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The Church of Jesus Christ: The Prophet
A Discipleship Learning Tool for the Office of a Prophet Written by Daniel F. Feldman
We dedicate this literature to the absolute love of our lives...Jesus Christ, for the purpose of helping to build His Church according to His plan. May this book bring Glory to God and be pleasing in His sight. Holy Spirit, lead us, teach us, and guide us into your Truth.
Contents
Part 1. Receiving the Calling Part 2. The New Testament Prophet Defined Part 3. Your Different God Has Been Preparing You Part 4. Under Development Part 5. Confidence In God To Carry You Part 6. Spiritual Warfare Part 7. Ambassador For Christ Part 8. Relationship Part 9. The Voice of God Part 10. Covering, Spiritual Fathering, Schools of Prophets
Introduction What I have come to learn during this journey of Christianity is that we are always growing. What we thought we knew yesterday will most likely change over time. Not that it was wrong (although most certainly could be), but what we will see as we mature in Christianity is that as our understanding of Jesus Christ strengthens, and we become more like Him, it will change the way we view things and how we operate day to day. This will happen in your prayer life, your relationships, and in your ministry (which is the scope of this book). The calling of a Prophet or the ability to function within the realm of prophecy requires an understanding from day one that this is going to be a process. This process will vary from person to person depending upon multiple different factors, but regardless of whether the individual will admit it or not, mistakes will most likely be made along the way. Prophets are a very unique set of individuals. Unlike most other callings and ministries within the Church, we see that Prophets commonly receive clearly from God early in their Christian walk. It's almost as if other callings have to gradually fine tune their "spiritual radio" to find the correct frequency God is transmitting on, but the Prophet is dialed into that frequency almost from day one. If you’re not a Prophet there is no need to get jealous, and if you are a Prophet do not get prideful. Although, this is a very powerful tool in the Kingdom of God, we see all too often where the misuse of this tool is more devastating and harmful than good. Most often it's not the accuracy of the message that is the problem with the Prophet, it's everything that comes along with it and afterward. Whether it is the Prophet doing a selfinterpretation of what the prophecy means, putting themselves into the prophecy, or incorrectly delivering the prophecy, we see that things can get ugly. As a Prophet is mentored, matured, and nurtured the individual will come to learn how to properly connect with the heart, will, and intent of God's Word and how to properly handle it. But that takes time and is a process. A process that can get very uncomfortable for both the Prophet, and the individuals around the Prophet. That is why this book was written. Unfortunately, discipleship has taken a back seat in the lives of many Christians, let alone the kind of discipleship needed to properly mentor a Prophet into the ministry. Because of this lack of available understanding and training we find many Prophets are misunderstood and often don't understand themselves. The result is a lot of
unnecessary heartache and pain, and as we'll see throughout the course of this book, there will already be a lot of heartache and pain in the lives of those called to the Office of a Prophet. This unique calling requires unique discipleship, unique training, and an abundance of love. Those responsible for mentoring the Prophet must understand love and extend grace to the Prophet at every chance, because they will most likely quite often get on their last nerve! As a Prophet you must humble yourself and acknowledge that you are not in control. God is in charge of your life and growth every step of the way. Your life is not your own and you must concede to lay down your life for Him to use as He sees fit from the beginning. Do it now, stop reading, and make the confession to Him in prayer that you will allow Him to be in charge no matter what that may turn out to look like. The sooner you do this the better. You won't be able to legitimately operate in prophetic ministry without doing so. By submitting to His Will from the start it will help you immensely to get through the difficulties that will come as a result of your calling. The ministry of a Prophet is difficult and as such God prepares His Prophets by the trials of a difficult life. The life of a Prophet can be characterized by loneliness, awkwardness, and hardships. All of these things God uses to prepare the Prophet for operation in the ministry. Discipleship, mentorship, and training are crucial to the New Testament Prophet. While most Christians just need to be discipled to be good Christians, and then once they grow to a certain point, then learn about their calling, Prophets need to be discipled regarding how to be a good Christian while learning about their calling. An Evangelist, Teacher, or Pastor can not even begin learning about their calling until some time after their conversion in Christ and be quite alright. They will just find themselves naturally making friends (Evangelist), looking deeper into things (Teacher), or loving on people (Pastor). Not really a big deal. However, how is a Prophet, who is a babe and new to the faith, supposed to know what to properly due with the communications from God that they receive? Not to mention know how to successfully stand against the rampant attacks that the enemy has so specifically designed against the Prophets? It's not as if once a Prophet gets saved, then God starts to prepare them for their ministry. No, what we find is that God has been preparing them their whole lives! Because of this, if a Prophet has not been raised in the ways of The Lord properly (or at all) then they all too often do not even understand themselves and why they are the way they are. Again, this requires special
discipleship. Often, an experienced Christian who is discipling a Prophet will know more about that Prophet than the Prophet knows about themselves. Without correct training and teaching a Prophet may feel that everything that they have experienced in life actually disqualifies them from ministry, when in fact, it is what God has used to qualify them for ministry. They may feel like an outcast, like they don't fit in, like nobody understands them and they can become either bitter and defensive from it or become timid and develop low self esteem. Either way, most Prophets do not understand that their difficulties are all part of the natural process in which God has meant to prepare them for ministry. Because of a lack of this understanding all too many individuals called to the prophetic wind up living a messy life of disobedience to God instead of embracing these trials successfully as tools to build them up and qualify them for the work of the ministry. My prayer for both the Prophet and those in leadership who will be mentoring and teaching Prophets is that in conjunction with this book, the Holy Spirit will lead, guide, and teach you how to better love Him and serve Him with the gifts that He has given you for His Church according to His purposes. I pray that wisdom, insight, and revelation would be imparted into you through the course of this book so that we can all be told "Well done, thy good and faithful servant."
Chapter 1 "Properly Receive The Calling" Every Christian who is entering the ministry (regardless as a Prophet or not) should become intimately familiar with the calling of Paul. His conversion and the events that took place shortly afterward show us what we can expect in our own lives. Take this time to go ahead and read over Acts 9:131. First, we want to focus on the fact that Jesus called Saul (Acts 9:5) and refers to him as a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15). In the Gospel of Matthew 16:18 Jesus states that He will build His Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18 Jesus tells us that He, Himself, will build His Church. That word Church that is used in this scripture is the Greek word ekklesia, which can be translated "assembly of called out members" . Notice that the Church is not a building, but a gathering of people! The people are what make up the Church! So if the people are the Church and Jesus tells us that He will build the Church, then we can safely say that Jesus will build the people of the Church to become the Church that He wants! Jesus told Paul in Acts 9 that he was a chosen vessel because Jesus had hand picked him for the job! Matter of fact, Jesus had Paul's ministry in mind when He created Him! Jesus is the divine architect, designer, planner, and builder of His Church. Therefore, can no man successfully build in an area that Jesus has not architected! This means we cannot call ourselves to the ministry or go after a certain calling that is not what the architect has designed for our lives. Concerning the calling of a Prophet, man desire it for ungodly reasons, trying to build a prophetic ministry that Jesus has not architected or released yet. Now, this calling to the Office of a Prophet will impact every aspect of the life of those
who are chosen . A Prophet is who they are and that cannot be changed or escaped (but can be denied). The calling is what defines the individual's identity in Christ. We should not confuse this with the Gift of Prophecy that comes from the Holy Spirit, which can be applied to any Christian as the Holy Spirit sees fit. We will come back to this and address it in more detail shortly. Like Paul, all Christians receive their calling directly from Jesus. Have comfort in knowing that fact along with the below scripture. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6 Jesus will continue to push you to the fulfillment of His purpose in you until either you die or He returns, whichever comes first. Let's take a look back to Acts 9:6 where Jesus told Paul to, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" . Paul was immediately given instructions, but only in part. He was given just enough to move him from where he was to where God wanted him, but nothing more. But why? Why not give Paul more information? We see from the continuation of this story that God spoke to Ananias and told him to go to (then Saul), lay hands on him, heal his vision, and fill Saul with the Holy Ghost. So again, why didn't Jesus just tell all of this to Paul up front? Bottom line is that Paul did not need to know, and not knowing while following the Lord exercises and increases our faith and trust in God. Don't worry if you don't know, just continue to do what you were last told. This is an important early lesson to grasp in your ministry. We see from Acts 9:11 that in between the instructions that Jesus gave to Paul and the meeting with Ananias that Paul was praying. Paul was praying while doing what Jesus told him to do and waiting for the next sequence of events to unfold and manifest. I hope your taking mental notes, as you will come to this point of waiting and praying many times during your walk. Paul's conversion is such a glorious example for us to follow and learn from in our own lives. Fully expect similar occurrences in your own life and of others. When God calls an individual it should be accompanied by some degree of instruction, however do not be surprised, upset, or disappointed if what is revealed does not satisfy what you want to know.
Take the position of Paul and execute the directions that were given and pray . This does not just go for the reception of instructions concerning a calling but for receiving instructions from God pertaining to any matter. Execute and pray! It can be very common for Christians who receive a calling to want to rush and take off in full flight with their new found knowledge, and this is particularly true of Prophets. DON'T DO IT . When a recent High School graduate discovers they want to be a brain surgeon, that student certainly does not start operating the next day! No, there is a process that involves learning, education, discipline, training, practice, internship, and maturity that all must take place before the student is released to operate on people. This common sense approach applies to God's Church as well. Walking into the fulness of a calling is a process that happens over time. The Disciples walked with Jesus first before being sent out while Jesus was still on earth. Paul tells us that he was taught by Jesus Christ Himself through revelation, however we know that God used Barnabas to help disciple Paul. God uses people to help bring us up into our calling, however He is the one in charge (if you will let him). "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:1112 In the Old Testament underneath the Mosaic Covenant we find that the Priesthood and the High Priesthood were ordained by genealogy (family heritage). The current family generation would train the next family generation how to do their job. The life of an Israelite was truly a family business. However, this was not the case with Prophets. God said that He would, "... raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren..." (Deuteronomy 18:15). A Prophet could be chosen by God from out of any of the Israelite families, and without any other Prophets within the family itself, a Prophet could be overwhelmed with the responsibility God has placed upon them. Mentorship was required outside of the family. One of the best and first examples we have of this is the mentorship of the High Priest Eli to the young Prophet Samuel. Samuel's mother, Hannah, could not have children and prayed to God that if He would give her a child, that she would dedicate Him to The Lord. The Lord granted her pregnancy and she in turn dedicated the child to the Temple in Shiloh underneath the care of Eli the High Priest. (1 Samuel 1)
Before Samuel knew he was a Prophet God called to Samuel while in the Temple one night, but Samuel did not know how to receive it. "And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth . So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 11 And the LORD said to Samuel..." 1 Samuel 3:111 We see that when God called to Samuel he did not know how to properly perceive the voice of God, and actually confused the Voice of God with his mentor Eli. However, after receiving some simple instructions Samuel was able to receive from The Lord. By the time Samuel has grown older we see several instances of a group of Prophets together known throughout scripture as the sons of the prophets . Let's take a look at some of the scriptures that show us this. "After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man." 1 Samuel 10:56 "And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also." 1 Samuel 19:2021
A couple of hundred years later during the times of the great Prophets Elijah and Elisha we still see the same principle in effect. "And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. ... v5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." 2 Kings 2:3,5 "And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. " 2 Kings 4:38 "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. 2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye." 2 Kings 6:1 And yet again, a few hundred years later, after the Babylonian Exile we see prophets together once again during the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them ." Ezra 5:12 We see from scripture that Prophets require mentorship and training outside of the inherent family structure of the Old Testament. This would require a Prophet to spend considerable time in the company of mature and seasoned Prophets and may have even required them to leave their home as in the case with Samuel. Always execute any instruction that God gives, then pray and wait on God, being found a faithful and good servant while doing so. This is why we have started this book covering how to properly receive the calling, because we want you to be an asset to the Kingdom and not a liability during the growing process. Too many called to the ministry do not do it properly and cause mess and discredit the people of God and the Church rather than be a part of a powerful team that changes and impacts this dark world. All callings to the ministry require submission to the process the Jesus lays out for us. We must submit to our Church leadership and allow them to disciple us into a mature Christian and into maturity of our calling.
People have different reactions to their calling and this happens in many different ways. Some have their callings accurately prophesied to them along with the laying on of hands, while others don't ever feel they formally received their calling but rather just walked into it as they followed Christ, and yet others have been given the revelation of their calling simply through the Holy Spirit. Reactions to this calling can be a mixed variety. If there has been previous training and awareness of the difficulties of this calling then some may be upset, angry, and even try rejecting the calling. This is a pointless endeavor because Jesus will not change who He made you to be! Can a Kitchen Toaster take itself back to the General Electric factory that made it and demand to be undone and be remade as an Xbox? Absolutely not. You were made to be who you are in Christ...period. The Bible tells us how well God knows you and the detail He put into making you. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee," Psalms 139:14 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 Jeremiah was not happy about his life. He did not like the calling of a Prophet and all of the loneliness and difficulties that came along with it. The Bible tells us exactly how Jeremiah felt. "O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me . 8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name . But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Jeremiah 20:79 " Cursed be the day wherein I was born : let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father , saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. 16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; 17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave , and her womb to be always great with me. 18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?" Jeremiah 20:1418 Jeremiah was in such derision that he wished he was never born. He wanted the day he was born to be cursed, and the person who congratulated his mother for having a baby to be
cursed as well. Jeremiah tried to stop speaking for the Lord but could not because His Word was as a burning fire shut up in his bones. If your reaction is similar to that of Jeremiah and you are upset about this let's lay out it in the open. You have two choices; submit to God and walk in this calling as He says to, or leave the faith and walk away from Christianity. That's it, and there is no in between. You will not be able to genuinely serve Him and love Him without fulfilling His purpose for your life. If you try to live a Christian life without submitting to the calling and laying your life down at His feet, you will find yourself to be a rebellious, disobedient, powerless pathetic Christian. There is no other way to put it. Put your feelings and emotions aside and get with the program. "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay,..." Romans 9:1921 This (and every) calling is not about you. It's about Jesus and bringing others to Him according to the model and blueprint that He has specified to do so, which is His Church...us. Do not ever forget that. Although, we may say, “ our ministry” it is really His ministry through us . The reaction of some is one of happiness and hopefulness. That is really good, but be cautious of your motives. A Prophet may seem like a glorious thing, but it really is not. Always check your motives and ensure you are in this for His sake, and not your own. As glad as you may be, still understand that this is a process and will take some time. Do not rush out into ministry without proper discipleship, mentoring, covering, training, or accountability. Another reaction that we have seen is one of confusion, and this happens for many reasons. Some may feel that they are called to be a Prophet or even to the Prophetic ministry simply because they have dreams. This is a false guideline to use when trying to determine what your calling may be (callings are revealed, not determined). This can be displayed in both the Old and New Testament. King Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian King who had took the Southern Kingdom of Judah into captivity. Among those he took captive was the Prophet Daniel, and upon reading Daniel 2:1 we see that King Nebuchadnezzar was having dreams. "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him." Daniel 2:1 Although the King had dreams he certainly was no Prophet. If you read this entire 2nd chapter you will see that God gave the Prophet Daniel the interpretation of the dream and God was glorified. But we have even better evidence of dreams not being synonymous with the calling of a Prophet. Before the events of Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles and
became available to all who believe (Acts 2:38), not everyone had access to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit would only come upon a select few individuals to do God's work such as Prophets (2 Samuel 23:2), Judges (Judges 6:34), King David (1 Samuel 16:13), Builders of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:111), etc. However, in accordance with God's overall plan for the salvation of all nations of the earth, and not just the Israelites, God used his Prophet Joel to tell of the coming availability of the Holy Spirit to all His people and even tell us some of the signs that would testify to this. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." Joel 2:2829 The Apostle Peter made it very clear and left nothing to interpretation that the events of Acts 2 were, in fact, the fulfillment of the Prophet Joel's prophecy. "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:" Acts 2:1618 So we see that dreams from God are a natural byproduct of our salvation and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The point is that dreams are not a good qualifier to determine your calling as a Prophet. Along with dreams some may also feel that because God has moved on them to prophesy in the past that this also qualifies them as a Prophet. Again, let's look at Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17 where it says that along with dreams, that prophecy will also accompany the Holy Spirit's outpouring. This is exciting because this evidence reveals to us that we all can be used by God to prophesy because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in His children. Hallelujah! But, this requires further explanation regarding the Holy Spirit which will be covered more in depth in Chapter . For now just know that when Jesus left this earth He left behind gifts unto men which are the Offices of His Church such as the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher (Ephesians 4:78,11). These Offices are callings and define who a person is in Christ. It makes up their identity. "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Ephesians 4:78 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" Ephesians 4:1112
When Jesus left, the Holy Spirit came down, and when the Spirit comes in He also brings certain gifts which include speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:411). These are gifts that can be given to anybody who has the Spirit of God, as the Spirit sees fit, and can be for one time or an entire life. However, these are gifts to be used by an individual, but they are not callings on a person's life. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." 1 Corinthians 12:411 The point here is that you can prophesy without being a Prophet, and the proof is in the aforementioned scriptures. We will study this in further detail in another Chapter.
