WHAT IS PROPHETIC WORSHIP?

Today many Christians are asleep, in a coma. We hear the Word preached, but it is as if we are under anaesthetic, unaware of what is going on around us spiritually and in the world we find ourselves in.  The Holy Spirit wants to revive us because He lives inside of us.

WHAT IS PROPHETIC WORSHIP?

Prophetic worship is is Spirit-led worship – it is simple. We think if something is not complicated it is not good enough, yet the Lord tells us to be like children, to keep things simple.
Worship is going into the Holy of Holies. From the moment the worship service begins, we are on a journey towards that place. One of the words translated worship in Greek is “Proskuneo.” It literally means to “prostrate oneself in homage.” It is used in Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (my emphasis). But while it means to bow it also means to “Kiss towards”, to blow a kiss towards God!

Worship is like a bridge into the Spiritual realm. It takes us into God’s presence and to become aware of His presence is part of worship. We need to flow under the direction of the Holy Spirit because he has new things for us in every service. God is a God of variety and ever so original. Every sunrise is new and original, no two snow-flakes are the same, in the same way no two meetings with Him will ever be similar. He has something new to say to us whenever we stop to listen. The Holy Spirit is like the wind. We can’t see the wind, but the result thereof is visible:

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Prophetic worship is catching the wind of the Holy Spirit for a specific service and flowing with it.
The main aim of the Holy Spirit is to focus us on Jesus. This is difficult for musicians, worship leaders and pastors alike. We all have agendas, programmes and egos to struggle with. There needs to come a time when a true death to self and all these other things come so that we may indeed be lead by the chief Worship Leader, the Holy Spirit.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63)

During Prophetic Worship Some Things Happen

a. SPIRITUAL WARFARE:

This is reflected in the songs. One might find that the music starts to flow in the direction of sounds of war. The drums might start to feature. The worship leader should be sensitive enough to step out of the way and let the anointing go at this point and make room for the Holy Spirit to flow through the percussive instruments etc. to go to battle and lead the people in spiritual warfare.

“The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and show the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, who struck with a rod. And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the Lord lays on him, it will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.” (Isaiah30:30-32)

b. INTERCESSION:

Fantastic times of prayer and intercession may be released during prophetic worship. One needs to be open to the prompting to the Holy Spirit and ready to drop the agenda at a minute’s notice. We were in Bloemfontein doing a worship conference and the first session was about to begin. As we walked onto the stage we noticed that there was a massive atlas behind us. The musicians started playing but somehow we felt that we had to pray for the nations. To our surprise there were many people from other nations and yet more who were supporting missionaries or had children and families serving the Lord in foreign countries. We had a glorious opening session and ended singing our national anthem, black and white brothers hand in hand together, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, instead of teaching what was on the agenda for the first two hours of the conference programme.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

c. PROPHECY:

A word of prophecy is released. The Rhema (spoken word) is spontaneously dropped into your spirit. One needs to ask the question though whether this is a word for oneself personally or for the body. Prophesy is like creating, declaring the word for NOW. We can’t say “last week the Lord said!” That is old news. What is He saying now? This brings glory and life!
“They are created now and not from the beginning; and before this day you have not heard them, lest you should say, `Of course I knew them.’ “(Isaiah 48:7)

d. SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS RELEASED

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: `Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. `Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!’”(Zechariah 5:6-7)

When the Lord speaks anything to you during the worship (especially if you are leading the meeting or are in the team,) and a spiritual determination comes to your heart as there is power in those words. In II Corinthians 6:16 (b) we read: “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.”’ —- Like with Adam.

Too often we are doing all the talking so that there is no time for the Spirit to talk. For years we have only had a monologue with God. How monotonous and boring this must be for God and frustrating it can become for you, yet we do this with God, we do all the talking. Mostly asking, never taking the time to listen and then to verbalise what we perceive He is saying.

e. GOD WANTS COMMUNION WITH US

He wants to speak. Write down what He says. Pray in tongues, stop, listen, what comes to mind is God speaking. He speaks in the first person. We have to give over control to the Holy Spirit and trust Him. We are so afraid to risk. What if it is my imagination, what if it the devil. Where is your faith?! The Word says

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”(Matthew 7:7-11)

In II Corinthians 3:17 it is written:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Where the Holy Spirit is allowed to be Lord, where He is given full right of way, liberty to do as He pleases, where His is not limited, He will bring Liberty.

The Fear of man keeps us locked up in jail. We are often more concerned with the opinions and approval of man than with doing the will of God. It is part of human behavior and needs to be brought to the cross. It happened already while Jesus was walking the earth:
“Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God”. (John 12:42-43)

Liberty is not license, doing as one pleases! We have to make sure it is the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is important to know that with every move of the Holy Spirit there is always flesh involved, excesses abound. The Lord is not fazed by this. It passes. It is part of our learning to discern the good from the best and the precious from the vile. That is why it is important to test everything and cling onto that which is good. To utterly dismiss something because it is strange or outside of our experience field is equally excessive and dangerous. The Pharisees accused Jesus of driving out Satan by Beelzebub and He said that that the sin against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven them, for you can not call that which is from God evil.

There is a fine line to be had when we “discern.” We have to make sure that we are not “judging” something prematurely. We can take a leaf from the book of Gamaliel who said the following of the apostles:

“Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while….”
“And he said to them: ‘Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against God.”’ (Acts 34,35,38,39.)

We must invite the Holy Spirit to come and then, whatever we do, do not short circuit what He wants to do. (John 2:5 (b)-”Whatever He says to you, do it.”)

Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:18-19: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…”

The Holy Spirit is like a Dove. We need to get to hear His voice, follow His leading and make a friend of the Holy Spirit.

What Is The Prophetic Ministry?

Hello Friends, Its been a while. Thanks for being a part of our ministry. I know that the information released to you through this blog will radically change your life and draw you closer to God through JESUS CHRIST.

Today, there is no doubt that God is restoring the prophetic ministry to the church as never seen before. Prophets are springing up from everywhere and people are more than ever aware of the prophetic ministry as never before. Of course this situation, which is quite new to the church in these endtimes, leads to many questions. Both simple church members as well as those called to the prophetic ministry have questions. Some of those questions are:

What is the prophetic ministry? What is the purpose and function of the prophetic ministry in the church today? What is a prophet? What does the word prophetic actually means? Is someone who prophesies every Sunday in church a prophet? How do I know that I am called to the prophetic ministry? What are the signs that I should look for? If I am called to the prophetic ministry how will it be manifested in me? How will God train me? What sort of preparation will I have to go through? How long does it take to be trained as a prophet?

As you can see there are many questions and I am sure you have got your own, you can add your own list. I don’t intend to answer all these questions here; I just want to give you an overview of what the prophetic ministry is all about and what it involves. If the Lord has called you and you would like to be trained, then apply to be a student and you will have the answers to all these questions during your training.

The first thing that I what to look at is the word prophetic. Obviously prophetic is an adjective related to two words prophecy and prophet. Here is how Strong’s concordance defines the two terms according to the Greek

Prophecy: a discourse (speech) emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events

Prophet: one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God

The key thing to remember here is that prophecy involves an utterance or communication through words. In a nutshell, prophecy is speaking ahead of time, what God is planning to do. It can also involve preparing the ground for what God is planning to do.

Because prophecy is an utterance it actually covers a lot of what goes as normal preaching. Whenever a person speaks forth under inspiration what God is saying to others at the present time, they are exercising a prophetic ministry. So prophecy can also fall under inspired preaching. But it is of course a lot more than that.

From the above definitions you may be tempted to believe that a prophet is someone who just has a gift of prophecy or who prophesies. But the prophetic ministry is actually more than that as said. keep reading and you will understand why.

But I think this is where many people get confused. The confusion comes from the failure to distinguish between three biblical concepts: gifts of the spirit, body ministries and leadership ministries also referred to as the fivefold ministry.

Body ministries can be found in Roman 12: 4-8 and include: Prophecy, Servanthood, Teaching, Exhortation and encouragement, Giving to others and meeting their needs, Ruling or taking charge or leading others, Compassion and mercy and taking care of people. These are called body ministries because they are ministries that every single member of the body of Christ is called to function and operate in. Every believer has got a ministry because the word ministry simply means service; so to minister means to serve. And you will agree that every believer is called to serve the Lord. There is no particular training needed, believers receive them from the Lord and function naturally in them.

Then you have the higher-level ministries, which are the leadership ministries that you can find Ephesians 4:11 and are: Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Evangelists, and Pastors. These are the governing body of the church. And the ministry of the prophet or specifically the prophetic office falls in this category.

Now you know that for every job that you carry out, you need specific tools and skills. The gifts of the spirit are tools and abilities that the Lord gives to his servants to carry out successfully their functions in the church. Since we have both body ministries and leadership ministries, the spiritual gifts are available to both levels of ministries to carry out their functions and serve the Lord efficiently.

So you can understand that the ordinary member of the body of Christ who has got the body ministry of prophecy will need the need the gift of prophecy to carry out that ministry; likewise the prophet will need the same gift of prophecy. Both ministries relate to the the prophetic. But the latter involves more than just prophesying. This means that a person with the body ministry of prophecy or the gift of prophecy carries out a prophetic ministry but they are not a prophet. The prophet on the other hand can not only prophesy but also carry out many other functions. For example the ministry of exhortation is also a prophetic function. Although it is not prophetic in itself, the prophetic ministry is usually designed to motivate and encourage believers to go on with God and to find their place in the Body.

So what are the other functions that set the prophet apart? What is the purpose of the prophetic ministry?

The first goal of the prophetic ministry is bring the body of Christ to place of maturity. And the only way to know that the body of Christ is a place of maturity is when believers are walking in faith, love and hope.

The second goal of the prophet is to bring believers to a full knowledge of the Lord.

The third goal of the prophet is to help prepare believers for the ministry God has called them to do.

As said, for the prophet to fulfil the purpose of the prophetic ministry, they need some specific spiritual gifts. They are referred to as prophetic gifts. There are three groups of spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12: the vocal gifts (prophecy, diverse tongues, interpretation of tongues), the revelation gifts (word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits) and the power gifts (faith, miracles, healings).

The main gifts involved with the prophetic ministry are the vocal and the revelation gifts. Regarding the power gifts the major one that the prophet uses is the gift of faith. So the prophetic gifts are given to the prophet in order to fulfil these three goals. Now the question is how? As I said, I won’t go in too much detail, so I will use one gift from each group to show you how the prophetic ministry can carry out its functions using those gifts.

Let’s start with the vocal gift of prophecy, which is the most obvious one. The main purpose of prophecy is to encourage and edify the body of Christ. How can prophecy bring encouragement and edification? Through a prophetic word. A word that tell believers how much God loves them and how valuable they are to Him will certainly bring them closer to the Lord. But sometimes prophecy can be a word of wisdom that needs to come to pass. So the prophet needs to do more than prophesying, he needs to send forth a prophetic decree, so that whatever the Lord is planning for the individual or the body of Christ to come to pass. The prophet can do this while ministering directly to a person or in prayer. By sending forth a prophetic decree, the prophet becomes part of the solution of whatever the person is expecting.

Now how should the prophet use the gifts of revelation? One of the main functions of the prophet is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. To fulfil this function the prophet needs to help them to identify their gifts and ministries and the main tool is the gift of the word of wisdom. With the word of wisdom the prophet can, not only reveal what ministry they are called to but they can go further by giving them direction regarding how to grow in that ministry. Often some believers have some revelations or some impressions regarding their calling that they don’t understand it. The prophet can in this case use the word of wisdom to bring confirmation. When the prophet does this, they really build hope in the lives of believers; they give them something to hang onto and something to live for.

Now what about the power gifts? As I said earlier the main power gift in which the prophet operates is the gift of faith. Without this gift the prophet cannot function properly. I have already said that the prophet is not called to just predict or give revelation. He/she is called to be part of the solution to whatever problem God reveals through them. And the way the prophet does this is through prophetic decrees. Only when the prophet decrees can what they have been predicting or revealing come to pass. But the decree itself is not enough, what makes the decree effective is the gift of faith. It is the spiritual force which when released into the earth accomplishes the will of God. So as the prophet decrees, the gift of faith is released to accomplish the will of God. The prophet fulfils this function mainly through intercession. This is the main characteristic of a prophet. It is not predicting or foretelling, although prophets do these things. Foretelling or predicting is what psychics are busy doing, but they are not giving any solutions. They are just predicting what Satan will do.

We will continue from here next time...

Prophetic Order

God is a God of Order, therefore everything that He speaks or will speak is done with order. This is true going back to the genesis of mankind. On each particular day of creation, He orderly created the heavens and the earth. When He speaks, every Word God speaks is spoken in order. This is why a prophet may receive a Word from God, but has to wait the orderly time and season to bring it forth. Otherwise, the Word will be spoken prematurely or from a prophet of whom God did not intend to speak. Not every Word that is heard from God is to be spoken. As a prophet you have to know if God wants you or another prophet to speak. Never be eager to speak a Word to anyone! This is a trick in which the powers of darkness uses to cause a prophet to be out-of-order. Wait until God speaks through you, even if it means holding or pondering the prophetic word.

If the prophetic word is to be spoken, it will come forth! This was the case with Jeremiah. The Word was so alive within him that when he tried to hold it in, it was like fire within his bones. However Ezekiel said he would stand watch to see what God wanted him to speak to the people. Either way, what is spoken must be done in order.

Order also is seen among the prophets. Seasoned prophets should be more wiser and more experienced in the Prophetic Word. God uses more seasoned prophets who have not become contaminated, to speak with clarity and accuracy the Word of God. However, God can and often does call an unseasoned prophet to prophesy, as in the case of the Prophet Amos, (who was not a prophet originally, but a fruit farmer) to speak what He normally would give to a more seasoned prophet. Order in the prophetic is determined only by God.  God shifts that order sometimes to keep those who are seasoned humble, and so that we will know that what we speak, we have no authority to speak, and can have no idea what to say, unless God through us speaks!

Then there are cases where seasoned prophets are used to correct the errors of those who are new to the prophetic mantle. When this happens, the unseasoned prophet should seek clarity from God, and use the wisdom of those who no doubt have made the same or similar mistakes as they have grown in the prophetic mantle. However, again when seasoned prophets become arrogant and contaminated, God also will use unseasoned prophets to correct them. All of it is about knowing that we are no more than vessels and mouth pieces. Therefore none of us are "all that". I like to think of it as being mail carriers. We only carry and deliver God's mail - not write or create it. This in and of itself should keep us in divine prophetic order.

OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL QUARANTINE

“...Now, therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners…”
The story of the lepers involves ten despondent men who were ostracized from the society due to a contagious skin disease. It was believe in the custom of the old testament days that leprosy was associated with. The message of this narrative is still relevant today. They did not just sit on the face of life by reason of their affliction, nor did they resolve to live a life of limitations as lepers.  They recognized that Christ the anointed One was in town and released their faith for a new beginning, and for restoration. It was not just enough to talk about new beginnings, prophesy and prayer change but  remain in the same leprous state. Change has to be contended for (Jude 3). It is pointless and ignorance for any believer to stay in stagnation without recourse to the word of God. Once you have a manual in your hand, you can fix any equipment it accompanies. Once you have the word of God in your heart, you can fix any malady in your life. The ten lepers needed access into the life of God predestined for them and not the life of quarantine they were subjected to by their physical condition. Child of God, divorce, poverty, disease, any form of infirmity are all example of spiritual leprosy that must be rejected. Such conditions can place you in spiritual quarantine and choose the quality of people around you. Bear in mind that leprosy is a contagious disease. Don’t accept labels attached to your current experiences which if care is not taken will turn minor setbacks into permanent protracted problems. No matter where you are at presently whether emotionally, physically or spiritually, it is important to understand that you can “call” to the Lord and expect him to answer you (Jeremiah 33:3). God answers to pronounce a new spiritual order over your life. When He answers as He most surely will do, what are you going to do with your praise? Are you to offer your praise to man or to God who promises to deliver you in six troubles? (proverbs 5: 19). Jesus’ birth established a new order and so did his death. The lepers  sought access to divine healing and He came into town. Your are today new creation in Christ with permanent access to recreate any situation in your life that is not lining up with the word of God. You have access to the eternal King of glory to birth a new order today; “For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). When you get into your prayer closet today, remember to utilize the access you have to the Father given by Jesus’ precious blood and ensure the mind of Christ for you in the month if fully birthed.

Further Scripture Reading: Psalm 66:5-7, Isaiah 42:14-20, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 3,
Prayer: Lord I bless your holy name, and I thank you Father for making a way for me with your blood to continually come you for change.

THE GIRDLE OR BELT OF TRUTH

The girdle was a convenient place for carrying different weapons, namely the sword and the dagger. The bible says in 1^st Samuel that “David and his men girded on their swords”. Similar illusions to the use of this girdle are made in Deuteronomy 1:41, Psalm 45:3, Songs of songs 3:8 and Isaiah 8:9.

This kind of girdle was not an ordinary girdle. It is a military girdle. The military girdle was not, however, a mere sword-sash, but a strong belt that was designed to strengthen the body and at the same time to cover such portions of the abdomen as might be unprotected by the breastplate or cuirass. Some girdles, indeed, seem to have been a constituent part of the cuirass, intended to fasten it more firmly. The importance of the girdle as a piece of armor is seen in the fact that thorough preparation for the fight is called “girding on”.

Let us see what Paul said in his epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 6 verse 14, he says “Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” NIV. Military belts were made of stronger materials than those designed for common purposes. Leather, iron and bronze were used in the construction, and, where rich ornament was required, silver and gold was used.

Truth cannot be over emphasized. Apostle John spoke a great deal on the subject of Truth, opening our eyes to it reality and nature. He says in John 8:32 that “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. This tells us that Truth has a nature and an ability to “make” when girded on. No matter the enemy you are facing, when you have this belt on, then, there is nothing to worry about.

What is the Truth?

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

                                                                                                                                    John 14:6

 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”                                      John 17:17

This truth we seek is The Word that became flesh (John 1:1-14). This is Jesus Christ Himself and only by putting on the truth shall we be able to stand in the face of battle. Not only putting on but also listening to the spirit of truth (John 14:17) will we receive timely and strategic Rhema for entering into Gods glory. 

Take up the word of truth today and gird yourself with it,

Invite the Spirit of Truth to Dwell within,

Only then shall we succeed in it,

All that the Heavens has placed within.

ENDURING CONTRADICTIONS TO ENTER KINGDOM DIMENSIONS

“… We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of

 God.” Acts 17: 22. In our attempts to enter kingdom 

dimensions that have been revealed to us by the Spirit, 

we will encounter great resistance and we must endure 

and persist until we enter. Fierce opposition will 

confront us and attempt to block us, thwart out progress. 
“Great and effectual door open before me but there are 

many adversaries.” 1Cor. 16: 9. 
The devil will not sit quietly and allow any human being break into kingdom dimensions in this world and will do everything in his power to stop such attempts.
Thus it is with great persistence and perseverance that 

we overcome these odds and eventually enter in. When we

 achieve this, we begin to manifest that kingdom

 dimension and inspire others to rise and enter 

demonstrating that God’s word is true. In Satan’s 

warped thinking He calls this rebellion!
This is what he wants to discredit the most; that God’s word is true. We must persist in our believing in spite of the prolonged and fierce contradictions we experience, consistently proclaiming our faith position and pressing in through faith actions in spite of “no results”. Satan wants to wear us out, but no, we will wear Him out! We must continue until our faith is proven.
Faith untested is faith unproven and severe is the test. God shows up when our faith is proven and we enter into powerful demonstration and experience. However, this happens at the very climax of contradictions, and sadly, only very few persist to that point. The others want an instant fix. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ said “When the Son of Man returns, will He still find faith in the earth?” These contradictions to faith are allowed by God for the strengthening of your faith. Like Smith Wigglesworth said “Great trials produce great faith!” 
The contradictions continue until we come to the place

 where there’s no more hope and everything in our lives contradict the revelation we have received and our faith position. We come to the place where from the natural standpoint, all is lost, all hope gone and all possibility of fulfillment finally past. We are literally dead, brought by severe contradictions to ‘the end’. Yet we persist in believing! The Son of God must find us believing on the day of His sure appearance! 
This is what qualifies us for the resurrection and that is exactly what happens next! “If thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory (manifestation) of God!” … the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
God shows up.
You may be coveting as you see others manifest something in God (a ministry, ability, Christ-like trait, etc) and you have a revelation in your heart and a craving to demonstrate the same and have been receiving prayers in vain… 
You may get a healing on a healing line as a “great

 anointed man of God” prays for you…
You may get a miracle and answered prayer as a “man of

 God” prays for you in the situation...
But for you to become the Godman, the son of God, that

 you have been predestined to be, living perpetually in righteousness, joy, peace, divine health and life, provision, wisdom, power, victory, and other kingdom dimensions, you must go through the tribulation of believing without seeing and this may be for longer seasons than you would naturally be able to endure. But the trial of your faith produces endurance too, glory to God! 
Thus your faith or believing first changes you into

 ‘another man’ , the - son – of - God- kind – of – man, then that anti-kingdom condition (sinful habit, personal character or temperamental weakness, sickness, inherited trait, failure, powerlessness, demonic experience, etc) losses its power over you once and for all!
You rise once and for all clear and above that situation

 forever.  You have overcome it by faith and have become a proclaimer of that divine truth, ability, characteristic or nature, inspiring others to likewise rise. 
This is the believer you want to be.
Go through the tribulation!