or proof they are a licensed, card-carrying member of the Prophet\u2019s Association of Greater Ephesus\u2014sorry to disappoint, but no such \u2018credentials\u2019 exist. And if they did, men would only fake them anyway. <\/b>In most cases a system of man\u2019s licensing and approval tends to produce sycophants and subservient toadies\u2014man-pleasers loyal to the ones who granted them their licenses\u2014never real Men and Women of God, real prophets who are loyal to God above Man. <\/p>\n

So we may have to enlighten people to a different way to understand the spectrum of prophetic ministry from \u2018ye all may prophesy\u2019 all the way up to \u201cOh really? Well, if I am a man of God may fire come down and consume you all\u2014\u00adBRRZZZCHCHCHC!!\u201d\u2014<\/i>people may need to learn a different way to test than, \u201cDo you like that word? Then it\u2019s from God!\u201d or \u201cDid the word already come to pass? No! Then they\u2019re a liar!\u201d<\/p>\n

So instead of thinking like a child and asking to see a badge, a costume, or asking them to produce a sign to prove they are a real prophet, as presumably well-meaning church elders have asked me to do, let us be mature in our thinking and consider taking a different approach. Here are some things to think about: <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Facing Your Fears\u2014the Fear of Man vs Obedience to God<\/b><\/p>\n

The first thing I want you to think about is FEAR. A servant of God must conquer fear, especially the Fear of Man. If a person has conquered the Fear of Man they are the kind of person God uses as a prophet. If a person is still a man-pleaser, looking for man\u2019s approval and trying to win man\u2019s favor it may not disqualify them outright but it is a serious liability in being a faithful servant of God, especially in the realm of the prophetic. <\/p>\n

And I think people worry about all the wrong fears, like Public Speaking. Like that\u2019s the big threat. Listen to me, if you are too shy to be a prophet because you are afraid of public speaking, it\u2019s like refusing to learn to drive because you are afraid of getting a parking ticket, or running over a raccoon. Public Speaking is a pedestrian fear that is not even worth checking the rear-view mirror for\u2014I\u2019m sorry, but it\u2019s not. <\/p>\n

So yes, you may often be called on to speak publicly, and often without notice. If God is really using you, you\u2019ll be on vacation sightseeing and step into a small country chapel from the 16th century that\u2019s pictured in the tourist brochure and suddenly without warning God will say, \u201cSTAND up and SHOUT, \u2018My WORD WILL ALWAYS COME TO PASS! My word will never prove false! THUS SAITH THE LORD!\u201d\u2014but you dare to interrupt! \u201cGod\u2019s just wait! You\u2019re shouting. Calm down!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a word for you to share, STAND UP NOW AND SHOUT!\u201d\u2014but you interrupt him again!<\/i> \u201cBut God I\u2019m on vacation. You\u2019re embarrassing me. Can\u2018t we just write it on a post card and mail it in from the train station?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to be on a PERMANENT VACATION if you interrupt me one more time ….\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m joking but not really. People actually treat God this way and some do get put on permanent vacation as well. \u201cI don\u2019t know why God stopped using me as a prophetic voice. He used to give me words all the time.\u201d … I wonder why too! It\u2019s such a mystery!<\/p>\n

Fear of embarrassment, fear of public speaking, fear of offending church elders who don\u2019t believe in prophecy\u2014fear of man in ANY capacity basically will end your prophetic career without much fanfare. And God won\u2019t throw you a \u2018Last Day of Being a Prophet\u2019 going away party either. You\u2019ll just get … silence. <\/i><\/p>\n

So you\u2019ll often need to share publicly what God is telling you privately. Be bold but not reckless, be brave but not cavalier, don\u2019t be a showman. Confidence, humility and obedience are keys to success. This is one indication of a real prophet. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Practice Time vs Facing the Real Competition<\/b><\/p>\n

And in racing we have \u2018qualifying laps,\u2019 or practice laps to determine in what position racers will start the main race in. Qualifying is dangerous, people crash and are badly injured in qualifying, but only once it\u2019s done can we start the real race against the real competition. <\/p>\n

In the prophetic ministry we have competitors as well, and unlike race car drivers there is no such thing as professional courtesy where rivals on track can still enjoy friendships off of it. Read the books of prophecy and you will see practically every single minister, especially every major prophet faced criticism that their words were lies, that they were false prophets, and there were other people prophesying the exact opposite <\/i>message as these true servants said God was telling them. <\/p>\n

When there are people giving false words, telling people what they want to hear and not the real word of God, well, you can ignore them, especially for a time. What is the chaff to the wheat? Let them share their revelations but you share yours; isn\u2019t God\u2019s real word like a fire? Isn\u2019t God\u2019s real word like a hammer that breaks rocks into pieces? <\/p>\n

And the immature or pretentious or just inexperienced maybe never had anyone to show them what a real prophet and real prophecy looks like? Maybe this is your chance to show them? It\u2019s worth a shot! There\u2019s no need to always be so defensive!<\/p>\n

But then we have … liars. False prophets, people in the church who are witches, others who have a demon of divination and this is far worse than even charlatans, sycophants and boot-lick \u2018court prophets\u2019\u2014these evil people are dangerous. <\/p>\n

And if God decides it\u2019s time to open this up, who do you think he will ask to confront the false prophets? The worship team? The kindergarten teachers? If people in your midst are walking in real witchcraft or demonic power, who is equipped to face them? Who understands what is at stake? Who is strong enough to endure the backlash, the fallout and warfare over confronting the false prophets? Who else besides you, the Real Ones? <\/p>\n

And we know as the times get darker there will be more and more false and demonized people pretending to be true prophetic servants in our churches and if there are more false prophets, there must be more actual prophets God will raise up to confront them. <\/b>It\u2019s nice to be called to give words of comfort and destiny to the children\u2019s ministry. What a beautiful place to see God move. But anyone can do that and these children need protection too and sometimes conflict is necessary to do that. <\/p>\n

Dealing with the competition, conflict and confrontation is within the job description of being a real prophet\u2014who else could do it? So enjoy prophesying to the kids at the youth group retreat\u2014but you also someday may get to prophesy to the false prophets in public and that\u2019s fun too\u2014just fun of a different sort. <\/b>So this then is another indicator of the Real: being willing to face competition and deal with combat and conflict.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Experts in what God will Never Do?<\/b><\/p>\n

But then you say, \u201cGod will never send me to prophesy to church people who don\u2019t believe in prophecy! God would never have me confront someone prophetically. God would never do anything like that!\u201d\u2014I love people who are experts in what God will always and never <\/i>do, maybe \u2018love\u2019 is the wrong word, but then they also admit they never heard God speak to them to tell them that either. So how do you know it\u2019s true, I ask? \u201cI just know!\u201d they insist. But if you think God will never send you to speak to unbelieving church leadership, non-Christian religious leaders, Muslims, politicians, heads of state, witches, charlatans preying upon the innocent in the church … well, you don\u2019t know your God very well, do you!?<\/b><\/p>\n

Man\u2019s ways RUIN the prophetic ministry and the church. Man\u2019s ignorance and things like \u2018knowing Christ but only after the flesh\u2019 makes prophets act stupid. The company of prophets in Jericho are an embarrassment! Stupid! \u2018God took Elijah up in a fiery chariot, right?! But maybe God dropped him! You never know! Let\u2019s all go now look for Elijah\u2019s body on the hillside!!\u2019\u2014I don\u2019t want to be mean, but these prophets were stupid! <\/i>Miriam attacked Moses, so did a lot of other people in the camp. Jesus\u2019 first recorded sermon made them want to kill him, and they tried to as well! You think God will only send his prophets to speak kind words to friendly ears? No, it is God\u2019s specialty <\/i>to send his obedient, humble vessels to speak to the stubborn and apostate leaders of the world who will not listen\u2014even to those who have power over them and can cause them real harm. <\/p>\n

God seems to take great delight in asking his prophets to give such \u2018evil\u2019 people a warning to repent or whatnot. God fears NO MAN. But we do!<\/b> And it still boggles my mind how much God prophesied to Ahab, protecting him and giving him victories in battle when he was still married to Jezebel who murdered thousands of prophets in Israel and set up pagan human sacrifices in their place. Yet God sent prophets to help him all the while. <\/p>\n

People may not know it but God sent a prophet to speak to the dictator Saddam Hussein before the Gulf War, sent there by the US Government; he sent a man of God to befriend (and possibly convert) Yassir Arafat before he died, the mastermind of the Intifada who was an evil murderer of Jews (before he privately repented and asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior it seems). <\/p>\n

This safety catch you feel you have that God will not do that kind of thing anymore is a lie, a false hope to quiet your irrational fears that God may one day ask you to do something you don\u2019t want to do. But God is the EXACT SAME AS HE EVER WAS, and can ask you to say or do quite literally ANYTHING THAT IS ON HIS MIND OR IN HIS HEART. So this is therefore another indication of a real man or woman of God\u2014genuine, terrifying, death-defying obedience. <\/b>Forget being Race Car Drivers, it sounds like they\u2019re God\u2019s Stunt Men or a Spirit-filled James Bond.<\/p>\n

But people who \u2018also drive\u2019 say, \u201cNO! God would never ask!\u201d So when God asks they simply never obey. <\/b>What else do you think the distinction between an obedient prophet and those who walk in fear of man really looks like? They both may even get the exact same prophetic word!<\/b> So know this, God asks, and there are people who obey, and obey in these kinds of wild things he asks them to do every day as well\u2014yes, every day! <\/i><\/p>\n

The real question is why do you fear God so much that you would disobey him? <\/b>Isn\u2019t the Fear of the Lord supposed to make you … I don\u2019t know, fear him!? <\/i>There must be two kinds of fear we are talking about because people with this kind of carnal fear brazenly disobey God. <\/b>This sounds like a stubbornness, a fleshly, carnal mindset, and yes, like the kind of fear the one-talent loser in Matthew 25 had. He didn\u2019t end up very happy, did he? But the \u2018other\u2019 kind of the Fear of God, the real one, makes people obey him at any cost! There must simply be two versions of \u2018fear.\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Hard-Headed? Try having a forehead of Bronze! <\/b><\/p>\n

So will God send you to stubborn people? Yes. Will he sometimes send you to evil military dictators? Yes. Will your life be in danger? Yes. This is all possible. I hope not. I hope the worse assignment you have is to talk to a congressman, mayor or church choir dictator, I mean director … but you\u2019re a prophet not just to give easy words of blessings to people who love you. Anyone can do that! No one is getting stoned for handing out sweet, candy-like loving words of comfort and prosperity in a church that already embraces modern-day prophecy. That is also maybe not where you are really needed. It\u2019s the stubborn, apostate leaders who God wants to call to repentance who need to hear his word from someone like you. These people won\u2019t listen to anyone less. Again, that\u2019s where you are needed the most! <\/p>\n

I see it like this: People are stubborn, God is persistent, and you are stuck in the middle. <\/b>And call it God\u2019s grace, but this is where the prophets, the Race Car Drivers of the Body of Christ also seem to thrive! <\/p>\n

Yes, just like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, so many others as well. God prepared them and also made them just as hard-headed as the people they were sent to. The church leaders were wooden-headed so God gave his servants foreheads of bronze. That\u2019s also why Jesus found Simon, whose name means to hear, to have a flat nose, or someone blown back and forth by every wind and wave since it is also the grass or reeds in shallow water. We would say spineless, like a snowflake, or a wimp. But Jesus took him and renamed him Peter, meaning a Rock. Jesus makes the weak become strong because He causes his strength to now abide within them. So yes, He took the Weed and made him INTO a Rock. <\/p>\n

You can make your own inference from this as another indicator of who God\u2019s real prophets are. I know, isn\u2019t just giving them a membership card much easier? It is, and well, they do have one, only it\u2019s not made of plastic. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

The Warfare should not Define them! <\/b><\/p>\n

The next challenge you have to face is the warfare. Warfare is real but it cannot define your ministry. Fighting religious demons, witches, local territorial demons, family demons, regional territorial demons and then national powers that stand over 200 feet tall is where you really cut your teeth on obedience, perseverance and angelic rescue operations. And it\u2019s easy to wear a \u2018red badge of courage\u2019 after a painful encounter, and is why so many missionaries glory in stories of struggle, danger and overcoming supernatural peril. I would! <\/p>\n

I personally have too many stores to even begin to share and most people who serve God as missionaries, apostles or prophets, especially in developing countries have similar stories they just can\u2019t share with \u2018unbelieving believers\u2019 in Western nations. Witches manifesting out of thin air or flying over your house, demons choking people at 2 am, physically pulling people out of their beds and dragging them down the hall, open visions of demon dogs attacking them or their children, witches manifesting and just walking through the house or so many other kinds of demonic manifestations too numerous and diverse to describe have all happened to us in the mission field. And you pray and fast and weep and laugh as the victory is finally yours but it comes at great personal cost sometimes. After doing this ten or fifteen times you too would want to tell people. It\u2019s a real praise report! But they can\u2019t handle even hearing about it. They would fare much worse if they had to face it themselves. So many ministers have died facing the same battles\u2014we know several pastors and missionaries who have been killed by witches or in accidents or by sicknesses that others have overcome by prayer, faith and their determination to win at any cost\u2014because the victory has already been purchased by the Blood of the Lamb, so why throw in the towel and quit? But yes, people still die who don\u2019t know how to deal with it. But when you overcome it, yes, it makes you feel victorious like you\u2019re on top of the world! … until the next battle! And then you do it all over again. <\/p>\n

But this cannot be the defining aspect of being a prophet. It\u2019s not? It sounds pretty awesome! Yes, the victories are great, and prophets all have these kinds of stories, so in a way it is an indicator\u2014the struggle is real! But this is still not what defines them. No? Then what does? <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Intimacy with God is what really Defines them!<\/b><\/p>\n

Intimacy with God is the real defining aspect of being his prophet. <\/p>\n

All this warfare, fear, stress and peril drives you away from God and your calling\u2014or it drives you into the Arms of He Who Holds the Whole World in His Hands. It\u2019s your choice how it affects you. You have free will. You choose whom you shall serve.<\/p>\n

And if you learn to run to him when it hurts, when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when you\u2019re feeling sad\u2014if you discover Him as your Favorite Thing, then what emerges from the wilderness is a lover leaning on her beloved. Maybe an unrecognizable woman compared to the young, untested girl who went into the wilderness in the first place\u2014but she emerges as a queen, a bride clearly in love with and beloved of the King. <\/p>\n

This then is both the great reward of serving God as a prophet, or missionary or real kind of apostle, as well as the defining aspect of serving Him in any hard assignment, a policeman, a soldier, a school teacher, an assistant mayor, a dedicated pastor, parent or paratrooper\u2014God is our reward. <\/b>Intimacy with Him is therefore the measure of our net worth in the Kingdom in a way of seeing things. Kingdom Wealth is not measured in money or fame, but in love, true service, sacrifice and faith in God. People are God\u2019s real treasure and our service to HIM and our service to THEM is the indicator of true success. <\/b>And if they are his treasure, then they are our treasure as well. This genuine love for people is also how you can tell the True from the False\u2014but it is easy to fake, and hard to see sometimes and not always clear to people on the outside looking in. <\/p>\n

Love COMES FROM God. I don\u2019t know if you can say Love is God but the Bible says God is Love, maybe that makes no sense, but OK, God is love and the closer we cling to him to get us through the hard assignments, the wildernesses, the valley of the shadow of death we have to walk through\u2014the more hardship we endure WITH HIM as our Peace, Protector and Comforter\u2014the more we know <\/i>him, the more we are transformed into the image we are beholding, the more we are becoming like him, the more heavenly treasure we have possession of. Because HE is the treasure. <\/b>He is the reward of all of our years of hard service. <\/p>\n

OK, so saying Intimacy with God is our defining characteristic can also be misunderstood. People can boast and brag about God speaking to them and that\u2019s not what I\u2019m saying. I just mean our identity as being God\u2019s child needs to be our primary reflection\u2014not the struggles, the victories, the warfare, our gifts, our calling, the message we preach or the geography we do it in. We are being transformed into the Image of God as we behold him, and Jesus told people he was a SON more than anything else he ever said about himself. <\/p>\n

So the warfare and fear and overcoming the religious impostors, the witches, sorcerers, territorial demons and world-holding powers of evil is all a part of this walk\u2014it is all real, but they are not worthy to define us or our role or assignment even, not nearly as worthy as our intimacy with God is, <\/b>which we develop to overcome all of those other … distractions<\/i>. <\/p>\n

The struggle is real, it hurts, people suffer and yes, some may die. But these lesser things the Kingdom of God within us is not made of. He is our reward and this is what ought to define us the most. So mature followers of Jesus trade in their identity based on their job descriptions, battles won, or even victories lost and simply identify as God\u2019s children. These therefore are indicators of real prophets: the warfare, the victories, the stories and the battle scars\u2014but more-so their transcendent identity simply as Sons.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

The Warfare is Real\u2014so be Careful<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, the warfare is inevitable. Choose your battles wisely if indeed you can. But you can\u2019t always choose your fights. Never attack a demonic power just because it annoys you, especially one that\u2019s 12 or 15 feet tall or larger, which I call a \u2018bull gorilla\u2019 … anything that size or larger, be on your toes, or on your knees rather. Such small territorial demons and up, the world-holders, the powers and principalities, they are actually dangerous. Let God rebuke them and it\u2019s usually best to just hide yourself in Christ until the dust settles. Not usually<\/i>, pretty much always<\/i>. <\/p>\n

I sometimes reference \u20184th-level\u2019 warfare which is a term based on Paul\u2019s explanation of spiritual warfare in Ephesians where he first says, we wrestle not against \u2018flesh and blood,\u2019 and then mentions four types or levels of demonic governmental powers, which I mentioned before as: Principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Again, these specific terms are arche<\/i>, exousia <\/i>and dynamis, <\/i>and we may read them as princes, powers, rulers, authorities, etc. It\u2019s from this we get the term Arch-angel, and Prince of Persia, etc. <\/p>\n

People die by not being wise and attacking principalities just because they see them or guess they are there. Let Jesus lead in all serious warfare, never get involved \u2018personally\u2019 unless he tells you to, how to, and sometimes even why he wants you to. <\/p>\n

What he told me is more than what people say to do when they wrestle with spiritual powers. People always say, Oh, it\u2019s easy! Just \u2018sow in the opposite spirit!\u2019 It sounds wise, but it is not a verse. This is a red flag to me. A witty saying about God or the Bible but which is NOT in the Bible was coined by men. This means as witty as it sounds, it is likely only to be man\u2019s wisdom. And this is actually what Jesus told me: <\/p>\n

People say when you warfare to \u2018sow in the opposite spirit,\u2019 but if that were always true then your warfare is sown against what demonic environment? Peace? No, I tell you to put on your armor every day.<\/p>\n

Instead of merely \u2018sowing in the opposite spirit,\u2019 I tell you today I want my chosen vessels to \u2018flow in the Holy Spirit.\u2019 <\/b>That will lead you to victory in all warfare, not just being able to respond with a calm demeanor when someone comes against you in impatience or anger. For I tell you, not all anger is from me, but not all \u2018peace\u2019 is from me either. <\/b>If you want to pacify people, be wise in handling your emotions. And if you want to be victorious in your warfare, then \u2018flow in the Holy Spirit\u2019 and you will conquer the forces of darkness that seek to enslave your soul\u2014which is what you really want, isn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n

If God sends you, yes, you can bind and remove any 4th-level spiritual being since it\u2019s not you acting in your authority but under His, in a way as his messenger. And never just because you say so. You walk in a realm of authority, sure, and have a lot of untested, unproven authority in that realm already, and that begins with you praying over your family, household, job and the like. But when you begin to rise up in authority and start to exercise your faith over neighborhood, city-wide, county, state, province or regional spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, you need to think twice and seek God\u2019s advice, permission, direction and rescue plan first. <\/b>He may still simply send you, then just do as he says\u2014exactly <\/i>as he says. But if you tell your friends however, they will often be emboldened to also attack such \u20184th-level\u2019 powers just because you did, and the backlash can be so severe, people suffer, and yes some do die. This is wisdom Jesus told Bobby Connor, \u2018Only target what I target or you\u2019ll become a target.\u2019 <\/b>I am not advocating fear, but we must respect the danger. You read the scriptures and how even Michael dealt with Satan and note the language, he \u201cdared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, \u2018The Lord rebuke you!\u2019 \u201d Michael didn\u2019t dare!<\/p>\n

The wisdom I can pass on, when you want to confront one of these major powers, is this. Don\u2019t. Ask first. Be ready to just walk away. <\/p>\n

In my town we have a strange situation and there is a gated compound with a five pointed star with strange writing on it right in the middle of the city. God told me, \u201cDon\u2019t look at it. Don\u2019t even pray about it.\u201d When the nearby witch tree burned down, the one by the market, which burned the whole market down, and then the same day the kids in the nearby school began raving, fainting, manifesting, having fits of screaming and swooning, God said, yes, that\u2019s where the witchcraft was coming from which was behind all that mess. Basically it\u2019s like state-sponsored sorcery. <\/b>God, you rebuke it! I said! Send YOUR angels to fight it! Don\u2019t let them even know I\u2019m praying for it. Protect me, hide me in Christ, made me invisible to them! Confuse them, please, I have so many kids I care for and many who are barely walking right, several attending that very same school. If my angel was sent to fight, they\u2019d surely recognize it, because in the spirit he looks like me! If they attacked my family house … God protect us! We\u2019ve had run-ins before and we\u2019ve come out, I can\u2019t say without a few scars, but we won in the end, but the struggle was real. I\u2019m angry and I just want to stomp on those snakes if I get the chance, but also I want to win not just start a fight that I can\u2019t finish. I\u2019ve learned that! People with a doctrine and a verse but no actual experience fighting demons and territorial spirits and witchcraft or higher level sorcery and generational curses, they have a kind of bravery based on doctrines and theories. I like that, since they aren\u2019t afraid. But it doesn\u2019t work! It\u2019s not actually faith. <\/b>And people get hurt. I can\u2019t count how many ministers and pastors here have died, fallen into serious, brazen sin, or stopped seeking the Kingdom altogether because of this. <\/p>\n

We prayed to cast out a demon from a boy in Hong Kong once and it took hours, over six hours. I did not feel this was God\u2019s direction and the boy was still using drugs and whatnot, and we were not prepared, but the ladies just began to attack that thing and OK, I\u2019ll back them up. How hard can it be?! Well six hours later we called it quits and I asked Jesus. You cast out demons with one word! And he said, \u201cYes, but first THAT ONE WORD has to live inside you.\u201d <\/b>People think authority in Christ is just a matter of doctrine or quoting verses. It isn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

And isn\u2019t it odd that there are gifts of prophecy, and healing and even miracles … but no gift of casting demons out. There is no gift of authority. <\/b>Why is that? But I\u2019m not asking for your opinion. I also have opinions. I want divine insight, not more opinions! <\/p>\n

So I now understand the bondage that holds \u201c3rd world\u201d countries from developing is not lack of money or resources or talent, but the bondage from these world-holding demons. It\u2019s often the demonic culture that is actively reinforcing Satan\u2019s control through witchcraft that is doing most of this.<\/b> The UN can\u2019t fix it, they actively protect and promote it! And as that organization becomes more firmly a tool of the Enemy they will not even pretend to try. It will become like a beast over the world subjugating the population under the purposes of its largest member voting block, Muslim nations. Once the Righteous are taken out of the way nothing will stop it from taking over globally, even if re-branded under a new name. <\/p>\n

Anyway, we have some time to finish our work before that happens. But time is indeed short! And night is coming when no man can do any more work! But God still can. Anyway … <\/p>\n

The warfare needs to be accomplished over that which binds people in darkness for them to be set free. But like Bobby Connor said Jesus told him, we need to be careful to \u2018only target what I target or you\u2019ll become a target.\u2019 Prophecy must lead intercession and this must go first to prepare the way for ministry.<\/p>\n

So anyone can prophesy. Anyone can pray. Anyone can be used by God to defeat regional powers even, but the price is high, and you need to be willing to obey very carefully, and be willing to just walk away. And I think it is wisdom not to attack a big demon just because you see it and it annoys you. Be wise and always carefully follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and yes, be ready to walk away if he says this is not your fight. Flow in the Holy Spirit and you will always be victorious in every struggle, especially if Jesus is the one who fights for you while you just hide yourself in the folds of his garment. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Enduring Sustained G-Forces <\/b><\/p>\n

So yes, God asked me to host a racing series in the Philippines and to learn the business I began to study IndyCar. <\/p>\n

And I was watching a race in Houston in 2013 when fan favorite Dario Franchitti was launched into the catch fence at Turn 5\u2014his car went airborne, got caught in the chain-links and it spun him around like a top. He suffered a concussion, a spinal fracture, a broken ankle and also lost his memory for two weeks before the crash and has no memory of what happened three weeks after it either. The G-forces he endured were inconceivable. <\/p>\n

According to NASA a human can withstand a maximum of 30G\u2019s for a fraction of a second. Astronauts experience 3G\u2019s on reentry. Fighter pilots can endure 9G\u2019s in hard maneuvers so they have to wear \u2018g-suits\u2019 to squeeze the blood from their legs so they won\u2019t black out. <\/p>\n

When F1 driver Max Verstappen crashed in 2021 going 150mph at the British Grand Prix he endured 51G\u2019s in the wreck. Ralf Schumacher suffered 78G\u2019s crashing at an Indianapolis road course in 2004. David Purley in 1977 felt 179.8G\u2019s in a wreck during practice also at the British Grand Prix. <\/p>\n

And Jules Bianchi crashed in 2014 at the Japanese Grand Prix and withstood an astonishing 254G\u2019s according to his in-car accelerometer.<\/p>\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking, NASA needs to recruit more race car drivers as astronauts!<\/b> Bunch of nerdy babies flying those spaceships!<\/p>\n

So I can\u2019t find the record of the G-forces Dario experienced in his crash. He was turning a wide, fast corner in a road course and it was not an oval track so he was not going anywhere near 230 mph or he\u2019d be pushing up the daisies. He was maybe going closer to 120 mph which is why he survived. But I heard an early analysis of the G-Forces he endured which were said to somewhere in the mid-200\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Again NASA says a human can withstand 30G\u2019s and astronauts endure 3G\u2019s upon re-entry. <\/p>\n

Race car drivers, especially turning a fast corner such as in a high speed oval like at Indianapolis, will experience 4G\u2019s sideways on every corner<\/i>. In the big race, the Indy 500, they complete a 2.5 mile lap every 40 seconds or so and so endure 4G\u2019s of lateral force four times every 40 seconds<\/i>, and they do it for a few hours at a time. In other tracks drivers can experience up to 6G\u2019s in some fast corners! That\u2019s why some drivers, like TK\u2014Tony Kanaan\u2014can bench press 15kg with his neck. His neck is about as thick as your thigh! Yes, race car drivers defy NASA\u2019s safety standards by several orders of magnitude. I see a prophetic illustration here. When men make the rules you get safe, nerdy baby talk. When God is pushing the boundaries of human ability because he wants to show humanity what a Man can do with God in him, not naturally or by man\u2019s safety rules, but far above it, you get the miraculous. <\/p>\n

Let NASA be nerdy, safe, boring. That\u2019s how men like it. Maybe that\u2019s wisdom? Maybe that\u2019s only Man\u2019s wisdom? But concerning what really matters we must be brave enough to actually let God off the leash <\/i>and let his Prophets prophesy the unhindered word of God so that all may know, \u201cIndeed a prophet was among us!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Risks … and Rewards<\/b><\/p>\n

So there are all kinds of degrees of risks associated with \u2018driving.\u2019 And the costs get increasingly bigger the higher you go. <\/p>\n

To be a top tier race car driver it is not enough that you know how to steer a car. Steering a car at 200 mph with \u2018under-steer\u2019 where the front tires won\u2019t grip and it won\u2019t turn, or has severe over-steer, where they grip too much and the car wants to push you from behind and fish-tail the thing around sideways in every corner … well, that\u2019s just a normal day at the track. <\/p>\n

Normal drivers would all be in the ditch! In New England we lean how to handle a fish-tailing rear-wheel drive car as teens, especially in snowy conditions. We still wipe out sometimes, but I remember driving through Charlotte one year on my way to Florida for Spring Break and we stopped overnight to visit a man of God I met. The problem was it was a blizzard! We had just driven through such thick snow the roads in New York and Pennsylvania were closed to traffic getting on the turnpike, but we were already on it!! There were ruts in the snow a foot deep all through Pennsylvania and I even saw a few people off the road. <\/p>\n

Ten or more hours later in Charlotte the weather was milder and we stopped overnight to rest and got back on the road the next morning. This storm turned out to be Hurricane Andrew by the way but we didn\u2019t know that until we got to Florida and everything was devastated! But up North it was just snow! And all that devastation was still unfolding at this point and so back in Charlotte it had rained and of course frozen overnight and there was a once-in-20-year dusting of snow on the roads by morning\u2014but most drivers in the Carolinas never drove in snow before and there were over 200 accidents in that area in just a few hours! <\/p>\n

We drove from New Hampshire all the way to the Carolinas through heavy snow and I think we saw six cars off the road, maybe 12. In Charlotte alone there were hundreds<\/i>. Do you understand? They never learned to drive in snow and didn\u2019t know how to drift a car and handle driving a fish-tailing back end. But we drive that way for fun! It\u2019s the same difference between dirt-track driving and asphalt-track driving as well, but some people just can\u2019t turn on dirt! <\/p>\n

Race car drivers deal with this daily, those who \u2018also drive\u2019 face it once and may flounder like a fish out of water and fail. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Comfort Zone? What Comfort Zone? <\/b><\/p>\n

You see, drivers must certainly first learn where the brake and gas pedals are, that\u2019s very helpful to know! But to be a race car driver it\u2019s certainly not enough that you can find them, some racing situations require you to use BOTH at the same time! <\/p>\n

And you like to drive with your temperature control? You like the strong A\/C blasting when it gets warm outside! Well the heat in a cockpit in a long race can be so hot drivers\u2019 shoes melt. <\/p>\n

The only Japanese entry (so far) who ever won the 24 Hours of Le Mans was back in June of 1991, and they did it with a car without cylindrical pistons but one that had a rotary-engine\u2014it\u2019s a team of drivers, but their main driver, Johnny Herbert, crossed the finish line and the team won!\u2014then he collapsed from dehydration and fatigue of driving the last two 4-hour stints himself and he also was healing from a nearly-severed foot he suffered in a recent crash. Medics carried him from the car, rushed him to hospital and he missed standing on the podium. Cockpit temperatures in a race car can reach 50 or even 60 degrees Celsius which to my American compatriots is … well, HOT\u2014up to 140\u00b0F. And that can last for 2 or 3 or 4 hours. Some race suits have a built in cooling system under the fire suit because dehydration and overheating affect driver cognitive ability so badly\u2014it\u2019s certainly not like you can just pop into Popeyes during a race to get a big cool Mountain Dew! No, you mostly need to endure it! Momma used to say, \u201cIf ya can\u2019t stand th\u2019 heat, stay outta th\u2019 kitchen!<\/i>\u201d <\/p>\n

Momma was right!<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Maturity … for Your Comfort, Not Mine <\/b><\/p>\n

People need comfort and about this Paul was mature and said something very confusing. He said the stress he endured was for our comfort\u2014and his comfort was also for our comfort. <\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 1:3-5\u20143<\/sup> \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4<\/sup> who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5<\/sup> For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ [to you].\u201d<\/p>\n

So some people only get comforted because they are children with good, protective parents in the faith. Others who are mature carry the weight and burden of the pain, warfare, fear and stress\u2014Paul says tribulations, afflictions or troubles, and sufferings\u2014and find comfort from God directly.<\/b> These being spiritual parents, the mature ones, whether prophets or apostles, pastors or Sunday school teachers, will cover and protect the children of the faith based on lessons they themselves learned and intimacy with God they experienced in the trenches. How blessed it is to have someone like that in your life! But this seems to reveal two tiers of life experiences here, the children and the parents.<\/p>\n

If mature \u2018parents\u2019 are in charge of prophetic training they know it is only by the Holy Spirit that we are truly equipped and so they \u2018immerse\u2019 their students in that baptism of fire; one Bible version renders Matthew 28:19 by saying we are to \u2018baptize\u2019 or \u2018immerse\u2019 the people into \u2018the reality of the Father\u2019\u2014it is not a symbolic ceremony that does this but drawing people into the living presence of God. <\/b>These students could be trained to be real prophets\u2014and what a glorious generation that would be<\/b>\u2014when trained by mature trainers who don\u2019t sugarcoat every struggle, gloss over the conflict, ignore the sufferings or act in denial over the discomfort\u2014and who certainly don\u2019t try to constantly \u2018edit\u2019 what God wants to say through them\u2014these students can be trained to be mature prophets. But if trained by Man with Man\u2019s Ways they risk only being fit to serve as \u2018prophets of Man,\u2019 serving the visions or programs of man, only within the churches of man. <\/p>\n

It is required in stewards that one be found faithful! How can you be considered a faithful prophet of God, faithfully stewarding God\u2019s spoken word if you constantly resist and quench the Holy Spirit you are supposed to speak for\u2014and edit or refuse to say or do what he wants you to? <\/b><\/p>\n

This kind of pathetic (not prophetic) environment greatly affects the students of the prophetic ministry they train, confusing them with man\u2019s doctrines in an attempt to control the prophetic ministry saying things like, \u2018God only speaks encouragement\u2019 so if God speaks a rebuke they are told they are listing to a lying spirit. Or \u2018Never correct a leader especially not the pastor,\u2019 so if they get a correction word from God they are told to believe it is always from the devil, and the pastor\u2019s secret sins go from bad to worse\u2014they are taught to obey Man and disobey God! Or they are told never to prophesy about people\u2019s personal relationships. So if God wants to help a struggling couple, too bad! That\u2019s for the flesh to figure out. <\/p>\n

We held a seminar here to train people to hear God\u2019s voice and my wife ministered in a small group and as they sat down God told her the man there was getting ready to leave his wife and gave her many intimate details … she looked right at him and said, \u201cNo! You can\u2019t do that! You can\u2019t leave your wife!\u201d And the wife said, \u201cYeh! He\u2019s got a girlfriend!\u201d … My wife ministered to them and saved that family from breakup. What if she heard God prophesy about their problems and she ignored it? What if God told her his word \u2018on mates\u2019 but she refused to share it? <\/p>\n

You may say, these are rare cases, so what\u2019s the harm in ignoring these kinds of personal words? But I\u2019m not so sure it is so rare first of all, but what really concerns me is how this kind of teaching creates a batch of prophets who are trained to fear man, to serve man, and to please man\u2014meaning their human leaders\u2014but at the cost of resisting the Holy Spirit, not rescuing the wounded, lost sheep and not seeking to bring them back to the fold. That\u2019s the harm being done here and it\u2019s real harm too!<\/p>\n

But this is what can happen if immature \u2018children\u2019 are in charge of prophetic training. They tend to teach their students to be childish\u2014I don\u2019t want to be mean and say foolish\u2014I just did, but Man\u2019s wisdom to God is foolishness. <\/p>\n

Man\u2019s ways limit God, they control his Holy Spirit and always turn people into flesh-muddled wimps who limp along on two opinions. Maybe that\u2019s not been your experience and I\u2019m glad for you, but I\u2019ve seen it over and over again. We cannot substitute Man\u2019s ways for the Holy Spirit and prosper, especially in an area that requires so much personal interaction with the Holy Spirit and obedience to his real direction. Jesus one time told me, Man\u2019s ways CANNOT produce God\u2019s blessing\u2014Jesus actually told me this. It\u2019s true in any area, think of how especially crucial this advice is in the area of the prophetic!<\/b><\/p>\n

The heart of the prophetic ministry is to hear and convey the voice, the intentions and the will of the Holy Spirit and to do so without mixture, pollution, corruption or taint. If Man\u2019s Ways are involved in the prophetic\u2014or I should say as much as <\/i>Man\u2019s Ways are involved in the prophetic there will be pollution, corruption, mixture and defeat. This contamination MUST be purified out, it must be \u2018refined seven times\u2019 and so we must train people to be prophets of the LORD, and train them as close as we can to how Jesus was trained, how the Holy Spirit trained Paul, how God trained Samuel, Elijah, etc. And as God actually told me, to UN-TRAIN them in the ways of man regarding the prophetic ministry. <\/b>We do not need any more \u2018prophets of Man.\u2019<\/p>\n

Someone may say, \u201cRelax about it! Even in a \u2018pathetic\u2019 environment like that where they\u2019re raising \u2018court prophets\u2019 who resist the Holy Spirit a few will inevitably tap into the direct training from God and grow up, break out of their control, shatter their mold and become true Men of God!\u2014of both genders!\u201d <\/p>\n

And well, Oh … OK, for once I agree with you. That was a really good point. Well said. <\/p>\n

So we need strong ministers and especially strong prophets and so we must train people to discern the danger of substituting Man\u2019s ways, Man\u2019s tolerances, Man\u2019s opinions, Man\u2019s goals and Man\u2019s agenda\u2014the things of Man\u2014with the honest and pure, holy and righteous ways of the Holy Spirit, especially in our training programs. What good is it to make wimpy prophets who are too scared of their leaders to stand up and say, \u201cThou art the man!\u201d Or, \u201cYou are a Jew, who lives like a Gentile, but you want the Gentiles to live like the Jews!\u201d Or Jesus, who loves me, this I know, but who told his closest friend, Peter, \u201cGet behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.\u201d <\/b>Jesus, where\u2019s the love? Well, this same Jesus also said, \u201cAs many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.\u201d<\/b> We are not illegitimate children! <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Finishing Well <\/b><\/p>\n

And after navigating all of these obstacles and facing even more challenges than this, like lap traffic, race cautions, debris, radio failures, unforced errors, fatigue, pit stop mishaps, people crashing into you from literally any <\/i>direction and at any <\/i>speed, weather problems, mechanical problems, emotional support animal problems … OK, now I\u2019m going too far, but a lot can go wrong in a race where people are pushing the limits of human ability and endurance to earn a big prize. And you can do everything right, avoid all those missteps and obstacles and be in first place … yet crash on your last lap and lose it all\u2014or worse like JR Hildebrand who crashed in his first Indy 500 race in May 2011, when he was a rookie and miraculously in first place on the last lap but actually crashed in the last corner of his last lap! <\/b>Dan Wheldon won that race that year instead! <\/p>\n

We want you to finish the race well. Does that bear repeating? Yes. We want you to finish your race like a champion. And not crash out on ANY lap, let alone your very last one! <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Jesus giving race commentary <\/b><\/p>\n

I recall watching Hildebrand crash and Wheldon win and then a few months later I was watching the season finale race. It\u2019s not like in NASCAR with those boxy steel-paneled cars that can crash and still race and crash again and still race some more and crash again and win. An IndyCar is fragile by comparison and even a little contact can break a wing, and even with one wing tip broken it means you are going to be off-pace and it makes it very hard, sometimes nearly impossible to win when races are often decided by fractions of a second. The entire field of a huge race can all be within 60 seconds of each other. So cars have to often change the entire front wing assembly in a pit stop to stay competitive. These cars can\u2019t be competitive with even one broken fin. The competition is just too close. <\/p>\n

So I was watching the season finale race in Las Vegas that year and there was a huge crash on only lap 11 of 200 scheduled laps; that one crash spawned a second pile-up and any car caught up in such a crash is simply finished for the race. NASCAR races often have ten or twenty car pile-ups. Three or four cars in an IndyCar crash is a Big One\u2014and this involved 15.<\/p>\n

In May, Dan Wheldon had won the Big Race, the Indy 500 … you earn a million in prize money (even more now), you get a million more in gifts, you go on a world-wide media tour\u2014it\u2019s a big win. Now in October in the season finale he was racing behind the pack in 24th place I think when the race started, somewhere in the back, and on only lap 11 like I said there was an initial crash and that sparked a second crash and by the time 15 cars were destroyed, Dan Wheldon suffered a non-survivable injury. He was killed, the race halted and God asked me a question. <\/p>\n

First he asked me what I felt about the crash. <\/b>But I had no idea what to say or think; I had no words! <\/p>\n

Then he said the crash was going to make Paul Tracy decide to retire.<\/b> He was also one of the drivers caught up in that huge crash. But I only got into the racing scene around 2009 I think after God asked me to prepare to launch a racing car series in the Philippines and I did not know who Paul Tracy was still. I saw him race a few times but I didn\u2019t really know him. He\u2019s a Canadian, a Believer I think, and comes across as a real tough guy. He\u2019s one of these guys who began car racing at 5 years old. No joke. And he likes to win. He has a reputation as a \u2018bad boy\u2019 they say. He certainly looks it! He\u2019s a series champion, and also had raced in NASCAR and other series for a while. But well, the 2011 IndyCar season was over in that fatal wreck and Tracy could not get a ride the next year and so he just retired. Maybe a year or two later Tracy was in the commentators\u2019 booth doing the race broadcast and he said the real reason he retired was after watching Dan Wheldon die in Las Vegas. That\u2019s what God told me and I do think he\u2019s a Christian, so I can ask him later in heaven what that was all about. Wikipedia says the same thing, that Wheldon\u2019s crash made him decide it was time to retire. That\u2019s what God told me anyway and I don\u2019t need to get confirmation from Wikipedia either\u2014I know what God said, and that was before I even knew who Paul Tracy was. <\/p>\n

Anyway why tell me this? I think God was just, you know, chatting with me. He\u2019s chatty like that sometimes. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Driving #24<\/b><\/p>\n

But so I think Elijah was this kind of person too, a real tough guy. And yet he quit. And so we meet the man chosen to replace him and we first see him plowing his fields not with an ox … not with two yoke of oxen, which would normally be four oxen. Can you imagine trying to wrestle six castrated bulls who have each swelled up in muscles and stamina to the size of a skid-steer front-end loader?\u2014these were oxen not bulls! Well, Elisha who was chosen to take over the job that was so hard it made Elijah quit was plowing with no less than 24 oxen\u201412 yoke may mean 12 animals but I think normally a yoke had two animals each, so yes, he was driving 24 huge animals at the same time, by himself. He was an absolute mensch<\/i>\u2014a real man\u2019s man! <\/p>\n

People see all kinds of prophetic symbolism in this. If it\u2019s 12 it represents his \u2018ministry\u2019 over the 12 tribes; if it\u2019s 24 it\u2019s his role over the 24 orders of priests David set up in 1 Chronicles 24. The yoke is a symbol of being under God\u2019s covenant, and harnessed to pull a heavy load, it shows obedience, dedication, diligence, strength and stamina\u2014this was no lazy rebel God choose but a very godly man. <\/p>\n

Others note that he owned 24 animals fit enough to plow after a drought? He\u2019s rich! Modern people may not understand the value of owning stock animals very well, but it\u2019s like a person who owned 10 cars. How many working cars do you own? So what does that make you think the kind of person Elisha was? And what did he have to give up to follow this calling? There was a lot to walk away from. The price of his obedience was very high. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

You can if you want … but the Price is High<\/b><\/p>\n

Jesus was just chatting with me one day and very casually asked me if I wanted to be his prophet. He said, I could be one if I wanted to. Who asked me? My pastor? The school principal? My boss at the office? No, it was God himself who asked me, and no, I don\u2019t need their permission, which I often remind people who want to de-legitimize me. I actually don\u2019t work for them. Just remember that. God however added, \u201cThe price is high.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n

The price to serve God as a prophet is high.<\/p>\n

But concerning Elisha, what I only really think about is what kind of he-man can handle working with 24 head of such powerful animals? I have a hard time dealing with my cat sometimes! Oh, I\u2019m good with our five dogs and we had 9 cats at one point, and God said he will soon give me many horses, Gypsy Cobs he mentioned by breed, and more … and you\u2019d better respect the power of one horse, let alone two or three\u2014driving four-in-hand is only for an experienced horseman. For Elisha to be driving 12 yoke and I am sure it is 24 animals, he\u2019s like the Paul Tracy of farmer recruits. It\u2019s just beyond the realm of normal sanity. <\/p>\n

This means to be a prophet of God, and one that matters in a challenging assignment and not just an, \u2018oh, he also prophesies\u2019 wimpy lame duck means you need to be tough<\/i>. Are you? You\u2019ll need to be.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

You might even Lose your Hair!<\/b><\/p>\n

There are different kinds of \u2018strength\u2019 and different kinds of \u2018tough\u2019 for sure\u2014love is strength, love never fails, compassion is powerful, and God can turn you into whatever kind of \u2018tough\u2019 you need to be to do your job. But we\u2019re not talking about being a showman or wearing thick woolly sweaters trying to act like we\u2019re carrying Elijah\u2019s mantle, or speaking in a fake accent to sound mystical and spooky. This is the real deal not a pretense show of it. Oh, people wouldn\u2019t do that would they? They did and they still do. <\/b>That\u2019s why Zechariah said when the real power of God is manifested through his real ministers, in this case it was foretelling Jesus, people will STOP wearing hairy mantles to try to deceive people to listen to their made up prophecies. <\/p>\n

Zechariah 13: 4\u2014\u201cAnd it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.<\/b>\u201d<\/p>\n

Only when God manifests for real will people throw away their fakes. It wasn\u2019t until God struck the Egyptians that the people of Israel learned to fear him. So if you yourself have a YouTube channel and wear a funny costume, and speak in a strange tone of voice to sound religious and mystical turning a three minute prophetic message into a 45 minute video, all the while promoting your line of prophetic trinkets and hairy mantles\u2014on sale while supplies last\u2014it\u2019s not too late to repent. Lose the hair. Turn on the lights. Take off the showman and put on the humble, sincere, and yes, sometimes maybe even a little boring attitude of an honest servant of God, just telling people like it is. Please. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

When they\u2019ve Lost their Nerve<\/b><\/p>\n

Anyway after Dan Wheldon\u2019s fatal crash there was another driver from England who quit. You see, in the F1 series there are no oval races. Their tracks are always winding street- or road-courses and those are fast cars, but they never can just let the throttle wide open like an IndyCar at Indianapolis where laps go by hour after hour and cars may never do more than slightly lift off the gas pedal in a turn to reduce their momentum to a controllable speed. It\u2019s as fast as you can go for as long as you can drive, before catching up to others and getting into lap traffic of course, or a yellow flag caution, or a pit stop. But that\u2019s what takes nerves of steel-belted racing rubber to handle. So after the Las Vegas crash several very good drivers, especially some from England if I recall, simply would not drive ovals anymore. They lost their nerve. Some would still drive in the series but just not on ovals. Others quit driving IndyCar altogether. <\/p>\n

So God made you and usually equips you partly or mostly along the way, during the assignment, feeding you daily manna, and you learn to find the provision along the way, while on the journey. You even learn most of the lessons of how to walk this calling out while on-the-job. So understand, you are the one who has to choose to answer that voice calling you, and yes, you have to choose to put on that mantle every day <\/i>even though it carries with it such a weight, real fears sometimes and an oftentimes painful responsibility that was so hard it made Elijah just quit! <\/p>\n

So success is never about having a stronger gift, a thicker mantle or a more subservient group of followers; it comes down mostly I think to your own grit and determination.<\/b> Maybe I\u2019m wrong? But that\u2019s what emerges from the dust and smoke that I see! God won\u2019t force you to begin serving him or to continue serving him either. If you need to step back, do that. After serving him in Hong Kong God asked me to hang up being a prophet for a while and it took me over 10 years to heal from the hardships of that six or seven year season. If you need a break, God knows it, he will take care of you. Take a break! He is the God of all comfort. But if you just lost your nerve, it\u2019s not about comfort anymore, it\u2019s become cowardice. So step back, breathe, rest, heal … but don\u2019t quit. You don\u2019t need to quit! And nobody likes a quitter!<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Will Power <\/b><\/p>\n

My favorite IndyCar driver is Will Power. I pray for him to win when I\u2019m focused and I think he got his first championship at least in small part from my angels helping him. He\u2019s an Aussie, from Toomooba on the Gold Coast I think. <\/p>\n

But Will Power was not that great at ovals when he started in the American series. Only Americans race ovals so there is nowhere else to get any race experience of that kind! He was great at roads and streets when he first showed up but ovals are just not the same kind of driving. <\/p>\n

So coming to the US Will Power already had some gifting, he had some experience and already had gone around the track a few times, but that is not what made him become a champion. <\/p>\n

He was off-pace in this new level but true to his name, he decided he would find out how to win. <\/i>He worked hard and was just very determined to learn how to win in this new and very challenging environment. Other people win, why not him?! He had a great racing engineer and coach and a top-tier team behind him. But he also talked to people who were winners to learn their secrets from them! Who else knows but the people who already do it! <\/b>He also had a great racing engineer, crew chief and a top tier team behind him. But others do as well and still fail! <\/p>\n

Maybe be careful who you listen to! Why ask people for advice who only know how to give track-side commentary\u2014can you drive 230 miles an hour? Have you ever won an oval race? No. Then be quiet!! I mean listen to good advice, but never <\/i>listen to people who only give you bad advice!<\/i> I have opinions, but so what? I listen to people\u2019s opinions, but so what? If all people want to tell me is their human opinions … thank you, but … pass!<\/i><\/p>\n

What I want to know is not human opinions, but what has God said. <\/b>What is God telling people about a problem. What is God saying about the solution?! I am curious what you say and think, and don\u2019t take me wrong, but if God didn\u2019t tell you what you are teaching and preaching and trying to advise me to do … pass! <\/i>Just anyone\u2019s experience in prophecy is also not a guarantee it is the Holy Spirit\u2019s right advice. I listen but I filter out what God does not collaborate. <\/b>People only see what they want to see he told me, even in hindsight, and just because they say, \u201cWhen I prophecy this is what I do and it works.\u201d You still have to ask, \u201cOh, is that what God told you to do?\u201d But if they say, \u201cUm, no it\u2019s just my habit. But I know I\u2019m right.\u201d Well good for you but as far as I am concerned … pass! <\/i><\/p>\n

Honestly the analogy breaks down at a point and I need to talk strait. People … are dumb. They\u2019re like sheep. We love them but woe unto those who put their trust in them. So ask your engineers, ask the pastor, ask you husband or you wife, there is wisdom in a multitude of counsel, but I never do all that. I just ask God. But you just said there is wisdom in a multitude of counsel. Yes, I did but YOU were the one who ASSUMED I meant human counsel. Come let us reason together saith the LORD.<\/b> I ask people mostly to know what God has spoken to them. Rehoboam got a council together and they led him astray and split the kingdom in two! Not everyone who gives you their opinions are giving you God\u2019s real wisdom! <\/b>They\u2019re so often just telling you what your itching ears want to hear! But I bet you already knew that! <\/p>\n

All I really want to know is God\u2019s wisdom, the Holy Spirit\u2019s counsel, Jesus\u2019 advice. Ask your prophetic friend, post your question in the prophecy group chat, but people still taint their wisdom with Flesh mixture and sometimes I am walking the razor\u2019s edge and can\u2019t afford trial and error problem solving. I need God\u2019s pure counsel. Sometimes you do too, I\u2019m sure! <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Will Power is a Champion <\/b><\/p>\n

So back on track with Will Power, he faced this new challenge head-on and researched, he asked many people who actually knew what they were talking about, he studied the numbers, worked out at the gym, kept an athlete\u2019s diet and in the car practiced, practiced, practiced … soon he figured it out … and then he began winning ovals.<\/b> Some people never knew it until they tried it but they are perfectly at home driving 230 miles per hour in a 140\u00b0F cockpit on a track with cement walls for barriers and doing so for two or three hours at a time. <\/p>\n

So you too may come from a small town population: 12. You may come from a small family too; it is a small world after all, but one day you may realize you too are called to race with the fast and furious!<\/b> How do you know if you too are not cut from the same cloth as Bill Johnson, Bob Jones or Heidi Baker? Everyone has to start somewhere. <\/b>How would you know if you never tried? Do not despise the day of small beginnings! <\/b><\/p>\n

And Will Power reminds me of some military pilots and some police officers I\u2019ve met. Quiet, short hair, unpretentious, but focused 100% that he is going to win this thing<\/i>. He won the Indy 500 one time, and I was thanking God so much for that win! I had a dream of Will Power talking to a fan about his Bible and things and I\u2019m praying for him when I think of it. He\u2019s a real winner. He has a very nice wife, young son. A family man. He recently beat Mario Andretti\u2019s record for the most \u2018poles\u2019\u2014which means he was the fastest car in warm-up qualifying and won the right to start the race in the first grid position or \u2018pole position\u2019\u2014and he won more race qualifying pole positions than anyone in IndyCar history, beating the previous record from legendary Mario Andretti. It means a lot to race fans. He\u2019s fast and he likes to win. <\/p>\n

And you cannot be anywhere near the prophetic ministry and miss that symbolism: Will Power is a Winner. Will Power is a Champion. <\/b>But even starting with some gifting he needed more than that to be a champion. He was willing to learn and obey wisdom, humble enough to listen to the right mentors, careful not to follow wrong advice that could lead him astray. He learned to better control his anger and disappointment and keep his head in the game even going at ludicrous speeds\u2014this is what made him a winner\u2014it was not just his gifts alone. So watch him now: calm, humble, quiet but he will rip your drivers\u2019 license and local award for \u2018Most years without a speeding ticket\u2019 to shreds <\/i>like being chewed up in a 230-mile-an-hour paper shredder. Do you want to be a Champion? <\/b>Do you want to serve God as a high-tier prophet? You can! There are many vacancies right now and gifting might get you an interview, but it\u2019s certainly not enough for you to succeed. To succeed you will need perseverance, humility, and yes, you will definitely need will power. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s all by Grace! <\/b><\/p>\n

Someone will invariably protest, \u201cNo, I have a gift! I\u2019m called. It\u2019s all by grace,\u201d I\u2019m sure you are, and yes it is, but that is not what determines your success\u2014and not even what \u2018grace\u2019 actually means. Having a gift or a calling is an OFFER of Destiny, it is not success or the rewards themselves which you only get based on what you do with it. To succeed you need many things, and all good things come from God by his flow of grace (anointing) even our determination, but yes, mostly what Paul was trying to tell us, to finish the race and finish it as to win, we need will power. <\/p>\n

Grace is the available strength of God offered to us, enabling us to conquer any obstacle, achieve any task, acquire any trait, use any gift and gain any strength <\/b>we ask for<\/b><\/i>. There is no strength without grace, Jesus told me. <\/b>Grace is charis<\/i>\u2014it means strength. <\/p>\n

But if we refuse to ask for it, refuse to seek it, refuse to receive any of it … or obey the fear and quit … then what? <\/p>\n

Jesus asked me one time, \u201cWhat is the first part of the armor of God?\u201d<\/b> You try this at home; people will ALWAYS get it wrong. For me I knew the verse very well and answered from memory. I knew it was not the helmet first, but wait, I know this, it\u2019s not the shoes or sword first either. Let me just think, I know it. I think maybe it\u2019s the … and Jesus said, \u201cIt is to stand.\u201d<\/b> <\/p>\n

Stand. Stand and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore with … all the stuff. So what he was telling me I think is that we have to make up our minds to stand <\/b>otherwise the battle is already lost\u2014or at least we will be headed into war wearing nothing but our superman underwear. But if we decide to stand, Jesus will give us the grace (strength) we need to be able to overcome whatever we are facing. And no one will ever know we are actually still wearing those superhero underpants! The first part of the armor of God is to stand! Our will, but his power. <\/p>\n

So if all grace is available to us so we can have all we need at all times so we can abound to do every good work\u2014at least according to 2 Corinthians 9:8\u2014then why so many impossible problems? Why so much crying? Why so many failures? It may be several things: but largely because people just won\u2019t decide to stand. They don\u2019t seek the strength to overcome. Maybe they want to fail?<\/b> I don\u2019t know. People can become addicted to the comfort and sympathy they get when they lose. But what they need is simply will power, the decision to stand. God has made the grace, or strength, or anointing as you call it available. But people can MISS God\u2019s grace too. Don\u2019t let this happen to you!<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

WWWPD? <\/b><\/p>\n

So I want you to consider what kind of person \u2018Will Power\u2019 is and that if you placed him in ANY environment, made him face ANY ministry challenge, what outcome do you expect to find? He\u2019s not superhuman, he\u2019s just a race car driver, but we are. And if we can have a mindset like \u2018Will Power\u2019 we will inevitably rise to the top in any spiritual environment, face and overcome every ministry obstacle, even the agony of defeat. I mean we can win even in losing. We can be rich even when poor. We can be confident even when confused, honored even when insulted\u2014in short we can be strong even when weak because God IN US can do the supernatural. And he wants to do it as well. So let him! Because when we are weak then HE is STRONG through us!<\/p>\n

So people like these, like David, like Elijah and more so maybe like Elisha, like Moses, like Joshua, like Jesus, like Paul … they were overcomers. This is what I think is the ideal model for our mindset as the Lord\u2019s prophets. If we set our will, God will fill us with his strength. Our will, God\u2019s power. <\/b>Our will, God\u2019s money. Our will, God\u2019s miracles. So yes, we need to do our part, and first that is to have the right mindset, to have Will Power, but God will help us even to do that! Amen! <\/p>\n

But let\u2019s ask ourselves, in tough situations, before we cry and despair, or run away to Tarshish … What Would Will Power Do? Would he quit? Run away? Maybe. David once pretended to be mad to escape his enemies. Once. But he did this only to regroup to fight another day. I think we all have bad days and I don\u2019t want to tarnish the examples of Elijah, David or John the Baptist, Peter or whomever by pointing out their faults especially when they were having a bad day. But normally <\/i>he would sit down quietly, face the problem, ask the right questions <\/i>as Jesus told me to do, maybe ask his advisors or chat with his engineers. For us we ALWAYS ask the Holy Spirit and seek counsel from the Holy One first! <\/b>But also we ask people for prayer, review God\u2019s word, re-read God\u2019s prophetic promises to us and you know what? There are people who have already overcome this, let\u2019s ask them! They sometimes have already heard God\u2019s wisdom and strategies for success. It\u2019s worth a shot! But do not trust in Man. <\/p>\n

So face the problem head on, analyze it, ask the right questions, understand it, get a real plan of action then start to work the solution. We face hard problems all the time, ones that totally perplex us and sometimes we don\u2019t want to have to decipher a complex puzzle just to get the bills paid. So instead of disobeying God\u2019s direction, freaking out and running away it may help to sit in repentance and rest, quietness and trust, ask God for help, clear your chaotic carnal mind and just think, OK, God, this is not working out. WWWPD? What would Will Power do? WWJD? What would Jesus do?\u2014So now I can also ask … WAYGTD!? What are YOU going to do? <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Facing the REAL Competition\u2014Confronting the False Prophets <\/b><\/p>\n

Finally, we have to understand this is a competitive sport. And not all the time is it gentlemanly. Fist fights break out, more in F1 and NASCAR I think than in IndyCar, but not all on-track rivalries stay on track. <\/p>\n

Everyone can have a bad day, or a lot of friction with some people, but what\u2019s worse is when things get … weird. <\/i><\/p>\n

If you get strange headaches that\u2019s not from dehydration or sinuses but it feels like there\u2019s a claw on the top of your head\u2014especially when you enter a certain house, or store or talk about a certain person\u2014or if you feel confused and unsettled and can\u2019t get your normal sense of peace in your heart but feel unstable, agitated, restless and sad, fearful, hopeless\u2014start to have bad dreams, especially demonic dreams\u2014experience weird sicknesses they can\u2019t diagnose, especially seizures, fainting, rolling on the floor babbling like a mad animal\u2014if someone starts talking in tongues but it sounds genuinely like a child mocking you with grotesque babbling sounds\u2014or if you suddenly get wildly angry and want to start cursing, weirdly sexual and have perverted fantasies or find your thoughts raging against people who are serving God but somehow now you want them dead!\u2014Understand the common effects of fighting witchcraft. <\/b><\/p>\n

A false prophet is demon possessed and if they pray for someone any of these things will begin to manifest in their lives, even in your own life if they pray for you. <\/b>You\u2019ll be flattered by the nice sounding words they prayed, but then you\u2019ll begin to feel polluted and hopeless, <\/b>and any of the above demonic manifestations common when facing witches can erupt. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just run to the doctor\u2019s office or even the medicine cabinet\u2014first REBUKE IT IN JESUS\u2019 NAME. Fight strange fire with the Holy Spirit\u2019s Water. Regain your peace, hope, composure and so you must learn to quickly discern when you are fighting witchcraft and demonic attacks\u2014get your bearings, stand your ground … Stand. And having done all … stand. And then … take the fight right back to the enemy. Bind them, lose the angels, cut the ties, cancel their assignments, sever their contract and neutralize their power. Learn how to fight witchcraft. <\/b>Jesus will teach you! Be safe, take precautions … and then rise up\u2014and take over<\/i>. <\/p>\n

So yes, we sometimes do have to face the real deal, demonic false prophets and even witches among us. And common sense may tell people that the more dark and dangerous the modern times get, the more false prophets will arise. <\/b>And where do they gravitate? Weak, unsuspecting Churches to ensnare weak, unsuspecting Christians. If there will be more false, there will be more True called to sometimes confront them. It could be you! <\/b><\/p>\n

And no, I\u2019m not hunting false prophets and can do more I hope with private intercession than a public showdown … unless God calls me to do it. It\u2019s ugly, it\u2019s maybe dangerous, and it\u2019s unpopular, but don\u2019t count it out. It could be you that God calls to stand up for his truth and yes, it could be in public and against a popular figure. The more false voices rise up the more God will raise up a banner of righteous servants who are actually in his council and actually speak his word and yes, there will be confrontation at times. And yes, again it could be you. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

A Time to be Sorry! And a Time NOT to be Sorry!<\/b><\/p>\n

Now one word of caution you may not hear from other people is that if this happens to you and you have a real word of correction DO NOT TRY TO APOLOGIZE for giving it. Or … OK, try it. Give the hard word and take their side and apologize for that big mean God in the Sky… and just see what kind of icy reception you get when you get back home to your prayer closet. But I can tell you what, God will be ashamed of you, that\u2019s what! <\/b>And rightly so. I\u2019m talking from experience. People say, \u201cNo, he never talks like that! We\u2019re under grace, brother.\u201d But these people never heard him talk to begin with, and never sat with him for an hour while he poured out his raw emotions, and just don\u2019t understand what grace even means\u2014or the trust God puts in us, or mutual respect, or what it\u2019s like to feel his … disappointment. They have no real relationship with him. Yet they are so sure what God always does <\/i>or what he never says <\/i>… they are so sure God doesn\u2019t care about your disrespect and insulting his righteous word by taking the side of the unrighteous person he\u2019s rebuking through you! They see things academically, theoretically, carnally and like a Pharisee, and not from the standpoint of a real person in a real relationship with a really emotional God. God is emotional. You\u2019d better believe he is! <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe me? Try this in the real world: let God give you a stern prophetic word for someone and give it but then to apologize for God being a big meanie\u2014and how unexpected? But God never uses you like that again? Why? It\u2019s a mystery! No, it\u2019s not, and note, this result is not because of your gifts, or calling, but because of your attitude, your betrayal of his trust and friendship. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Turning People from their Sin <\/b><\/p>\n

Well … are there any other indications of the True and False prophets in the Bible? Are Deuteronomy 13 and 18 helpful?<\/p>\n

OK, so back on point, the Bible says if someone presumes to talk in the name of God and what they say does not come to pass, do not fear them. But if someone does a miraculous sign and says to follow a different God you must kill them. One is a presumptuous, and maybe well-meaning but immature person. Maybe they just don\u2019t know what they are doing. But the second is demon possessed. I don\u2019t know why but there are no records of anyone in the Bible actually being stoned for being a false prophet. Why is that? Did I just miss it? The only people being accused and abused as false were the True prophets. The false, the flatterers, the court prophets all were liked by the leadership. Why is that? <\/p>\n

So let me say it like this: there are fakes, there are false prophets, and there are flatterers who lead people astray. <\/p>\n

And if you are true, and I don\u2019t understand this exactly, but the stubborn people you are sent to turn back from their own ways will always accuse you of being false\u2014it\u2019s practically par for the course. They insist a true prophet only encourages and gives words people like to hear. If you give \u2018negative words\u2019 it\u2019s proof you are not of God. <\/p>\n

The true mark of a prophet however is the opposite. It is not only encouragement or popularity, but the Bible most often says \u2018edification\u2019\u2014that means to strengthen, purify, encourage and also to correct\u2014and a true prophet turns people back from their sin. This is in the key chapter Jeremiah 23 and verse 22: <\/p>\n

\u201cBut if they had stood in My counsel,
\nAnd had caused My people to hear My words,
\nThen they would have turned them from their evil way
\nAnd from the evil of their doings.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Or what Malachi 2 said about Jesus: <\/p>\n

5<\/sup> \u201cMy covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
\nAnd I gave them to him that he might fear Me;
\nSo he feared Me and was reverent before My name.
\n6<\/sup> The law of truth [the true Torah] was in his mouth, [he was not a man-pleaser, or \u2018court prophet\u2019 or flatterer to get money]
\nAnd injustice [dishonesty] was not found on his lips.
\nHe walked with Me in peace and equity,
\nAnd turned many away from iniquity [their sin].\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Just wait and someone will say, \u201cHey! That\u2019s the Old Testament, but in the New Testament God is not angry and prophecy is only for encouragement.\u201d But this is not true. <\/b>Prophecy in the New Testament is for both encouragement and correction, comfort as well as rebuke, and you\u2019d better believe it!<\/p>\n

Jesus said in Revelation 3:19:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.\u201d <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

You cannot say he will rebuke and chasten but not with personal prophecy. That\u2019s a nonstarter. And the real heart of God can be found in Hebrews 12: <\/p>\n

5 <\/sup>\u201cAnd you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: \u2018My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;<\/b>
6<\/sup> For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.\u2019<\/b>
<\/br>7<\/sup> \u201cIf you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8<\/b><\/sup> But if you are without chastening, <\/b>of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.<\/b> 9<\/sup> Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10<\/sup> For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11<\/sup> Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

If this is what God\u2019s heart is, then we must allow for him to be able to give a word of rebuke when he wants to, and yes, he sometimes will. So why do so many pastors teach a word of rebuke is never from God? Didn\u2019t we just read in verse 7: <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons … but if you are without chastening …. then you are illegitimate and not sons.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

To me this means behind much of this fearfulness of God rebuking people with a prophetic word is the spirit of the world, the carnal mind, and also what we call an \u2018orphan spirit.\u2019 These people may have never embraced their son-ship and do not accept God as a real father to them. The remedy is simply closer intimacy with him\u2014and not merely religious affirmations about it. <\/p>\n

You must admit Revelations is a prophecy and it\u2019s full of rebukes <\/i>and yes, you can double check, but I think that is in the New Testament. So the New Testament began with a prophet who was sent to rebuke the people to expose their sin, John the Baptist! And ends with some clear and convincing rebukes as well. <\/p>\n

But consider these other verses as well:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

So says 2 Timothy 3:16, and if that is the Scripture, then that must be the prophecy as well. <\/p>\n

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 that he needed to:<\/p>\n

\u201cPreach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching.\u201d <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And if that\u2019s the Scripture, that will also be some prophecy. <\/p>\n

1 Timothy 5:1 says, <\/P><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Which that means you sometimes DO need to rebuke a younger one. <\/p>\n

Luke 17:3 reads, <\/p>\n

\u201cTake heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Again, if that\u2019s the Scripture, that will sometimes be the prophecy. <\/p>\n

I already mentioned Revelations 3:19 but it is good to keep it clear in mind: <\/p>\n

\u201cAs many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

I hear so much preaching against personal prophecy ever being allowed to correct or rebuke and this is not Scriptural, not common sense, and not our experience in the Lord. The truth is if you somehow don\u2019t think people sometimes really need a rebuke you\u2019ve never raised teenagers. <\/b>Being a minister is compared to being a parent and how can a person manage the church if he can\u2019t even manage his own household? Imagine never correcting, exhorting, chastising, rebuking, punishing, grounding or taking the gadget away from your phone-addicted, lazy, grumpy teenager whose grades in school are all underwater\u2014I mean they are all below C-level. <\/p>\n

But people cling to their carnal thinking and insist on editing the Holy Spirit to make him always sound cordial. I\u2019m not going to fight with them, because their stubbornness cannot be overcome that way. If they are eager they will repent but if they are really false teachers of Babylon, Mammon and the Flesh\u2019s counterfeit First Church of Hairy Goats, well they have their own path and will face their own judgment, again, lest they repent. <\/p>\n

I say just give them the verse again in Revelations 3:19 \u2013 \u201cThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.\u201d And leave it at that. But know this, the mark of the true prophets is that they turn people from their sin. <\/b><\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Trusting God\u2019s Intentions<\/b><\/p>\n

However, it must be said, God\u2019s intention towards us is not like people think it is. His love is greatly misunderstood and so his intentions in prophesying even correction to us are for our good, to encourage us to turn to the truth, to comfort us in loss, and strengthen or edify us so that Sin will no longer have any hold over us. Sometimes to be strengthened we have to expose sin and repent of it. And how would you know what is lurking in your heart unless God exposes it prophetically? How can you be pure and strong if you never let God remove the impurity or secret sins from out of your heart? <\/p>\n

The best term to describe New Testament prophecy in one word is not to \u2018Encourage\u2019 but to \u2018Edify. To edify is to make us strong and able to withstand the evil day. So to edify requires purification, correction as well as encouragement. To only encourage tends in the hands of mere mortals to always slide into shallow compliments, flattery and smooth words people want to hear, which are indications of false prophecy always. <\/b><\/p>\n

I really have a strong distaste for prophetic training where students of prophecy are told if they get a rebuke to reword it, to edit what the Holy Spirit is saying, because he seems not to know we\u2019re in the New Testament now, and God is happy, and so prophecy is only for encouragement, so we have to be careful to protect people from God\u2019s mean words. <\/p>\n

Does anyone else see the absurdity in this? People who are trained by God to prophesy would never say such a thing. Others tell you not to give a word when God gives it because maybe <\/i>it\u2019s the wrong time<\/i>, maybe <\/i>it\u2019s the wrong tone<\/i>, maybe <\/i>you need to take some time and think how to reword <\/i>it first … People who are trained by God to prophesy just give the words God speaks. They trust he knows what people need, he knows what time it is and he knows what covenant we are under. It is patently absurd to tell God he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s doing but WE KNOW and so \u2018God, listen to our advice here on how you should give your prophecy.\u2019 <\/p>\n

I do accept that beginners, children and novices need boundaries as they learn, but if that were the real intention here they would be taught not to give a rebuke YET<\/i>, don\u2019t give a correction word too forcefully<\/i>, be gentle but firm and clear <\/i>in your surgical words of purification. But is that what is being taught? No! They are being told don\u2019t give a prophetic rebuke AT ALL because God Never Does That\u2014EVER. And why? <\/b>Because it\u2019s the New Testament\u2014This doctrine is not good! <\/p>\n

And yes, people actually do teach this, saying public prophecy needs to be safe and enjoyable. OK, that\u2019s fair, but I didn\u2019t say a correction or rebuke needed to be public, just that it needs to be. It should be private often, not always, but often because God does not always want that either. <\/b>I saw this unfold in Hong Kong that the church leaders who were increasingly going astray made sure every word of \u2018correction\u2019 was kept \u2018very private\u2019 to ensure they did not ever have to repent of any of it. They wanted to insulate themselves from public accountability. In the end they didn\u2019t repent<\/b>\u2014and led the community into shipwreck. I\u2019ll share this in a coming chapter. And so if it had been more public things might have played out differently\u2014but I didn\u2019t know that for certain. Many things were going on, not just my ministry to the Lord to give them his warnings. There were many things going on, as there always are.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

What Would Jesus Do?<\/b><\/p>\n

So if people are confused as to who\u2019s example to follow, I think why not follow Jesus? There were times he was private and times he was public, even times he was rude and snarky. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus and if that is how he acted, then that is how prophecy must also flow legitimately from time to time through us today as well. <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

But no! You\u2019re setting the Bar TOO HIGH! <\/b><\/p>\n

The someone, maybe someone you know will cry out in a high-pitched voice of fear, and say, \u201cNo! You\u2019re setting the bar too high!\u201d <\/p>\n

But really I\u2019m not. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m just telling you how high the bar has already been set. <\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t reach it, it\u2019s OK. Sit back down and don\u2019t hurt yourself. Save yourself from a huge disappointment. God won\u2019t love you more if you are a prophet, or less if you aren\u2019t one.<\/p>\n

And to whom much is given much is required. <\/p>\n

Everyone is going to be judged with a personal standard of judgment. I would hate for you to ask God to be a prophet, presume you are one, and then make a total mess of your ministry. I want to spare you from the bitter pain of such disappointment. I heard someone say \u201cThere are too many lawyers, but not enough good lawyers.\u201d This is how I feel. There are too many \u2018prophets\u2019<\/b>\u2014ones wearing funny costumes, ones with an overly theatrical YouTube persona, ones who speak with a fake religious accent, ones just trying to give everyone flattery\u2014but there are clearly not enough \u2018authentic prophets,\u2019 honest servants of God who speak the \u201ctrue Torah\u201d in uprightness, who fear God properly, and genuinely turn people from their sin. <\/b><\/p>\n

The price to be a prophet is HIGH Jesus told me. And many people can\u2019t pay it, they won\u2019t pay it, they just default on its payment like a 17-year-old with a maxed-out credit card. Instead of embracing will power to find the way to overcome, as challenging as it may be … they just fall away, they fall into sin, they fake it, they pretend … I\u2019m saying this from what I\u2019ve seen in my personal experience. People fall away, even prophets do. <\/p>\n

But you may also meet some of these successful prophetic ministers on the other hand and they tell you that ever since they were young all they wanted was to be a prophet of God and they set their minds and opened their hearts and God has been using them, walking that hard walk now and wow! It\u2019s already been seven or 10 or 15 years! Well, why then was the bar set too high for you but not for them? <\/b><\/p>\n

You may meet real prophets and they are as solid as a brass boulder. You try to push them to fall over and YOU get hurt! You can\u2019t make them budge with a 400 horsepower caterpillar-track 47-ton excavator! But these \u2018YoutTube prophets\u2019\u2014I don\u2019t know. About as tough as snowflakes\u2014if you cough in their general direction they melt first and then blow away. <\/p>\n

We aren\u2019t mad at babies for wearing diapers, better to wear them than not to. But a baby needs to know it is a baby! What if he thinks he\u2019s a big boy now like his papa and takes out the kitchen knife to open his crackers, like my brother did? What a mess! But his fingernail did grow back eventually. What if he thinks he can make his own lemonade and takes that soapy bottle from the sink, you know the one with the big, bright yellow lemon on it? The hospitals were pumping their stomaches until they made them change the dish soap labeling. Or what if he thinks he can drive himself to the store and takes daddy\u2019s key fob … These things actually happen\u2014maybe they happened to you? Babies can play \u2018grown-up\u2019 all day long, but they must realize it\u2019s just play and you must NEVER give them your car key fob! Or the kitchen knife! Or a real prophetic mantle.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s angels are not exactly babysitters, but they do look out for us who are inheriting his Salvation and Kingdom, and if we were not protected at childhood from Satan\u2019s schemes no one would survive to adolescence! So OK, don\u2019t worry so much, be young, enjoy your childhood, run with scissors, there\u2019s no reason to be so afraid, or to rush to grow up. But the war is real, the consequences are real, and you cannot FAKE warfare or character just because you wear your aunt\u2019s drapes to the prayer meeting. People have a lot of stories of facing real hardships and people even die because they go to into warfare they were never supposed to be in, and they do that unprepared and in disobedience. All I am trying to say is Trust God, but Obey God, and NEVER be caught out on the battlefield still wearing a nappy! If you soil it, everyone is going to know! <\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Find your Happy Place <\/b><\/p>\n

So I just suggest to find your happy place. You can serve God in a myriad of ways, you don\u2019t need to be a Prophet to please God and serve him in an important role. And if this is just a matter of pride for you, it\u2019s just for your own status, well, I think he\u2019d rather you didn\u2019t. So would we. <\/p>\n

Anyone can give a prophetic word, press in and see a vision, fast or go up to a mountain cabin and seek the Lord for a meaningful experience. You don\u2019t need to be a \u2018prophet\u2019 to do any of that, and really, there is no real training or skill or stamina needed to bless people with a word of prophetic encouragement after service on Sunday or during Wednesday night home group or in an on-line chat room\u2014and they will be so glad you did. This is valuable and meaningful ministry already and may be a great intermediate level of practice to gain experience. <\/b><\/p>\n

And you certainly don\u2019t need to be a prophet to love people and minster God\u2019s love to them. <\/p>\n

But also certainly stay far away <\/i>from people who are faking authority, who wear costume mantles and walk in pretend power. These people are just showmen, and not the greatest ones either. There is no authority in gimmicks and cheap costumes. The reality of God working with people is often private, supernatural, confusing and it often makes people want to be isolated, introverted and pray alone. Prophets don\u2019t always do public ministry, the extroverts are evangelists mostly! And you can\u2019t fake authority by yelling loudly or waving a colored flag in the air. <\/p>\n

But also yes, you can be his prophet. Why not you? He has the mantles, the gifts, the final say of who serves him as what. All you do is bring your will power, bring your \u2018yes,\u2019 bring your \u2018Here I am! Send me,\u201d and he will bring the rest. He gives some people callings at birth but he also will answer your prayers, and he rewards the faithful! And He has MANY openings right now\u2014the laborers are really so few, especially in the harder callings. <\/p>\n

He said to eagerly desire to prophesy, and yes, the price is high to be a prophet, but it\u2019s definitely worth it\u2014very, very much worth it. Not for the \u2018reward\u2019 really as you think of it here on Earth, but for the good that God can bring about by your brave service to him in a difficult area and yes, you will still be rewarded by the deeper way you will come to know him also, for He is our very great reward, both here and here-after. <\/p>\n

Jesus Christ may really be calling you right now into this higher role of a full-time Prophet. A real one I mean, not an actor who plays one on TV. Some people are called but have not yet conquered the fear in their hearts and that enemy is still inside their own camp causing chaos at every turn\u2014but others have put that uncircumcised Philistine to the sword and they don\u2019t get nervous, they get excited when they hear that voice in the spirit calling them to get ready to stand up and shout just like it\u2019s race day and over that track-side loudspeaker they announce the big event is about to begin\u2014Are you ready? Too bad! Because it\u2019s time! So \u201cRacers, start your engines!<\/i>\u201d and \u201cThus saith the Lord ….\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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