Finding your prophetic voice
Being a prophetic people within a prophetic church is not just about speaking words of revelation, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, words of encouragement, exhortion or direction given by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. I have spoken before in a previous post that a true prophet acts as well as talks, as a true prophet by nature reveals something of the heart of God and the heart of God is active. If a prophetic church is not missionary, it is nothing but ‘a clanging bell’ (and is likely to be full of false prophets), as without love, the apostle Paul says, we are nothing and love moves. Love sends and love goes. ‘Here I am, send me.’
So the prophetic is actively demonstrating the will and character of God, in both word and deed, to give Him glory. Jesus was a.. ..’prophet powerful in word and deed’.’ (Luke 24:19)
The church is called to be a prophetic people - and this call is not just for its ‘prophets’ in office or those that frequently prophesy with the gifts of the spirit. The church is called to prophesy God’s will and character in word and deed and to give glory to God. One does not need to be able to ‘prophesy’ in the traditional sense to be prophetic. The church is called - each Christian without exception - to bear the image of Christ and to reflect Him to the world in word and deed, to prophesy him by reflecting God’s image.
Jesus Christ was the living word of God (John 1). He was what God had to say about himself to the world, his ultimate and best revelation of Himself. The Apostle John well understood this: as the apostle whom ‘Jesus loved’, the one who rested his head against Christ’s chest to hear his heartbeat, he KNEW that Christ was the prophecy in the flesh or the word of God in human form. The word at last made known - God made known to man, the mystery of the ages.
Becoming like Christ in word and deed is thus prophetic. Christians should prophesy to the nations by bearing the image of Christ in their words and in their deeds, anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is the ultimate in evangelism - it is the very revelation of God to man. It is the missionary heart of God, the mystery of the ages.
It is not too difficult to figure out the basics of what God wants the church to do or even to say. The biggest struggle is laying everything down at the foot of the cross and actually obeying it.
As part of my ’secular’ work, I see the sales and distribution figures for the Christian books my firm publishes. We carry a lot of books by some of the major Christian authors. Our bestseller is one very well-known Christian author with over 30 famous titles to his name. I find it interesting that his books on being filled with the spirit, prayer and intercession sell many times better (by around 20 times) than his books on understanding God’s will and obeying it. His least popular book by far is about working for God. Hmm. Interesting. Supposing these sales statistics were used as an illustration of the church’s atitudes in microcosm. I do not think it would too far off the mark. God’s will? Who really wants that when it is preferable to have man’s will and man’s agenda ’sanctified’ and dressed up and disguised as God’s will? Obeying God just isn’t popular any more. The 21st century church by and large does not even know how to obey and working for God - ugh! that’s way too radical! Modern man struggles to be a good employee far less a faithful servant. Many people now honestly do not know what real obedience actually looks like. It is a message that is not popular, seldom taught and seldom preached, because it is seldom practiced even by leaders.
Some friends of mine got a new dog a couple of years ago. ‘Rex’ arrived as a young puppy and for the first few months it was cute to see his boisterousness and friendliness as he jumped up at visitors and smothered them with kisses while vigorously wagging his tail and knocking over the odd vase. Rex was not trained but that was ok, you expected that for a pup. A few years on and this overgrown pup ain’t quite so cute. Because his owners have not ‘obedience trained’ him, Rex still jumps up at visitors, does not ’sit’ or lie down when told and is generally a bit of a handful. I told my friend that she needed to start being more dominant with Rex or he would never listen to her. Her dog was not a bad dog, neither was he loopy - he was just confused as to his role. My friend needed to assert her authority and clearly let the dog know who was boss by how she spoke and interacted with him. Otherwise her poor dog was continually confused and anxious which also helped explain some of Rex’s other neurotic behaviour.
As a pack animal, a dog clearly needs to be dominated or dominant. It needs to obey or be obeyed. Once it knew its role it is a lot happier and more secure, and its neurotic behaviour will vanish. If you are confused or anxious, wondering about your role in the church or in life, it may be that it is because you are like this dog, Rex - you have not been obedience trained, perhaps because you were never told you needed to be completely dominated: and thus you have not yet found your place of peace at the Master’s feet. If a church congregation is ‘neurotic’ then it has likely as not never been taught true obedience. There are a lot of poorly trained overgrown puppies running around God’s House.
An issue linked with obedience that individual Christians have as a barrier in their walk is they do not like going against the flow of popular church opinion - because nobody else is doing it or saying it why should they? Let someone else say it! If it is that big a deal somebody else will speak up about it. I am not a leader. I’ll follow someone else…I’d really like to do evangelism, but I’ll look silly if I do it on my own. Because others in their church or neighbourhood are paralysed by non activity then so are they.
Your call is your call regardless of whether other people do it or not. Your using the excuse that your pastor did not view mercy ministy to be part of the church budget will just not wash at the day of judgment. You will be judged according to what you do and do not know, and unless you are really dumb (which I know you are not) then you KNOW what God really wants the you/the church to do and you also know the things that you/the church should speak up about. If it is not through direct words of revelation, you must know at least some of the social injustice going on around you - so go and be the William Wilberforce of this generation. There are many more would-be William Wilberforces who never spoke up.
Speak up and find your voice: your prophetic voice and reveal God to this generation. Go and be the prophetic person you are called to be in word and deed. If the church doesn’t do it or won’t do it, don’t let that stop you doing it. You know what Christ wants and your call is to follow him and not the crowd. Where I am my servant will be also. Go out, even if it is just you, knowing you are not alone as Christ is with you. Go out knowing you can be an instrument to bring revival and change and justice, with or without the ‘blessing’ of the crowd.
There’s a song that’s been covered quite a few times. The version I know starts with just one voice singing quite quietly and then it builds into a crescendo with a whole choir as more and more voices join in one by one. I believe as you find your prophetic voice, others will find theirs and join in with you. Do not be afraid if it is you to start off alone: someone has to. It just takes that one voice.
(One Voice by Barry Manilow)
Just one voice singing in the darkness
All it takes is one voice
Singing so they hear what’s on your mind
And when you look around you’ll find
There’s more than one voice singing in the darkness
Joining with that one voice
Each and every note another octave
Hands are joined and fears unlocked
If only one voice would start it on it’s own
We need just one voice facing the unknown
And then that one voice would never be alone
It takes that one voice
It takes that one voice
Just one voice singing in the darkness
All it takes is one voice
Shout it out and let it ring
Just one voice
It takes that one voice
And every one will sing
Go and do. Go and speak. Go and be prophetic.
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This prophetic word is for all Christians who seek to be obedient to Jesus: http://www.newchristian.org.uk/surrender.html
In today’s society, you have to be famous or rich to have a message in book form like you say. There are a lot of politics behind getting anyone to listen to you. You have to have connections in the right place to be heard. So, if you are no one special, you start your own blog, and see if you can reach people that way.
Right now, “messages” for the church center around being successful in this life, and somehow receiving all God has for you. Books like this sell very well It is not about holiness, obeying God, or really doing his will, because the consequences of doing any of that might end up making you poor.
If you speak up against certain errors in doctrine or practices, you will be shunned and your message blocked. I have had this happen, even though I was very respectful, humble and sincere in what I had to offer. So now, I am out here in cyberspace, hoping to find those who will at least consider my point of view. I want to see healing occur, and people helped.
marianne
http://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/
The quote, “First they came for…” is currently in vogue here in Canada as a battle rages in the press, on the internet, and in the courts and human rights commissions. It was attributed not to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but rather Martin Niemoller, another German pastor in WWII, in every instance I have seen it quoted except the one above. Christians who take a stand, are being persecuted here by homosexuals, who desire to “make an example of them” before the Human Rights quasi or pseudo judicial commissions, and paying a heavy price for standing with the biblical position on homosexuals. One Christian printer refused to print banners, and literature for the homosexual association in Toronto - suggesting there were plenty of other printers in the city who would do so. Of course they weren’t interested in going after those who would, but rather the fellow who wouldn’t do their printing, he was targeted for his beliefs.The result was the HRC ordered him to print their materials anyway and pay them 50000$, for the crime of inflicting emotional upset on them due to his hateful views on homosexuality.This is just the tip of the iceberg, but secular voices are mobilizing to fight the HRCs here whilst the Christians are largely silent.