By MaryEllen Replenished Hope Ministries
Although the Prophetic encompasses a great portion of the Bible, people still fail to understand how God uses it completely. When a Prophet gives you a word, they do not hang around to help you interpret or figure out what to do. The mission is finish once the word is released. We do see other examples in the Old Testament that were different than this, but we get the answer as to why in the New Testament.
In the New Testament, we see a shift where relationship comes more into play. With the rise of the Five Fold Offices, we now have Apostles, Pastors, Evangelists, and Teachers to provide that relationship to guide a person in an ongoing basis. Understand, that the Apostles were indeed prophetic, but their delivery was different due to the relationship with the person. Today, Prophets will walk in and out of all of the Five Fold Offices depending on who they are ministering to. They will not always be just God’s voice. So when they are operating in another Office, the same prophetic is available, but God is not using them as a Prophet, but rather an Apostle, Pastor, Evangelist, or Teacher. And we can clearly see Prophets in the Old Testament called to these offices as well, even though the Primary Function was still Prophet.
Jesus demonstrated this in fullness. He walked in and out of all Five Offices and no one got confused. Today, take a moment to remember all of the words a Prophet might have said that you rejected because they were wearing the Mantle of another Five Fold Office, at the time they ministered to you. Mature Prophets will be sensitive to how God wants them to help each person, so they will move in and out as needed. They will not always say, “Thus saith the Lord.” They may even give you a series of commands to complete before they tell you what God says.
The Nature of the Prophetic is Hearing, Seeing, and Sensing/Feeling. All are just as vital to the way God speaks to people. Many reject the Sensing and Feeling aspects of the prophetic thinking it is not clear, but you will find that this often is the most accurate. Why? Because it centers on a Stronger Level of Faith. I can easily tell you what I hear or see, but explaining the intangible is a daunting task at times. Before God fully told me who I was, I often used the Feeling/Sensing in everyday work with people or even talking to friends. It was by far the strongest anointing that I didn’t even realize that I had. Even when it was rejected, most would return weeks later to say that what I said came to pass. The ones that did not return, in general did so because they did not want the message regardless. Mature Prophets will have thick skin. It is not arrogance that guides them but their intimacy with the Lord.
God is always putting us on the Potter’s Wheel. He will use His Chosen to help you. Don’t assume they should be emotionally attached to what is going on in your life. Don’t look to be offended because of embarrassment or pride in what God is bringing up. We all have things in our past we would rather completely erase. We all have scars on the Road to the Becoming. We all make missteps in our current days. Remain Humble to what God is stirring in you today. When we reject a True Vessel, we are rejecting God. Yes, that vessel will not be perfect at times. God uses the willing and not the perfect. Do not allow the enemy to put up walls when God is trying to Free you! He will want you to find a reason to reject that Vessel. Do not be fooled by the negative feelings that the enemy will look to get you stuck in. When God is addressing something in our Now... It is for our Now and not 20 years later when we finally realize we missed what God was doing years before.
And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20