This week we are going to continue with our look into the function of a prophet. One of the main reasons the Lord calls one to be a prophet is to restore the people to the ancient paths set forth in the Scriptures. They are to give warnings concerning politics and give positive visions in many different areas . They will rebuke or give positive instruction and move to restore in any given area. Listening to the Lord is essential and there are many different ways the Lord speaks, so let’s look at a few. We must test our listening and stay away from the occult. Another obstacle to clear hearing is the desire to feel “special” because being chosen does not make you special. A prophet must devour God’s word because it is the exercise track of their training and the structure of their thoughts and memory, the guard house, if you will, against bad doctrine. It is the basis for ideas, the checkpoint, the boundary.    God speaks through dreams and one must learn his own dream language. Symbols can have external meanings and have little to do with our personality, character or internal meaning. It has to do with their inner being. Colors can have double meanings. For instance, red can mean blood or anger, green can mean life or envy and so on. People can be symbols. To dream about the death of a person can be literal or it can mean the person is dying to themselves, and giving birth can be literal or the new birth to an aspect of their lives.  Visions can flash in pictures across the inner screen of their mind, very short in duration or a picture can “pop-up” before them. A vision can also be like watching a movie outside of themselves, or a trance. If the meaning is unclear, pray and ask questions and wait on the Lord. Recurring dreams or daydreams need to be examined (Job 33.14,29). God may show the prophet their sin to save them from the effects of it. It is a time to rejoice if that happens and it doesn’t mean it disqualifies them but means they are still relying on the Lord. Another way the Lord speaks is dark speech. This is  a pun, a puzzle, a parable or an allegory and is non-direct. Direct speech is hearing the voice of the Lord plainly and clearly like He spoke with Moses and others. He may also speak through messengers that he sends. The Scriptures themselves is a very common way He speaks. God speaks through circumstances and also what is called the “still, small voice” that one hears within himself. A mature prophet will be silent before the will of another. They are silent observers of what God does, a watchman or witness. If they have something revealed to them in secret that would create turmoil or frighten people but has no unction to say anything, it is a clear call to intercede. This goes for blessings as well. They must be careful on how they hear. Don’t solidify a revelation in too many concrete terms. They could add to what God is trying to communicate and confuse the whole thing. They must make sure the words that they say are from the Lord, so they should counsel with others who have functioned as a prophet (Prov 24.6). Ask the Lord to confirm what He says. But, once He does they should not let anything deter them.  In addition,  prophecy  can be expressed  in other ways such as  speech, a flow of words, sayings and  burdens. Next, we are going to look at the function of Old  and New Testament prophets and look at how prophets will function in the Last Days.

   This week we are going to continue with the topic of a prophet and briefly go into their function. We have already given an overall description of a prophet and also discussed their calling, preparation and training. But, how do they function and what exactly do they do once the Lord puts them “to work.” 

    A prophet will call people back to the Word of God, speaking God’s word to him so that the Lord can write His word uniquely on his heart. Behind his words of warning and words to obey is God’s mercy. But, all the while he may be directed to give a word to others, he is acutely aware of his own sin and deceit in his own heart. He thinks he will never be true to the Lord and will feel somewhat helpless, but that’s what God wants and this will temper his message to others because the training of a prophet is the most excruciating discipline to endure and his hurts and sins become his schoolmasters. The prophet will humble the mighty and raise the fallen. When others laugh he will be weeping in his spirit. When others weep and are in the grip of true repentance, his spirit rejoices because he sees God’s rewards of mercy coming. When believers are celebrating a great victory he has already been called to the next battle, the next pit of sorrow. In other words, a prophet will always feel “out of synch” with other believers and will have a sense that he just doesn’t “fit in”, but he really does and the prophet will and must understand this or it will really discourage him. Prophets warn of trouble coming and they prepare people for the fire. He will be laughed at, cursed, rejected, fall and arise. He may have to speak a hard word to people for which he will disliked and hated. His services are free and they do not charge because the Lord is their source, not man. It’s acceptable, however, to take an offering but he must never be for hire. Many so-called prophets today are nothing but hirelings and they charge a high price to the next bidder. This is clearly the mark of a Balaam. A prophet will stand mute before the will of another and must never force what he wants. He must find ways for the person to receive his words and let them join into the search rather than tell them too many answers.  He must not only know what to say, but how to say it. A prophet owes the people nothing but comes and goes as the Lord directs and he may co-exist with some strange people. He sees no visions or perceptions unless the Lord has revealed them. He will never “peep” on his own but will rest in the Spirit and the Word. He can’t always be gentle or courteous because he must also rebuke, so he must depend on the Spirit of God. If he must render a rebuke then do it, but let God discipline. He also must pray always, think God’s thoughts and study, study, study. Daniel received angelic visitations after he was studying the Book of Jeremiah because he wanted answers. Much of what God reveals may frighten him or cause him distress so he must pray for guidance or intercede for another. He must also keep quiet about things he knows until the Lord tells him otherwise. He must be careful how he hears and be aware that what people want will and can affect him.

    He must not be put into the position of a “seer”, this not the primary function of a prophet. He must listen to God’s voice and not be affected by what others say. Warnings may not go down as prophesied because God warns so it WON’T happen. Confirmation may not mean agreement by others so just because some don’t agree shouldn’t stop him. He must do all he can do to verify what he has heard is from the Lord. The prophet, for the most part, is not for the general public but is sent to believers. (1 Cor 14.22, Matt 7.6). He must give what he has to say to the right people, at the right time. When disasters happen, that doesn’t mean that the victims were evil (Lk 13.1-5).  The relation of sin is more “corporate” than “personal” and doesn’t mean the people have sinned. A prophet must never rationalize too soon by pouring comfort into  situation that the Lord was using to move people to repentance. The Lord’s prophet learns to relax in the mess. He will see God’s faithfulness no matter what is going on.  True repentance brings life, but remorse is self centered and the prophet must not only know the difference but be able to recognize it and deal with it in others. A prophet may never see the fulfillment of what he sees. He will have the blueprint that God will use to bring it to pass however.                                                                                                                                    In the next article we will continue with the function of a prophet and deal with more of what he does, and how does a prophet listen and know when the Lord is speaking to him. How can one discern between his own voice and the voice of the Lord. This will be very helpful, not only to budding prophets, but to believers in general so don’t miss the next article.