Post by Trumpetsound on Feb 4, 2004 13:49:11 GMT -5
BRINGING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
By: Mona McReynolds – 11/3/01
The training that goes into the prophetic calling is terribly confusing at times, making things seem chaotic and bringing confusion, perplexing us, testing us, breaking us sometimes we think “beyond our limits”. Why?
Scripture tells us that our Lord Jesus “learned obedience through the things He suffered” Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Hebrews 5:8
If Jesus is our example, then why do we get perplexed at the things we go through as part of our training? My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; James 1:2 I wish someone had told me (WARNED Me) about the training that the prophet goes through !! Had I known that some things are “common” to the prophets, it would have made things a little easier to deal with.
People who do not have a "prophetic calling or anointing" do not and CANNOT understand those who do. It is a "distinct" and separate calling from the general Christian population. The prophetic anointing itself alone causes the person to be "separated" from the crowd. We are never really a part of the group so to speak. We are but are not at the same time. Jesus said we are "in the world but not OF it" kind of the same principal. We are in the Body, but not OF it...so to speak. The prophet's whole person is "tuned" to God on a different wavelength. We are tied into Him in a different way, we think differently, we hear and see differently, we pray differently, we sense things differently. We have a communication with the Holy One that is different. Even for us, we have a hard time understanding it, so we cannot expect those who do not have that same experience or anointing to understand it.
The first thing a prophetic person is aware of is the "separateness, the aloneness, the persecution, the being different" We are never quite operating on the same level as others and are usually never accepted as "one of the crowd". Unless we are taught that God does single us out and separate us, we will be perplexed and perhaps bitter over that fact...BUT if we come to see it in a different light and accept that it is part of our anointing and calling, it can become and be turned into a blessing.
We have to learn how to be quiet and gracious when in the presence of those who do not understand the prophetic anointing and calling… and love them, cooperate with them, and minister to them in "ways they can understand"....like being a prophet without them knowing that you are being a prophet! : ) That is the secret. Eventually, they will come to understand and recognize the "difference" in you as being from God. (If they are really trying to walk close to God and serve Him, they will be aware of something Godly in you). Some will be afraid of it, some will run from it, some will be convicted and they will either rise up against you or repent, some will come to you with respect for the anointing. Some will come treating you like a psychic and trying to pull prophetic words from you as if this were some kind of “cheap Christian trick” you are supposed to perform for them. Some will harass and persecute you because of the Spirit of God that rests upon you and they are of the "enemy". But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now. Galatians 4:29 They will all react differently to God's prophets (the Spirit of God within you). Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:12 REJOICE it says….oh sure easy for you to say! (personal comment)
So, in essence what I am saying is…… come to expect these different reactions and learn how to conduct yourself in each instance. The Spirit of God within you will "teach you all things". The Spirit of God does not strive with man....He woos and loves and leads to repentance and His Holy Spirit will convict and convince. That is HIS JOB! We just have to be willing to speak what He says in love and compassion. It is received better that way. (A sthingyful of sugar helps the medicine go down)- Mary Poppins translation of “a soft answer turneth away wrath”…. (practical wisdom coming from the private sector but stating one of God’s truths)
We as prophets must learn how to deliver the "goods" in such a way that they can be received. That is where the spirit of Wisdom comes into manifestation. We have to put ourselves in that person's place that we are ministering to and ask "if I were this person, how would I like to be ministered to and what words would I accept even if they were "truthful ones". Then try to minister to them that way. We don't have to be harsh or blunt or authoritative when ministering. The Holy Spirit can be what He needs to be to get the job done. There are times, when we do have to be firm and unbending with the message and our behavior, but we can still do that in a gracious and firm manner without acting prideful, condescending, or too authoritative. The Holy Spirit does not need our fleshly help. He is quite capable of convicting and convincing on His own. Our part is to trust that He will do just that after we have done our part.
I will say that the training of a prophet takes a long time and is not easy. He uses us even during the training period, but there will come a time when the training, if we have learned well, will turn into maturity, blessing, and ministry for His Kingdom and to the Body of Christ. Prophets are "servants" to the body and most don't see them as such. We are held accountable and have a responsibility to walk before God as His representative and servant to the Body.... that is why our training is so much harder, tougher, and more grueling. I have found it to be a spiritual principle….. The prophet suffers what is common to us all but usually gets a good dose of whatever it is before he/she can give the word to others....that is the way God designed it lest we become puffed up with pride. He would rather us to be able to "identify" with the pain of sin and frailness/weakness in ourselves first so that we can minister in humility and compassion to others. This is about "identifying with others".
God has to be able to trust us to minister on His behalf with truth, grace, and authority. That anointing is not come by easily. We can either let it break us and or make us bitter. If we submit ourselves into the hands of the Almighty and humble ourselves, we will be okay and useful. If we do not, we are not right and will become as many 'false prophets" False prophets are simply those who do not speak for God but from their own spirits.....so you can see how some having started out on the journey, training having gotten hard, they gave up….and did not continue on letting Him refine and test them and perfect them. These have made shipwreck of their faith….in other words they “crashed and burned” They learned enough to make them dangerous and sheep in wolf’s clothing making merchandise of God’s holy things by either jealousy of those who continued on and passed the tests, or because they know the nature of man to want to “peek into the future” or to say what they think he wants to know and so lead many astray (and for sometimes financial gain). We need discernment and wisdom in these matters and be able to know how to deal with them in truth and grace.
Another thing God does with the Prophet is let them go through the "death of a vision". Whatever ministry or vision you think He has given you.....it will go through the fire and "death" in the spirit. You will feel that it (vision or dream) has died and been taken away from you. It is part of learning to "die" to self. He gives them back to you....in His time, but by then you will have gone through the fire and these will have been purified before you get them back. I am sorry, but there is no “short-cuts” through this phase of training….it happens to the best.
At one time, I had to lay my guitar and singing/worshiping and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit down....they (the giftings and talents) all went through a death as did I. He removed them from me for a "season" (several years) and it was absolutely horrible. But I knew He was doing it....it was of Him....and calling for my surrender in those things. While they were on the "back shelf" God was teaching, training, and working with Mona to make her a better person. Taught me intercessory and prophetic prayer for a two-year period. Like I said, the training is long and intense.
So,....take heart. If you know these things can lie ahead, you won't be shaken when they come. God knows what He is doing with us.....we just have to trust. Yes, He did give them all back to me...and I knew how to handle them better and with more wisdom and responsibility. He is still giving them back to me and teaching me how to "move in them with more and more accuracy as I move in obedience and trust Him". He is even adding things to me that I didn’t know I would get ....we never stop learning and growing!
Hope this helps someone struggling with these very issues at present. Take heart and trust God. He alone can do the work in you….you just be willing to cooperate.
Blessings and peace to your spirit!
In Jesus, Mona McReynolds
www.hourtoempower.com/index.html
EMAIL MONA! mona@mwis.net
By: Mona McReynolds – 11/3/01
The training that goes into the prophetic calling is terribly confusing at times, making things seem chaotic and bringing confusion, perplexing us, testing us, breaking us sometimes we think “beyond our limits”. Why?
Scripture tells us that our Lord Jesus “learned obedience through the things He suffered” Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Hebrews 5:8
If Jesus is our example, then why do we get perplexed at the things we go through as part of our training? My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; James 1:2 I wish someone had told me (WARNED Me) about the training that the prophet goes through !! Had I known that some things are “common” to the prophets, it would have made things a little easier to deal with.
People who do not have a "prophetic calling or anointing" do not and CANNOT understand those who do. It is a "distinct" and separate calling from the general Christian population. The prophetic anointing itself alone causes the person to be "separated" from the crowd. We are never really a part of the group so to speak. We are but are not at the same time. Jesus said we are "in the world but not OF it" kind of the same principal. We are in the Body, but not OF it...so to speak. The prophet's whole person is "tuned" to God on a different wavelength. We are tied into Him in a different way, we think differently, we hear and see differently, we pray differently, we sense things differently. We have a communication with the Holy One that is different. Even for us, we have a hard time understanding it, so we cannot expect those who do not have that same experience or anointing to understand it.
The first thing a prophetic person is aware of is the "separateness, the aloneness, the persecution, the being different" We are never quite operating on the same level as others and are usually never accepted as "one of the crowd". Unless we are taught that God does single us out and separate us, we will be perplexed and perhaps bitter over that fact...BUT if we come to see it in a different light and accept that it is part of our anointing and calling, it can become and be turned into a blessing.
We have to learn how to be quiet and gracious when in the presence of those who do not understand the prophetic anointing and calling… and love them, cooperate with them, and minister to them in "ways they can understand"....like being a prophet without them knowing that you are being a prophet! : ) That is the secret. Eventually, they will come to understand and recognize the "difference" in you as being from God. (If they are really trying to walk close to God and serve Him, they will be aware of something Godly in you). Some will be afraid of it, some will run from it, some will be convicted and they will either rise up against you or repent, some will come to you with respect for the anointing. Some will come treating you like a psychic and trying to pull prophetic words from you as if this were some kind of “cheap Christian trick” you are supposed to perform for them. Some will harass and persecute you because of the Spirit of God that rests upon you and they are of the "enemy". But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now. Galatians 4:29 They will all react differently to God's prophets (the Spirit of God within you). Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:12 REJOICE it says….oh sure easy for you to say! (personal comment)
So, in essence what I am saying is…… come to expect these different reactions and learn how to conduct yourself in each instance. The Spirit of God within you will "teach you all things". The Spirit of God does not strive with man....He woos and loves and leads to repentance and His Holy Spirit will convict and convince. That is HIS JOB! We just have to be willing to speak what He says in love and compassion. It is received better that way. (A sthingyful of sugar helps the medicine go down)- Mary Poppins translation of “a soft answer turneth away wrath”…. (practical wisdom coming from the private sector but stating one of God’s truths)
We as prophets must learn how to deliver the "goods" in such a way that they can be received. That is where the spirit of Wisdom comes into manifestation. We have to put ourselves in that person's place that we are ministering to and ask "if I were this person, how would I like to be ministered to and what words would I accept even if they were "truthful ones". Then try to minister to them that way. We don't have to be harsh or blunt or authoritative when ministering. The Holy Spirit can be what He needs to be to get the job done. There are times, when we do have to be firm and unbending with the message and our behavior, but we can still do that in a gracious and firm manner without acting prideful, condescending, or too authoritative. The Holy Spirit does not need our fleshly help. He is quite capable of convicting and convincing on His own. Our part is to trust that He will do just that after we have done our part.
I will say that the training of a prophet takes a long time and is not easy. He uses us even during the training period, but there will come a time when the training, if we have learned well, will turn into maturity, blessing, and ministry for His Kingdom and to the Body of Christ. Prophets are "servants" to the body and most don't see them as such. We are held accountable and have a responsibility to walk before God as His representative and servant to the Body.... that is why our training is so much harder, tougher, and more grueling. I have found it to be a spiritual principle….. The prophet suffers what is common to us all but usually gets a good dose of whatever it is before he/she can give the word to others....that is the way God designed it lest we become puffed up with pride. He would rather us to be able to "identify" with the pain of sin and frailness/weakness in ourselves first so that we can minister in humility and compassion to others. This is about "identifying with others".
God has to be able to trust us to minister on His behalf with truth, grace, and authority. That anointing is not come by easily. We can either let it break us and or make us bitter. If we submit ourselves into the hands of the Almighty and humble ourselves, we will be okay and useful. If we do not, we are not right and will become as many 'false prophets" False prophets are simply those who do not speak for God but from their own spirits.....so you can see how some having started out on the journey, training having gotten hard, they gave up….and did not continue on letting Him refine and test them and perfect them. These have made shipwreck of their faith….in other words they “crashed and burned” They learned enough to make them dangerous and sheep in wolf’s clothing making merchandise of God’s holy things by either jealousy of those who continued on and passed the tests, or because they know the nature of man to want to “peek into the future” or to say what they think he wants to know and so lead many astray (and for sometimes financial gain). We need discernment and wisdom in these matters and be able to know how to deal with them in truth and grace.
Another thing God does with the Prophet is let them go through the "death of a vision". Whatever ministry or vision you think He has given you.....it will go through the fire and "death" in the spirit. You will feel that it (vision or dream) has died and been taken away from you. It is part of learning to "die" to self. He gives them back to you....in His time, but by then you will have gone through the fire and these will have been purified before you get them back. I am sorry, but there is no “short-cuts” through this phase of training….it happens to the best.
At one time, I had to lay my guitar and singing/worshiping and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit down....they (the giftings and talents) all went through a death as did I. He removed them from me for a "season" (several years) and it was absolutely horrible. But I knew He was doing it....it was of Him....and calling for my surrender in those things. While they were on the "back shelf" God was teaching, training, and working with Mona to make her a better person. Taught me intercessory and prophetic prayer for a two-year period. Like I said, the training is long and intense.
So,....take heart. If you know these things can lie ahead, you won't be shaken when they come. God knows what He is doing with us.....we just have to trust. Yes, He did give them all back to me...and I knew how to handle them better and with more wisdom and responsibility. He is still giving them back to me and teaching me how to "move in them with more and more accuracy as I move in obedience and trust Him". He is even adding things to me that I didn’t know I would get ....we never stop learning and growing!
Hope this helps someone struggling with these very issues at present. Take heart and trust God. He alone can do the work in you….you just be willing to cooperate.
Blessings and peace to your spirit!
In Jesus, Mona McReynolds
www.hourtoempower.com/index.html
EMAIL MONA! mona@mwis.net