Most believers do not have problems in giving general words of encouragement, but when it comes to receiving more specific and directional words that give words of instruction or words that give specific information to individuals or to the church, we have a tendency to shy away from the church.
The 1 Corinthians 14 level—the gift of prophecy—is about the supernatural ability of a person to give a directional word or specific information to individuals or to the church. God has given different people different spiritual gifts. Some people are specifically gifted to prophesy. God can give the gift, but we need the character and the wisdom to use this directional gift so that we can be good stewards of the message of God, and not cause hurt or damage to other people.
Members of the church should actively seek prophetic people in the community who will minister to specific situations and to be at the center of God’s will. One of the weaknesses of most believers is the fact that they lack access to prophetic people within their local congregations. More than the issue of disbelief for spiritual gift in the 21st century churches, people do not have prophetic people to turn to. A lot of local churches do not believe in the role of prophets to speak into the situations of the church and individual people, and so they do not receive a prophetic word. Scripture does not say that the nature of prophecy in the Old Testament became extinct, and so specific and directional prophecy still exist even today.
The role of prophets, alongside priests in the lives of the Israelites in the Old Testament and in the lives of kings, were significant (1 Samuel to 2 Kings). The prophets were charged to bring prophetic insight into people’s personal lives. They were specific, and they were directional in the words they gave.
This thought is not to suggest that one must go to the prophet for every single little thing. We all need to learn to make choices according to our faith, wisdom, and understanding of God’s Word. However, there are certainly key issues in life, and we’ll know in our spirit when it is appropriate. The Holy Spirit guides us to specific choices, but sometimes, he also guides us to turn to prophets for wisdom. According to Bill Hamon, in his book Prophets and Personal Prophecy, the prophet can occupy this directional role.
Some years ago, as my reputation as a prophet began to spread, ministers and saints began to call me for a word of the Lord on specific situations. People would ask me questions when I was ministering in personal prophecy at a local church. At first, I was afraid to respond, lacking confidence that I had the right to expect God to give me an answer for them. So, I made a thorough search of the scriptures and discovered that it was in fact the prophet’s prerogative to ask God for such information.
If God has given you access to this nature of prophecy, then ask God to awaken the gift of directional prophecy so that you may minister to others. The church must judge prophetic words, when they are directional in nature. There must be a layer of protection that exists in the local church. The prophetic function should be distinguished by order, clarity, and power. Thus, directional prophecies must be given with the awareness and blessing of apostolic and pastoral leaders.
I want to personally invite you to our LIVE CONFERENCE CALL and get exclusive access to our prophetic conversations.
1) Call 515-604-9266
2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan
Ask God to give you awareness and clarity for specific or directional words of prophecy for the church or for members of the church. Listen for a directional prophetic word within the month.