A prophetic word from god

A prophetic word, also known as a “word of knowledge,” is a prophecy given by a worshiper for the congregation. Biblical prophecy is a message that reflects communication from God to humans. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” These words come in the form of exhortation, correction and other revelations that equip and edify the body of Christ.

How can we be assured when someone speaks into our lives? We who are pastors, teachers and Bible study leaders must be confident in knowing God’s voice. God most often speaks through Scripture. That is why it is imperative that we are familiar with it. But he also speaks through creation, visions and dreams; open or closed doors of opportunities; other people; and, once, even Balaam’s donkey and a burning bush.

Not everyone believes in modern-day prophecy, but in my years of ministry, I’ve had experiences that lead me to believe differently. Let me share my perspective.

Joel, the prophet, describes a future where prophecy is a regular part of life and “old men will dream dreams.” I’m not an old man, but in my own life I once had a horrible dream about a friend whose life was in danger. In my dream, my friend was in his basement, very distraught, with a gun in his lap. He picked up the gun and put it in his mouth to shoot himself. All day long I had an overriding feeling that I needed to take action. I asked God to give me the same dream again that night if he wanted me to contact that person. The dream came back, and the details still haunt me. Immediately, I sat up in bed, raced to the phone, and called my friend. He was stunned. Since learning of his wife’s extramarital affair two days before, he had been pleading for God to reveal himself while sitting in his basement with a gun in his lap. The power of God-given dreams saved a life that day. It wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last, time that God used dreams to talk to me.

In the bleakest days of my adult life, through divorce and singleness, he used another dream to guide me. No supernatural knowledge validates divorce and the destruction it brings to a marriage and a family. It does, though, reveal an all-knowing God who gives hope even in the darkest settings. In my dream, I received details about a brunette that loved God and ministry. The most remarkable part is that God prophesied to her a year before I would meet her. She was dealing with the most painful trial of her life—her husband was dying of cancer. When God spoke to her heart, he said, “If I had a broken pastor who had lost his wife and his church, could you come alongside and encourage him?” When she shared this experience with her husband, he laughed and reminded her how much she enjoyed sitting in the front row at church. I’ve been married to that brunette for over 12 years now.

Using a prophetic word comes with a caution. Some dangerous people pretend to speak on behalf of God. They use a prophetic word only to seek personal gain. Too many times charlatans have used a prophetic word as an act of God to control others. If what’s shared is not based on Scripture, it could be a form of manipulation. A person who has an agenda with a prophetic voice is unsafe. When God gives a prophetic word, he trusts us as his holy messengers to intervene in people’s lives. We should only see ourselves as servants, not superiors.

I once encountered a “prophetic word” from someone at our church during a confrontational moment. We were about to ordain a man who, in his early years, had a moral failure. He had repented and was being used mightily by God. The morning we were going to ordain him, a board member’s smiling spouse announced that God had told her “now is not the time” and was sure we would know what to do with the information. Her smile faded when I told her I knew exactly what God was trying to tell us. I told her God was affirming what we were doing that morning and that ”now is not the time” to question this man’s anointing. This happened over 10 years ago, and this man has been traveling all over the world with a passion from God and for God. The woman left the church. Her heart could not justify a man with a failure being used by God.

God will work with any person as a vessel, even when it is difficult to believe because of past failures. Learn to seek his wisdom, his heart and knowledge of his Word. Does God give insight into people’s lives as a prophetic word? I think the answer is yes!

This article was adapted from All Knowing: The Omniscient God by Kevin Francis O’Connor

This prophetic word is titled Warring and Building.  This is where we are now as a church.  In some sense we have always been here but it seems more obvious these days, doesn’t it?

Who is this word for? Anyone that is in a building mode it could be building something new or rebuilding something that has been destroyed. Building your family, your business, your church, your ministry.  Rebuilding something that has been destroyed.  Somewhere in here is a gold nugget for you.

Read the book of Nehemiah and focus in on Nehemiah 4-6

Briefly outlining chapter 1, Nehemiah is the king’s cupbearer and he gets news that the temple walls in Jerusalem has been broken down and burnt.  He goes into prayer and fasting and of course starts with repenting the sins of the Jewish people and his ancestors. He stood in proxy for their sin.

Since he was someone who usually has a pleasant disposition, the king noticed his sadness and asked what was wrong.  Nehemiah prayed to the Lord and made a request of the king, received instructions that he was to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  The king granted him leave and he went to Jerusalem with the intention to rebuild the walls.

When we are embarking on anything we need to ask God for the instructions on how to go about this.  If we are in a rebuilding mode, the same is true.  If you are rebuilding something that was destroyed, always need to ask the question, why was this destroyed in the first place?  In this instance, after repentance and rebuilding the temple walls the people consecrated themselves to the Lord and made many changes in how they were conducting themselves.  This was to ensure that what they were building would remain.

While we serve a forgiving God, a God who is loving, kind, and He is full of grace and mercy, you must always remember that God has standards.  By repenting for their sins, Nehemiah acknowledged where they went wrong and embarked upon rebuilding something that would implement God’s standards.

(Nehemiah 2:12 NASB) “And I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem…”

As you begin to build, keep it to yourself. You only need to tell people who need to know what you are doing.  Nehemiah had to tell the king because he needed time off from his job and letters of permission to give to the appropriate persons to get this assignment done.  Have you heard of the term “need to know basis”?  This means you only tell people who need to know.  Well, that’s if you want to get as far down the road as possible before the spiritual attacks begin.

So let’s look at what happens when Nehemiah starts talking about the plans, which eventually he had to because there was no way he was going to be building the wall by himself.

(Nehemiah 2:19-20 NASB) “But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will make us successful; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Sanballat means bramble-bush, hidden enemy, sin has given me life.

Tobiah means servant, God is good.

Geshem means rain, sustenance.

First, imagine if he didn’t follow the proper channels of getting the king’s blessing before he started this venture, can you imagine how they would’ve immediately been able to stop him?

There are some things God will call you to do and you need to make sure that you are following proper procedure on everything because the enemy is just waiting for you not to dot that “i” and cross your “t” so he can use it as a way to stop you. Go through the proper channels to get your stuff done.  No short cuts.

The Mocking Spirit

I’m going to briefly touch on this and I will write more in depth about this in another post.

The mocker is a highly contagious spirit.  Highly contagious.

You just need one person in a group to have a mocking spirit and it will drag everyone else in with it.  How else does Tobiah -“servant” one who’s name is “God is good” and Geshem who should provide sustenance and rain (a sign of blessing) end up falling in line with this spirit? They caught it from the “hidden enemy”.  Contagion.

Have you ever been in a situation where you are with a group of friends and they are making fun of someone else and you join in on the laughs too?  Meanwhile you are thinking “this isn’t funny” but you’re still laughing, jeering and going along with it.  Then afterwards you feel bad.  This is not the same as someone who has a sense of humor.  Nope this is a spirit that hides under laughter (sometimes it can come without the laughter) but it has only one goal to be cynical and sneer at someone else using the humor to tear others down, destroying their confidence, demoralize.  It makes fun of the work of the Lord. This is something that needs to be discerned.

This is one of the few spirits in the bible that travels in groups of people.  It starts with one person and then it spreads.

When you read Nehemiah 3, you will see that God was with Nehemiah because he had many people who were willing to support him and work. However, that mocking spirit was ever present.

This year, possibly this decade, is one for the builders. God will be establishing a lot of new things and there will be a lot of work required.  You are going to need some people who can roll up their sleeves and do the work with you. But watch out for the mockers.

How the mockers sound….

You still doing that?  I thought you gave up on that?  Don’t you see what’s happening in the world right now?  Where are you getting the money from to do that?  The last person who tried that, it didn’t work out.  That’s all you’re doing?  It looks so small, I thought you were going big.  With your background and your past?  I don’t think anybody will go for that.   I think you should wait, the economy is really not in your favor right now.  Nobody will buy that.

Then that mocker starts multiplying and they bring others in on it…

ha ha ha ha  hey!  Ya’ll will never believe what Leroy is over here doing!  ha ha ha  Geez, are you crazy? Don’t give up your day job bro!  You have a family to feed!  You can’t be doing that. There’s no way that’s going to work. ha ha ha ha  (next mocker joins in) I think you heard wrong. You trippin’  ha ha ha.  Where is that in the bible??!!!  Then they get to your wife, your husband, your parents.  Because you know what is more contagious than covid?  The mocking spirit.  It starts with one person and then before you know it there’s a whole posse!

That first attempt is to discourage you.  Demoralize you. If they are able to sow the seeds of doubt and discouragement, they get you immediately and you never start building anything.

What do you think happens when the mockers sees that you are still moving forward?

This spirit always seems to show its ugly head when you are ready to build something.  Especially when you need a lot of faith.

The next step when they realize that your faith and what God said to you is stronger than what any group of mockers can say……They get maaad!  Because you’re succeeding.

(Nehemiah 4:1) “Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. “

Before they mocked the idea, now that there is substance to your faith they have to attack that. Now they are mocking what they can actually see.  They minimize it.

verse 3 “Even what they are building—if a fox were to jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

One of the most painful things to watch is when God calls someone out of a church they’ve been serving for years to go start their own church or ministry. Wow!  More often than not, the way they are treated is not that great.  It takes mature men and women of God to encourage and bless someone.  Encourage them. Don’t talk about them behind their back. WE need to handle these situations with grace. Avoid the mockers at all cost. And for those starting new, say NO to the “sheep stealing”.

So what do you do when the mockers start?

(Nehemiah 4:9) “ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.”

Set up a guard against them.  I’m talking about the spirits now, read through the Nehemiah 4-6 and identify them.  So here’s several:

Mocking

Discouragement

Intimidation

Insecurity

Anger

Murder (killing your vision with their mouth)

Jealousy

Confusion

Fear

False Accusations

You need to remember that Nehemiah wasn’t there when all of this destruction was going on at the temple.  He was somewhere else.  So God used someone from the outside to go in and rebuild.  Of course, this is going to rub some people the wrong way.

Exposed Places

(Nehemiah 4:14-15) “then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

I’m going to stop right here and share two visions with you while praying for the church.

They both start off the same way.  It is light outside and then it goes pitch black with no streetlights.  But there is light on on the inside so you get the feeling that you are being watched by something that is in the dark outside.  There is this feeling of fear because you have no idea what is watching you just that there is something there.

I held on to a door to keep the door in place because there was a wind that started to kick up outside.  The wind became stronger and stronger. The problem is that the doors were not very secure doors.  They are like these inside closet doors that are attached the track above.  So the bottom of the door kept wobbling back and forth because it wasn’t on a track, just the top. These are like linen closet doors not meant to keep a house secure.  So as the wind is blowing to stop the door from flying off the track at the top and blowing away I had to hold both knobs with my hand. Nothing got in the house but it was out there and if I wasn’t holding the knob to keep the door in place the door would be gone and whatever was outside would have access to the inside.

I feel that this was the church right now.   I believe what is outside is fear.  The wind is blowing really hard which is the spiritual climate and we have to keep that door closed.  This could be a potential “exposed place”.  It is not secure and if it is not properly guarded what is supposed to stay out will come in.

The next vision was similar.  I’m inside a house but it seems like this was in the attic because I could see the insulation in the ceiling and then there was this round cylindrical tube that looked like and air conditioning vent/duct attached to the ceiling.

Some animal had eaten through the insulation and then ate through the a/c duct which was actually attached to the ceiling as well and found its way inside the house and was living in the attic.  Since the area was exposed, another animal came to live there too. Now there was 2 of them in the attic.  I chased both of them out, they weren’t anything too scary, but then it turned from daytime to nighttime (pitch black outside again) and I couldn’t leave the attic because I was aware there was a breach in the attic.  I had to stay there and guard the spot the entire night because I knew for a fact that if I left there other animals would come in through that spot.  In the morning I called over a group of people and we set about patching the hole in the attic and fixing the insulation.

The attic is the highest point in a house – the head, the leaders in the church and leaders of households.  These animals had eaten through the insulation – what keeps the place warm and protected.  Reminds me of this post again in January 2022 with the white boots.  The boots had a purpose and it was not for walking but to keep the person wearing them warm for the coming winter.  Insulated.

(Matthew 24:12-13) “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

You have to be careful in this season that as things get increasingly worse that you are not becoming cold towards others.  It’s easy to turn inwards and not be giving towards others but this is not what God wants.  We’re not supposed to lose our love for each other during this time but instead this is the moment for us to shine when everyone else around us is cold.

I felt like the first animal again was fear.  It was the same feeling darkness outside with this gaping hold and not knowing what kind of animal could come through that opening. Notice that when fear enters (the first animal) it allows for others to come in.  What I believe that means is that you don’t just  have fear for one thing, no, you will notice that you will start to be afraid of other things.  It invites in other things.

We need to keep our insulation in tact.  This is God, the Holy Spirit and the Father.  His presence. He is our protector and our shield. We have to guard this so that we are not putting our trust in other things for protection.  That would be the sure way for the animal to start eating away at our insulation. Proper insulation saves on heating and cooling cost.  Regardless of the climate, Jesus can protect you.

The main point of both of these visions is that there is an exposed place where the enemy can possibly get in if this area is not protected, reinforced and guarded.

Here’s a quick prayer if you feel this may be for you:

Holy Spirit, I pray you reveal to me if there are any exposed places in my life.  Show me what I can do to repair the breach in these areas.  Bring reinforcement and show me how to secure these places in You.  Remove every spirit of fear or any other spirits that may have entered my home or whatever it is that You are building in my life.  I pray for angelic protection and ask for guidance through Your wisdom on how to remain insulated in You, in Jesus name, amen

(Nehemiah 4:17-18) “Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.”

The idea is that both things were happening at the same time – Warring and Building.  Building and Warring.  The scriptures said they slept in their clothes and even when they went to get water they always had their sword with them.  They were ready to go to war at anytime because they recognized that they were in an environment where the enemy was right there and could attack at any moment.

This is where we are.  You need to be alert.  Regardless of the warfare you need to continue building.  You cannot stop, you cannot come down off the wall that you are building. The enemy cannot stop what God is doing in your life. Only you can do that if you stop, get distracted or back up.  There will be many things that will come to take your attention and you need to remain focused.

When the group of mockers heard that the wall was already built and the only thing left to do was put in the doors and the gates, at that moment they told Nehemiah they wanted to meet with him.  Of course he told them no.  They wanted him to come down off the wall and meet with them.  Four times back and forth they sent messages and each time he said no.  After that they started with the false accusations and lies. They went from one tactic to the next but none of it worked.

They successfully completed the walls and instituted everything that God instructed them to do.

I find it interesting that in chapter 13:4-9, after Nehemiah return to his home in Judah and then went back to visit them sometime later guess who weaseled their way in and got a room in the temple? Tobiah!!! He was a very well connected individual and was actually a relative of the priest.  So the priest gave him a room behind Nehemiah’s back. And if you read the following verses, you see that they had fallen back into some of their other old patterns.  Again, it’s like the first animal gets in and then all the others follow.

Or course, Nehemiah kicked him out and threw out his belongings.  Connect the end of this post to the beginning… when God tears down something and calls you to rebuild it, you can’t go and rebuild with the same thing that He removed. How could Nehemiah allow a mocker to have a room in the temple?  He can’t do that.  God has standards. And, it is not based on someone’s fame.

He was so connected that he used his connection to circumvent the rules.  You know, in this season of building be careful that you don’t connect to people only because they are famous, or they have a lot of followers or influence to sell tickets to your conference. That can’t be the reason for your connection.  Check the spirit.  If God removed something, you can’t rebuild it using the same thing that He removed. So if you know that you don’t have the same spirit as that person, or that what God is building in you is very different from what they carry, you have to be mindful of that.

Recapping…

1  In this season, there are going to be many things that will come to distract you from what God has called you to build or rebuild

2 Pay attention when you start picking up that spirit of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem that you stay alert and on guard. Just because there are many of them and you are only one, doesn’t mean they are right.

3  You have to cultivate a mind to be warring and building at the same time.

4 Whatever God has called you to do will be accomplished regardless of the climate

5 If you know there are areas that are exposed within your life, don’t ignore this.  It requires prayer and becoming stronger in these areas so that the enemy won’t use these weak spots to access your life.

6 Remember that God has standards and keep this in mind as you build.

Blessings

Read Time: 3 Minutes 40 Seconds

At the beginning of every year, I always spend time in fasting and prayer to seek God for direction. In most cases, He gives me a word that helps me navigate the coming season. Sometimes the word has been as simple as, “Keep running your race,” a reference to Hebrews 12:1. In other years the Lord has given me detailed instructions.

I believe He wants to give you a word of direction for 2023. But many Christians struggle when it comes to guidance. When they pray, they strain to hear anything. They know God speaks, but either they don’t believe He wants to talk to them, or they don’t want to obey what He says. Many believers have never known the thrill of hearing God’s gentle voice.

Do you want to hear from God more clearly? I believe there are four primary ways He communicates with us:

1. You can hear God’s voice by reading the Bible. God went to a lot of trouble to give us His book. Yet today Bibles collect dust because people are too busy to read His personalized love letter to us. I know some Spirit-filled Christians who will travel many miles to a conference to receive a prophetic word, but they will not pull their Bible off a shelf and digest it.

God will never speak anything to us that contradicts His Word. That’s why it’s so important for you to saturate your mind with Scripture. When you read the Bible with a prayerful heart, God can cause a verse to jump off the page as a direct message to you.

2. You can hear God’s voice through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an eerie presence that just hovers around us. He lives in every born-again Christian, and He comforts us and actively speaks to us. He does this in many ways: through dreams, visions, warnings, a sense of conviction or—most often—through what we know as the “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:12b) of the Spirit.

I have had prophetic dreams and visions, but the most common way the Spirit speaks to me is through a deep sense of inward knowing. I will never forget a time in 1985 when God spoke to me while I was driving my car in Florida. A message came to me, not audibly but in my spirit: “You will move to Washington, D.C.” It seemed to come out of the blue, and I knew it did not originate with me. Six years later I was offered a job in the Washington, D.C., area, and I worked there for three years.

3. You can hear God’s voice through people. We are members of His body, the church, and you will hear God better when you are in fellowship with His people. God can speak to you through a pastor’s sermon, a friend’s wise counsel, a mother’s rebuke, a mentor’s phone call or a prophetic word given to you by one of God’s Spirit-filled servants. If you live in isolation, you probably won’t hear much from God.

God uses the gift of prophecy, but you should never chase after prophecies. Never treat the holy gift of prophecy like fortune telling. When God needs to speak to you in an unusual way, He has faithful messengers who will deliver it to you at the exact time you need it. Sometimes I actually ask close friends to pray for me to see if God is showing them anything to share with me from the Holy Spirit. And I have treasured every message they sent, whether it was a verse from the Bible, a word of encouragement, a vision or a sobering admonition.

4. You can hear God’s voice through circumstances. My oldest daughter wanted to attend a college in Tennessee, and we were praying about her decision. Right after we prayed, I got a call from the president of a college in Georgia. He was inviting me to speak at the school, but in our conversation I learned that this school was willing to offer my daughter a scholarship. She ended up enrolling in that school, meeting her future husband there and working for the school for four years after graduation. God was totally involved in that phone call from Georgia!

God is sovereign. He opens doors that no man can shut. If you have been praying about getting a job at one company, and suddenly you get an offer at a different company, this may be God’s sign that He has a better place for you to work. Listen carefully. Tune into His frequency. Be willing to obey Him. He promises to guide your steps if you seek Him.

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J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for 11 years and now serves as senior contributing editor. He directs the Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org), an international ministry that protects women and girls from gender-based violence. His latest books are “Follow Me” and “Let’s Go Deeper”(Charisma House).