Torchie

Jesus Christ gave a prophet as a gift to His church. The purpose of prophetic ministry is to build up the body of Christ.  Prophetic words are to strengthen, encourage, instruct, comfort or edify the church. Rather than satisfying one individual’s needs, God desires for His words to build both the individual and the whole congregation.

The prophet is a gift of Jesus Christ to His church. A prophet is not a fortune teller but a God’s minister to deliver God’s mind and message to church members with the purpose of building the entire body of the church. It is a healthy and beneficial ministry that glorifies Jesus Christ and enables the growth and growing up of the church.

It is important for us to understand that only the Bible is infallible. The prophet is fallible and the word of prophecy given privately or publicly is fallible. It is clear from the Scripture that the ministry of prophet and the use of the prophetic must be weighed and judged against God’s Word, the Scripture.

This coming Saturday 7, 2009 (7-10 PM) at Indooroopilly State High (Peter Doherty Theatre), we will have several ‘Presbytery’ gathering for our service. What is Presbytery? It is a group of two or more spiritual leaders, elders, most likely prophets who have upon them a prophetic mantle (anointing from Go) which enables them to impart God’s mind, direction, gifts and graces to believers and the local church through the laying on of hands. The emphasis of this gathering is the church and its purpose is to strengthen the local church and help members find more fruitful ministry.

Due to time constraint and the size of our congregations, we have decided to give our Life Group & Key Ministry Leaders a priority as candidates to be prayed for during the meetings. For the prophets to pray for every single individual member with the time available isn’t just feasible, For As the ultimate purpose of the presbytery ministry is to build the church, we see that the leaders would be given a privilege to be prayed and prophesised over. It makes sense that as the leaders, the pillars of the church get encouraged and strengthened, the whole house will also be strengthened. However, from time to time we see that the prophets might also speak to some individuals in the congregation.

Though you may not receive a direct word, it doesn’t mean that God wouldn’t and couldn’t speak to you personally. God can use everything – people, situations, circumstances and even words spoken to someone else to speak to us! During the presbytery meeting, everyone, therefore, has a personal responsibility towards the words spoken because those words are not only given to an individual but also to the entire church/ congregation. That’s why we should be participators rather spectators.

Each and every one of us has a personal responsibility towards the words spoken during the presbytery meeting!!!

In fact, it is the responsibility of all the hearers of a prophetic word to weigh the word and its meaning for them. As we know that prophets are not infallible and therefore a responsibility passes to the hearers.

If the words are directly given to you and meaningful to you, listen and rejoice over what God is trying to speak to you. It is good when God speaks to you through a prophetic word and even more encouraging when the word is given to you as an individual. This is the word of God, not more important than the scripture, but it is important that it is taken seriously and in faith. Here are some suggestions you can use.

1. If the word is directional or involves making major changes to your life it should be shared with others of mature standing.    
2. Take time to ponder over, analyse and pray specifically about what God has said to you and let God guide you for the decision you are going to make.

If the words are not given to you directly and you know they are from God, also listen and rejoice that God is speaking to the congregation (’Cause you are a part of it!) even if it is not specifically to you. We should rejoice when your fellow brothers and sisters receive God’s words. We should not be envious, bitter or jealous of other people when they have the privilege of being prophecised over. Those spirits and attitudes are not of God. Some people acted like they didn’t wanna come for the meeting unless they get picked to be prophesized over. Let us not have such attitude but trust God for what He wants to do in His local church. Let us remember that the prophetic ministry works hand in hand with the authority of a local church and in submission to its leadership.

When hearing the words given to others, we should listen to the words and record the words in some way so that you can recall exactly what was said, as someone may ask for your advice. We should also put the word on a back burner and see if something comes up in the future that makes the word relevant to you.

Let us not limit what God can do through His WORD and words spoken over you either directly or indirectly. It is faith in your heart to believe in the words and causes the words to become alive in your situations. With God, all things are possible!

Stay faithful to what God has given us.

I know this may be a busy period for students but I really want to encourage everyone to make time to attend this meeting. This will be our ONE Service for this month.

In His love and service,

Torchie KL