Prophecy Makes Space
Prophetic words from the Lord create a space for us to occupy. Prophecy cuts through the tall weeds of doubt, fear, defeat and so forth to make a fresh lot for us to step into and inhabit. Essentially, the prophetic has a way of mowing down a plot of new territory for us to live in. When prophecy comes to us, particularly words from the Lord that are to a church as a whole more than to an individual, it grants us the opportunity to believe for something, as a unit, that we may not have believed for before. Prophecy does the same thing for an individual or family but is even more interesting to observe and pray into when it involves a specific house of the Lord. The reason for this is that you can begin to see individuals, those whose faith is stirred and who believe the word, connect with others in the Body to see the prophetic word brought to pass. The Word of the Lord will begin to, in many cases, immediately prune the Body of those who disagree with it; those who do not believe the vision or are turned off by it will not work towards it. Some will even try to hijack it, sabotage it, thwart it or, at the worst, outright attack it and speak against it. At the least, they will simply leave. The ironic part about prophetic ministry is that at its core, at its very essence, it is a ministry specifically attracted to the Church and designed to strengthen, encourage and comfort it. But it is a ministry that is often rejected time and time again. Some of this is because of the creative component of prophecy. The prophetic spirit is always building and creating new things. But, as realized in Jeremiah chapter 1, the prophetic must often tear down and uproot before it plants and builds. Proper protocol, pastors and prophets working together, helps eliminate a lot of unnecessary casualties and bloodshed in the church. Keep in mind though that the Word we carry as saints does have a double edge to it. It cuts both ways, coming in and going out. The Word of God takes no sides. It is true whether we believe it or adhere to it or not. And it will endure beyond the totality of existence. Heaven and earth shall pass away but the truth of Jesus Christ will by no means pass away. It will stand the test of time.
When a prophetic word comes it makes a limited space, a sphere of influence if you will, that we are called to occupy. This space is graced by the Lord and with prophecy He is giving us permission and encouraging us to pursue an item of His Heart. This item, whether it is a building, a people group, a ministry, or something else, will become precious to us just as it is precious to Him. As we delight ourselves in Him the item or items will become the desire of our hearts. What begins with faith and continues with desire will be inflamed by passion and hunger until it is fully realized.
One other thing that prophecy does is it brings hope. Someone may read this and say that the Old Testament prophets did not seem very edifying. Something important to note about the prophets of old is that by the time their prophecies were uttered God had had enough of the sinful behavior of His kids, of nations and so forth and so on. But none of those words, and I mean none, were intended to be all doom and gloom as the end all to everything. Every one of them was redemptive in their scope. This is because God is relentlessly redemptive. With every decisive prophecy that came to the people of Israel they were given choices. In several cases it was to repent or enter into captivity. Be free of sin's bondage or you will be bound to it. It was a very natural course of action that exemplifies what happens spiritually to us all. But repentance never has been a bad word. Personally the word REPENT is my favorite word in the Bible (The word "sin" is another great word because it encapsulates completely all the negative and depraved behavior mankind exercises on a daily basis). The word "Repent" gives us hope. Without the idea of repentance, which comes from the very Heart of God, there would be absolutely no hope for any of us. There would be no space to turn around. We would be doomed and destined to go forward; plodding deeper and deeper into unyielding goopy soil. But a prophetic word that tells us to repent from sin and turn towards God grants us the space and the grace to do so. Just by the Word being released in the atmosphere enables the hearers a plot big enough to turn around and headed out of that treacherous field. Because of this, the power of the gospel is fully realized. Prophecy points to the gift of God which is a new life!
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" - Romans 6:23
When a prophetic word comes it makes a limited space, a sphere of influence if you will, that we are called to occupy. This space is graced by the Lord and with prophecy He is giving us permission and encouraging us to pursue an item of His Heart. This item, whether it is a building, a people group, a ministry, or something else, will become precious to us just as it is precious to Him. As we delight ourselves in Him the item or items will become the desire of our hearts. What begins with faith and continues with desire will be inflamed by passion and hunger until it is fully realized.
One other thing that prophecy does is it brings hope. Someone may read this and say that the Old Testament prophets did not seem very edifying. Something important to note about the prophets of old is that by the time their prophecies were uttered God had had enough of the sinful behavior of His kids, of nations and so forth and so on. But none of those words, and I mean none, were intended to be all doom and gloom as the end all to everything. Every one of them was redemptive in their scope. This is because God is relentlessly redemptive. With every decisive prophecy that came to the people of Israel they were given choices. In several cases it was to repent or enter into captivity. Be free of sin's bondage or you will be bound to it. It was a very natural course of action that exemplifies what happens spiritually to us all. But repentance never has been a bad word. Personally the word REPENT is my favorite word in the Bible (The word "sin" is another great word because it encapsulates completely all the negative and depraved behavior mankind exercises on a daily basis). The word "Repent" gives us hope. Without the idea of repentance, which comes from the very Heart of God, there would be absolutely no hope for any of us. There would be no space to turn around. We would be doomed and destined to go forward; plodding deeper and deeper into unyielding goopy soil. But a prophetic word that tells us to repent from sin and turn towards God grants us the space and the grace to do so. Just by the Word being released in the atmosphere enables the hearers a plot big enough to turn around and headed out of that treacherous field. Because of this, the power of the gospel is fully realized. Prophecy points to the gift of God which is a new life!
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" - Romans 6:23
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