THE CHRISTOCENTRIC PROPHET

(UNDERSTANDING THE PROPHETIC LANDSCAPE VOL. 1.)

LIVINGSTONE OLUWALOLA
THE CHRISTOCENTRIC PROPHET
© 2023 Livingstone Oluwalola
ISBN - 978-978-60353-5-2

Originally published in 2021 by,

Eternity Window Publications,
Jos, Nigeria.
Eternitywindowpublications@gmail.com

Revised edition published in 2023 by,

RoyalRay International,
Ibadan, Oyo State.
Royalraypublishing@gmail.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means; electronic or material, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written
permission of Livingstone Oluwalola, except in cases of brief quotations in context
(and duly referenced), in reviews for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper or
broadcast.

Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from King James Version,
other Bible quotes are from: TPT – The Passion Translation, NLT – New Living
Translation, AMP – The Amplified Bible, GNT – Good News Translation, MSG –
The Message, NIV – New International Version, ESV – Easy Standard Version and
Darby Translation.
 DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the prophets around my life whom the Lord has
used to powerfully impart my life and ministry, and to the upcoming
prophetic generation who are passionate about Jesus and selflessly lifting
His banner high. By His great power, we all will finish strong. Amen.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My profound gratitude goes to:

Brother Dada Caleb, who has always encouraged me to embrace my

prophetic ministry and to go all out in fulfilling it. Thank you for taking time
to review this book and to write the foreword.

Ayoola, my amazing wife, for the consistent prayer support and the push to
finish the book.
 FOREWORD
This is a book for the season, because we are in the last days. According to
the book of Joel Chapter 2 verse 28, God said He will pour out His Spirit
upon all flesh in the last days, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.
We stepped into the beginning of the last days the day Jesus resurrected.
Now we are in the end days of the last days.

The outpouring of the Spirit that was initiated by the resurrection and
ascension of Jesus, initiated a prophetic generation. This is in line with the
prophecy in Joel 2:28, that the outpouring of the Spirit will cause “Sons and
daughters to prophesy.”

Hebrews 1:1-2 makes us know that, God in sundry times and divers’
manners spoke to the fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has
spoken to us by His Son. This means that, the dispensation of the Christ is
the last days (current season).

Since the New Covenant or the dispensation of Christ began with the
death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and we know that the Spirit
was given as a result of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, then it means
that, the prophetic generation, where everybody is expected to prophesy,
kicked off from the day the Church was born.

This makes it clear that the Church is actually a prophetic people, a

prophetic nation. This book more than ever before, is a book for this season,
to stir up believers to walk in their prophetic inheritance and to know more
about the prophetic. Though not all believers are called to the office of the
prophet, believers can be trained to work in the expressions of the office of
the prophet.

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 Just as Paul told Timothy in, 2 Timothy 4:5 to do the work of an evangelist
though he was not called into the office, believers in this season must also
walk in the prophetic though we are not all prophets by calling (ministry
office). We must do all the work and the activities of a prophet and the work
of a true ministry gift that stands in the office of a prophet, will be to train
other believers to mature in the prophetic.

This is a book for this time. I know the writer as a minister of God with
integrity who has been faithful in his call and has no iota of lust for fame. He
is writing this book because he is led by the Spirit. I would encourage you to
get this book. As you flip open the pages, be ready to be activated, imparted,
and stirred up to do the work of a prophet whether you stand in the office or
not.

March 2021,

Dada Caleb.

Caleb Dada Ministries.

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 INTRODUCTION
Since the time of the restoration and repositioning of the prophetic
ministry in the church in the 1980s (As noted by Bill Hamon), many prophets
have risen and are rising to lime light and many false prophets have also
gained prominence. The need to understand the accurate and authentic
prophetic is more intense in our days because, the enemy has always been in
the very place where God is moving to create a counterfeit to deceive people
from God’s best. A prophet is not a title or an appellation, it is a spiritual
office that men are ordained to stand in, and not every jack who calls himself
a prophet is truly one.

The Lord seeks to raise a pure breed of prophets who will be trained,
mature and stand in the full capacity of the prophetic office to administer the
supply of God’s grace to God’s people. The antidote to deception is the
teaching of the truth, hence, the need for this book, it is the first of a series
on “Understanding the prophetic landscape.”

This first volume is on the Christocentric (Christ centred) Prophet. This

study is focused on illuminating the ministry of the prophet in the light of
Christ and His finished works, using the prophetic ministry of Jesus as a
model as we also glean wisdom from other established prophets in the Bible.

The resource you are holding is a product of a burden the Lord placed in
my heart many years ago for the prophetic ministry. After observing the
prophetic ministry in my continent - Africa, my heart cried to God to
intervene and raise true prophets, whose God won’t be their belly, who will
not be eaten up by the worms of pride and who will honour God’s flock. At a
time, burning with zeal, I began to pray that God would give me the authority
to close down synagogues of Satan and to prayerfully banish false prophets
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from the scene. But the Lord showed me that the way to deal with darkness
is not to fight it, rather turn on the light. He challenged me to be an example
of what I want to see. This burden led me to prayers, intercessions, study,
meditations, research and asking a lot of questions. The things written here
are a summary of what I have come to know by revelation through the Holy
Spirit, personal experiences, studies, meditations and wisdom gleaned from
other sons of God.

I made an attempt by God’s Spirit to touch on the different aspects and

expressions of the prophetic office, to make them bare for the saints to
understand who a prophet is and for the prophets to understand what they
are called to be. This book is not just for those called as prophets; it is for all
who desire to know God in His manifold wisdom. It is my desire that this
book will ignite a passion for Jesus in your heart and equip you for your
ministry in Christ Jesus. Enjoy the light of truth, as you flip through the
pages.

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 CONTENT

FOREWORD 6

INTRODUCTION 8

1. THE CALL OF A PROPHET 11

2. JESUS, THE PROPHET 20

3. THE PROPHETIC IN THE LIGHT OF REDEMPTION 64

4. PROPHETS AND PROPHECIES 87

5. PROPHETS AND INTERCESSIONS 99

6. PROPHETS AND THE COUNCIL OF GOD 121

7. PROPHETS AND THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST 145

8. PROPHETS, APOSTLES, THE CHURCH AND THE NATIONS 162

9. THE MAKING OF THE PROPHET 180

10. PITFALLS, GUARDRAILS AND FRUITS OF PROPHETIC MINISTRY 200

11. THE RISING BREEDS OF PROPHETS 221

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 CHAPTER ONE

THE CALL OF A PROPHET

The word, “Prophet” means Spokesman or Oracle. God has always found
men who will stand as His spokesman to His people. At several points in
time, God had used people who are not called as prophet to speak His
message to others. At a point, He even employed a donkey to do the job of
speaking to one who was called a prophet, yet his heart was set and bent on
doing his own thing (Numbers 22:22-34). God can never be stranded; He
always has a way of making known His will. He has never lacked a witness.

In the Old Testament, amongst God's covenant people, certain persons

were ordained for certain tasks; they were separated, commissioned and
anointed for certain responsibility that God chose them for. The high priests,
the priests, the prophets, the judges, and the kings were all commissioned
and set by God amidst His people and given divine ability to discharge their
God ordained ministry.

In the New Testament, God also set the fivefold ministry in the body
(Ephesians 4:11). However, we observe that the only ministry that came from
the Old Testament into the New Testament is the ministry of the prophet.
This tells us how important this ministry is to God and how dearly God wants
His words to be communicated to His people. Because this ministry is highly
important to God, the devil also has taken it upon himself to corrupt the
purity of this sacred office, by raising false prophets that will have the
appearance of the true prophets, but will darken counsel and operate under
the influence of a false spirit to seduce God's people away from the truth.

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These ones also perform lying signs and wonders, they operate by the devil's
power, practice witchcraft and hypnotism; their god is their belly and their
end is perdition, if they will not repent.

The office and calling of a prophet as other headship ministry, is a sacred

one. It's a high calling that those called into it receives it with fear and
trembling. No true matured prophet goes around parading himself in the
title of a prophet. Those truly called into such office and are growing in it
have a high sense of honour for the office and avoid anything that can
desecrate or discredit it or make it a common place of no value before God's
people.

Many believe that what makes a prophet is the simple gift of prophecy. So,
they are quick to tag anyone a prophet who manifest the gift of prophecy. But
this is not so, not in the Old Testament nor the New Testament. The sheer
gift of prophecy is for edification, encouragement, and comfort, but the
prophet in the New Testament do more than encouraging, edifying, and
comforting. He does all that plus reveal, instruct, teach, correct, rebuke,
train, make disciples, intercede, and stand in the council of God. However,
in the prophetic ministry, prophecy and prophesying is major and core
because prophets are called to speak on the behalf of God, in other words,
prophesy. I believe every mature prophet will do all the afore-mentioned
duties of a prophet in measures.

It is worthy of note and acceptance that the first expression of the

prophet's ministry is spending time with God. The first person called a
prophet in the Bible is Abraham, and God didn’t call him a prophet because
he was mighty in prophecy, but because he was a friend of God who spends
time with Him (Genesis 20:7, James 2:21-23). Like every other ministry gift,

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God has called prophets to be with Him that He might send them (Mark
3:14). A prophet who is alien to the secret place has lost his ministry even
though he still retains his ministry platform and title. The strength of a
prophet is proportional to his intimacy and friendship with God.

The authority of a prophet heightens as his experiential knowledge of God

heightens through fellowship and obedience to God. The heartbeat of a
prophet should be his love for Jesus and his safety is dependent on how much
he is willing to obey the truth of God's word as a show of his love for God. A
true prophet loves Jesus. He is a friend of God. He honours the Holy Spirit
and stakes his life on the Word of God to see that he obeys it. A mature
prophet exalts the truth of God's Word as the highest authority above his
personal spiritual experience.

A sign of prophetic immaturity is the desire to prophesy every time and

everywhere and to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Prophetic maturity teaches
one to be silent when God doesn't speak or when God has spoken but will
have us keep silent. The assignment of a prophet is not only to speak but also
to be silent. The silence of a prophet does not only mean that he has no
message from God, it could also mean that he is not permitted to speak.
Prophets are to prophesy as commanded; they are not to prophesy because
they saw new visions but because they are sent to prophesy as commanded.

Ezekiel 37:4-7

“Again, he said unto me, prophesy upon these bones,

and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; behold, I will cause
breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews
upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with
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 skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know
that I am the LORD. So, I prophesied as I was
commanded…”

Those who have the calling of a prophet must always observe and judge
themselves to be sure that they haven't loved prophesying (to be seen and
heard) more than they love Jesus and obedient to His leadings.

Immaturity in discharging the duties of the prophetic office does make a

mess of hallowed things and bring discredit to the prophetic office. I believe
that, in the year 2020, we entered into an epoch in God's agenda for the
church, where the prophetic office and ministry is being fully restored into
the body of Christ. This has led to a heightened awareness of this ministry in
the body of Christ. But the devil seeks to make it a common place with no
significance, hence many people who are not so called begins to adopt the
title of a prophet, probably because of the honour and glory that comes with
the ministry. But because they are not called or sent, they have no grace to
endure the trails and persecution that is common to the prophetic office.
They would rather choose a safe zone with no consequence, retaining the title
but discrediting the ministry. Such persons may be sincere, but sincerity does
not amount to accuracy in the Kingdom; sincerity does not excuse one of the
Lord’s judgment for disobedience. Such actions expose one to oppositions
that one has no grace for.

These ones are pseudo-prophets. They need to repent and go seek God to
know what He'll have them do. Pseudo-prophets are not false prophets.
Pseudo-prophets are deceived to think they can be prophets by making
themselves one or because men call them so. They may be born again but

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they are not in alignment with God. Their service will have no eternal reward,
because they are at the wrong place, doing what they are not ordained to do.

False prophets on the other hand, are self-called prophets who operate by
a false spirit. For this reason, John admonished that we should test all spirits,
because many false prophets have gone into the world (1John 4:1). Their end
will be severe if they don't repent because they are messengers of Satan on
an errand to lead people astray.

Immature prophets may do things wrongly because they lack the training
and experience that allows for accurate discharging of the duties of the
ministry, but they should not be despised. Out of the mouth of babes and
suckling God has ordained strength (Psalms 8:2). Because they have God's
calling upon their lives, they are the future of the prophetic ministry in the
body of Christ, hence, the need to pay attention to them. They are arrows in
God's quiver, the children that will speak with the enemies at the gates
(Psalms 127:3-5). If well taught and trained, they will become mighty
weapons of warfare in the hand of the Lord.

OLD OR NEW TESTAMENT PROPHETIC ORDER?

Hitherto, many have said that the ministry of the prophet in the New
Testament is limited to the reasons for prophesying as noted in 1 Corinthians
14:3; encouragement, edification, and comfort. I have heard an older
minister mentioned that in the New Testament, God doesn't send His
prophets to give new directions to His people, He only sends them to confirm
what He already told them. Also, another respected minister mentioned that
prophets are not to correct, rebuke, or warn through prophecy, they should

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only encourage, edify, and comfort. But how true are these claims? How valid
are they? Do they align with the truth of the Scripture?

In a bid to draw a line of divide between the prophets of the Old Testament
and the prophets of the New Testament, many have thrown into thrash, the
core assignments of the prophetic ministry. It should be noted that, majority
of the expositions on the five-fold ministry in the New Testament Scriptures,
are centred on the ministry of the apostles. Little wonder there is a book
written on their actions in the early Church. This is partly because the
apostolic ministry is a governmental ministry and it is set as the first in the
body of Christ. Being first and foremost, there is a need to devote time and
effort to lay bare what they stand for. I personally believe if the apostles get
it right, the other leadership ministry of the church will also get it right.

Ephesians 2:19 - 20

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but

fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

The apostles and prophets are foundational ministries in the Church. You
may wonder why is there no book on the acts of the prophets in the New
Testament, this is simply because, majority of the books in the Old
Testament are devoted to the acts of the prophets. Jesus and the early
apostles preached and taught from the book of the "Acts of the prophets."
Books like Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Judges, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Hosea, Micah, Ezekiel, Nahum, Zechariah, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Daniel,
Habakkuk, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, and others, are centred on the “Acts of
the prophets” (Acts 7:42).
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 Acts 7:42

“Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of

heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye
house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices
by the space of forty years in the wilderness?”

We cannot have a full grasp on the ministry of the prophet in the New
Testament without considering the life of Jesus, the perfect model for
accurate prophetic ministry. This same Jesus kept on making reference to
the ministry of the prophets as recorded in the Old Testament as a reference
for His ministry.

One of the ways we can correctly understand God and represent Him
accurately is to learn His language as revealed in the Scripture. The Scripture
never designated any of the prophets as “Old Testament prophets” or “New
Testament prophets,” the Scripture simply called them “Prophets.” For
instance, Ephesians 2:20 says, the Church is being built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. The prophets
referred to here, are they the prophets of old or the prophets set in the body
after Jesus' resurrection and ascension?

The answer is this, primarily, the foundation stone of the prophets comprises
of the prophets from the days of Abraham till the time the Bible was written
(2 Peter 3:2, Ephesians 3:5) and secondarily, those who are called to stand
in the office, since after the Bible days until now.

If God didn't dim it fit to put a clear-cut discrepancy between the two,
then we should judge God wise and accept His ways and approach to things.

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A prophet can be many things and prophets can be different things based on
their assignment and calling by God, but it suffices us to say a prophet of God
is simply a prophet without further unnecessary designation that does not
amount to life but can lead to division.

As we trust God to reveal the truth to us, we will see that the similarities
of the ministry of the prophets in the Old Testament and prophets in the New
Testament are far greater than what we may call their differences, as revealed
in the prophetic ministry of Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of God who was made both Lord and Christ, but He was
also the prophet that Moses prophesied was going to come after him.

Deuteronomy 18:15

“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken”

Acts 7:37

“This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A

prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.”

Jesus speaking about Himself said, a prophet is not without honour

except in his own country (Matthew 13:57).

As we pay attention to the life and ministry of Jesus as the sent one from
God, God's spokesman and representative, we will understand better the
expectations of God for the prophetic ministry and those called as prophets.
Jesus in the days of His flesh manifested the different ministry expressions

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of the prophetic office. We will look at each of these expressions of the
prophetic office extensively, in the next chapter.

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 CHAPTER TWO

JESUS, THE PROPHET

The ministry of Jesus on the earth in the days of His flesh was
multifaceted. Jesus ministered from different capacities at the same time. He
came as the Saviour who is to save Israel and the world at large from their
sins, He is also the Lord from heaven, the Apostle of our profession, the
Prophet that was to come, the Evangelist reconciling the lost to God, the good
Shepherd (Pastor) that laid down His life for the sheep, and the Teacher of
the gospel of the Kingdom.

Jesus lived as the template and true model of servanthood unto God, He
also lived as the pattern Son. Whatever God asks us to do now has an example
in the life and earthly ministry of Jesus, that we must follow to please God.
Jesus is the embodiment of the fivefold ministry, also called the headship
ministry of the Christ. He is the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and
Teacher at the same time. Upon His resurrection from the dead and
ascension, He gave gifts unto men.

Ephesians 4:7-8, 11

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the

measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, when he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts
unto men.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,

evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

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 The fivefold ministry is the gift of Christ unto men. Those set in the body
as the headship, governmental ministry in the church have received a
measure of the gift of the person of the Christ to be a ministry gift unto the
people. Christ, the head of the church has graciously distributed His ministry
graces into the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Teachers and Pastors.

In this chapter we will be centring on the ministry of Jesus as a Prophet of

God - God's spokesman. Moses in the days of his flesh prophesied that God
will raise another prophet like him whom the people must hearken to. Many
prophets came after Moses but none of them fulfilled the prophecy, and
Israel waited for centuries for the promise.

Deuteronomy 18:15

“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken”

The nation of Israel had been waiting for the deliverer and a saviour like
Moses. But this One isn't coming to save and deliver them from Egypt, He is
coming to save and deliver them from their sins When John the Baptist
began to preach and baptize, people asked him, "Are you the prophet who is
to come?”

John 1:21

“And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith,
I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.”

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 The disciples, while preaching in the book of Acts, to testify that Jesus is
the Messiah, made reference to the prophecy of Moses about this prophet
who was to come after him.

Acts 3:19-23

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be

blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which
before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of

all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a prophet shall the Lord
your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him
shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And
it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that
prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”

Also, Jesus referred to Himself as a Prophet.

Matthew 13:57-58

“And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A
prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in
his own house. And he did not many mighty works there
because of their unbelief.”

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 EXPLORING THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY

The prophetic ministry has eight major ministry expressions and they are
clearly evident in the ministry of different prophets all through the Bible. Not
all prophets are called to give manifest all expressions, however, the divine
ordination of each prophet tells what expression they will operate in by grace.
I believe every prophet has a combination of several expressions based on
their assignment and specific calling.

The possibilities, endowment of grace or ministry expressions of the

prophetic office are;

1. The Preaching Ministry

2. The Teaching Ministry
3. The Prophesying Ministry
4. The Miraculous Ministry
5. The Intercessory Ministry
6. The Building Ministry
7. The Singing Ministry
8. The Writing Ministry

Let's explore each of these ministry expressions of the prophetic office.

1. THE PREACHING MINISTRY

In the Old Testament, the prophets were called primarily to preach, even
their prophesying ministry carries an undertone of preaching to it, it is
almost impossible to divorce the prophetic office from preaching (calling
men to repentance). The preaching ministry is focused on calling sinners to

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repentance from sin and awakening of the saints to the life and culture of the
Kingdom of God. The preacher's goal is to help men turn from their wicked
ways in faith towards God. Faith is the way we respond to God and the
preaching ministry is geared towards imparting the faith of the Son of God
in the hearts of men through the gospel, so they can respond to God’s love
adequately.

Many church folks believe that there is no difference between teaching

and preaching, because over time, there has been a culture of their
synonymous use in Christian circles. Teaching and preaching are different
administrations of the Word of the Lord, and the focus and end goal for each
are different. The difference between teaching and preaching is not the speed
with which the words are uttered and it’s not defined by the charisma of the
minister. Many thinks that preachers talk fast and their voice is usually
baritone, while teachers talk more calmly and slowly. This is not the case.
Both teaching and preaching are stewardship of grace and it’s the effectual
working of the anointing through a vessel that describes his manner of flow
of utterance and the intended end goal.

Some that are called as teachers also steward the grace to preach in a great
measure, but not all teachers have the grace to preach. Those called as
preachers have a strong evangelistic grace and with ease can turn a crowd to
Jesus in repentance. Teachers are part of the fivefold ministry gifts but
preachers are not mentioned there, however the grace and call to preach can
be stewarded by any in the fivefold ministry as God desires. Hence, preaching
is more of an administration of grace than a ministerial office. Paul revealed
to us by the Spirit that there are five ascension gifts of Christ (that are also
called the fivefold ministry gifts), even though he didn’t mention the office of

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a preacher, yet, he boldly called himself one, acknowledging the flow of grace
that can open the gate of the Kingdom to men by calling them to repentance
and faith towards God.

Ephesians 4:10 - 11

“He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above
all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers.”

1 Timothy 2:7

“Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak

the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith
and verity.”

2 Timothy 1:11

“Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a

teacher of the Gentiles.”

THE BURDEN AND MESSAGE OF A PREACHER

From the ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist, who were called as
prophets who went about preaching, we can understand the preacher’s
burden and message. They come to declare that the kingdom of heaven is at
hand (arm’s length and reach) and now accessible to all who will believe in
God through Jesus and repent from their sins.

Matthew 4:17

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 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 3:1

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the

wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.”

Hence, the preachers go about making a public declaration of the gospel

of the Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom is a divine invitation into the
Kingdom of God. It is the power of God unto salvation to them that believes.
The preaching of the gospel encapsulates showing men their need of
salvation from sin, the consequence of sin which is death, God’s provision of
redemption through the death of Christ and the consequence of not
accepting this generous offer which is eternal damnation.

Matthew 9:13

“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and
not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance.”

The greatest burden of the preacher is to call sinners to repentance, he has

a thing for helping sinners get saved more than an average believer. This is
an operation of God in his heart. Those who embody this grace in its full
weight are those called into the office of the evangelist. Prophets, apostles,
teachers and pastors also steward this administration of grace in different
measure unique to God’s assignment for each person. When Jesus began to
train His apostles for ministry, the first assignment He gave them was to go
and preach, and in the sequence of the instructions, preaching precedes

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healing and miracles. This is because preaching births the greatest miracle
that causes rejoicing in heaven, the miracle of salvation of the lost. The
instruction of Jesus to them shows us that, apostles, like other fivefold
ministries, can exercise the preaching ministry.

Matthew 10:5 - 8

“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying,

go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the
Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”

The preacher’s desire is to get people saved, helping them to see and enter
into the Kingdom. When God wants to get people saved, He sends them a
preacher, a bearer of glad tidings of peace and the good news of salvation. It
is on the account of the preaching of the gospel that the power of God unto
salvation is communicated, to snatch men from the power of darkness into
the Kingdom of God.

Romans 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power

of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”

Romans 10:13 - 17

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

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 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,
how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not
all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed
our report? So, then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God.”

Many have a one-sided knowledge of the ministry of preachers. They feel

preachers are called to only talk about the love of God, good things, glad
tidings and they get uncomfortable when preachers talk about the wrath and
judgement of God for those who refuse His lovingkindness. Preachers have
a double-edged sword that shows men the way into the Kingdom and the
consequence of not choosing that way. Thus, preachers don’t just exhort and
encourage men to do what is right, they also rebuke men for doing what is
wrong and warn them of the consequences of their rebellion.

The message preached by preachers should not be convoluted, it should

be simply enough for a child and a regular market woman to understand.
When Jesus commanded us to preach, He didn’t leave us with the liberty of
preaching our opinions and perspectives. He said clearly, what preachers
should preach. He gave preachers the same message that He preached. About
the preaching ministry, let’s note that, we are to preach the same message
that Jesus preached.

Matthew 4:17

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 10:7

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 “And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.”

The message of the preacher is to declare that the gate of the Kingdom is
now open and accessible to all through the death of Jesus. And by His blood
that was shed, men can now be reconciled to God their creator, by receiving
forgiveness and remission of their sins through faith in Christ.

Acts 2:37

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.”

Acts 3:19

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be

blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord.”

Accurate preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom by the power of the Spirit
births repentance towards God and faith in Christ.

Acts 20:21

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance

toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Matthew 12:41

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 “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,
and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of
Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”

The preaching ministry of the prophet warns men to flee from and escape
God’s wrath and the enemy’s pit fall.

Colossians 1:27 - 28

“… Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning

every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

Luke 13:4 - 5

“Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and
slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that
dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish.”

It is not only sinners that need the preaching ministry, the Church also
needs preachers to stir her unto living faith in God, repentance from dead
works and warn her of the danger of disobedience to God. As long as the
Church has not been perfected, the preaching anointing will be needed to
mature the saints.

Colossians 1:27 - 28

“… Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning

every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 6:1

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 “Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us
go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.”

In the administration of the preaching anointing in relation to the saints

or God’s people, it usually flows alongside the teaching anointing, to awaken
hearts in passion for God and bring men into full understanding of the truth.

Colossians 1:28 - 29

“Christ is our message! We preach to awaken hearts and bring

every person into the full understanding of truth.”

Acts 15:35

“Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and

preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.”

Acts 28:30 - 31

“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and
received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of
God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus
Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

2. THE TEACHING MINISTRY

Matthew 4:23

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their

synagogues.”

Jesus, the divinely inspired spokesman, did more of teaching and

preaching than prophesying. Prophets don't just prophesy, they also preach
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and teach in order to strengthen, edify and equip the saints for the work of
the ministry. Jesus spent majority of His time in ministry teaching, the
teaching ministry is the hope of preservation that the Church has.

I believe the reason many prophets don't teach or preach is because they
have narrowed down the prophetic ministry to just prophesying. Some
prophets are doubly called as Teachers, but even those who are not called as
teachers also steward measure of grace to teach and exhort by the Word. In
the Old Testament, prophets teach the laws and statutes of God, but in the
New Testament, prophets reveal Christ by the revelation of Scripture to
confirm and strengthen the saints (Acts 15:32).

A ministry that is built on the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit will
not stand the test of time. The manifestations of the gifts are spiritual tools
for solving problems, but teaching establishes, confirms and builds up the
saints in the truth. The prophet is sent to edify the saints and equip them for
their ministry, these they will do by teaching the saints from their place of
grace and ordination.

Jesus, through His teaching ministry, opened up the Kingdom to His

disciples that they may enter and find life. He kept on teaching and preaching
wherever He went to, He taught for more time than He performed miracles
and prophesied. A prophet that does not pay attention to teaching the saints
about the Kingdom of God will not do a lasting work.

The teaching ministry is focused on grounding the saints in the truth of

the Kingdom. It's about bringing instructions unto godliness and
establishing the saints in the doctrine of Christ and the gospel of the
Kingdom. It’s about teaching men to know God, His ways and His nature,
that they may draw near to Him and know Him experientially.
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 WHAT DID JESUS TEACH?

Prophets who will have an accurate teaching ministry must choose to

submit their ministry and teaching to the truth of the Scriptures. Prophets
have the tendency to go out of the written Word into what is not written, in
the name of interaction with the realm of the Spirit. However, there's safety
in staying in the Bible, in remaining within the trajectory of what is written.
According to Paul, if any prophet brings a teaching or message that is not in
agreement with the gospel of Christ, let him be accursed. - Galatians 1:8.

Jesus, our pattern for the prophetic ministry, taught from the Old
Testament scriptures by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was largely a
man of the books (Scriptures). He kept on alluding to the prophecies of old,
teachings of the ancient prophets, the law and the prophets in His teachings.
Little wonder it was written of Him that He came to do what was written in
the volume of the books concerning Him - Hebrews 10:7.

Jesus in His teachings, quoted from 14 different Old Testament books.

This shows His honour for what was written before He came, when the
pharisees had issues with Him, He usually referred them to what was written.
He made it clear that He didn't come to abolish the law and prophets, but to
fulfil it. He was the personification of the teaching and prophecies of the Holy
book.

Matthew 5:17

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I

am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

Luke 24:44 - 45

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 “And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto
you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their
understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures”

PROPHETS ARE INTERPRETERS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

Jesus rebuked the scribes who don't believe in Him but claimed to believe
in the Scripture.

John 5:39

“Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:

and they are they which testify of me.”

The pharisees and scribes are custodians of the law; they are the keepers
of the Holy Scripture. They are teachers and tutors of the ways of God, they
know the scriptures. However, they only know the letters of the book but
have no living fellowship with the Spirit of the book. The letter kills, but the
Spirit gives life and the Word of God is Spirit and life (John 6:63). No one
can truly understand the Scriptures, either Old or New Testament, without
the revelation of the truth. The revelation of truth comes from the Holy
Spirit, the spirit of prophecy that testifies about Jesus (Revelation. 19:10).

The Scripture, being inspired of God makes it a prophetic book, and it

takes prophetic inspiration to understand it. God has ordained His
spokesmen with divine ability to interpret the Scriptures, to help the saints
understand it better.

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 Paul by the Holy Spirit, taught the saints about the Kingdom from the law
and the prophets. Peter and Stephen by the Holy Spirit preached about the
ministry of Christ from the law and the prophets. (Acts 28:23, Acts 3, Acts
7).

Jesus by His teaching, consistently interpreted the Old Testament

scriptures in the light of Christ! Jesus is the centre of all the Scripture.
Preaching from any book of the Bible requires the skill to reveal Jesus from
the book. Jesus consistently used phrases like, "That it may be fulfilled," and
the apostles also, because they were able to interpret situations and
happenings through the Holy Scriptures in the light of Christ.

Summarily, the teaching ministry of the prophet is to reveal Christ

through the Scripture.

Colossians 1:27-28

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every
man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

When mature prophets teach, they usually flow as prophetic teachers.

There is usually a confluence of the teaching and prophesying streams when
they teach. I see this largely when I teach, usually, I teach and preach by
inspiration of the Spirit, interpreting things in the light of the written Word
when I am under the anointing. Just as Paul said in the epistle to the
Corinthians, every true minister will minister from any or combination of
these streams; revelation, knowledge, prophesying or doctrine.

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 1 Corinthians 14:6

“Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what

shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation,
or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?”

Usually, when I minister under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, I use
examples that perfectly fits the situation of certain persons in the
congregation without the foreknowledge of what they are going through.
Unconsciously, I find myself describing people’s situations and way out
during the teaching. Recently, I was teaching and I stood in front of a Pastor
and said “Men will travel down to get healed in your meetings, they will
attend your healing school and you are going to have a healing room in your
ministry dedicated to healing the sick”. As far as I was concerned, I was
teaching and just citing examples of great things God wants to use His
children to do if they follow Him. After the service, he walked up to me to say
that the prophesy I gave confirmed what God told him earlier that morning.
I was wondering when I prophesied, because I never knew I did. That’s one
of the ways prophetic teaching or preaching works; the teaching or preaching
stream usually flow alongside the prophesying stream when prophets teach
or preach.

3. THE PROPHESYING MINISTRY

John 4:16-19

"Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said
unto her, thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast

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 had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy
husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him,
sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet."

The prophesying ministry of a prophet involves the manifestation of

revelation gifts and the gift of prophecy. In the scripture above, Jesus gave
an accurate word of knowledge about the woman’s marital life and this made
her perceive Jesus correctly. One of the fruits of prophetic ministry is the
revealing of secrets through accurate prophecy, and by their fruits they shall
be known.

The prophesying ministry of the prophet is not to gather crowd around

ourselves but to point men to Jesus. The prophesying ministry of the prophet
is sometimes louder in operation than the teaching ministry as it has the
ability to draw people's attention. However, the prophet must always remind
himself the very words of Jesus "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw
men to myself." John 12:32.

The goal of the prophesying ministry of the prophet is to make Jesus

famous, to draw people to repentance, reveal the heart of the Father in
humility, love, honour and godly fear. After Jesus mentioned the woman's
history to her, she immediately received Him as a Prophet and in honour,
ran to call the people of Samaria and this led to multitude believing in Jesus.

This prophetic expression helps men align with their destiny by revealing
the details of God’s heart to them. Prophecies when accurately delivered is a
major tool for Kingdom advancement in men’s heart and the Church. There
are some prophets in the Bible, who did not give a word of knowledge or word
of wisdom as it were; like prophet Jonah, who went about preaching, same
as John the Baptist also. But there are some who God has ordained to
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steward this prophetic expression, they will flow largely and loudly in the
revelatory gifts to bring men and nations to repentance, to confirm God’s
will, to bring direction, guidance, correction, rebuke, comfort, edification
and encouragement in the will of God.

Revelation 10:11

“And he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many
peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

Prophets are usually seen as extraordinaire when they say things and it
comes to pass just as it has been declared. The prophets are known as the
eyes of the body because they see events ahead of time before they play out.
Prophets have walked the earth, who walked in tremendous grace for
prophesying, revealing the secrets in men’s heart, the secrets of the enemy’s
plan and the secrets in God’s heart.

History tells us of a prophet by the name Bob Jones, who was known as a
prophet of prophets. Bob had myriads of revelatory encounters of Jesus,
heaven, angels and sights of the devil’s hideout. He gave accurate and
detailed prophetic word about people, ministries, places, regions,
earthquakes, cyclones, etc. These prophecies gave the church and those who
cared to listen, an awareness of what is to come and helped them prepare for
the future.

The prophesying expression of the prophetic ministry was his cutting

edge, he had the seeing eyes, the hearing ears, the understanding heart and
the uttering lips. He was a credible voice in the body of Christ with near zero
error in his prophecies. There are many other prophets who have walked
through the earth in this order of prophetic ministry.

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 The Lord spoke to me several years ago, that He has called me as His
prophet. He said, I will go to where He sends and say what He commands me
to say. For me, prophesying is one of the easiest things I can do under the
anointing. I believe, this is partly because of my ordination and the scope of
my prophetic call. I have noticed in my ministration, when I prophesy, I
usually flow in a combination of gifts; gift of prophecy, word of wisdom, word
of knowledge, discerning of spirits, diversities of tongues and interpretation
of tongues.

Because word of wisdom is futuristic, under the anointing, I have

prophesied to hundreds of people about their future and how to prepare for
it. I believe that’s one of the ways God has equipped me to fulfil the mandate
of aligning men and nations to their destinies in God.

I believe that in these last days, more prophets will be called, trained and
raised in the order of the prophecy of John in Revelation 10:11; “And he said
unto me, thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and
tongues, and kings.” More on the prophesying ministry of the prophet is
written in chapter titled “Prophets and Prophecies.”

4. THE MIRACULOUS MINISTRY

Signs, wonders and miracles are part of the economy of the resources
available to the prophetic ministry. These manifestations of the Holy Spirit
are not solely for the prophetic office; they are part of the spiritual arsenals
that backs up those called as servants of God for effective ministry. I believe
every one of the five-fold ministry; the apostles, prophets, evangelists
teachers and pastors should operate in measures of the miraculous for

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effective ministry. “And with great power gave the Apostles witness of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all.”-
Acts 4:33.

MIRACLES VALIDATES THE PROPHET’S MINISTRY

Acts 2:22

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man

approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and
signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know.”

Psalms 74:9

“We see not our signs: there is no more any Prophet.”

From the Old Testament days till now, miracles are a part of the prophetic
ministry, Moses, Elijah, Elisha and others performed miracles to the glory of
God. Miracles bear witness that the prophet is sent and backed up by God's
power. Jesus said, without signs and wonders, people will not believe. Hence,
signs, wonders and miracles are God's attestations to the prophet’s ministry.

Sign: A sign is an occurrence that happens supernaturally by God's divine

power to draw attention to God. An unusual occurrence transcending the
course of nature. This occurrence is meant to be a witness that testifies to the
word and will of God. Example of sign is what we noticed in the ministry of
John the Baptist, when he baptized Jesus.

John 1:32-34

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 “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not:
but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto
me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy
Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”

Matthew 3:16-17

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of

the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon
him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”

This was a sign that validates the ministry of John the Baptist as the
forerunner of Jesus and the ministry of Jesus as the son of God.

Another example was recorded about sign following Jesus ministry. This also
further validates the ministry of Jesus before the people to whom He was
sent.

John 12:28-30

“Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven,
saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people
therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others
said, an angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, this voice
came not because of me, but for your sakes.”

A sign is not for the prophet, it is for the people to believe.

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 Miracle: The word, “Miracle,” is the Greek word “Dunamis”, which means
power (It is the ability to do). Miracle captures the manifestation of God's
power to do a thing through His anointed vessels. It is God's messengers that
work miracles through the power of His Spirit. Healing the sick, raising the
dead and cleaning the lepers are miracles. Jesus as the prophet sent from
God, wrought miracles.

John 6:14

“Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did,
said, this is of a truth that prophet that should come into the
world.”

Wonder: Just as the name implies, wonder makes you wonder in

amazement at God's glory and power. Wonders are wonderful acts that
draws men attention to the powerful God. Wonders, just as miracles, are
wrought by God's anointed vessels. Casting out devils is an example of a
wonder or wonderful work of God through His servants.

Luke 11:14

“And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came
to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the
people wondered.”

The prophetic ministry transcends the speaking of mere words, one of the
spiritual resources that backs up the prophetic ministry just as any other
ministry, is power. For this reason, Jesus after His resurrection, told His
disciples not to go and preach yet, until they are endued with power from on
high. Power is needed to witness and communicate the holy oracles of God;
these aren’t mere words. Paul wrote in his epistle to the Corinthians, "My

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speech and preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of Spirit and of power” – 1 Corinthians 2:4.

The power flow in the anointed utterance of a prophet standing in his

office, can wrought miraculous signs and wonders. Working of miracles is
one of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit through the office of the prophet,
both in the Old and New Testament.

Across dispensations of time, we have seen prophets of God operating in

the miraculous to bring help to men. Prophets like Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Paul
of Tarsus, Kenneth Hagin, William Branham etc., just to mention a few,
revealed the resurrection power of Jesus, through working of miracles.

Earlier in my ministry, I have always thought that, as a prophet, the

prophet’s business is to prophesy, he has no business with working of
miracles. This is partly because of the church environment I found myself
after I got converted from Islam to following Jesus in 2010. Later, the Lord
began to reveal to me that He also desired to use me in the areas of signs,
wonders and miracles. My heart was shut to these manifestations of the
Spirit before then. The only thing I opened my heart to and did well under
the anointing was prophesying. The Lord challenged my doubt and stirred
my faith by consistently showing me from Scripture and contemporary times
that, prophets are also miracle workers. As I opened my heart and received
the light of this truth, faith was born for the miraculous, to God’s glory, I have
seen diseases healed, demons checked out, blood issues resolved, miraculous
cancelation of debts by the declaration of faith etc. Even now, my heart
yearns deeper for greater manifestation of God’s power.

I strongly believe we are in a time when God is raising the saints to walk
in their true identity as sons of God, walking in the miracle working power of
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their Father, and this will make miracles a common place for all and sundry
in the Church. However, the ministry gifts must see this as God’s plan,
believe it, embrace it, walk in it and communicate the same grace to their
brethren as they equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

5. THE INTERCESSORY MINISTRY

There are certain prophets who are secret place prophets. They may not
have platforms for public ministry, but they have seats in God’s council. They
are God’s spiritual mercenary for Kingdom assignments. They agree with
God to allow or disallow things on the earth. These prophets are close to
God’s heart and share largely in His secrets. God revealing His secrets to
them, is not first so they can prophesy but so they can deliberate with God,
intercept or allow what needs be on the earth. They hold the keys of the
Heaven and exercise their God ordained authority to lose and bind on the
earth as it is done in heaven (Matthew 18:19).

Examples from the Scripture are Anna the prophetess, Simeon and
Micaiah the prophet (1 King 22:13-28). These ones spent their lives burning
the incense of prayers to set heaven in motion on the earth.

Luke 2:36-37

“And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of

Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had
lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she
was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed
not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers
night and day.”

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 Luke 2:25-26

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was

Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the
consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it
was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see
death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.”

Another example of a prophet of this expression is Abraham, of whom

God said, He will not withhold His secret. God called Abraham a prophet
because of his friendship and the place of secret where Abraham stood. God
has a culture of sharing His secrets with those who will respond correctly
through prayers and intercession.

Genesis 18:17

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do.”

Amos 3:7

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets.”

Jesus also stood and operated as an intercessor. This was evident when
the Father showed Him the enemy’s plan about Peter and He prayed against
it. (John 5:19-20).

Luke 22:32

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed

45
 for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren.”

It is worthy of note that, out of the eight major ministry expression of the
prophet, the intercessory ministry is the only one Jesus subscribed to
eternally, the one He continued even after His ascension.

Hebrews 7:25

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that

come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.”

The glory of those whose major expression of prophetic ministry is

intercession, is not on the platform or behind the pulpit, but in the secret
place. Their authority is to be wielded majorly in their closet. These ones
usually see far ahead of what the other prophetic expressions see. God gives
them the seeing eyes to see in the spirit realm, that they may know things
ahead of time and He gives them the voice of authority, to shake the heaven
and the earth in the will of God through prayers.

These ones occupy a very strategic place in God’s army, although they may
not be applauded or much celebrated by men. Those with loud public
ministries partner a lot with these ones, because of their ordination that
allows them know God’s secret with respect to His plans in time.

I know of a prophetess based somewhere in the southern part of Nigeria,

whom I recently met, she trains and builds for God, an intercessory squad.
This squad upholds in prayers, the agenda of the Kingdom of God for the
nation and gives it the prayer push for its enforcement. Her place is so crucial
that the Lord leads her to strategic places for spiritual mapping necessary to

46
for the spiritual intelligence needed for accurate warfare. By God, she has
strong connections to certain strategic elders in the Church in Nigeria and
beyond. She has witnessed and has being a part of God’s move across
generations, and at the same time, her heart yearns for what God is doing
with this present generation. As at the time I am writing this book, she’s
above seventy years old.

Such prophetic ministries are not raised for the crowd or to wear a cloak
of fame. They are raised and trained as skilled undercover Kingdom agents.
Some of these ones will have strong connections with the government and
strategic people in power. They operate as a Daniel type undercover agent in
Babylon. They operate as gatekeepers, watching for the movements of God.
They are trained in the secret place to be able to track the moves of God, as
they are detached from the noise of public ministry, they can easily hear the
sound of God walking in the cool of the day across the earth. They are not
raised to be stuck to a mould of ministry or a platform, so, they can stand at
the spiritual watchtower, seeing from afar what’s coming. They also stand at
the gate to open the door for the new that the Lord is bringing and shut the
door against what the enemy is bringing.

INTERCESSORY RANKS

In the ranks of the intercessory prophets are the watchmen and the
gatekeepers or porters.

2 Samuel 18:24-26

“And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went
up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes,

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 and looked, and behold a man running alone. And the
watchmen cried and told the King. And the King said, if he be
alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And He came apace and
drew near. And the watchman saw another man
running, and the watchman called unto the porter, and
said, behold another man running alone. And the King said, he
also bringeth tidings.”

• THE WATCHMAN
The Watchman represents the intercessory posture that ascend God’s
height through intimacy in prayers to see what God has to say. The place of
assignment of the watchman is the watch tower; the place of spiritual height
for heightened spiritual sensitivity and clear precise visions. Their primary
place of grace is to see, these prophets are seers, not seers of the spirit realm
now, but seers of the visions of God from a pure heart. Their primary strength
is in their sight and their primary consecration is in their waiting upon the
Lord in the secret place. These are the Habakkuk type of prophets (Hab. 2:1-
3), who will consistently stand upon their watch to see what the Lord will say,
because, the sayings of God are the visions of the prophets. From the story of
David and his army above, the watchman sees from afar and calls to the
porter, who is the porter?

• THE PORTER/GATEKEEPER

The Porter/Gatekeeper is the prophetic posture that ‘legalizes’ the

intervention of God and the enforcement of His Kingdom over men,
situations, regions and nations on the earth. As the name imply, their place

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of assignment is at the gate or portal of access, to either grant access or deny
access. Anna stood as a porter and granted access to the birth of Jesus and
God’s salvation agenda on the earth. Jesus denied the devil access to sift
Peter as wheat. The gatekeepers are those, who through intercession wield
the kingly authority to decree a thing over a region and see it stand. Little
wonder, in the story above, David was sitting between two gates, working
alongside the porters. The gate is usually where the throne of power is.

Jeremiah 1:15

“For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north,
saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set
everyone his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem…”

As David, the believer in Christ, stands between the gates of the heaven
and the earth, he is the ladder that connects earth to heaven in Christ Jesus.
Through, watching, prayers and intercession, he takes his active position of
power at the gate.

Here is what Jesus said about the ministry of the porter, “But he that
entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth; and the sheep hear his voice…” – John 10:2-3

The moves of the Spirit on the earth have always been dependent on the
ministry of the intercessory porters. The Lord will come in because someone
opens the door. Jesus said to the Laodicean church, “I stand at the door and
knock if anyone hears my voice and open, I will come in…” Revelation 3:20.

Many prophetic people are graced to express the two intercessory flow.
The watchman dimension impregnates the Church with the divine seed of
God’s agenda, the porter dimension is the womb that carries, nurture and

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birth the purposes of God on the earth. One does not have to be a prophet by
call to know God’s secrets, once and again, saints who abides in the secret
place can be brought into awareness of God’s secret. However, God is
committed to revealing it to His prophets.

6. THE BUILDING MINISTRY

Jesus spent three and half years of His life building the foundation of the
Church. He devoted His life to build the twelve, to the end that they may
become foundational members of the body He is building. For this reason,
the Bible calls the apostles and prophets the foundation of the building called
- the body of Christ (Ephesians 2:20).

Also, the twelve Apostles of the lamb will have their names written on the
twelve foundation of the wall of the holy city- the new Jerusalem. –
Revelations 21:14. This is because, they were built by the Lord to become
worthy pillars and reliable supports in the house Jesus was raising for His
God and Father. Jesus manifested the builders anointing for building holistic
people with a holistic lifestyle to do a holistic work, pleasing to God.

The fivefold ministries are building ministries, raised and sent by God to
build men who will become a habitation for God on the earth. Paul boldly
declared that we are labourers together with God, and the saints are God’s
husbandry, God’s building. He went further to say, according to the grace
which God has given him as a wise master builder, he laid the foundation and
other minsters built on it, and every man should be careful how he builds. (1
Corinthians 3:9-10).

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 The prophets, as other ministry gifts, are builders of God’s people. And
our work shall be tested through fire, if it can endure the heat then will we be
rewarded. What is being built is God’s house, a habitation for God through
the Spirit.

PROPHETS BUILD SYSTEMS IN SECULAR SPHERES

There’s another aspect of building that certain prophets of God are sent
to labour in, it is the building of systems and structures.

In the Old Testament, prophets and servants of God built edifices

patterned after the image of heavenly realities, which were able to host God’s
presence and power. The tabernacle of Moses, the tabernacle David and the
temple of Solomon are examples of earthly structures built, that helped men
access God’s glory.

By the prophetic spirit, men can capture building patterns in the Spirit, to
build arks of salvation and preservation like Noah, structures of international
economic solution like Joseph and walls of security like Nehemiah and Ezra.

I strongly believe that, the same way God used Joseph and Daniel for a great
work in a non-religious sector, He will raise many more after this order with
strong prophetic grace and unction, to build structures in the secular spheres
that will serve as sanctuaries. I believe God will raise many sons, school them
in the Scriptures and release upon them the prophetic spirit for building
spiritual edifices in the secular spheres. Many of these ones will be sent to
the business sector, media, education, political, arts and entertainment, to
build arks of preservation and sanctuaries of hope, to preserve the posterity

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of the righteous from getting lost to the flood of corruption that is
increasingly sweeping through the earth.

The prophets have the grace by God to reveal building patterns and they
work alongside God’s people to build structures that can house God’s
presence.

Ezra 6:14

“And the elders of the Jews builded and they prospered by the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of
Iddo. And they builded and finished it according to the
commandments of the God of Israel…”

Ezra 5:2

“Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua 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.”

Within the ranks of the building prophets are those whom the Lord will
use to prophesy building patterns like Moses did, and those whom the Lord
will give the spirit of wisdom like Bezalel and Aholiab to stand as craftsmen
to accurately build with the received pattern.

Below is a prophetic word I received from God to this effect in 2021.

THE CHURCH IS COMING INTO THE CREATIVE DIMENSIONS

OF WISDOM

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 “For about two weeks now, I have been hearing in my spirit "The rise of
Kingdom Advance Strategists." I began to search my spirit what the Lord
was saying. This afternoon, He said to me clearly, "The Church has known
the counselling dimension of wisdom, it's time for her to know the creative
dimension of wisdom. The Church has known the speaking - wisdom, she
must now know the doing - wisdom"

The Lord said to me, "The days coming upon the world will be darker.
The world will go harder against the Truth, the Church and the Christ.
Babylon seeks to make the world unbearable for the believers by devising
and inventing more acts and arts of rebellion against God."

This decade is a preparation decade for what is to come. It's a decade

where Babylon seeks to dominate the Church through "creations". Babylon
seeks to supply the basic things that make life comfortable in exchange for
Truth, justice and purity.

The strength of the enemy in the 21st century is not just the demonic
powers in high places, but their creative arts and acts, their models of
civilization, their systems for livelihood, their structures for communication
and relationship. The enemy seeks to raise lasting edifices rooted in
rebellion in the mountains of influence, with emphasis on media, education
and arts and entertainment. The Spirit of the Lord says, the strength of the
enemy's voice in this season is his creative powers.

It's a season of warfare of wisdom. Just like Moses in Egypt, the snakes
of creative wisdom will be cast and the one with the higher power from Zion
will swallow up that of Babylon.

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 The Lord said, "Church, add to your prayers, holiness and standing for
the truth, - creativity and creations. I am restoring the true order of your
priestly activities. For it is building first, before watching."

Psalms 127:1

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

Hitherto you have been watching in prayers against the gate of hell, but
I am now calling you to build models and create Spirit indwelling edifices
on earth to stand against the creations of Babylon at the gates of influence.

Let the builders arise and work with the watchmen. This is the strategy
for the Church's victory in this season. I am calling saviours to arise from
Zion, saviours in the order of Noah, who built the ark (first of its kind) an
edifice of salvation from a model received in the secret place.

I am calling you to build what the elements of the world cannot destroy,
what will stand the test of time, what will swallow up the creativity of
Babylon in its excellence, beauty and power.

The Lord gave me three key principles for Kingdom creatives in this
season:

1. Separate yourself and seek the Lord

Proverbs 18:1

“Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and

intermeddleth with all wisdom.”

2. Converge with other creatives

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 Let the creatives converge in clusters and there I will pour out the new
wine of my creative sparks.

Isaiah 65:8

“Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it…...”

3. Rise and build

Nehemiah 2:20

“Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven,
he will prosper us; therefore, we his servants will arise and
build...”

O2-02-2021

7. THE SINGING MINISTRY

Singing prophets are saints called into the prophetic office, who prophesy
through singing. Singing is an integral part of the Kingdom culture; it is one
of the ways that the saints express and manifest the creativity of God.
Prophets called to administer the prophetic grace through singing sings the
songs of the Lord to communicate the testimony of the Lord. Songs of the
Lord are spiritual songs that comes by the inspiration of the Spirit to reveal
the person of Christ, His finished works and the gospel.

There are two dimensions to the songs of the Lord, an expression is

focused on ministering to the Lord and the other is ministering to the Lord’s
people.

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 The songs of the Lord come by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is an
expression of the spirit of prophecy, a flow of the river of the Spirit. Receiving
and singing the songs of the Lord in the accuracy of the Spirit demands a
strong prayer life and an accurate understanding of Scripture and
redemption truth.

Like preaching, teaching, prophesying and intercession, singing is also

one of the streams of the prophetic office. It is one of the administrations of
the Word of the Lord to bring edification to God’s people, call men to
repentance and awaken hearts to God’s love.

David, the sweet psalmist of Israel was generally known as a king, but he
also stood in the office of the prophet. The administration of his prophetic
office was majorly through songs, singing and declaring the decrees of God.
David, the major author of the book of psalms who wrote 73 chapters out of
the 150 that there are, called himself the sweet psalmist of Israel as his
prophetic stream flowed through songs.

Acts 2:29 - 30

“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with
us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his
loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on
his throne”

2 Samuel 23:1 - 2

“Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse
said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of

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 the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said
the Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in
my tongue.”

David was a prophet who was highly musically inclined and this make up
of his was a tool that helped to discharge his ministry as one who speaks for
God. He was both a skilful and an anointed singer and instrumentalist,
whose ministration drove out disturbing demons from Saul. Through the
skilful playing of musical instruments and singing, he sees the visions of God
(which includes messianic visions), hear his voice and declare his decrees.
There is a flow of prophetic grace attached to singing, songs and music.

Psalms 49:4

“I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying

upon the harp.”

Another example of a prophet who administered God’s word through

singing is Moses. Moses wrote songs, spoke the words of songs and sang
songs in communicating God’s word to His people.

Exodus 15:1

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the
LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath
triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown
into the sea.”

Deuteronomy 31:22, 30

“Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the
children of Israel…. And Moses spake in the ears of all the

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 congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were
ended.”

The Lord so honoured the singing ministry of Moses that in the coming
days the overcomers will sing the songs of Moses. Moses was known for the
Law in his earthly ministry and even his mighty miracles which God did
through him in Egypt, however, his singing dimension remained highly
relevant across ages.

Revelation 15:3-4

“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the
song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of
saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship
before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”

The singing prophets give expression to the singing ministry of Jesus. Oh

yes! Jesus has a singing ministry, where He sings praise unto His father.
When we sing the songs of the Lord from the prophetic office, it can be to
praise and adore God and awaken hearts to do same.

Hebrews 2:11 - 12

“For both he (Christ) that sanctifieth and they who are

sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to
call them brethren, Saying, I (Christ) will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the church will I (Christ) sing praise
unto thee.” (My emphasis in bracket).

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 The other expression of the singing ministry of Jesus is that He rejoices
over the saints with singing. Here, through His prophets and prophetic
vessels He sings songs of his goodness, love, mercy, faithfulness to affirm and
establish our heart in faith and truth. Singing prophets are not just exhorters
who sings, these ones have a heightened measure of authority as ministry
gifts, to equip the saints through the stewardship of God’s manifold grace, by
singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save,
he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will
joy over thee with singing.”

Like other expression of the prophetic ministry, singing prophets are also
seers, they see as they sing, they see what they sing, they stir an atmosphere
of visions of God and deep encounters with Him through their sounds.
Scriptural examples are Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, David’s seers.

2 Chronicles 35:15

“And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place,

according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and
Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at
every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their
brethren the Levites prepared for them.”

Another example in recent time is God’s precious servant by the name

Kim Clement, who went to be with the Lord in 2016. While playing the
instrument and singing, he gets stirred in the spirit and prophesies over
nations, describing times and seasons by the Spirit of the Lord.

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 8. THE WRITING MINISTRY

Some prophets have the peculiar calling to write, I believe these once are
also called as teachers or have very strong teaching anointing. God loves to
preserves the truth for generations and one of the ways He has ordained that
this should be done is through the ministry of anointed writers. In the Bible,
majority of the books of the Old Testament were either written by prophets
or dedicated to the ministry of the prophets. Prophets write to exhort, teach
reveal what the Lord is doing and prophesy what’s to come.

Jesus didn’t write books; however, books were written to preserve His
teachings and the story of his days in the flesh, that generations may learn of
him and his lifestyle. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written to
preserve the teachings of Jesus and the story of his ministry in the days if His
flesh. Jesus’ life and ministry were foretold and the records were kept by
prophets who write on those who wrote on behalf of prophets.

Example or prophets who exercised the writing ministry in the Bible are
Moses and Samuel and in the New Testament, Paul and John who had very
strong prophetic anointing also wrote to reveal the truth of the Kingdom and
foretell what is to come.

John 5:46-47

For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he

wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye
believe my words?

1 Samuel 10:24

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 “Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and
wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel
sent all the people away, every man to his house.”

1 John 2:12-13

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven
you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye
have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write
unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.”

Across time, we have seen men who stood in the office of a prophet with
strong teaching edge and anointing. Example of such men is Kenneth Erwin
Hagin. He was called first as a prophet and a teacher of the Word of God.
Because of his teaching ministry, he wrote many books which have served as
important spiritual resources for the body of Christ across time. He wrote
extensively on spiritual growth, prayer, intercession, love, the anointing, how
to be led by the Holy Spirit, healing, and faith, to mention just a few. Another
is Bill Hamon, who has operated in the prophetic office for decades. He
played a crucial role in the restoration of accurate prophetic ministry in the
body of Christ in the late 90s. He is committed to training and equipping the
saints for accurate and scriptural prophetic flow and ministry. He is also a
prolific writer who has written extensively on the prophetic ministry, the end
time moves of God and the Church.

Another prophet in contemporary time with a strong scribal anointing is

Rick Joyner. His books (not all), are usually the products supernatural
visions the Lord showed him. His books are highly prophetic, doctrinal,
scriptural and revelatory; some of them are chronicles of his visions and
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encounters, revealing to the Church what is to come, how to prepare and how
to position for victory in the end times.

ORDINATIONS IN PROPHETIC MINISTRY

Does every prophet have to function in all the expressions of the prophetic
ministry?

From the study of the Scripture, we will notice that not all prophets
functioned in all the possible prophetic expressions in their ministry.
However, Jesus is our model and example, He is the embodiment of every
type of ministry that God is calling the disciples of Christ into.

Certain prophets are stronger in a particular prophetic expression than

the other. The place of heightened grace is different and unique for each
prophet, since there are no two prophets that are the same.

John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, the part of Elijah’s
anointing that he carried was the preaching anointing. The supernatural
grace to turn men to repentance. Elisha had a double portion of Elijah's
spirit, and he manifested a double portion anointing in the miraculous.

Samuel was a prophet of God training other sons of the prophet at Ramah
and prophesying when God sends him, to give personal word to specific
people, kings and the nation, and none of his words fell to the ground. He
also prepared manual for kings and kingdom in writing (1 Samuel 10:22-25).

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 Every prophet must discern his or her order of prophetic flow based on
God's ordination. If a prophet is designed to be primarily a teaching prophet
but he chooses to be an itinerary prophet travelling the nations prophesying
to kings and national leaders, such person will become frustrated, because
he doesn't have the grace of God for it.

The wisdom here is, do not have a limiting mindset and don’t be stuck to
a flow, be flexible in God’s hand, be a channel through which He can do
anything He wants to do at any time.

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 CHAPTER THREE

THE PROPHETIC IN THE LIGHT OF REDEMPTION

What is redemption?

• Redemption is the eternal game changer for fallen man and all of creation.
• Redemption is the full consequence of the birth, obedience, stripes,
crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension of Christ and His being
seated at the right hand of God.
• Redemption is the uniting of the Jews and Gentiles in one new man
through the blood of Jesus.
• Redemption is the purchasing of the world and reconciling them to God,
not just as His people but as His children.
• Redemption is the parting of the veil of separation that separated a Holy
God from an unholy people.
• Redemption is translation from darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear
son.
• Redemption is the reconciling of all things on earth and in heaven to
Christ.
• Redemption is making peace between God the creator and His creation.
• Redemption is the shed, offered and eternally speaking blood that has
made access to God available to all.
• Redemption is the salvation of man that he may share in the glory of the
eternal God.
• Redemption is the adoption of sons into the family of God.

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• Redemption is the calling, justification, sanctification and glorification of
humanity through faith in Christ and His finished works.
• Redemption is man having victory over sin, sickness, death, Satan and
hell, through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Redemption is the impartation of the faith of our Lord Jesus that
overcomes the world, into a son of man.
• Redemption is the son of God becoming son of man, that sons of men may
become sons of God.
• Redemption is the transitioning from law to grace and truth.
• Redemption is the transitioning from types and shadows forms of worship
to the reality of the body, which is Christ.
• Redemption is God coming to man, that may be able to approach the
presence of the holy God.
• Redemption is the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost.

We must be solid in the understanding of redemption. The devil will

continue to make a mess of believers who don't understand the full import of
redemption and maximizing all that it accords them. The death and
resurrection of Christ that sealed the reality of redemption is a game changer.
It brought a whole new order into the world. It brought to an end the old
order of fellowship with God and established a new order. It changed the
system of worship, it changed the system of praying, it changed the system
of personal fellowship with God.

A minister that is not grounded in the understanding of redemption will

handle the word of God imperfectly. Such may consistently fall into the
temptation of establishing in the hearts of men, the same thing they have
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been delivered from; law of carnal commandment, law of sin and death,
pointing to types and shadows as a way to God.

Prophets must be schooled and skilful in handling the word of grace, the
word of righteousness, which is the word of faith. The word of grace reveals
to us the finished works of Christ by which we have access to God, receive
eternal life and enjoy His blessings through faith in Christ. The gospel of
Christ which is the word of faith tells us that God is nigh and if we believe
with our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we shall be
saved. (Hebrews 5:13, Acts 20:32, Romans 10:8).

Redemption truth is foundational for every minister and ministry. It's the
basis for everything, it is the revelation of Christ, who is the chief corner
stone of the house that God is building, and the believers are the living stones
used for this building.

The gospel of Christ which is the revelation of redemption is the light by

which Christians should see, judge, discern, approve and disapprove things.
The gospel should be established in the heart of God's people because it
should be our sense of judgement of all things. To not understand the gospel
of Christ is to be vulnerable to deception by seducing spirits that lure people
away from the truth.

Prophets have the configuration for heightened interaction with the spirit
realm. Not everything in the spirit realm is of God, in the realm of the spirit
is the heavenly kingdom realm and the kingdom of darkness, hence, the need
to be rooted in scriptural truth.

Not every vision is from God, not every dream is from God, not every
perception is from God. But by taking every single thing through the filter of

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redemption, we will be able to accurately judge to know God's mind based on
His revealed will in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we see the summation of the will
of the Father. Christ is the very word of God, the will of God revealed and the
way to God made known.

Many so-called prophets have done many horrible things in the name of
“The prophetic.” It's something we have to deal with in my country, Nigeria
and continent, Africa. This has been a burden in my heart that led me to the
quest of finding out for myself what the Bible has to say about the prophetic
ministry and how Jesus modelled it for us. We have seen so called prophets
in Africa do inhumane and uncomely things to God's people. They rob the
flock, make an idol out of themselves for the people and subject the flock to
the bondage of ignorance, lest they know the truth and flee from these
ravenous wolves. Some of them are sincerely wrong, some of them are false
prophets, however, the understanding of the doctrine of Christ will help the
sincere prophets do things correctly and will expose the false prophets.

THE BALANCE

Prophets, as messengers of God's justice, must understand the difference

and balance of mercy and judgment, grace and works, types/shadows and
reality, truth and error, love and correction, humility and boldness,
meekness and true authority, persecution and rejection, gifts and fruits of
the Holy Spirit, submission and accountability, being a loner or in company.
This will keep the prophets within safe borders as they discharge the duties
of their God ordained ministry. Let's take a look at each of the above points.

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1. Mercy and Judgement

James 2:13

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed

no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

A prophet of God can be shown God's righteous judgment over a matter

concerning an individual, city or nation. But alongside that judgement is an
avenue for the reception of God's mercy. God by nature, tends towards mercy
rather than judgment that gives a man what he deserves for his wrong.

Prophets are messengers of God's justice, some of them are given a

measuring rod to check for accuracy of what men, ministries, cities and
nations are doing and to reveal the wisdom for precision and alignment with
God's order.

Revelation 11:1

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel
stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worship therein.”

Zechariah 2:1-2

“I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with
a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou?
And he said unto me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the
breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.”

In revealing the misappropriation of men's work, the consequences of

disobedience should be clearly stated, however, the way of repentance as a
ground for obtaining mercy should also be revealed. Prophets sometimes

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mix the pure word of God with their impure emotions; this makes them
misrepresent God. Prophets must learn how to put their bias and emotions
aside when stewarding prophetic words.

God judges the heart of a minister above his actions, and that a minister
is sincere doesn't mean he is accurate. Hence, every minister should receive
grace and mature in the understanding of God's nature, that he may
represent Him more accurately.

2. Grace and works

God’s servants must know and be confident in the goodness of God, our
Father, which is the foundation of all we will ever enjoy from God. There’s
nothing that beats God’s love and goodness towards humanity. In preaching
repentance, we are to make men see that God is extending grace to them on
the account of His goodness.

Romans 2:4

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance

and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?”

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast.”

No man can merit God’s grace, we cannot work for it, it is not a reward for
labour, but a show of God’s generous kindness and goodness towards
mankind. Of Christ’s fullness have we all received grace for grace (John 1:16).
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This grace is not unto lasciviousness, it’s the power of God at work in us that
we may live a life that please God. Grace is our unmerited access to God by
faith in Christ Jesus, our liberty to love God and live for Him, our divine
equipping to dominate over sin and walk in the truth. Grace came to help us
do the work of faith that pleases God, which principally is, working out our
salvation with fear and trembling because God is first at work in us to will
and do His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my

presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

3. Types, shadows and the reality

Colossians 2:16-17

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in

respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath
days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ.”

In the Old Testament, the law and the prophets sought to reveal the
heavenly dimension to us, but there's no perfect frame for it, there's no model
for reference. They could see into the heavenly, but there is no perfect
translation-medium that they could use to transport the realities of the
heavenly into the earth realm.

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 The best they could find was at best an earthly model that can, in a bit,
capture what the very essence of the heavenly looks like. This earthly model
is called types and shadows, they are pointers to the very nature and pattern
of heavenly things. However, they are weak in the administration of the
heavenly, since the heavenly is celestial and the earthly is terrestrial. Types
and shadows are earthly forms that seeks to reveal a heavenly image.

These earthly forms could reveal the glory and strength of the heavenly in
measures. However, it's nothing compared to the very heavenly image. These
earthly forms are ordained by God as a sign post to the heavenly. They are
not an end in themselves and their destiny is temporal, they are made to pass
away with time. Only the heavenly in itself is eternal and will remain relevant
across ages and over time everlasting.

God gave the prophets insight and wisdom to capture the heavenly reality
in earthly form, so people can use that as a temporal mechanism of relating
with the divine and the spiritual. Examples of these are the tabernacle of
Moses, the temple of Solomon, the seven feast of Israel (Passover,
unleavened bread, first fruits, Pentecost, trumpet, atonement, tabernacles)
and others. All these are symbols pointing to Christ, their ordination is to tell
us that there's a heavenly pattern who is a person, when He comes, receive
Him. That heavenly pattern is Jesus, the pattern Son of God, the firstborn of
every creation, the creation model for all things whether earthly or heavenly.

Jesus, who is the reality of things that the Old Testament foreshadowed,
had come to the earth fulfilled His assignment and ascended to heaven. By
His death and resurrection, He didn't only deliver us from sin and death, He
also delivered us from being bound to the types and shadows that testified of
Him. Now we can have a living fellowship with the heavenly pattern revealed

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on earth in the person of the very Son of God. Everything created on earth
testifies of Him, the instituted earthly forms also. However, we are no longer
bound to the earthly. For Christ has sent into our hearts His very Spirit, who
knows Him in fullness to testify of Him to us that we may take on His nature
and appear in His image.

The witness of the types and shadows does not have the efficiency to
transform the soul of man, it only strengthens the awareness of God and
outward worship of Him. But Christ has come now, He is the more excellent
way to the Father. The veil is rent now, we can now clearly see the Kingdom,
heaven is opened to us now, we can go in and out and have pasture that our
souls may find rest and restoration.

Prophets should not be bound by the old order of worship and earthly
forms. We can gain understanding of spiritual things by studying the things
written for our admonition, however, the centre of our conversation of faith
is the reality, Christ Himself and not the sign post that leads us to Him.

4. Truth and Error

John 16:13

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things
to come.”

The Spirit of truth, who is the Holy Spirit indwelling the children of God,
is a witness sent from heaven to guide us into all Truth. This witness doesn't

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speak of Himself but speaks only what Christ is saying. He is the same Spirit
of prophecy that testifies about Christ.

Revelation 19:10

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see
thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that
have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of prophecy, His work is to testify about Jesus
and to give expression to what Jesus testifies. He is the Spirit that broods
upon true prophetic operations, actions and utterance. He is the Spirit that
moves holy men of God, causing them to speak in a certain way. His work is
to testify about Jesus, every of His action is to make Jesus famous and
revealed. When the spirit of prophecy is at work in a place, we see the values
and characters of Jesus in display. In such place, error is far from sight.

Error is anything that cannot be found in Christ and that negates the
values, character, testimony and doctrine of Christ.

1 John 4:1-6

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world.

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 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are
of the world: therefore, speak they of the world, and the world
heareth them.

We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not

of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and
the spirit of error.”

The spirit of error is the spirit that makes people to do things in a way that
their actions does not exalt the testimony of Jesus coming to the world in the
flesh. It is the spirit at work when people’s actions, utterances and ministries
stand against what Jesus represents in the days of His flesh and what His
death and resurrection has made available to men.

5. Love and Rebuke

One of the reasons why the word of God comes to us is to bring rebuke,
reprove or correction (2 Timothy 3:6). Correction is one of the expressions
of the Father's love to His child. Correction in righteousness is God's mercy
revealed to save a man from perdition.

Revelation 3:19

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore,

and repent.”

When the reason for rebuke is love and the manner of rebuke is firm, it
produces the fruits of repentance. Prophets bringing correction by prophetic
word must know that God's love over the offender is abundant. He doesn't
delight in making the offender an object of public shame, neither does He

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intend to hurt the person's emotion with poorly delivered prophetic word.
Rather, He wants to communicate His love to the offender in a way that the
person will be restored. Prophetic words of reproof must be delivered with
honour, love, grace, godly fear and meekness.

6. Humility and Boldness

1 Corinthians 2:3-4

“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much

trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power.”

Prophets and prophetic people must learn how to successfully be the

blend of humility and boldness. God resist the proud but gives grace to the
humble - James 4:6. The humility of a minister is his pathway into abundant
grace for ministry.

Ministers will have to learn how to consistently overcome the temptation

of pride and haughtiness. The prophetic ministry has a sense of drawing
attention to the minister because of the manifestations of the gifts of the
Spirit. But the minister must learn to consistent return the glory to God and
give God the praise for using him. Humility helps the minister to consciously
put on a cloak that conceals in measure, the brightness of God's glory through
him, so that men's attention will not be focused on him, causing them to
make a god out of him.

Humility is not timidity, shyness or thinking less of one self; it is choosing

to think of yourself less, choosing to continually feel privileged to be used by

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God. Through humility, the minister must learn to always do what God sends
him with boldness and as one with authority from God; just as Jesus is the
perfect blend of a ferocious victorious lion and a meek lamb.

7. Meekness and True Authority

Matthew 11:29

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Our Lord Jesus, walked the earth as a meek and lowly hearted man. True
authority doesn't come by usurping authority or manipulation. Those who
come to a place of authority by the gimmicks of the flesh will have to
discharge their duties through the works of the flesh.

True humility in the Kingdom comes by stooping low, thinking of oneself

less, not overly consumed about the thought of oneself. Meekness is the
outward expression of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. A meek man
attracts God, and God commits great authority to him, an example is Moses.
Moses was called the meekest man on earth and God committed great
authority to him.

Numbers 12:3

“Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which
were upon the face of the earth.”

Isaiah 66:1-2

“Thus saith the LORD, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is
my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and

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 where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but
to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite
spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

True authority in the Kingdom is a function of intimacy with the Father.

Meekness draws men close to God in the place of intimacy, it is a product of
consistent yielding in obedience to God and it brings us to a place of Kingdom
trustworthiness.

8. Persecution and Rejection

Matthew 23:34

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men,

and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and
some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and
persecute them from city to city”

Persecution is one of the packages that prophets are called to endure for
the sake of their Master. The root cause of persecution of true prophets is
this, they speak from God, and those who know God receive them and what
they say, but those who know not God reject them and what they say. The
world will hate the prophets because they testify that their works are evil.

John 15:18-19

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated
you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but
because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you.”

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 A prophet must learn to have the right attitude during persecution.
Persecution is one of the ways God works true dependence on Him and
brokenness in the prophet. The anchor of a prophet should not be the
people’s love for him, but the Father's love for him. His strength should be in
the authority of God not in the acceptance of men. Prophets who desperately
seek men's acceptance stand at risk of becoming the people's prophet who
says what their itching ears wants to hear and not God's prophet, who says
what God is saying.

Persecution can really hurt us, but when we are hurt, we can seek God and
be healed or move into the dark cloud of rejection and offence. The love of
God is the antidote that brings succour during persecution. A minister who
responds to rejection with the wrong attitude will make his heart a fertile soil
for the root of bitterness to grow. Bitterness is a root with deadly fruits, no
godly man should desire to have such fruits.

Matthew 5:11-12

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you.”

One of the excuses of God for rewarding His prophet is the right response
to persecution. Jesus said, “Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad!” That is a
command that is hard to obey to a man who is strong in the flesh. The more
we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, the easier it becomes to obey such
commandment. When men speak against you and call you names for things
you didn't do to please them, rejoice! When men call you occultist, accuse
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you of hypnotism, and all manner of ignoble things, be glad, because your
reward is great is heaven. It is actually a privilege to be persecuted for the
Lord's sake.

Sometimes, persecution makes the minister begin to think nobody likes

him or nobody receives his ministry and that is not true. Paul had the greatest
persecution of his life while with the Jews, but the gentiles welcomed him
and loved him. It will be wrong to say nobody liked him. Every minister has
a message and grace customized for a kind of people, the people to whom you
are sent will receive you in honour, hear your words and bless the Lord for
sending you their way.

Also, persecution is not chastisement that comes with wrong actions, or

the recompense for one's wrong deed. It is rather the suffering that comes on
the account of one's service to God through other human vessels. Prophets
who are proud, will call a correction or reprove by other ministers,
persecution. If you are in this category, you need o repent.

9. Gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.”

1 Corinthians 12:7-10

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to

profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

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 to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of
healing by the same Spirit; 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.”

To have a grip on these two realities of the Spirit in and at work through
you, is a proof of spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is not having one
without the other. Godliness is not a form of character that is devoid of power
and it is also not the manifestation of power that is devoid of Christ like
character.

Majority of the time, the glory of the gifts of the Spirit tends to overwhelm
the consciousness of a minister, that if care is not taken, he may not pay
attention to whatever is out of line in his character, choosing to believe that
he is fine because of the manifestations in his ministry.

Ministers must take the place of growing in Christ like character serious,
that is the foundation for accurately representing God before His people. A
minister must not fall into the deception that gifts of the Spirit has excused
him from Christ like character by saying, "If my love for money or sexual
impurity is a problem, will God use me the way He is using me?". This is
clearly the pathway of deception.

God wants His children to take on His nature, His nature is seen in the
character of Christ and the power of Christ.

Fruit of the Spirit are grown with time, fruits grow as we pay attention to
them, watering them by fellowshipping with the Word and cultivating them

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by much prayers and having a determination towards obeying God's word
when it is convenient or not.

We grow in the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit through consistent

exercise of the gifts through faith. In the same way, we must allow the fruit
of the Spirit grow through faith and exercise. It is the same God life finding
expression in different ways. The same way we practice prophesying, we
must also practice gentleness as we depend on the divine ability within us -
The Holy Ghost.

10. Submission and Accountability

In the New Testament order of worship, the prophets are one of the
headships/governmental ministries of Christ given to men; namely the
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Teacher and Pastors. The safety of each of
the ministry is in mutual submission and accountability to one another.

God will not trust much authority to a man who sees himself as sovereign
authority, a man who can't take counsel, who can't be corrected or feels he
knows it all. A prophet is most beautiful in his God ordained company, that's
the place where he multiplies strength, where his vision becomes clearer, his
revelation more robust and his voice amplified. God has placed the
structures of accountability in the church to help a man walk the path of true
humility.

Accountability goes beyond fellowshipping together. It is the conscious

submission of one's ministry, revelation and message for the scrutiny of
other apostles, prophets and elders. God does not do anything in isolation.
Whatever the Lord is doing with one member is a cooperate reality, so, every

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member should be able to trust Christ in his brothers (those in position of
authority who are consistent with God) enough to submit his spiritual
perceptions when necessary.

Paul had strong revelatory encounters by which God revealed the

mysteries of Christ and the Kingdom to him. He said at different point that
the gospel which he preached, he didn't receive it from any man through
teaching, but from the Lord through divine revelation. Though he was a man
of great supernatural visions and revelation, yet he wasn't afraid to check the
things he received with the foremost apostles to be sure he is not running in
vain. After he returned from Arabia, he went to table his revelations for
scrutiny. Also, 14 years into his ministry, with more encounters and
revelation, he yet returned to Jerusalem to submit his revelations for scrutiny
again. (2 Corinthians 12:2, Galatians 1:11-19, Galatians 2:1-2)

Galatians 2:1-2

“Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with

Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by
revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I
preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of
reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.”

For this same purpose, Paul admonished that when two or three prophets
speak, the others should judge. A minister who is afraid or being accountable
will be afraid of his prophecy being judged by others. This is a wrong attitude
of pride and insecurity. A minister should be secured in the Lord who called
him and reveals things to him.

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Fear of being accountable and submissive is a proof of insecurity and pride.
Accountability is designed to be multi-layered, first to God, to the elders and
to the brethren. Submission of revelations we receive (especially those that
we don't have firm scriptural backings for) is necessary, these revelations can
be submitted to the judgement of respected apostles, prophets and elders
with credible and proven ministries, just as Paul did.

11. Being in Isolation or in Company

Prophets have to consistently overcome the temptation of being in

isolation. They must give themselves to the word of the Lord on not forsaking
the assembling together of the brethren.

Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to

good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so
much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

The idea of being a loner and best in isolation is from the devil and has no
bearing in the New Testament model of worship. I believe every prophet have
to be a part of a local assembly. It is deception to think that you don't need
the body and yet you want to be a blessing to the body. Every prophet should
be an active part of a church gathering that they are accountable to. When
the devil wants to mess up a man, he puts him in isolation, his strength is
least in isolation and the devil can strike best then.

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 In Old Testament, there were company of prophets and sons of prophets,
these are the structures put in place to make prophets accountable and be a
part of a spiritual family for their total wellbeing.

1 Samuel 19:20

“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.”

Psalms 68:6

“God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which

are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.”

God doesn't desire that His children and servants be solitary, God is
intentional about family and desires that all those that are called by His name
should have a spiritual family they belong and a place they can call home.
Home is the place where you can be yourself without a pressure to perform,
where you can be groomed to be your best, where people watch out for one
another, where everybody matters, the place of rest, renewal of strength, and
furnishing for one's ministry. Every prophet needs a spiritual home.

12 Prophetic Acts and Doctrine

James 2:20

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is
dead?”

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 There’s the works of faith that sometimes come as an instruction from a
prophetic word. However, prophetic people must be rooted in the doctrine
of grace so much to know that, faith only receives what grace has made
available. Prophetic instructions as spoken by the Spirit through human
vessels may offend our minds, but if there’s a witness of the Spirit and it
aligns with righteousness, peace and joy, then it should be obeyed in faith
and testimonies will follow.

Elisha telling Naaman to go wash in Jordan, and Jesus telling the man
who was blind from birth to go wash in the pool of Siloam were prophetic
instructions that had to be obeyed by works of faith, or else the blessings
accrued to obedience will be forfeited. (2 kings 5:9-14, John 9:1-7).

Usually, prophets are God’s yes men and they are not called to make
sense, they are called to do God’s will. Prophets are usually seen as weirdos
and mad men, just as the Jews said about Jesus.

Mark 3:20-21 GNT

“Then Jesus went home. Again, such a large crowd gathered

that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. When his family
heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people
were saying, “He's gone mad!””

Hosea 9:7

“The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are

come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual
man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great
hatred.”

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 Prophets across the Bible carried out prophetic actions signifying
prophetic messages; Jeremiah placing a yoke around his neck signifying
bondage, Ezekiel’s journey from home signifying an exile for Israel, Hosea
and his unfaithful wife signifying God and unfaithful Israel, Moses’ serpent
of brass signifying Jesus on the cross for salvation, Agabus tying his hands
and feet with a belt signifying Paul’s coming persecution, Jesus breaking the
unleavened bread and using the fruit of the vine to signify His body and
blood. All these are prophetic acts to communicate God’s intention and will.
The common place of all these actions is that, none of them negate God’s
word. Prophetic actions are actions inspired by the Spirit of prophecy who is
also the Spirit of Truth that guides us into all Truth. Hence, prophetic actions
inspired by God’s Spirit will reflect God’s nature, character, word and
authority.

We have seen and heard of prophets doing uncomely things in the name
of prophetic actions. The Holy Ghost will not ask a man to touch a woman in
uncomely place nor ask a minister to rob the sheep forcefully, using
gimmicks to take what they have from them. It is therefore wrong to treat the
sheep with dishonour and contempt in the name of prophetic actions. We
must also be weary of prophets that instruct people to carry out certain
actions that tends to divination. Let’s be content with believing the word and
receiving God’s blessing by faith in the Word.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

PROPHETS AND PROPHECIES

The word of the Lord came to John (the beloved), who was called an
apostle but also clearly operated as a prophet of the Lord Jesus. The word
came to him through an angel in a visionary encounter.

Revelations 10:10-11

"And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up;
and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had
eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, thou must
prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues,
and kings."

This scripture talks about the prophetic ministry and prophecies. The
prophet can be sent from God with a word to certain persons and group of
people, both in the church and outside the church. Also, he can be sent to
nations (countries, cities), tongues (certain people group), and kings (world
leaders, national leaders and heads of people group). This prophetic coverage
is captured in the prophetic ministry in the Scriptures.

Before we look at the reason prophets prophesy, let's study the subject of
prophecy a bit.

PROPHECY EXPLAINED

Prophecy is an inspired utterance spoken in a known tongue. The

inspiration of every true prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit. Prophecy is

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God's word spoken through human vessels or messengers. Anyone who is
born of God has the potential to prophesy, however, the prophets have the
primary assignment in the body to be the eyes and the mouth, seeing what
God is saying and declaring it.

The gift of prophecy on its own has no element of revelation, it's more of
forthtelling as inspired to bring edification, exhortation, and comfort to
God's people

1 Corinthians 14:3

“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and

exhortation, and comfort.”

The gift of prophecy on its own will sound like, "I perceive the Lord is
saying you should trust Him with what you are going through. Help is on the
way".

The prophetic ministry usually operates with the gift of prophecy

alongside other revelatory gifts of the Spirit; word of knowledge, word of
wisdom, and discerning of spirits. The prophetic ministry does more than
forth telling by the gift of prophecy, it also brings prophetic revelation of the
past and present details through word of knowledge and the revelation of
what is to come and how to prepare for it through the word of wisdom.

Paul revealed nine gifts of the Spirit in his epistle to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to

another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another
faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the
same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another
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 prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers
kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.”

The prophesying ministry of the prophets usually involve the

manifestation of divers’ gifts of the Holy Spirit, some of which are;

1. Gift of prophecy: The speaking forth of God's mind to bring

encouragement, comfort, and edification. It is the utterance inspired by the
Holy Spirit spoken in a known language.

2. Word of knowledge: The revelation of the details in the mind of God as

touching the past and present through the Holy Spirit.

3. Word of wisdom: The revelation of the details in the mind of God as

touching the future or what is to come and how to prepare for it. This is a
foretelling dimension of prophecy.

4. Discerning of spirits: This is the supernatural ability to discern and

relate with the realm of the spirit where God, angels and demons operate
from.

5. Divers kinds of tongues: This is the utterance inspired by the Holy

Spirit in an unknown tongue that needs interpretation to be understood.

6. Interpretation of tongues: This is the supernatural ability to interpret

unknown language spoken by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

7. Faith: This is the supernatural confidence in God that allows His

messengers speak forth His word with boldness and authority. Let him that
prophesy do so according to the measure of faith (Romans 12:6).

The prophesying ministry of the prophet is one that is to be treated with

much fear and trembling as one seeks to fulfil his ministry. It is a fearful thing

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to say, "Thus says the Lord," when He hasn't spoken, such offence has the
penalty of being stoned to death in the days of the law. This calls for humility
and brokenness in the prophets as God gives grace to the humble but resist
the proud (James 4:6).

The prophet's ministry captures the forthtelling and fore telling

dimensions of prophecy. They can speak forth what God is saying that has
nothing to do with the future and also the words that have everything to do
with the future. The prophets in the Scripture revealed this to us, even our
Lord Jesus both forthtold and foretold.

The life and ministry of Jesus was wrapped around prophecies spoken
centuries before He showed up. His birth, growing up, death, burial,
resurrection, were foretold by prophets. If our master so needed the ministry
of prophets to fulfil His destiny, then none of those who belong to Him will
do much if they don't accept and receive the ministry of prophets that God
sends their way, part of which is to reveal what is to come about their lives.
Little wonder Jesus instructed that we should receive a prophet in the name
of a prophet, and we will get a prophet's reward (Matthew 10:41). Part of a
prophet's reward is revealing God’s mind through prophecy.

WHY DO PROPHETS PROPHESY?

1. To encourage: Prophecies spoken by God's messengers comes with

grace to impart encouragement to the receiver of the prophetic word in faith
(1 Corinthians 14:3).

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2. To edify: Prophecy is the word of God spoken through His human
vessels. God's word has the innate ability to edify or build up those who
receive it in faith (1 Corinthians 14:3, Acts 20:32).

3. To comfort: The word of God brings comfort to the weary soul. Prophecy
has a way of searching the depth of the soul, the thoughts and intents of the
heart to release peace and comfort to the place of need (1 Corinthians 14:3,
Isaiah 40:1-2).

4. To call to repentance: One of the assignments of the prophet is to call

people to turn from idol and sin and to turn to God in repentance. This was
a primary message of the prophets of old. Prophecy can call people's
attention to their sins (in an honourable way) and show the sinners the way
to freedom (Matthew 3:2, 4:17).

5. To instruct in the will of God: Prophecy is God's word spoken, and the
word of God brings instructions. Instructions that come via prophecy must
align with the truth of the Scripture, must be judged and obeyed, if found
valid and accurate. Elisha telling Naaman to go dip in Jordan river seven
times to receive his healing; Jesus telling the man that was blind to go wash
in the pool of Siloam to be healed, are prophetic instructions. (2 Kings 5:10,
John 9:7).

6. To unveil people's destiny: "Prophecy connects you with your eternal

version"- Shawn Boltz. Prophets have the authority by God's Spirit to read
from people's destiny scrolls and reveal heaven's ordination and what God
has prepared beforehand. Jesus came to live from the volume of the books as
was written of Him by God and read by prophets before He was born.
(Hebrews 10:7, Psalms 139:16 TPT).

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7. To define assignments and ministries: God does send His prophetic
messengers to you to reveal His secrets about your life that you are either
aware of before or oblivious of. Ananias was sent by God to heal Paul of his
blindness and to reveal his assignment to him. (Acts 22:12-16).

8. To commission people for divine assignment: Prophecy can be

used to set people apart publicly; whom God has called for certain
assignment. Samuel, through prophecy, anointed David in the presence of
his brothers (1 Samuel 16:12-13). Certain prophets and teachers were
gathered in Antioch and prophecy came for the commissioning of Paul and
Barnabas for their apostolic ministry (Acts 13:1-4). Such commissioning is
usually carried out through prophecy and the laying on of hands of the
presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14).

9. To direct: The word of God has the capacity to bring direction. However
way it comes, study of Scripture, inward witness, dream, prophecy, etc. God
can send His prophetic messenger with His word of direction to lighten up
darkness and confusion. Elisha the prophet gave a prophecy of direction of
what to do when there was drought in Israel (2 Kings 3:14-20).

10. To confirm: In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be
established (2 Corinthians 13:1). Prophecy from God's servants can come to
establish our perception of God's voice or word or leading in our spirits.
Prophecy can come to strengthen our conviction in the will of God and
strengthen our faith in what God has said (Hebrews 2:3, Acts 15:32).

11. To rebuke, correct and warn: God can send His prophet to rebuke
those who are not in His will, to correct those who are erring and to warn
those on the path of destruction. All of these are to be done in God’s
redemptive character. The ministry of the word of God does all these and it
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can come through His anointed and inspired messengers. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2
Samuel 12:1-15).

12. To declare God’s judgement: God can send His prophets to declare
the consequence of people’s disobedience and rebellion against Him to them.
The prophets are also equipped with God’s sword of justice, they are jealous
about the justice of the Lord and declare His righteous judgement (Acts 5:1-
10, Psalms 149:6-9).

THE MINISTRY OF PROPHETS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

The ministry of the prophets (divinely inspired spokesmen) does not, will
not, and cannot replace the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The prophet himself
can do nothing except what he sees the Holy Spirit doing (John 5:19 - 20).

The prophet is not the one sent to lead the church into all Truth, that is
the sole ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit resides in
every believer to guide and lead them in the will of God. As many as are led
by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans 8:14) and the Spirit bears
witness with our spirit affirming who we are and what we should do in Christ.

The church has a head; her head is Christ through the Spirit. The church
(saints) should be solely dependent on God's Spirit to lead, guide, and direct
her in God's will. It is immaturity that makes a believer goes from prophet A
to prophet B, to prophet C seeking to know what every Jack that answers the
title of prophet has to say about him or her. Many people have fallen into a
pool of confusion, having received different presumptuous word from
different so-called prophets.

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 By intention, God has set the ministry of the prophets in the church to
reveal the now word of the Lord to God's people, to guide the cooperate
church by way of prophesying, alongside apostles, into the current emphasis
of the Spirit over the church. The prophets are also to train God's people on
how to hear God for themselves and how to relate with the Kingdom realm
of the Spirit, thus, edifying and equipping them for the work of the ministry.

The inward witness and the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts are the
inward supplies of the Holy Spirit to us. But prophecies that come to us are
the outward supplies of the Holy Spirit through others to us. Both are centred
on helping us to hear what God is saying, to obey and to continue in His Love.
Both the Holy Spirit and the prophets are God's witnesses to His people;

Acts 5:32

"We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Ghost whom
God has given to them that obey Him."

It is therefore okay to ask a proven prophet or a prophetic person to pray

alongside with you over a matter and tell you what God says or reveals. But
it is not okay to consistently seek confirmations over every little thing
because you don’t know what God is saying to you. It is also not okay to
pressurize or cajole prophetic people to give you a word. They may give you
a presumptuous or false prophecy. It is also not okay to pay a prophet for
prophecy. A prophet that demands money to prophesy is serving his belly
and has no place with God.

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 JUDGING PROPHECIES

Prophesying is important to the church. For this reason, Paul admonished

that the saints in Corinthians should desire spiritual gifts, especially that they
prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1). He also exhorted the saints in Thessalonica
not to despise prophesying (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

Paul by the Spirit, revealed that we should embrace prophecy and

prophesying, but at the same time, he told us that prophecies should be
judged (1 Corinthians 14:29). Judging prophecy does not mean we dishonour
prophets; we are obeying the Scripture and want to ascertain God's perfect
will.

What we are admonished to judge is prophecy, not the prophets. Who are
we to judge another man's servant? (Romans 14:4). However, the Scripture
instructs us to test the spirit by which a prophecy is inspired because many
false prophets have gone into the world (1 John 4:1). Hence, we judge
prophecies and we test the spirits of prophets. But who are those that can
accurately judge prophecy?

1 Corinthians 14:29

"Let the prophets speak two or three, and the others judge."

1 Corinthians. 14:37

"If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him

acknowledge that the things I write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord."

Those that can accurately judge prophecies are other prophets, prophetic
presbytery, and those that are spiritual (mature in the things of the Spirit)

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and have an accurate understanding of the word of God. It takes more than
accurate theology to judge prophecy, it demands an intimate walk with God
and an accurate understanding and knowledge of prophetic operations.

There are three basic checks for accuracy of prophecies, they are;

- Prove all things.

- Test the spirit.

- Check the inward witness.

1. Prove all things

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

"Despise not prophesying, prove all things; hold fast that which
is good"

The injunction to despise not prophesying is followed by, prove all things.
This is because, before prophecies are received as the word of the Lord, they
should be tested and proven. We prove prophecies by taking them through
the sieve of the Scripture of Truth. If a prophecy does not align with the
nature of God, the consistent character of God, the truth of redemption, then
it should not be accepted as the word of God.

Here is what Paul said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed" - Galatians 1:8. It is the same way if any man prophesies a
thing that is different from the truth preached to us in the gospel of truth, let
the word not be accepted. The Scripture is the ultimate book of prophecy

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from where every other prophecy should derive their confirmation through
the Holy Spirit (Revelation 22:7, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

2. Test the spirit

1 John 4:1-3

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And
every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is not of God..."

Every prophecy from God must testify to and exalt the birth, crucifixion,
burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and all that they accomplished.
The true spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus – Revelation 19:10.

Revelation 19:10

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see
thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that
have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Every true prophetic word, bear witness to the person of Christ and His
finished works. Any prophecy that says or proclaim otherwise is a word from
the spirit of the anti-Christ.

3. Check the inward witness

Acts 5:32
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 "We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Ghost"

When a believer is receiving a true prophetic word, he would be hearing

the prophet with his ears and the Holy Spirit with his heart, in other words,
he should receive two witnesses; the witness of the prophet (prophecy), and
the witness of the Holy Spirit (inward witness). The witness of the Spirit is a
sense of knowing that is traceable to God, such that, even if the word is not
fully understood, one can tell that it's from God because His Spirit confirmed
it in one's heart.

To read more on judging prophecy for better understanding, you can get
my book titled, "Let All Prophesy; a comprehensive exposition on prophecy,
prophesying, and prophetic people."

Lastly, every prophecy should be judged no matter who gave it. Peter
prophesied that Jesus is the son of God and shortly afterwards he yielded to
the spirit of error, spoke by a false spirit and Jesus had to say to him, get thee
behind me, Satan (Matthew 16:16, 23). That a man has an accurate prophetic
word yesterday, doesn't mean that today's prophetic word will be accurate.
Men are men, and at their best they are men helped by God. Prophets, like
other men are fallible and imperfect, journeying to perfection.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

PROPHETS AND INTERCESSIONS

Jeremiah 27:18

“But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with

them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that
the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the
house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to
Babylon.”

Luke 22:31-32

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren.”

Jesus is our model for true and accurate prophetic ministry. To

understand the full import of the office and ministry of the prophet, we must
consider Jesus: His life, pattern and the way He discharged the duties of His
prophetic ministry.

The office of a prophet is that which is blessed with God's abundant grace
to reveal Christ, to see into the future, to know details of things that are set
in motion in the realm of the spirit to play out in time.

The beauty of a prophet is in his ability to know and to discern things

supernaturally and the glory of the prophet is in his ability to share in God's

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secrets, as God will not do anything until He reveals it to His servants, the
prophets (Amos 3:7).

Prophets alongside the apostles have the special calling to stewards God's
mysteries and reveal His secrets to His people. They don't have to do
something extraordinary to access this knowledge, it's within the context of
their calling and ordination. As they walk with God in obedience, purity,
living daily in the Spirit and being prayerful (which is God's prerequisite for
every true disciple who follows Him), this divine ability of God will be
manifested through their lives.

Every believer in Christ Jesus is born into the heavenly Kingdom as Jesus
told Nicodemus in John 3:3. Hence, the believer in Christ Jesus is meant to
be an active participant in the things happening in the Spirit. The realm of
the spirit is superior in civilization, power and authority than the realm of
the physical. Those who have consistent victories in their lives are those who
have learnt to be active in the Spirit, and by their consciousness of that realm,
they can allow and disallow things using God's will, revealed by His Spirit
and in His word.

God's prophets are specifically ordained to walk on earth with an active

discernment of the spirit realm. This is in reality, the inheritance of all
believers, however, because of the specificity of the assignment of the
prophet, he is configured to live in both realms simultaneously. This is the
reason why many call prophets weird, strange, mystics, crazy and all. What
is normal for them because of their configuration and make up, is what some
people call unusual and weird.

God has given the prophets this special ability for a reason. This is one of
the reasons why the prophets are called the eyes of the body. Eyes are used
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for seeing, gazing, looking, discerning, sensing, judging, and watching. Their
ministry entails seeing in the Spirit to bring information, counsel,
instruction, direction, strategies for advancement to God's people. Although,
their primary assignment is to fellowship with the heart of the Father.

Ranking in the office of a prophet is not a measure of how well a man can
see into the spirit realm. Ranking is a measure of proximity to the heart of
the Father. Ranking is not measured by how accurate a prophet gives word
of knowledge, it's rather how well can a prophet stay in God's presence, listen
to His heart and communicate His message to His people with the right
words, emotion, mannerism, and authority that comes from intimacy. It is
worthy of note that true prophetic authority comes from intimacy with the
Father through His Spirit.

Based on ordinations and configuration, prophets are naturally seers, but

not all seers are prophets. In the New Testament, every saint is configured –
a seer; they can see visions, see the Kingdom of God, and see God from a pure
heart. (Joel 2:28, John 3:3, Matthew 5:8).

A mature prophet is one who has learnt how to exercise himself to see in
the Spirit through praying, watching, meditation and spending quality time
in God’s presence. The strength of the prophet is the strength of his secret
place. A prophet who has authority with God and has learnt to position
himself to see what God is saying will be a huge blessing to God's people. He
will be able to see and operate in the spirit realm and he will have the
authority by the Holy Spirit to intercept things in the realm of the Spirit
which will in turn cause a ripple effect on the earth realm.

Jesus as our model for the prophetic ministry combines the two in His
life. He was able to see into the realm of the spirit to tell what God was doing
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and intercept what Satan was doing. Scripture told us, He had a prophetic
revelation about Peter and told him what He saw, but beyond that, He also
mentioned what He did.

Luke 22:31-32

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren.”

God permitted Jesus to see what Satan was planning and desiring to do to
Peter, with the intention that Jesus will intercept and annul the actualization
of that plan, and that was exactly what the prophet did.

Prophets that will do well must learn the Jesus style of ministry, there's
no glory in prophesying the devil's plan without revealing the redemptive
plan of God accompanying it. The most precious part of that prophetic word
to Peter is not the revelation of the devil's plan, rather the revelation of God's
redemptive power on the account of intercession.

This is the reason I would say that, seeing into the spirit and discerning
things supernaturally is the lowest expression of the prophetic grace,
although highly significant. To see in the realm of the spirit without active
participation to either establish or dismantle is tantamount to one being a
spectator. The best of what he has to offer is the announcement of the results
of other people's engagements.

It is one thing to go to a football stadium to watch a football match and it

is another thing to go to a football stadium to play a match. The two will have
something to talk about, a concise narration of the event. However, the one

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who came to watch has no input whatsoever in the event, but the one who
came to play can be the reason the narration of the story of the football match
will be worth it, especially if he scored a goal.

God is throwing an invitation to His prophetic people to the 'stadium of

the Spirit' not to be a spectator or observer now, but to be an active player in
the game. The actions of God's prophetic people in the realm of the spirit can
be the game changer.

There are a group of prophetic people who operate at the level of narrating
what's happening in the realm of the spirit and this is good, but not the best
God offers them. There is another group who make things happen in the
realm of the spirit, they bear upon their shoulders the government of the
King. They are warriors, they are a great army, they are royal priesthood.
These are the ones who make things happen, their place is in the forefront of
God's agenda, they may not have a loud ministry platform on the earth, but
heaven knows their name, hell knows too.

Ever wondered why demons will mention that they knew Jesus and Paul?

Acts 19:15

“And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul
I know; but who are ye?”

The reason is, Jesus and Paul had made things happen in the spirit realm
that had their names registered in the dark realm as “Colossal threat and
terrors.” More than ever before, God needs His prophetic people to upgrade
from mere seeing into the spirit to intercepting the enemies plans and
establish God's plan.

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 Prophets must mature to a place where there is no joy for the
manifestation of evil prophesies that they gave, especially when it can be
averted or at the least made less effectual. As prophets, when we come to
understand that every accurate supernatural knowledge we receive is for a
reason and we are stewards that will give account, the more we discharge our
ministries with fear and trembling.

Jesus saw an evil that Satan was planning, it wouldn't have been out of
place if Jesus told him the enemy’s plan and at the same time, added that he
should go pray so the enemy's plan can be averted. But instead Jesus said, I
have prayed for you. I personally believe Jesus did this for two reasons,

1. It is the seer’s ministry to intercede.

2. Jesus was Peter's master; He exercised His leadership authority to stand

in gap for Peter.

Jesus prayed, and His prayer was answered. However, Peter was tested
but his faith in God's ability to take him back after betraying Jesus didn't fail.
Jesus said to him in Luke 22:31-32.

Luke 22:31-32 MSG

“Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate
all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for
you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have
come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and
give them a fresh start.”

You will observe from the scripture above that the prayers of Jesus didn't
take away the time of testing that was to befall Peter, instead the prayers gave
him strength not to fail in the days of trial. Intercession sometimes averts

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and annul every strategy of the enemy, bringing them to naught. And other
times, it makes a way of escape for God's people. In the case of Peter there
was a way of escape, he fell into the temptation of denying Jesus three times
but he didn't lose his faith in God.

INTERCESSORY PROPHETS

Jeremiah 27:18

“But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with

them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that
the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the
house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to
Babylon.”

Intercession is the wheel of the prophetic ministry. Any one called into the
office of the prophet that desires to make a full proof of his ministry, must
receive grace for intercession. The prophet, just like any other minister of
God, should be prayerful, being prayerful help us to live daily in the Spirit,
most especially if we abound in praying in other tongues. The commandment
to pray without ceasing is for all, as written in the Holy Scriptures (Luke 18:1,
1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 6:18).

Intercession is a kind of prayer, but not all prayers are intercessory.

Intercession is supplication, it is request made known to God on behalf of
another. The beauty of intercession is that the one praying is not the focal
point of his prayers. It is the desire of God that all His children engage in
intercession.

1 Timothy 2:1
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 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”

However, the ministry of the prophet as revealed in the Scripture right

from the Old to the New Testament, shows that, God expects them to take on
an intercessory posture as a lifestyle. From Abraham, to Moses, to Elijah, to
Jeremiah, to our Lord Jesus, every one of them stood as intercessors.

Abraham was called a prophet by God, yet we never read that he

prophesied to anyone, but we read of his intercession for Sodom and
Gomorrah. Prophets are friends of God, a friend is one whom you have given
the privilege to influence you, your decision and view of things. Mature
prophets through intimacy are people who sit in deliberations with God.
They are those whose counsels the Lord honours, not because God doesn't
know what to do, but because he honours friendship (1 Corinthians 2:16).

INTERCEDING FOR THE WICKED

- The Prophet Abraham

Genesis 18:16-18

“And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom:
and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

And the LORD said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which
I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and
mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
in him?”

Read verses 20-33

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 “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
is great, and because their sin is very grievous.

I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether
according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I
will know.

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward
Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

And Abraham drew near, and said, wilt thou also destroy the
righteous with the wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou

also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that
are therein?.........”

Abraham was called a friend of God because of his intimate walk with God
by faith. He stood in the place where God couldn't hide his plan from him for
friendship sake. Abraham wasn't excited that he has heard from God about
the destruction of the city, he overcame the temptation to go share with
people so as to validate his prophetic ministry when it finally happened.
Rather he stepped into the shoes of the intercessors to make a plea, to
mediate between God and the people of the city.

How interesting is it that God wasn’t displeased that Abraham tried to

change His mind? It is because, that was the reason God revealed the plan to
Abraham. God needed a man to stand in the gap to pray and mediate that
God's judgement will be overturned and His mercy will prevail, turning the
people to repentance. Just as He's said to Ezekiel;

Ezekiel 22:30

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 “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should
not destroy it: but I found none.”

Unfortunately, the mediation and intercession of Abraham through his

deliberation with God didn't pull through to turn away judgement from the
land. The goodness of God, through His mercy leads men to repentance.
Judgement is the result of choosing rebellion as against repentance. Mercy
is found when a man acknowledges and forsake his sin, and what draws men
to repentance is the revelation of God's goodness through His endless
mercies.

What are the grounds for Abraham’s intercession? Abraham didn't go

emotional on God, or appeal to God's emotion. Rather he brought forth a
tangible argument, appealing to God's nature of justice. Abraham asked the
Lord, "Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" That's not God's
way of doing things. He reminded God of his ways, his nature of justice. This
is not because God forgot, it's rather because that's the protocol for
deliberation in God's council.

Protocols for intercession.

Bring forth your arguments, let us reason together, says God, (Isaiah
1:18). On what ground do you bring forth your reasons? Accurate
intercessory deliberation conveys the structure of the court of heaven, God’s
justice system. Right protocol for heavenly intercessory deliberation is in
bringing forth our testimonies according to what is written or what God has
said, because God honours His word.

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1. We put forth the testimony of God's nature.

2. We put forth the testimony of God's ways.

3. We put forth the testimony of God's will.

4. We put forth the testimony of God's righteousness.

5. We put forth the testimony of God’s word as revealed in the Scripture.

6. We put forth the testimony of God's Justice.

7. We put forth the testimony of God's infinite mercies.

In Heavenly deliberations, there are certain things that does not work within
the protocol of God’s justice system, some of them are;

1. Heavenly deliberation doesn't answer to emotionalism.

2. Heavenly deliberations doesn't answer to our carnal feelings.

3. Heavenly deliberations doesn't answer to prejudice.

4. Heavenly deliberations doesn't answer to darkened counsel.

The only thing that counts in heavenly deliberations and council meeting is
what proceeds first from God, that has its source in the person of the truth.
As we look at these protocols of intercessory deliberations more intently, let's
take a look at Moses.

2. The Prophet Moses

Exodus 32:9-14

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 “And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and,
behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Now therefore let me alone,
that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why
doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast
brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and
with a mighty hand?

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, for mischief did
he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce
wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom

thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that
I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit
it forever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought
to do unto his people”.

This is a perfect example of a fruitful deliberation. The nation of Israel

went against God's ordinances and they deserved to be judged, the anger of
God was stirred against them because of their insistence on rebellion.
However, God couldn't carry out the agenda of His just judgement without
telling Moses, His friend and prophet.

This will bring me to say, certain secrets of God's heart will only be
revealed to those who have sustained a place of friendship with God. These

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secrets won't come to people based on their ordination as prophets, but
based on their relationship as God's friend.

God said to Moses, "Now therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax
hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a
great nation." Doesn't that sound like the Almighty God is seeking
permission from a mortal man before doing what seems pleasing to Him?
That is what intimacy between God and man can make possible. In the same
light, God said, "How can I judge Sodom and Gomorrah without telling
Abraham?"

Again, the underlining reason for God revealing His agenda is because,
He needs a man to influence His decision, to stand in the gap. He needs a
man to tell Him why He shouldn't judge the wicked and rebellion. He needs
a man to bring forth the testimony of His endless mercies and good nature
as an excuse for Him not to release His judgement of severity to rebellious
mortals.

A careful look at the deliberations of Moses.

And Moses besought the LORD, his God, and said, “LORD, why doth thy
wrath waxes hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the
land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?”

He was ‘questioning’ the Lord on the basis of relationship, even though it

was a rhetorical question. He was asking, why would God choose to be angry
against the people He saved with His great power because He loved them and
because He is good.

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 He said, “Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, for mischief did
He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from
the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil
against thy people.” He made his point more valid, saying, “Lord, do you
want to give the Egyptians an excuse to defame you and speak derogatorily
about you? Don't you know that the Egyptians will read your action wrongly,
and say you are a wicked God and you deceived Israel by saving them so that
you can later destroy them?”

He then made his plea, “Lord, change your mind, don't do what you have
intended, don't let this evil that they deserve fall upon them on the ground of
your justice.”

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore
by thine own self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars
of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed,
and they shall inherit it forever. After all he said, the LORD repented of the
judgement which He thought to do unto His people.

Moses established his argument by bringing God into remembrance of

His ways in the past. How God made a covenant with their forefathers and
swore to multiply their seeds and gave them the promised land. At this, God
found a valid plea that He was looking for, He found the excuse He was
looking for not to destroy them.

Interceding to avert the enemy's plan.

God does reveal the plans of the enemy so His people can walk
circumspectly and victoriously. Mature prophets will not just reveal what the

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enemy is doing, they will also help us by the Spirit to see how to deflate the
enemy's power and redeem every place the enemy has.

At a certain time, God revealed to Elisha the hideout of the Samaria army,
and He warned the king of Israel not to take certain routes, the victory of the
king of Israel came by the intel from the prophetic revelation that Elisha had.

2 Kings 6:9-12

“And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, beware
that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come
down.

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God
told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once
nor twice.

Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for
this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will
ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha,
the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words
that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.”

There are some prophets that are specially graced in telling us about the
enemy's hideout against the Church, or the move of the Spirit or the agenda
of God's Kingdom on earth. Prophets of this order should seek to mature in
the stewardship of the grace by stretching in faith to receive strategies for
victory for God’s people.

It's not a beautiful thing to give a prophetic word of the devil's plan or
strategy to wreak havoc without giving a way of escape, a redemptive plan of
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God or prophetic instruction for victory. It is inappropriate for a prophetic
person to prophesy a storm without prophesying a way of escape. Paul
revealed to us by the Holy Spirit that prophecy is for edification, comfort and
encouragement (1 Corinthians 14:3). Prophecy that leaves a sense of fear,
gloom, despair or defeat is either not from God or inappropriately delivered.

A prophetic revelation may come through dream, vision or inspired

thoughts about the devil's plan. The first response is not prophesying;
because what a prophet declares, he has partly endorsed. The first response
is prayers and intercession. In the place of intercession, light will begin to
shine out of darkness. The intercession will do either of the two things;

1. Totally avert the evil.

2. Bring counsel for a way of escape for the enemy's agenda that God may
permit (Like famine or drought).

The prophet Agabus once had a prophetic revelation of a famine that was
coming to the world. Not only was there a revelation of famine, but the
church also knew what to do for sustenance during the period of scarcity.

Acts 11:27-30

“And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by
the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the
world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability,

determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in
Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the
hands of Barnabas and Saul.”

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 God permits His prophets to have the revelation of the enemy's plan and
strategies not first for announcements but first for interception in the place
of prayers. Many evils happen because the prophets that were shown didn't
intercept them, but only declared and did nothing about them. Some may
still happen even after fervent intercessions were made, however, there will
be a way of escape for those who receives God’s counsel. Also, the intensity
of foretold evil occurrences can also be lessened through intercessions.

Jeremiah 27:18

“But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with

them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that
the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the
house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to
Babylon.”

Here is a call for the prophets to intercede to avert the enemy’s plan. As
prophetic vessels, can God trust us? Can God trust us to allow on earth what
heaven has declared and to disallow what the kingdom of darkness has
declared?

Interceding to establish heaven's agenda.

Why do we need to intercede for what God is set to do? Why do we need
to intercede for what God is doing? Why do we need to intercede when God
has made up His mind to do it anyway? The reason we need to intercede
about heaven's agenda is because God has given the earth to the sons of men
for stewardship.

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 The earth is the Lord's properties, and its fullness thereof, the world and
all those who dwell therein (Psalms 24:1). However, God has loaned the earth
to men for stewardship.

Psalms 115:16

“The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth
hath he given to the children of men.”

The children of men are the gate keepers of the earth. It is in their place
to open the earth to either the government of darkness or the government of
our great God. Without the partnership of men, the spiritual realm of reality
will have no access to this terrestrial plane.

Jesus showed us the example of how to pray in Matthew 6, with a crucial

prayer burden made known, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:9-10

In the exemplary model Jesus gave to His disciple, He showed us that on

the list of our prayers, should be the agenda of God on the earth. Let your
Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, is we asking that the eternal
purpose of God will come into fruition, the ancient plan of God for this
terrestrial ball will be established, the government of God with zero
opposition will find expression on earth just as in heaven. The Kingdom of
God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and we are asking that
these three will fill the earth, every heart, every home, every community and
nation of the earth.

As prophets of God to whom God reveals His agenda, one of our foremost
response is intercession. In intercession we are saying, Lord I open the gate

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of the earth to you that you will come in and establish what you have revealed
on earth. Certain prophecies declared over the earth has not found fruition
yet because the number of witnesses on earth agreeing with God's agenda on
earth through prayers are not complete. Sometimes, the prayers made are
not enough, power generated is not enough yet, hence the need for insistence
in prayers.

For the agenda of God revealed, prayers don't make God more willing to
make it happen than He was before revealing the agenda. Prayer aligns the
earth to God's will, men to God's will, and activates God's power on earth that
makes people willing to partner with God for the fulfilment of prophecy.

Psalms 110:3

“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.”

There's no monumental shift God-ward that happens on earth without the

travailing of the prophets and intercessors in secret.

The Scripture reveals to us the prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus,

holy men of God spoke from the book of Genesis to the book of Malachi. But
these prophecies lingered until a man and a woman arose who through
unceasing travails in the place of prayers gave flesh to the prophecy. These
prophet and prophetess interceded for years unceasingly, with much fasting
and prayers as recorded of Anna.

Luke 2:25-39

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was

Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the
consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

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 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should
not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the
law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to
thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou
hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the
Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his
mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.

And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother,
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in
Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a
sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts
of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a
prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she
was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years
from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and
four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God
with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in
that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of
him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

And when they had performed all things according to the law of
the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.”

This passage of Scripture reveals to us the secret labours of two people

that moved God to send Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth for the release of the
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word that brought the child to the earth. Their prayers must also have
influenced the preservation of Mary’s relationship with Joseph that was
abruptly intercepted by the divine pregnancy, even the preservation of baby
Jesus in Egypt, escape from Herod and His growth. Jesus was the
consolation they have been waiting for in their years of travail. At His
dedication, more prayers and prophecy were also invested into the child and
the result was obviously noticeable.

Luke 2:39-40

“And when they had performed all things according to the law
of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city
Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled
with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”

Prayers and intercession are a major transition phase between prophecy

and the fulfilment of prophecy, both on a personal and cooperate note.
Intercession is the travails in the labour room of the Spirit that births the
manifestation of the word in the flesh. It's not enough that we believe in
God's agenda, and we are hopeful to see it, we must also pray to see it. We
must pray because though the devil can't stop it, however, he can stir men to
keep rejecting it and acting against it and to delay it. But as we pray, we make
tremendous power available that makes people willing to surrender to God's
agenda.

Needless to say, there's no true move of God that cannot be traced to

insistent prayers. Azusa street revival, welsh revival, latter rain movement
and others, are all testimonies of what prayers can do.

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 Lastly, the problem has never been the willingness of God to let His
Kingdom come, but are there sufficient witnesses that will pray to make
power available on earth to make His people willing to receive His Kingdom
on earth?

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 CHAPTER SIX

PROPHETS AND THE COUNCIL OF GOD

There are certain similarities between the prophets of the Old Testament
and the prophets of the New Testaments, one of such similarities is the call
to stand in the council of God.

The calling of the prophet just as any other headship ministry of Christ is
a call unto separation from the mundane. They are called to stand in His
presence and sit in His council. It's a holy calling, a heavenly calling, a sacred
calling and no man takes this honour upon himself, it is the Lord that calls.

In the prophetic operation for spiritual revelation, prophetic people can

see into the spirit realm to receive revelation, but friends of God don't just
look into the spirit realm to fetch revelation for declaration, they have access
to heavenly deliberations. God permits them to sit in council with Him, see
His plan and gives them the privilege to make inputs.

One can receive prophetic revelation, this can come by the manifestation
of the revelation gifts of the Holy Spirit; word of wisdom, word of knowledge,
discerning of spirits and prophecy. Any child of God can manifest these gifts
of the Spirit by the help of the Holy Ghost. These are special gifts, everything
that proceeds from God is special and should be highly appreciated and
honoured.

The difference between manifesting the revelation gift of the Spirit and
sitting in God's council is that, one catches a glimpse of knowledge but the
other was given access to know how the conclusion came to be.

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 It is not every prophet that have the privilege to sit in God's council, it's a
reserved place God gives to people based on election of grace, intimacy with
the Lord and obedience to His commands. Jesus gave us an insight into this
when He choose His twelve disciples by grace to sit with Him on thrones at
the regeneration.

Matthew 19:28

“And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, that ye which
have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall
sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Some prophets get satisfied too early, they stopped desiring the fullness
of what's obtainable in the prophetic office. A major currency for consistent
advancement in the things of God is hunger and thirst for God's more. When
we stop seeking then we stop finding, God is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.

Revelatory gifts and gift of prophecy are part of the tools for service
present in the prophetic office, but there's more. The height of the prophetic
office is not in accuracy of details of the past or accuracy in declaration of the
future, it is more in accessing and knowing the intents of God’s heart, and
deliberating with Him as a friend over humanity, nations and creation.

Certain gifts of the Spirit must be evident for one to stand in certain
ministry office to administer God's call. However, the economy of heaven
available to each of the fivefold ministry (headship ministry of Christ) is
more than just certain manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. For a believer
to fulfil his ministry, there are certain gifts of the Spirit, administrations of

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the Lord and the operations of God that must find expression in and through
him.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there
are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which
worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal."

I strongly believe that one of the administrations of the Lord through His
prophets is the ability to sit in council with Him over pertinent issues related
to humanity.

One of the primary focal points of every prophet is to help men and
nations align with their destinies in God. The essence of the stewardship of
God's secrets and mysteries from the prophetic office is to help men see and
cooperate with the very essence of their creation, and fulfil the purpose of
their preordination. One of the ways God helps them to do this is to sit in
heavenly council meetings for deliberations over purposes and destinies.
There are courts of God where deliberations are made over people,
languages, nations and kings. It is not for nothing that within the ordination
of certain prophets, is the call to prophesy to these four; people, languages,
nations and kings.

Revelation 10:11

“And he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many
peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

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 At certain levels of prophetic interactions, prophecies don't just come via
inspired thoughts, God also brings His prophets to sit in council at
roundtables where others who are chosen by the Lord, angelic princes and
elders sit for deliberation. This played out in the Scripture with the prophet
Micaiah.

3. The Prophet Micaiah

1 Kings 22:15-25

"So, he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah,
shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we
forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD
shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

And the king said unto him, how many times shall I adjure thee
that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of
the LORD?

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep
that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, these have no
master: let them return every man to his house in peace.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee
that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

And he said, hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw
the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven
standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

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 And the LORD said, who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go
up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and
another said on that manner.

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and
said, I will persuade him.

And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go
forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.
And he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth,
and do so.

Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the
mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil
concerning thee.

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote

Micaiah on the cheek, and said, which way went the Spirit of the
LORD from me to speak unto thee?

And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou
shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself."

Here is a prophetic word from a messenger who sits in council with God.
He began by telling the king, the outcome of the deliberation, "I saw all Israel
scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD
said, these have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace."

But Ahab concluded that he already knew that he had no comforting word
for them, for he always prophesies evil. At that point, prophet Micaiah
revealed what he saw, and how heaven came about the conclusion that he
prophesied at first. He mentioned how that the conclusion wasn't a

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monotonous one, it was a careful deliberation of heaven's council and the
subject matter for consideration was the judgement of king Ahab because his
cup was full. From the passage, we will see how that several spirits made their
opinions known, one said this and another said that. Until the Lord found a
good enough suggestion that was best for His agenda.

I believe that if Micaiah had no sitting presence in God's council and he is

oblivious of what happened at the deliberation, he may have been influenced
by the same lying spirit that manipulated king Ahab's prophet.

Now, let's also observe the response of Micaiah to Zedekiah. Zedekiah who
felt he was the senior prophet from God was surprised that he didn't have
such witness that Micaiah brought from heaven. He slapped Micaiah in his
arrogance and asked a very wise question to which he doesn't think that
Micaiah will have an answer. "Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from
me to speak unto thee?" And Micaiah responded with a wise answer, "Behold
thou shall see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide
thyself." This implies that the secret to Micaiah's prophetic revelation is in
his discipline to hide himself in the secret place of God's presence. Prophets
who have no discipline of spending time with God in private will make a mess
of the prophetic in public.

This is not the only time that lying spirit comes to deceive prophets, it is
of the Lord sending a spirit of delusion to those who desire to use His grace
as authority for gain and carnal profit rather than stewarding it in purity and
humility.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

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 “And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

It is a dangerous place for a prophet to be, if he has a stronger desire for

public manifestation than private seeking of the Lord. The burning desire for
public platform must be replaced with a burning desire for the presence.
Many a times some prophets’ words fall to the ground, but this is not because
God's word fails, but because the prophets are losing their place of authority
and grace, their seat in God's council.

STANDING IN GOD'S COUNCIL

Jeremiah 23:16-18

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the
prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth
of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The
Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the
stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to
you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to
see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?”

Jeremiah 23:21-22

“I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their
message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But
if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my

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 words to my people and would have turned them from their evil
ways and from their evil deeds.”

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah to discredit the ministry of the
prophets who prophesy lies and the visions of their own minds and not what
the Lord has revealed. These prophets declare peace and prosperity to those
who despise the Lord. The ministry of a prophet is not ordained for the
prophesying of things that only sound good and appealing to the ears.
Prophets, right from the Old Testament to the New, call people to repentance
from their wicked ways to God, warn, rebuke, encourage, comfort and even
declares God’s judgement.

God mentioned the fault of these prophets; they haven't stood in God's
council. God's council is the place where God's counsels are made known and
revealed. God clearly said, the reason why their prophecies are false is
because they haven't stood in His council.

Those who haven't learnt to receive God's counsel will consistent

prophesy presumptuously. Those who fall for these temptations more, are
those who thinks that the validity of their prophetic office is tied to how
frequent they prophesy, and those who think that they must always say
something from the Lord. The calling of a prophet is not in prophesying
peace, peace, it is in prophesying the deliberations of the council of God.

The word of God to Jeremiah in this Scripture showed us two reasons why
it is beneficial to stand in God's council. They are:

1. Standing in God's council helps God's messengers to see or hear His

words over the matters of the earth.

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 2. Standing in God's council helps God's messengers to proclaim His
word with authority and cause men to repent from evil.

The reason the word of the Lord is with His prophets is because, they
stand in His council and hear His counsel that they may proclaim His word
with authority and power to turn the hearts of men to Him.

THE REQUIREMENT

I stated earlier that the ordination and calling of a prophet allows him
certain manifestations by the Spirit, such as the manifestation of the
revelatory gifts and the gift of prophecy. However, certain graces in the
economy of God for the prophetic office answers to election of grace,
maturity based on spiritual growth, experiential knowledge of God and
obedience to God. Standing in heaven's council is not automatic for every
Jack and Tom who feels called as prophets. Access to such quarters of
heavenly deliberations are intentional and are for important reasons.

The Lord spoke to Joshua, the high priest, about having a sit in His
deliberations.

Zechariah 3:7 NIV

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in
obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will
govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give
you a place among these standing here.”

Zechariah 3:7 AMP

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 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways [that
is, remain faithful] and perform My service, then you will also
govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give
you free access [to My presence] among these who are standing
here.”

Here, the Lord made plain the requirements for having charge in His
courts and standing in His council. The requirements are; walking in
obedience and keeping God's requirements of service.

Sounds so simple right? It is so simple that not many people adhere to it,
for these reasons, we have only few prophets declaring God's accurate
counsel from His council.

Prophets who don't walk in obedience to God's orders or keep His

requirements can still operate in the gifts of the Spirit since the gifts and
callings of God are irrevocable. Although their disobedience renders their
service less efficient before God. However, access to God's presence to stand
in His council requires consistency in obedience and keeping of God's
requirements for godly service.

THE PRACTICALITY OF STANDING IN HEAVEN'S COUNCIL.

Let’s consider some relevant questions to ask about heaven’s council.

1. Does prophets need to have visionary experiences of standing in heaven's

council or sitting in God's court before they are there?

2. Is it every time that prophets are in the secret place of prayers, meditation
and fellowship that they are present in heaven's council?

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3. Can someone be invited to heaven's council or choose to there any time he
desires?

4. How does one position himself for access into heaven's council?

5. Is it only those called as prophets that sit in the council of heaven?

6. Who are those that are usually present in heaven's council?

7. Is there a difference between heaven's council and heaven's courts?

ANSWERS

1. Does prophets need to have visionary experiences of standing

in heaven's council or sitting in God's court before they are there?

No, prophets don't always need to have visions of heaven's council

meeting, roundtable meeting or court sessions before they are there. Can
they have visionary experiences that captures these realities? Yes, most
assuredly so.

The Scripture tells us of Micaiah the prophet and Daniel the prophet who
both had visionary experiences of heaven's council (1 Kings 22:19 - 23, Daniel
7:9-28)

Also, they can be brought into active Kingdom realm engagement through
the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their thought process. The Spirit of God
bears witness with our spirits to bring us into the knowing of revelation of
what God seeks to communicate to us (Romans 8:16).

Jesus revealed to Peter the devil's plan and demand in God's court but it
was never recorded that Jesus saw a vision.

Luke 22:31-32 AMP

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 “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission
to sift [all of] you like grain; but I have prayed [especially] for
you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail;
and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen
and support your brothers [in the faith].”

This is heaven's court playing out, Jesus revealed the deliberations there
without mentioning any visionary sights. Also, Jesus revealed one of His
secrets of success in ministry and this secret is connected to sight or
discernment in the Spirit.

John 5:19-20

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth
the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him
all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater
works than these, that ye may marvel.”

Jesus was enjoying the revelation or spiritual awareness of all that the
Father was doing by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Him and operations of
the Holy Spirit around Him. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, He came
into spiritual awareness of heaven's deliberations perhaps through the
inward witness, inspired thoughts and voice of the Holy Ghost in His heart.
It was said of Jesus that, He was full of the Holy Ghost within and He also
had the Holy Ghost upon Him.

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 Also, Jesus revealed to Nicodemus that He is a man from heaven and who
is in heaven; this captures His awareness of heaven and perhaps consistent
visionary experiences of heaven.

John 3:13

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came

down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

Visionary sights strengthen awareness of a spiritual matter, however,

discernment of spiritual things by the inward witness and inspired thoughts
are also very effective means of engaging the Kingdom realm.

2. Is it every time that prophets are in the secret place of prayers,

meditation and fellowship that they are present in heaven's
council?

No, the secret place is the place of communion, the place of intimate
fellowship, the place of heart to heart exchange with God through the Holy
Spirit. A lot of amazing things happens in the secret place. The secret place
is a spring board into the practical experience of our inheritance in God. It is
the doorway into the myriads spiritual blessings that God has made available
for us. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places
(Ephesians 1:3), through interaction with the Lord, we come to lay hold on
these blessings.

One of these blessings waiting for us in heavenly realms is the blessings

of access to God's courts and council meetings. But the secret place allows
for more than that. Spending time with God in the place of fellowship helps
you position yourself for such experience in God's will.

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3. Do prophets get invited to heaven's council or choose to be
there any time they desire?

As sons of God, desire is a currency for spiritual transactions and

exchange, however, there are certain things that desire alone cannot afford.
Desire can afford gifts of the Spirit, as Paul admonished that we should
earnestly desire the best gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1), but desire cannot afford
ministry gifts (Christ headship gifts- Fivefold ministry gifts). Paul revealed
that it is God that sets such in the body, no one taketh such honour upon
himself (1 Corinthians 12: 28).

It was noted earlier that there's a requirement for standing in God's

council, the requirement is not first about a prophetic call, but about
obedience to God's command and meeting His requirements for service.

Nobody stumbles on heaven's council meeting by mistake, God permit

people access into His deliberations with an intention. People appear there
on a basis of heaven's selection process and this has nothing to do with man.
But I can tell you that two elements that will help you stretch in your
prophetic calling to have such level of interaction with God is intimacy
through obedience and abounding intercession.

Then, can someone be invited?

Yes, someone can be invited to come stand in council with God over
certain deliberations. Who sends the invite? God does.

God invited Moses to the mount to receive His commandments for the
children of Israel that He may teach them to know the intents of His heart as
to how they are designed to operate as a nation under God.

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 Exodus 24:12-13, 15

“And the LORD said unto Moses, come up to me into the mount,
and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and
commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach
them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses
went up into the mount of God……. And Moses went up into the
mount, and a cloud covered the mount.”

Also, God invited Abraham to have tete-a-tete with him, over the city of
Sodom. They had a deliberation over the city, although there was no
conclusive end to the discussion.

Genesis 18:17-18, 20-21

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great
and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed in him?

And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is
great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down
now, and see whether they have done altogether according to
the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.”

God does call His saints to come up, to man their posts and to stand on
their watch towers. John also had the experience of being invited to God's
council.

Revelation 4:1-4

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:

and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet
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 talking with me; which said, come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.

And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was

set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to
look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a
rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and
upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in
white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”

4. How does one position himself for access into heaven's council?

The first posture is to be in the Spirit, it takes being in the Spirit to perceive
the invitation to come up hither. John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and
he saw a vision of a door opened in heaven, he was invited to come in and
then, his first response was to immediately take a posture of being in the
Spirit for active participation (Revelation 4:1-2).

To be in the Spirit is to be sensitive to the Spirit, it's to be aware of the

Kingdom realm, it's to set your affection and attention on things above, it's
to set your consciousness on God via His Spirit, it is to tune your internal
thought process to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Mature prophets are those
who have learnt how to look to see, and to stir themselves into the visions of
God in God's will when they are in the Spirit.

Another beautiful way of positioning oneself is to give thanks for access

through the blood and to praise the great name of God.

Psalms 100:4

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 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

I shared some personal experiences along this line in the later part of this
chapter.

5. Who are those that are usually present in heaven's council?

I personally believe that those that are present at heavenly council

meetings are a function of the subject of deliberation and how it concerns
them according to God's preordination. Those present at God's council are
those elected to be there. That's why not all mature prophets have prophetic
words about every matter on earth. Based on where God has placed them,
the word of God comes to them for His people.

Usually, from the account of Micaiah and Daniel in the Scriptures (1 Kings
22, Daniel 7), those present could include the Lord, angelic princes, angels,
elders and men who are selected by God to be present.

And from my personal experiences, some of the men present could

include men of old (who have gone to be with the Lord), men of now (those
still alive on the earth) and elected God's servants from different parts of the
world.

6. Is there a difference between heaven's council and heaven's

courts?

Zechariah 3:7

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; if thou wilt walk in my ways, and
if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house,
and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk
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 among these that stand by (In my council)” Emphasis in bracket
made by me.”

“The court of God” can be used to describe God's presence, where God's
justice is served. That place where God - the judge of all, Jesus - the mediator
and advocate, Satan - the accuser, the accused and many witnesses converge
for the sake of judgments and justice. But this isn't our emphasis in this
study, it will take writing another book entirely to have a detailed study of
that.

Our focus in this chapter is the courts and council of God as the reality of
His presence where secrets, mysteries and portions of mandates are
allocated in the presence of many witnesses. The place where creations rub
mind with the creator God with respect to the progressive plan of God for
men, places, nations, situations and created things in general.

There are different courts of God, by revelation I know that there are the
courts of sons, courts of angelic princes over territories, courts of apostles
and prophets, courts of prophets of a certain order, amongst others. It
suffices to say that the courts of God are not just a place where justice is
served, it's also a place where the counsel of God's eternal plans and purposes
are deliberated upon. These courts capture in a minute sense, the reality of
heavenly places where spiritual blessings are kept for God's children. So
basically, we appear in God’s court, to participate in His council.

Psalms 100:4

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

1 Corinthians 2:16 TPT

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 “For Who has ever intimately known the mind of the Lord
Yahweh well enough to become his counsellor? Christ has, and
we possess Christ’s perceptions.”

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Personally, I have been invited into heaven's deliberations over the

church, spiritual seasons on earth and territories at different times. Some of
these times I will have a knowing in my spirit that I have to be in heaven's
council at a particular time, sometimes, the Holy Gho st tells me to wait
on Him at a set time. Some other times, without prior notice I just find myself
there by God's Spirit.

Initially, when I began to have such experiences, I stand in the council to

observe the deliberations. One of the first of such happened several years
ago, in that council I saw some of the foundational apostles, Peter, Paul, John
and some other people whose identity was not revealed. Paul was there as a
scribe as they discussed.

Afterwards, the Lord told me that if I am faithful in obedience, He will

give me a place to sit in His courts. More than a year later, I noticed when I
appear in God's council by His will, I sit with others and sometimes I am
made to participate in the deliberations.

By God's grace I have heavenly experiences occasionally, and I usually

find myself in heavenly courts by God's Spirit. The first of such was a court
of prophets from different part of the world. That particular revelation dealt
with a religious bias that I have about how people should look when they
stand to represent God.

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 Also, at several times, God has brought me into council with those called
as prophets who stewarded or are stewarding similar order of calling as mine.
Some of those I met have slept, some are still alive, part of them are John the
beloved, Rick Joyner, Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, Bruce Allen amongst others.
In these councils, there were allocation of graces, mandates, definition of
assignments and details of my destiny and God’s purpose for the order of my
prophetic call.

I don’t always have visionary experiences of courts and councils of God,

sometimes, my heart just captures the proceeding from God’s council in my
thoughts. These experiences leave me with a clarity of vision for my journey
and the journey of the church, a heightened sense of God's burden, a burden
for intercession and sometimes I am made to publicly declare what I was
shown.

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW US ACCESS

TO HIS COURTS AND HEAVENLY COUNCIL?

God shares His secrets with those that fear Him, for several reasons.
Prophets must know how to handle prophetic revelations. God shares His
secrets for three major reasons, they are;

1. Awareness

Psalms 25:14

“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will
shew them his covenant.”

Amos 3:7

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 “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets”

God has secrets, but there are those whom He has entrusted His secrets
to. There is an underlying mystery of God behind every matter on the earth.
There's a wisdom playing out in what we see happening in our lives, in our
community, nation and things happening around us. That the wisdom of God
that set things in motion is not so obvious to all doesn't mean that it doesn't
exist. That it's also not announced by the prophets doesn't mean they are not
aware.

The strength of a prophet is seen more in his ability to conceal God's secret
that he doesn't have the release to share, than in his ability to share what he
received. The temptation to share divine revelation is high for every
prophetic person, but strength built through maturity helps a prophet know
how to be silent when God is not loud about a matter.

God has bound Himself by His word to always reveal His secrets to His
prophets. We can be sure that even though the general Church populace
seems to be oblivious of certain details of God's dealing on earth at certain
point, it doesn't mean that nobody on earth knows what God is doing. God
has friends and He is committed to His relationship with them. He shares
His heart with them, so as to be aware before carrying out what He has in His
heart.

The word of the Lord is with His holy prophet (His friends, not just those
called into the prophetic office). When a prophet has learnt to conceal what
he knows, God trust him with more secret. He that is faithful with little, much
will be given to him.

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2. Announcement

Revelations from God come to His prophets so they can be equipped to

stand as His witnesses on earth. God has never lacked a witness for what He
does on the earth. The witnesses of God are one of the structures of God's
justice instituted on the earth. True witnesses are those who stand in God's
presence, hear His voice, fellowship with His heart and bear His message in
their heart for God's people.

The prophesying ministry of the prophet is the discharging of His duty as

God's witness on the earth.

Amos 3:8

“The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath
spoken, who can but prophesy?”

Does God speak? Yes, but not everyone hears Him. This is not His will for
humans whom He created; however, He has instituted the office of the
prophets along other headship ministries and the saints to stand as His
witnesses on earth. As witnesses, they proclaim, declare, announce, foretell
and forthtell the word of the Lord so that the hearers will have no excuse of
ignorance on the day of judgement. God has two major witnesses on the
earth, the Spirit and the bride.

Acts 5:32

“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”

Revelation 22:17

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 “And the Spirit and the bride say, come.”

The prophets of God are His trumpets and trumpeters, sounding the
alarm of heavenly declarations on earth. In discharging this ministry, the
prophets must be schooled in accurate representation of God. If the
trumpeters release an uncertain sound, who will prepare for war? (1
Corinthians 14:8).

The essence of prophetic announcement of foretelling what will be

hereafter is to the end that God's people will prepare for what's coming.
Mature prophets don't just foretell the future and leave people in hope
without end, their prophecies come with authority from God to chart a course
for the move of God's Spirit. Their prophecies precede the coming of God and
prepares the way for the Lord. Prophetic trumpet sounds usually capture
what is coming, what is to be done, what adjustment to make, the need for
repentance, the need for accurate positioning etc. It reveals God's current
agenda, and man’s place in it.

3. Deliberation

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.”

Right from the dispensation of the Old Testament, it has always been
God's desire that His covenant people sit in council with Him for
deliberations. We don't serve a tyrant God, but a God who loves to talk with
us, who let us know that our opinion counts. Those whom God has called as
His spokesmen (the prophets), have a place in His council, they have a seat

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in His heavenly courts for deliberations with God about things as touching
the earth, people, places and nations.

An immature prophet will gladly take a witness of God's judgement to

God's people without seeing a need to seek God's mercy over His people. A
mature prophet doesn't only care about seeing visions and declaring what he
sees, he is also concerned about learning God's ways, knowing His will,
studying His patterns of operations with respect to history and having a
revelation knowledge of the Holy Scriptures to the end that he can deliberate
with God. Prophets must know that, even in God's declaration of His just
verdict, He is committed to His word and desires to show mercy over
judgement if we will plead and bring forth our strong reasons.

James 2:13

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed

no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

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 CHAPTER SEVEN

PROPHETS AND THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST

The prophets of God, according to design have a measure of grace to

exhort, preach or teach by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The prophets are
set secondarily in the church by God for a reason, their place is crucial and
principal.

1 Corinthians 12:28

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of
healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

What makes a prophet is firstly God's call to stand in that office,

secondarily the grace and anointing of the prophetic call and thirdly, growth,
training and maturity needed to represent God accurately. One of the
expressions of the anointing of the prophetic office is the teaching or
preaching grace necessary to steward the mysteries of Christ and make it
bare to the saints.

I believe that not all prophets have the predominant grace to teach, so
also, some find it very easy to preach or exhort. However, there will be a
measure of grace upon every prophet to steward God's mysteries. Not
discerning this has made some prophets go into error. When a man attempts
to do what God didn't send him, he will surely subscribe to the tools of the
flesh to carry it out and the end result is usually an ignoble one. Everyone
called as a prophet must discern his area of predominant grace according to

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God’s design and supply, that he may give himself to it primarily, for a
successful ministry.

I noted earlier in the title chapter, "Jesus, the prophet," that there are
eight major expressions of the prophetic office; the teaching ministry,
preaching ministry, prophesying ministry, miraculous ministry, intercessory
ministry, singing ministry, building ministry and writing ministry. Every
prophet has predominant areas of grace amidst the eight major expressions,
discerning it correctly will help the prophet to give himself to the training
necessary to stir up God’s gift.

ARE ALL PROPHETS, TEACHERS?

No, from Scriptures, this isn't so. Hence, it will be heretical to draw a
general conclusion that all prophets are teachers. Certain prophets are called
also as teachers, certain prophets are called also as apostles, certain prophets
are called as simply prophets. Those called as Prophet-Teacher hybrids or
Prophets-Apostle hybrids will surely have a great measure of teaching
anointing as they mature in their calling. John the beloved is an example and
we still enjoy his teaching today through his epistles.

But those called as purely prophets also have a measure of grace to either
teach, preach or exhort. There is that spiritual supply that enables them to
express their calling.

However, those who by desire wants to capitalize on an area of grace that

they are not predominantly called into will mess things up. Here is Paul's
admonition to us;

1 Corinthians 7:20
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 “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was
called.”

There's glory, favour and honour in the place wherein we have been called,
although it may not attract the glamor that the other prophet's place attracts.
However, jealousy and envy are deadly poisons we must never allow, or else,
they will become masters that makes slaves out of us. Jealousy can make a
prophet begin to think he should also do the same thing that the other
prophet is doing, even though God didn’t send him.

No two prophets are the same, callings may be similar, but there is always
a difference in the flow of grace, operation of the anointing, scope of
influence, reach, authority, expected fruits and good works from the Lord.
Every minister is primarily designed in a certain way, that allows for him be
able to carry out his specific assignment and this is subject to preordination.

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good

works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.”

No prophet is sent to do what he likes, a prophet is a servant that is bound

by his master’s command and instructions. This instruction is the pathway
to his preordained good works in Christ. which he is created to walk in. A
servant should not take his master’s instructions lightly; in the Kingdom,
reward for work done is dependent on obedience to instruction given.

If we will seek the Lord to know what He will have us do and abide in our
calling, we will receive His full blessings upon our lives. The blessing is
obedience to instruction sensitive.

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 Many are frustrated in ministry because, they are exercising themselves
in areas they don't have the grace for. As we pray, we can grow in grace, in
the anointing and manifestation of the gifts of the spirit to the end that we
are equipped to do the good works preordained for us. We should always
stretch for more of what God has to offer and all that the Scripture says we
can have, Jesus paid for them anyway and we prayerfully and by desire
receive them. However, abiding in one's call is a key to safety in ministry. It
excuses one from the frustration that comes from trying to be someone else,
from seemingly good distractions and helps one remain positioned to receive
God's full blessings.

PROPHETS ARE STEWARDS OF THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST

The teaching ministry of the prophet is not to make prophets out of the
saints, even though sitting under a teaching prophet can make you become
activated in the prophetic. Teaching can't make prophets out of people more
than rain can make children out of the mustard seed sown in the ground, by
falling on the earth. A prophet is one called by God into the prophetic office.

Why should a prophet teach or preach?

Ephesians 3:2-5

“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which

is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in
the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known

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 unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit.”

Prophets and apostles operate from the realm of revelation by the

dispensation of God's grace. By revelation, God brings them into
understanding of the mystery of Christ. Christ is the mystery of God; He is
the mystery hidden for generations past that righteous men and prophets
have desired to look into, but was concealed for another dispensation. This
mystery was unveiled in the days of the dispensation of the Church,
beginning from earthly ministry of Christ. God has chosen His holy apostles
and prophets as stewards of this mystery, that by revelation, they will know
it and help others come to know it.

Let's consider the following verses carefully as we explore this truth:

Ephesians 3:7-9

“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the

grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ:”

Ephesians 3:9 NLT

“I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that

God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the
beginning.”

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 Ephesians 3:9 NIV

“And to make plain to everyone the administration of this

mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who
created all things.”

Ephesians 3:9-10 MSG

“And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are
way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of
Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what
God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in
secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of
Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary
plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among
the angels!”

The apostles and prophets have been chosen by God to make plain, bring
to the open, and make public the hidden secrets of God, to the end that the
church is built up. A major building material of the church is the revelation
of the mysteries of Christ, which in essence is the gospel of the Kingdom.

The gospel of the Kingdom is the unveiling of Christ- the mystery of God.
This secret revealed is the manifold wisdom of God that God wants to make
known to principalities and powers through the Church.

But the church will not rise to that place of honour without the apostles
and prophets making bare the mystery. The church is meant to be a gathering
of fellowship unto mysteries, mysteries revealed is the wisdom that God has
hidden unto our glory before the world began.

1 Corinthians 2:7

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 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”

The realm of God's wisdom and mystery is the place where the apostles
and prophets are ordained to minister from. For this reason, they minister
more by revelation in accordance to doctrine. The mystery of Christ is His
unsearchable riches, it can't be found by seeking, it can only be revealed to
be seen. Hence, God has anointed His spokesman to stand as gatekeepers,
helping men come into the fellowship of this mystery that has been before
the world began.

THE CENTRE POINT OF THIS MYSTERY

There are 'the mysteries of the Kingdom' and 'the mystery of Christ.' Jesus
began to teach on the mysteries of the Kingdom while He was on earth, and
His disciples could barely understand it, although Jesus declared to them
that it has been given to them to understand.

Matthew 13:11

“He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it
is not given.”

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 They couldn't do much with the revelations Jesus was bringing forth by
His teaching because they were not born again yet. Jesus said, "Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." John 3:3.

So, there's an impartation of spiritual sight that comes upon the believer
at the new birth that allows him see into the realms of the heavenly Kingdom.
This will cause him to understand the secrets of the Kingdom and how things
work there.

The mystery of Christ is different from the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Angels understand the mystery of the Kingdom in a measure but they have
no sight into the mystery of Christ until the emergence of the Church. The
angels have been in the heavenly kingdom realm all their lives and have a
measure of understanding of how things work there.

1 Peter 1:12 TPT

“God revealed to the prophets that their ministry was not for
their own benefit but for yours. And now, you have heard these
things from the evangelists who preached the gospel to you
through the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—the
gospel containing wonderful mysteries that even the angels
long to get a glimpse of.”

But then, what is the focal point of this mystery of Christ? What is the
glory of this mystery? Paul gave us wisdom into this in his epistle to the
Colossians.

Colossians 1:25-28

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 “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation
of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom
God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching
every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus.”

You will observe that when Paul talks about his ministry of making plain
the mystery, he usually accredits it to God's calling and ordination upon his
life. This shows us that this is God working through him, that's the only way
he knew and could show these things.

He revealed to us from the Scripture above that the riches of the glory of
the mystery he has been called to unveil is - CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE
OF GLORY.

The mystery of Christ hidden for ages is the plan of God to make humans
(Jews and gentiles) house God to the end that they may share in His glory.
This is possible because of redemption, the finished works of Jesus on the
cross. Now through faith in Christ Jesus, God by His Spirit can make man
His habitation. The riches of this mystery is that, Christ lives in you and for
that reason you are expected to know His glory, live in His glory, manifest
His glory, see His glory, reveal His glory and share in the glory of His person.

Paul in a bid to fulfil this ministry which God has saddled the prophets
and apostles with, declared that he goes everywhere teaching and preaching
Christ that he may present the saints perfect in Christ.
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 The prophets and apostles and other ministry gifts have been sent for the
perfecting or maturing the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians
4:11-12). There is no maturing of the saints outside of feeding them with the
dosage of the revelation of Christ in them! Him we preach, Him we teach,
that's the secret to maturing the saints, that's the secret to building up the
church, that's the secret to preparing the bride.

Herein lies the core of the work of those called as prophets, more than
prophesying, they have been called to reveal the mystery of Christ in the
saints. Here is the fulcrum of every ministry that will stand the test of time,
every ministry whose works will pass the test of fire, every ministry who will
do an abiding work. The call is to reveal and make Christ known.

UNVEILING THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST

Prophets and apostles are called to minister from a place of revelation that
is rooted in doctrine by the Holy Ghost. Paul's epistle came to him by
revelation. He wasn't taught by any man, even though he humbly submitted
his revelation to other foremost Apostles.

Galatians 1:11-12

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither
was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Paul revealed to us, salient truth about the Church and the Kingdom by
revelation. Crucial truths on the gifts of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit,
fivefold ministries and other ministries, the body of Christ, Christ in the
believer, Christ as Lord in all realms, the return of Christ, the conduct of
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brethren when they gather, the conduct of the church amongst the world,
Immortality, the new creation and others were made clear by the writings of
Paul. He received this truth by revelation, these are deep truth, the very
mystery of Christ. Paul didn't just explore the scriptures he had in his days,
he also pushed further the frontiers of truth, he pierced into places in God's
heart and fellowshipped with the unsearchable riches of Christ and revealed
to the church, the present truth.

Paul was a man of the Spirit and his ministrations were spiritual. He
opened to us through his first letter to the Corinthian Church, the
administration of his ministrations.

1 Corinthians 14:6

“Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what

shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation,
or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?”

Every true minister flow from one or combination of any of these four
streams per time:

Revelation: The things shown and taught by the Holy Ghost. Revelation is
our entrance and understanding into the mystery of Christ. No man can
teach another man revelation, it has to be caught or received as the Holy
Spirit unveils truth through the teaching of His servants.

Knowledge: The things we know in the past, either by learning or study.

Knowledge comes by being taught by someone else. This speaks of our
personal understanding of things based on learning.

Prophesying: The Holy Spirit overshadowing our minds and cognitive

process and causing us to speak divinely inspired utterance in a known

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language. Prophesying and thinking at the same time are not friends,
however, the more renewed a mind becomes, the purer his prophetic flow
will be.

Doctrine: This is a body of knowledge, laid down principles and

instructions as revealed in the Scripture by which the body of Christ is meant
to operate.

I personally love to pay attention to sequence in the Scripture. Here, Paul

mentioned revelation first, I believe this is because that's a major stream he
flowed from anytime he ministers to God's people. We should also
understand that Paul had high values for the Scriptures. It was him who told
us that all Scripture is God breathed.

2 Timothy 3:16

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.”

Also, Paul in his preaching as recorded in the book of acts and in the
epistles, made a lot of references to the scriptures - The Law and Prophets.

Acts 28:23

“And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to
him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the
kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of
the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening.”

Acts 17:11

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 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Here is something that we need to pay attention to. Apostles, prophets

and other ministers must be skilled in handling the word of truth. We need
to study to show ourselves approved, as a workman that need not be ashamed
but rightly dividing the word of truth. Every minister must be skilled in the
word and receive grace to be able to reveal Christ from the Law, the Prophets,
Gospels, Epistles and the book of Revelation. Paul was studious, little
wonder he was an astute teacher and scribe of the kingdom of God bringing
forth treasures both from the old and the new.

If prophets and apostles will not study and consistently pray in tongues,
they will have no anointing to stand in their office. These spiritual exercises
position us to receive spiritual blessings, foremost of which is revelation of
the mystery of Christ. Paul understood this principle, he revealed to the
Corinthians church how much he prayed in tongues when he made the bold
statement...

1 Corinthians 14:18

“I thank my God; I speak with tongues more than ye all.”

He also asked the brethren to pray for him for this same cause.

Colossians 4:3-4

“Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door
of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also
in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”

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 We also understand that he was studious when he asked Timothy to bring
his books and parchment for him.

2 Timothy 4:13

“The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest,
bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.”

These are some of his secrets for being a man of visions and revelations.

2 Corinthians 12:1 TPT

“Although it may not accomplish a thing, I need to move on and

boast about supernatural visions and revelations of the Lord.”

APOSTLES, PROPHETS AND PRESENT TRUTH

2 Peter 1:12

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in

remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be
established in the present truth.”

The apostles and prophets of the Bible days revealed the mystery of Christ
by unveiling Christ to us through the scriptures and through the Holy Spirit.
They taught more than what was in the book they met, but there was nothing
they taught that contradicts the writing of the Holy Scriptures they had in
their time. We saw how Jesus, Stephen, Paul, Peter, Jude and others, kept on
making reference to the Law, Prophets and Psalms, which was the Scriptures
they had. And in a bid to reveal what wasn't written there was no occasion of
contradicting what was written.

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 Herein lies safety for apostles and prophets, the Scripture must be the
final authority for all we do, teach and our lifestyle. If it negates the scriptural
truth, then it can't be from God.

Paul preached present truth, based on the supply of the Spirit for their
dispensation. We are in this present dispensation right now and there is a
heightened measure of spiritual revelation available to us. The house that the
prophets and apostles began to build is no longer at the foundation level. The
Church is advancing in light and glory.

The Scripture says the end of a thing is better than the beginning thereof.
We are the finishing church and we have heightened measure of the Spirit’s
supply to finish this course of God's eternal plan on planet earth. The
revelation that the early Apostles and Prophets caught and their writings will
become the foundation and safe boundary for our piercing into new
measures of truth that will cap up this building.

I personally believe one of the trumpets that must need be sounded before
the finishing of the end is the gospel of immortality, Paul mentioned it, but a
generation of apostles and prophets will rise that will unpack that truth and
make it bare.

Until it is seen as something accessible and available there won't be faith

for it, and if there's no faith for it, there's no accessing it. This is a major
necessity for the return of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we

shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at

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 the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal

must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and

this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The

sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.”

He also revealed that, this is the will of God, that his people will not only
experience and partake of His life but even His immortality.

2 Timothy 1:10

“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour

Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel:”

Paul showed us this mystery by pointing to it, but a generation of apostles

and prophets will rise that will help us enter into it. This trumpet must be
sounded and the sound must be certain for a people to prepare in faith and
contend for the redemption of their body as they await the return of the Lord.

Philippians 3:20-21

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 “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself.”

This is the will of the Lord, it’s a major aspect of the present truth for our
dispensation, it must be preached and taught in clarity and purity of message
and a people must be raised to experience this reality. Enoch through faith
was translated, faith comes by hearing, as this message will be preached in
power, people will believe and be translated. This is also the gospel, the
power of God unto the salvation of our vile bodies. (Hebrews 11:5,
Philippians 3:21).

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 CHAPTER EIGHT

PROPHETS, APOSTLES, THE CHURCH AND THE

NATIONS
The church is made up of men with recreated spirit, the world is made up
of men who know not God, and the nations capture the sphere where both
converge. Wherever we find men, we should not be surprised to see there,
God's mouthpiece. We will consider the ministry of the prophet to each of
these recipients of the prophetic ministry.

The place of the prophet in the church is very significant. The restoration
of the prophetic ministry that began in 1980s was a very strategic one. If the
prophets don't take their place, it will tell on the body of Christ.

God has set in His church and Jesus has set in His body, the ministry of the
prophet for a crucial reason.

1 Corinthians 12:28

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of
healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, doesn't mean

hierarchy, it refers to the order of their emergence in the body of Christ. The
first ministry Jesus instituted in the body is the apostolic ministry, this is
because of the place they occupy in the government of the church. Jesus
ordained twelve apostles amongst the disciples that were with Him (Matthew
10:2-5).

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 But as the church began to mature from infancy, the word of the Lord
began to prosper, the apostles began to teach the apostolic doctrine that has
the capacity to birth the other ministry gifts. The apostolic message they
preached made men like Silas and Judas the prophets, Stephen with the
revival fire, Phillip the evangelist, Barnabas the teacher amongst others.

The prophets are called alongside the apostles as the foundational

ministries of the church. There is a measure of similarities between these two
ministries and a measure of difference. There is great need for these two
ministries to fellowship together and enjoy each other's grace and grow
together in unity even in their diversities. This allows for balance, increased
accuracy, mutual submission and greater authority in the church.

Let's consider what makes them different with respect to grace, gifts,
administrations and operations.

THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY

1. They align with God to bring the government and supremacy of the Spirit
and the Word into the Church by exercising their God given authority (1
Corinthians 12:24, Acts 1:15-16, Acts 2:14).

2. They build the saints for their destiny and purpose under God by
establishing them in the apostolic doctrine (Acts 6:4, Acts 2:42).

3. They travail until Christ is formed in the saints through much prayers and
diligently labouring in the word. (Galatians 4:19).

4. Apostles are transformation focused: they measure the success of their

ministry by the transformed lives (1 Corinthians 9:2).

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5. Major strengths are; mighty in words and demonstration of the Spirit with
signs, wonders and miracles (Acts 4:33, Acts 14:3).

6. They activate the sent-one mentality in the saints. (2 Corinthians 5:20).

7. They strictly build according to the revealed pattern they have received (1
Corinthians 3:9-12).

8. They instil Kingdom responsibility consciousness in the saints

(Philippians 3:16).

9. Apostles build with the revelation available in the present for the future.
(2 Peter 1:12).

10. Apostles are endowed with grace for breaking into new territories and
planting churches (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY

1. Focuses on the liberty that the Spirit brings to the church (2 Corinthians
3:17).

2. Activates the saints for their destiny through prophesying and teaching
(Revelation 10:10-11).

3. Confirms and strengthens the saints through the prophetic word (Acts
15:32).

4. Prophets are friends of God that He trusts with His secrets (Amos 3:7).

5. Major strengths; supernatural visions, revelations and utterance

(Numbers 12:6, 2 Corinthians 12:1 TPT).

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6. They bring the necessary flexibility in the building of the body (Ephesians
4:11-13).

7. They reveal God’s current position per time (John 1:29).

8. They reveal the future by the Spirit. (Acts 11:28).

Similarities between the Apostolic and Prophetic Ministry

1. Both are bold and confrontational (2 Peter 3:2).

2. Both are foundational ministries (Ephesians 2:20).

3. Both are focused on God’s presence and the pre-eminence of His word
(Acts 6:4).

4. Both are builders (Ephesians 4:11-13).

5. Both are stewards of God's mysteries (Ephesians 3:1-5).

6. Both operate in the realm of revelation (Ephesians 3:1-5).

7. Both are part of the governing ascension gift of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:28,
Acts 15:4, 2 Peter 3:2).

A prophet is not an apostle, and an apostle is not a prophet. Their design,

configuration and assignments are different. However, God is raising
prophet - apostle hybrids. God is raising many prophets who will be very
apostolic in their administration and apostles will be very prophetic in their
operations. These hybrids will operate with fire power utterance, move in
mighty signs and wonders, accurately build God's people, they will be flexible
in the hand of the Holy Ghost, they will understand the beauty of

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fellowshipping with other apostles and prophets and they will not be afraid
to submit their revelation to one another in the spirit of the fear of the Lord.

THE MINISTRY OF PROPHETS TO THE CHURCH

1. Prophets build the saints

God is increasing the accurate understanding of the prophetic life,

operations, actions and culture in the church. To be prophetic is to be
sensitive to the Holy Spirit, to be attentive to God's heart, to be conscious of
the Kingdom of God. The prophetic is a medium that allows one connect and
flow with the supernatural life of the Kingdom.

One of the assignments of the prophet is to teach the church to live the
prophetic life. The essential supply of the grace of God upon the prophet is
to help awaken the prophetic nature of the saints. The perfecting of the saints
will not be complete if they are not taught to develop a prophetic lifestyle. A
prophetic lifestyle is living daily in the Spirit, hearing God’s voice, obeying
His instructions and yielding to His movements in the inner man.

Many think that the prophetic is all about manifesting the revelatory gift
of word of knowledge, word of wisdom, seeing visions and prophesying. But
it's far more than that, the prophetic culture is the believer’s heritage and
inheritance in Christ. It's the culture by which our fathers lived, that was
handed over to us.

Prophets have heightened operations of revelatory gifts and prophesying

amidst other gifts, because they highly need that to fulfil their ministry.
Those gifts are not operational so that they can become super stars in
churches, but rather so that they can be an example to other believers.

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 The ministry gifts in the body of Christ each have designated dispensation
of God's grace through the effectual working of God's Spirit in them, to the
end that they can communicate that same expression of Christ to their
brethren so they can be perfected.

Christ is the embodiment of the fivefold ministries and other ministries

present in the body. Now, he has distributed himself into his saints, giving
certain dimensions of His grace to be stewarded by certain persons. Those
dimensions of grace are what we call ministries, that’s why the fivefold
ministries are gifts of Christ to the body. They are sent to embody and
steward certain dimension of grace of Christ for the saints. God made them
so, so they can awaken the same essence of grace in the church.

Hence, the apostles are to equip the saints with apostolic grace, that Christ
may be formed in them and they may take their place as God’s sent ones on
the earth. Prophets are to equip the saints to enjoy personal fellowship with
God and maximize every medium through which God seeks to communicate
with them. Teachers are to equip the saints to become established in the truth
and help the saints to see a need to teach others what they know. Evangelists
are to equip the saints to become evangelical – communicating to them God’s
burden for the lost and helping them see how to best position as sickles in
God’s hand for harvest. Pastors are to tend, nurture and care for the saints’
wellbeing and equip the saints to become shepherds at heart. All of these
dimensions of graces are needed in every saint in varying measures, to be
able to fruitfully represent Jesus on earth.

The work of the ministry of the saints is dependent on how well the
fivefold ministry has equipped them by supplying grace and communicating
divine abilities such as they have been endowed.

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 Ephesians 4:11-13 TPT

“And he has appointed some with grace to be apostles, and some

with grace to be prophets, and some with grace to be
evangelists, and some with grace to be pastors, and some with
grace to be teachers. And their calling is to nurture and prepare
all the holy believers to do their own works of ministry, and as
they do this they will enlarge and build up the body of Christ.
These grace ministries will function until we all attain oneness
into the faith, until we all experience the fullness of what it
means to know the Son of God, and finally we become one into
a perfect man with the full dimensions of spiritual maturity and
fully developed into the abundance of Christ.”

2. Prophets equip the saints to interact with God

One of focus of true prophetic ministry is to equip the saints to interact

with God. They teach the saints how to talk with God, connect to Him and
receive from Him. Prophets also teach the saints on how to interact with the
Kingdom realm of the Spirit, because they have heightened grace to see in
the Spirit due to their calling (Numbers 12:6). They are to teach the saints
and communicate same grace they steward to them.

This is why you hear prophets talk about hearing God's voice, visions,
dreams, angelic ministry, heavenly encounters and divine experiences a lot;
that's their realm. However, all these are the heritages of the sons of God.
Hence, the prophets are sent to activate the same abilities in the saints even
as they are being set forth as examples of what is possible with respect to
supernatural revelations.

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 Prophet hear God for themselves and for others too, and they are to
communicate same grace to the saints. Mature prophets are radical lovers of
God; when they minister, they communicate hunger for God in the saints.

God does permit prophets to share some of their supernatural encounters in

a humble way to the brethren to stir a jealousy in their hearts that make them
seek God for a deeper relationship. I believe that prophets operate in
revelatory gifts and prophesy frequently for two major reasons; to serve as
God's spokesman and to show the saints what's possible and how to do it.

3. Prophets reveal God's current position

One of the ministries of the prophets is to reveal God's current position to

the church. God is a moving God, He is not static or dogmatic, His ways and
operations are ever dynamic, yet He never change.

God's secret keepers are usually brought into the awareness of God's
current operations and movements. God clearly told us in His Word;

Amos 3:7 NIV

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his

plan to his servants the prophets.”

This is to say that His servants, the prophets, should be able to tell us
God's ‘current position’ per time and season. Not necessarily a singular
prophet now, but amidst the company of prophets, God's voice is not scarce.
God's operation in the Church is ever advancing as dispensations come and
go. But the ministry of the prophet brings to the fore God's current emphasis
per time, God's current plan within His eternal purpose and His strategies of
actualizing the plans.

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 This is a major part of the ministry of John the Baptist, a prophet of God,
who came in the spirit and power of Elijah. Every other prophet before him
prophesied that a Messiah is coming, season after season, generation after
generation, the same prophecy was being amplified. But, when John the
Baptist came; the chief priests and keepers of the law and word of God -
Pharisees and Sadducees, couldn't perceive that God's position has shifted
and there's a new thing happening in town.

Luke 3:2

“Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

The word of the Lord came to prophet John in the wilderness. The word
came to him about the current position of God and now he can reveal who
the Messiah is to Israel. Here is what God told him as recorded in the book
of John:

John 1:31-33

"And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to

Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John
bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he
that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on
him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."

After the word of the Lord came to John, he began baptizing. The baptism
was a technology to find and reveal the messiah to Israel. As John was

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baptizing men, Jesus came to him and there was a spontaneous prophetic
proclamation.

John 1:35-36

“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb
of God!”

Every time a prophet reveals the current position of God, there are usually
two responses, persecution from those who love the place God was and are
rigidly stuck to it, not wanting to move, and the response of the movement
of those whose heart God will touch to follow the Lord wheresoever He goes.
At the proclamation of the identity of Jesus by John, even some the disciples
of John left him to follow Jesus. Every servant of God must be cool with men
leaving their camp to follow God as He moves.

The place of the prophets in the church is to help us walk in the light.
When there's no vision, the people perish, prophets are those who brings to
us the visions of the Lord, showing us the current thing God is doing that we
may journey correctly as a cooperate body.

Usually, the word for the body of Christ is revealed in parts to individual
prophets to the end that, there will be a convergence of prophetic people
supplying each part of the puzzle that the whole picture may become very
clear to us. When two or three speaks, their utterance will stir the other to
speak also, supplying fuller measure of the revelation. This happens best
when mature prophets gather, who are all secured in the Lord and have no
place for self-glorification, but seek only the will of God and to please Him
alone. This ministry of the prophet helps to align ministries and local

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assemblies to the accuracy of the Holy Spirit and helps them to overcome
religious dogma.

4. Prophets supply prophetic intelligence for the future

Jesus, the prophet, prophesied about the signs of the end of the world and
the signs of His return in Matthew 24. I admonish you to read the whole
chapter to have a clear perspective on the ministry of the prophet. Jesus
prophesied future events, He mentioned things that are to come with respect
to the nations, and world at large. He mentioned how people will react to it
and how the church should react to it. The message also carried an
underlining of hope for those who believe in Him, this hope is an anchor for
the soul when the events begin to unfold.

Mature prophetic people will reveal future events in a way that it ministers
hope and faith, not hopelessness and despair. Over the nations, communities
and territories, the church in every place have a duty of being the light. The
church has a spiritual responsibility towards the world, it includes preserving
the earth and shining in the dark world till the return of the Lord. The church
has been ordained as the ground and pillar of truth; the church is the ark of
salvation for the tribulation in the world.

For the church to fulfil this role, she must be ten times and more ahead of
the world the same way Daniel was found ten times better than those who
were supposed to be the hope of the world in their days. The church must be
ten times ahead of the occult, worshippers of Satan, science and technology,
and the systems of this world.

For this to happen, the church must have seeing eyes, eyes that pierce
through the veil of time and see what's ahead. Eyes that can see decades to
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come, centuries to come, millennials to come. The sight of the future
prepares the church for what is to come and gives them the intelligence to
live ahead of the world when it comes. The church is never supposed to be
caught unaware because God has placed His eyes, the prophets, in the
church. Not only are they designated to see the future, they are also in the
place to supply prophetic intelligence that keeps the church in the place of
victory on a consistent note.

Isaiah 29:10 NIV

“The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed
your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers).”

Paul who was an apostle with very strong prophetic edge (Many believe
he also stood in the office of a prophet) also captured the vision of the signs
of the end time and he related it to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:1-3,

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon
the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by
demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose
consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid
people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods,
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those
who believe and who know the truth.”

VS 6-7

“If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will
be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the
faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have

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 nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather,
train yourself to be godly.”

Here, Paul revealed what's coming and the things to expects, which we
can now see in our days. But also, he told Timothy how not to fall into the
trap and gave him wisdom on how to be a good minister of Jesus Christ and
what to do to remain in the faith of our Lord.

Natural disasters such as famine, earthquake, drought, hurricane, storms

don't just happen. I believe there are sittings in the council of heaven where
such matters are deliberated upon and prophets have a place in the council,
being God's witness on the earth. Hence, God's covenanted people shouldn't
be caught unaware when there are prophets in the land.

Agabus the prophet once had a prophetic revelation about a worldwide

famine that was to come. Upon releasing the word to the church, there came
a prophetic intelligence to gather supplies for the church in Jerusalem.

Acts 11:27-30

“And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto

Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and
signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth
throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of
Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his
ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt
in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the
hands of Barnabas and Saul.”

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 PROPHETS TO THE NATIONS

Revelation 10:11

“And he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many
peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

Not all prophets are called as prophets to the nations. The measure of the
prophetic grace and influence for each prophet is different based on God's
ordination. The influence of some may not cross beyond their local assembly,
city, state, nation, continent and for some others, the world will hear their
voice in the will of the Lord. The measure of reach increases with respect to
faithfulness over the little responsibility that God gives us per-time.
However, it should be clear that a man cannot receive anything unless it be
given to him from heaven.

A prophet to a nation is the one who bears the message of God to that
specific nation in order to turn their hearts to God. The primary assignment
of the prophet to the nations is to call the nations to repentance unto God.

A prophet to the nation not first the one who releases the word of the Lord
to the church in the territory, rather, the one who receives and release the
word of the Lord to territory. A prophet to the nation bears the authority of
the Lord to speak His word in a way that commands national attention and
leads to national transformation.

Jesus was a prophet of God sent to Jerusalem. Here is His word to the
city.

Matthew 23:37-39

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 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house
is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me
henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord.”

Jonah was God's prophet to the city of Nineveh. Jonah preached the word
and declared God's prophetic message to the city and it led to a citywide
transformation preceded by repentance towards God

Jonah 1:1-2

“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai,
saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it;
for their wickedness is come up before me.”

Note that, itinerary doesn’t make any preacher a prophet to the nations as
it were. We may not be wrong to call a travelling evangelist or teacher a
prophet to the nations because they are God’s spokesman bearing the gospel
to the nations that men may be saved and the church may be stablished in
the truth. However, in the light of what the Bible really calls a “Prophet to the
nations” both the travelling evangelist and teachers are not. Let us take a look
at what the Lord said to Jeremiah when God called him as a prophet to the
nations. Pay attention to the words in bold print in the scripture below.

Jeremiah 1:4-19

4 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

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 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were
born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I
am only a youth.”

7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all
to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you,
you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the
LORD.”

9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And
the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your
mouth.

10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to
build and to plant.”

11 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do
you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.”

12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching
over my word to perform it.”

13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying,

“What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away
from the north.”

14 Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall
be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.

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 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the
north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one
shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.

16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their

evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and
worshiped the works of their own hands.

17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything
that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before
them.

18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and
bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah,
its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.

19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for
I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”

“A prophet to the nations” is a calling, an administration of the prophetic

office. It entails God giving the prophet, specific messages to specific nations
which often involves visions and prophetic revelations. These revelations
usually capture what God is set to do with territories and kingdoms.

The declaration of these prophecies will impact the kings (Governmental

powers and ranks), officials (leaders in secular spheres), priests (Church
leaders and the brethren) and the people of the Land (the whole nation);
every one will have their share in the prophetic word.

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 God told Jeremiah that the word will be so unpalatable that they will come
against him to attack and persecute him, but he should stand strong because
they will not prevail. Prophets and persecution are not strangers to one
another, because persecution is a major way that people respond to the word
of the Lord in the mouth of the prophets to the nations. This is so because
the world loves iniquity but prophets declare God’s righteous judgement and
justice.

Being called a prophet to the nations is not about wining and dining with
kings, but calling out their sins and straightening them up by God’s righteous
judgement, and revelation of God’s justice by the words that God commands.

A prophet to a nation will command the attention of the kings, leaders or

rulers of the territory by the power of the Spirit. God will open the doors of
the high places of the nation to them that they may declare the word of the
Lord to the kings and rulers to reveal God’s plan and will.

Also note that these prophets can be sent by God to supply wisdom for
social, economic and spiritual advancement of the nation by the spirit of
prophecy. Joseph in Egypt was a prophet of God in the palace of Egypt, who
gave a prophetic intelligence about the nation's economy for the preservation
of the nations from the famine that was to come. Daniel was a prophet of God
in the palace of Babylon, the centre of witchcraft, sorcery and astrology. Yet
God's word was with him, he gave answers to the king's questions by
supplying spiritual intelligence to the king and the nation. The result was the
fear of God restored to the hearts of the people of Babylon, a spiritual
awakening towards the living God.

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 CHAPTER NINE

THE MAKING OF THE PROPHET

1. The authority of the prophet

Believers in Christ can have three forms of authority at their disposal.

The believer's authority to cast out devil, trample upon snakes and
scorpions and over the works of darkness (Luke 10:19). This authority is
equal and available to all. This authority answers to faith in the word of God
and the name of Jesus. This is the authority we have in and through the name
of Jesus.

There is the ministerial authority, this is the measure of authority

bequeathed to a saint by reason of his calling and assignment. This authority
has measures and jurisdiction, Paul had authority amongst the gentile and
Peter had authority amongst the Jews. This authority answers to individual
calling and the anointing to stand in an office (Galatians 2:8, 2 Corinthians
10:12-18).

There is the spiritual authority based on intimacy and friendship. This has
its foundation in being yielded to the will of God, this one is bequeathed on
the basis of merit. Jesus, after yielding to the Father's will to embrace death
on the cross, He resurrected and now seated at the right-hand of God (The
highest place of spiritual authority that can ever be). In the Kingdom,
spiritual authority increases with nearness to the heart of the Father,
obedience to His word and faithfulness in following His plan. (Hebrews
12:2).

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 In the Kingdom of God, you don't take authority, they give you. John
alluded to this in his gospel.

John 3:26-27

“And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that
was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness,
behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John
answered and said, a man can receive nothing, except it be
given him from heaven.”

True authority in the Kingdom comes from intimacy with the Father's
heart. Authority that comes from intimacy carries with it an air of meekness,
humility and brokenness. Authority with God doesn't come from doing many
things, it comes from being faithful with the one God has committed to our
hands. Authority grows with time, as we respond to God in obedience and
faithfully stewarding the measure of grace we have received.

Spread is not always a true witness to authority with God, depth is. Depth
with God doesn't just happen, it's the by-product of drillings and dealings
with God. It's what happens after God takes us through processes that bring
our heart to know true brokenness and contriteness.

There is the ministerial authority that God has ordained for those He has
called as prophet. However, they are to grow in this authority with time. It is
released to them in measures as God finds them faithful and as they carry
out their God ordained assignment by God's standard.

Increased authority in an office does not always find expression in greater

influence in the Church and across churches. Faithfulness helps you to enjoy
what God has ordained and given. If God has not ordained a man for an

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international ministry, no matter how much faithful he gets, he won't have
international influence, however, he will have the authority to maximize all
that God has ordained for him within the jurisdiction God has apportioned
to him.

As a prophet, you don't have authority in every local assembly, you don't
have authority over every saint you come across. As a matter of fact, some
local assembly and saints may reject your ministry. And this doesn't mean
they are evil, it simply means you are not sent to them, those to whom you
are sent will receive you in the name of a prophet and in the name of the
Lord.

Hence, it is witchcraft attitude to want to manipulate everyone to receive

you as a prophet. Never forget that the authority and position of leadership
that God didn't give you but you forcefully took, you will have to sustain all
by yourself, and of course, in the flesh, which won't produce the fruit of
righteousness.

2. The maturity of the prophet

1 Samuel 3:19

“And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let
none of his words fall to the ground.”

Prophets and prophetic people can be a huge blessing when they steward
their grace adequately and they can be a serious pain in the neck when they
mess things up due to immaturity. No one matures automatically, and
maturity is not determined by the passage of time. Times doesn't make any
man grow outside of intentional efforts and inputs.

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 One time the Lord said to me, "Time in itself is not a factor of growth, but
time allows for the factors of growth to find expression and allows growth to
happen." It is what we put into time that makes the difference.

A saint can receive a prophetic word that God is calling him as a prophet,
and he will use him as his prophet to the nations. This will not automatically
happen, in fact, this is a potential future captured through prophecy. It is not
an inevitable future, this means, it may happen and it may not happen.

Some prophetic people who have the call of the prophet do not enter into
the fullness of God's calling for them because they didn't give themselves to
growth. Growth is usually a bridge between prophecy and fulfilment of
prophecy. Many blindly assume that because they are manifesting certain
gifts of the Spirit, they have attained the maturity needed to fulfil the
prophecy about their calling. Some even say I have been prophesying for 15
years now, but this also doesn't mean that such person is mature in the
prophetic, it’s growth in depth that brings maturity not time.

Here, maturity is the difference between a hundred level medicine student

who people fondly call “Doctor” in hope, and an actual practicing doctor. Will
you allow the medicine student whom you call doctor to help deliver your
baby, or the one with proven years of experience as a practicing doctor? This
is the major difference between the immature prophetic people and the
mature prophets. Some of them even use the title of prophet, but this doesn't
change the fact that, they are potential prophets. This doesn't mean they are
not called, it simply means they haven't stood yet in that office, because they
have not built the capacity to bear the weight of the responsibility,
persecution and glory that comes with the office.

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 Maturity is the summation of years of learning, being taught by more
experienced people, making of mistakes and learning from them, learning to
stay in the word, embracing humility and meekness, building a tough skin to
endure persecution, being dead to fame, praise of men, lust for money and
attachment to comfort and convenience. It entails learning to choose
obedience even when your life is at risk etc., that is what maturity looks like.

God wants prophetic people to mature and to mature fast because the
harvest is ripe and He needs more labourers in the vineyards. One of the ways
maturity is designed to happen is through tutelage and service. Jesus said,
“Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly hearted” (Matthew 11:29). In the
church, no one is designed to be raised in isolation. Anyone who is not ready
to submit to learn under someone and who is not ready to serve is dangerous,
we should look out for such, lest they become a tool in the devil's hand.

The Bible spoke about Samuel, a mighty prophet whose words don't fall
to the ground. However, we learnt that he didn't start that way, there was a
time he couldn't discern the voice of God, Eli had to train him. He began as
an errand boy in the temple and rose to be a great seer and prophet.

1 Samuel 3:7-9

“Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word
of the LORD yet revealed unto him.”

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. Therefore, Eli
said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls thee,

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 that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So,
Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

1 Samuel 3:19

“And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let
none of his words fall to the ground.”

Samuel, whom at a time didn't know the Lord or perceive His ways,
became a prophet whose words never fell to the ground. What happened to
him was growth and maturity which came by the reason of tutelage, service
and submission under Eli and under God.

Mature prophetic people should encourage the babes, correct them in love
and help nurture them till they become a fit weapon in God's hand. They may
miss it and get it wrong some times, but the environment of love, correction
and training will help them grow fast. Even those who are mature in
administering the gifts of the Spirit should also be trained and encouraged
to be mature in Christ like character. Prophetic people should be well
groomed to be top-notch in character, values, discipline, moving in the
supernatural power of God and operating in the anointing to bless others.
We must be trained to honour everyone and not see ourselves more highly
than our brethren, for we are their servants by Christ Jesus.

3. The persecutions of a prophet

Matthew 23:34

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men,

and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and

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 some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and
persecute them from city to city.”

Persecution is one of the packages that comes with the calling of the
prophetic office. In my opinion, it is a necessary ingredient to keep the
prophet humble. The office of the prophet is one which has the ability to
command the honour and attention of men because of the gifts of the Spirit
that accompanies it. Hence, the Lord in His wisdom has added to its package
the ingredient of persecution to hinder the prophet from being bloated due
to pride that can arise from the praise of men. From the time of old,
persecution is common to the prophets and the apostles. Their ability to
endure persecution brings them a measure of blessing, it grants them
entrance into greater doors in the Kingdom.

Matthew 5:10

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:

for their's is the kingdom of heaven.”

Acts 14:21-22

"And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had
taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium,
and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting
them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

The persecution of a prophet is usually expressed in false accusation,

dislike, insult, reviling, beating, stoning, maiming, killing, betrayals,
oppositions against their ministry etc. Persecutions are usually sponsored by
the devil, through men who yield themselves to be used of him, and it is

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sometimes permitted by God. The Scripture taught us how to relate to
persecution, we must love and pray for those who persecute us.

Prophets are not called to be people pleasers, and that alone will make
people dislike them, speak and act against them. But those who hear God will
hear them and receive their ministry with gladness.

The ministers of God should build a tough skin that makes them
immovable by either appraisal of men or persecution, none should move us.

How to respond to persecution?

1. Find solace in God who has called you. Learn to encourage yourself in God,
because in certain seasons, you may not find encouragement even from those
whom you love.

1 Samuel 30:6

“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of

stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David
encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

2. Love, do not hate, bless do not curse. This is how you trade afflictions for
glory. When you respond negatively, you just wasted the affliction.

Romans 12:14

“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”

3. Do not get depressed, gloomy and don't wallow in guilt, condemnation and
self-pity.

Romans 8:1

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 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

4. Prayerfully rebuke and resist the accuser and the opposer that's using the
people against you.

James 4:7

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will

flee from you.”

5. Maintain an atmosphere of joy. Sing and worship the Lord, for He is good
all the time and if He permits this, it will surely turn out for His glory.

Acts 16:25-26

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto
God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a
great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were
shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every
one's bands were loosed.”

6. Fellowship with your company or tribe, don't go through it alone. Talk to

people who love you and believes in your ministry.

Acts 4:23-24

“And being let go, they went to their own company, and
reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with
one accord.”

4. The family of the prophet

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 Every minister must pay attention to his family. There's much wisdom in
finding the balance of how to fulfil your ministry at home and abroad. The
wisdom of God is that, His apostles will be His witnesses first in Jerusalem
(at homeland) before Judah, Samaria and uttermost part of the earth (Acts
1:8).

Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ, revealed to us that in considering those

who will serve as elders and positions of authority in local assemblies, their
conduct at home and their family should be a major reference point.

1 Timothy 3:12 DARBY

“Let the ministers be husbands of one wife, conducting their

children and their own houses well.”

The family according to God's design, is meant to mirror the Kingdom of

God and God's relationship with His children. The call to fatherhood and
motherhood is a call to partake in God's nature. This makes the family the
minister's first ministry before anyone else. The minister must satisfy his
wife and must raise his children in the way of the Lord.

Because of Abraham's spiritual commitment to his family, God could trust

him with His secrets. For the prophets, commitment to family life is a major
secret to accessing God’s secrets.

Genesis 18:17-19

“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which
I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and
mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and
his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord,

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 to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

A man who is known as an anointed preacher on the platform and an

unloving husband and bad father at home is one who has failed in ministry.
Success in ministry is only complete when the minister gets it right at home.

It is an anomaly for a minister to love ministering to outsiders without

considering spending time with his family at home. His first audience is
supposed to be his family; they should be the first recipient of God's grace for
equipping upon his life. To fail in this ministry is to fail in a big way.

God desires that every believer will leave their children with a legacy of
Christ like character and faith in God.

2 Timothy 1:5

“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee,

which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother
Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

Lastly on this note, we must understand that it is God’s desire that your
children will pick up the mandate for ministry from you and continue from
where you stop, either on your platform or another. Hence, you are
demanded to train them for the work of the ministry.

Isaiah 59:21

“As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My
spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth
of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the
LORD, from henceforth and for ever.”
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 5. The company of the prophet

1 Samuel 19:19-20

“And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in

Ramah. 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.”

Samuel was the prophetic leader at Ramah. The company of prophets

there operated as a school of prophets, where people were trained, taught
and activated into prophetic flows. The company of prophets there were able
to generate a prophetic atmosphere that is strong enough to make anyone
prophesy. The three set of messengers that Saul sent and Saul himself,
prophesied as they got to the atmosphere of the company. (1 Samuel 19:18-
24).

Every minister needs a company, a family, a tribe that they can always
feed from. A place they can go and be refreshed, reignited, reactivated,
receive higher measure of prophetic sight, visions, instructions and measures
for their assignment. The company does not have to comprise of all prophets.
They only have to be a company yielded to the government of the Spirit like
the Acts 13:1-3 company.

Acts 13:1-3

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain

prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was
called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had
been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

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 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,
separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have
called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid
their hands on them, they sent them away.”

Such gathering is a place of commissioning, strengthening of conviction,

expansion of spiritual horizon, clarity of sight, reception of fuller revelations
and lots more. It is that place you go to, where you feel at home and you are
allowed to be yourself in the liberty of the Spirit. You are allowed to make
mistake and learn, to get better, train and attempt great things.

6. The character of the prophet

Matthew 7:15-16

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's

clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know
them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles?”

Jesus talking about the ministry of the prophet said, false prophets will be
known by their fruits. In the same way, true prophets will be known by their
fruits too. The fruits of the true prophets that make them stand out are seen
in Christ like character as revealed by Paul in Galatians 5.

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.”

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 The character of the prophet is dear to God's heart, even more than the
manifestation of his gifting. The one who represents God must do so
holistically. Let him that call the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Iniquity is transgression against God's ordinances and rebellion against his
ways. A minister is not meant to be a vessel whom the Lord borrows for an
assignment and afterwards returns to his previous way of life. Rather, he is a
minister 24-7, wherever he finds himself. The prophets of God as the
righteous, are designed to be fruits bearing trees and their fruits are to abide.

The strength of a prophet’s character is a major determining factor for

maturity. He therefore must trust God to help him walk in love, true faith
and a good conscience before all men. A contrary lifestyle to this will taint
the prophet's ministry.

God wants us to be faultless and blameless in our lifestyle. He wants us to

live as example unto others.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one
toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward
you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in
holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ with all his saints.”

7. The commissioning of a prophet

Calling is one thing that precedes commissioning. The calling is usually

the coming into an awareness and conviction of one's preordained
assignment in God. For everyone who is called, God also commissions. The

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commissioning is the setting apart, the consecration into an office, the
sending by the Lord and His Body.

Commissioning sometimes happen in phases, as we transit from one level

of influence and phase of mandate to the other in our ministry.

Have you ever noticed that David was anointed king on three separate
occasions?

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his
brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day
forward.” – 1 Samuel 16:13 ESV

“And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the
house of Judah.” – 2 Samuel 2:4 ESV

“So, all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David
made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed
David king over Israel.” – 2 Samuel 5:3 ESV

Why was David anointed king on three separate occasions? The first was
a commissioning necessary to establish an awareness and a conviction in
David as regards God’s ordination for his life. This allowed the Spirit of the
Lord to rest upon him, who began to teach him and lead him about in
preparation for the next phase. The second was for his assignment as king
over Judah which was a phase of heaven’s mandate over his life and the last
was for his assignment as king over Israel the place God was preparing him
for all along.

After we come into an awareness of God's call upon our lives,

commissioning will happen to us in phases as we step into different levels of
our God ordained assignment. Usually, the commissioning takes the form of

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God having human representative to anoint, lay hand and release the
blessing of consecration upon us by prophetic utterance. This was what
happened to Paul, He was first commissioned by Ananias and later by the
saints, alongside Barnabas. The first commissioning helped him set sail for
his ministry as a teacher and preacher of God’s word and the other launched
him into the apostolic ministry he has received from the Lord. (Acts 9:10-17,
Acts 13:1-4).

Between the phase of the calling and the commissioning is preparation,

training and being found fit. Commissioning is installation into a spiritual
office that gives you access to mantles of power and divine possibilities, those
things are not toys that God throws around anyhow, they are kingdom
arsenal, weapons of war for the advancement of the kingdom in a dark world.
After you are aware of the call, then make your calling and election sure
because many are called but at the end few are chosen and the difference
between the two party is accurate response to the call.

2 Peter 1:10

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your

calling and election sure.”

Matthew 22:14

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

8. The imperfection of a prophet

The Bible spoke of Samuel, the prophet whose words never fell to the
ground in 1 Samuel 3:19, he had the reputation of prophetic accuracy and
'perfection,' more like he never missed. However, there was a situation where

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the humanity of Samuel overrode his prophetic perception and he missed.
The instance of his going to Jesse's house to anoint the next king of Israel
after God rejected Saul. All the children of Jesse except David stood before
him and he had to elect the one God has chosen by the Spirit. However, he
got it wrong, even though he sounded so sure and spoke with confidence. He
began the supposed prophetic utterance with “Surely.”

1 Samuel 16:6-7

“And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on

Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.

But the LORD said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or
on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

It takes the Spirit of God to know whom the Lord has elected out of seven
possible options and others that are not part of the options. When Samuel
announced Eliab as the Lord's anointed, he was being sincere, he wasn't
trying to deceive the people. But in the prophetic, sincerity doesn't amount
to precision and accuracy. One can be sincere and sincerely wrong. It is
human to falter, to err is human.

It is also worthy of note that, God didn't rebuke him harshly, rather
corrected him and led him to the place of true light. He found God's help
because he was sincere, God desires truth and sincerity in our inward parts.
Samuel was quick to repent and wasn't ashamed to let people know that
statement he just uttered wasn't from the Lord, he didn't exalt his prophetic

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reputation higher than the word of God. He was broken enough to retrace his
step and make things right before men in God's honour.

Prophets are first human, then sons of God, then servants of God. They
were born human, then born of God and afterward called as a prophet. They
are the three at the same time. Their being prophets doesn't stop them from
being human and their being human doesn't stop them from being sons of
God.

Imperfections dwells in the realm of fallen man. We are born of God in

Christ, through faith in Jesus. But as long as we are still in this earthly
tabernacle, which is a feature of the fallen man, then we are not yet free from
imperfection. However, the more we respond to the truth of God's word, and
we are being changed and conformed to the image of Christ, the less the
imperfection that surfaces in our lives and service to God. For this reason, it
is wise to give allowance for imperfection when receiving and administering
prophetic ministry. This doesn't suggest that we are not confident in God
who is at work in us, but that we have the fear of God and discharge our duty
with reverence.

In the Old Testament, the consequence for inaccurate prophecy is severe.

This is because, there is no system to judge the prophetic word, hence,
whatever the prophet says, stands as authority to be followed. But in the New
Testament, the spirit of prophets can be tested, prophecies can be judged,
prophetic ministry can be proven.

1 John 4:1

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 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into
the world.”

1 Corinthians 14:29

“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.”

Matthew 7:15-16

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's

clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know
them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles?”

God has given us a system for relating with prophetic ministry in order to
be in safety. The testimony of the Scriptures, the witness of the Spirit in our
heart and the confirmation of other saints who hear God, are systems that
God has given us to get the best part of prophetic ministry, deal with
imperfections and discern false prophets.

Prophetic people should be humble enough to allow their prophecies to

be judged and their ministry to be proved. Receiving a prophet in the name
of a prophet does not mean we cannot judge the prophet's prophecy, neither
does doing that suggest dishonour. It rather implies that; we are obeying the
Scripture as an authority that is higher than the prophet. Judging prophecy
is not about looking for what is wrong, but looking for what is right.

Prophets must admit that they can be wrong, they can miss it, their
prophecy can be biased. The spirit of prophecy is always right, but he finds
expression through imperfect vessels. This calls for caution in administering
prophecy. Wisdom teaches us to use phrases like, "I perceive, I sense" rather

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than "God told me" (unless you are triple sure He did), when communicating
prophecies. Prophesying is communication, hence, getting feedbacks from
the recipient of prophecy is highly encouraged. It helps you to navigate better
as you trust God to listen more for the person. It also helps you to know how
accurate you are in your perception. In a case where you missed it, don't go
diplomatic, simply apologize. The heart of humility means more to God than
prophetic precision.

A prophet may prophesy accurately this minute, and prophesy

inaccurately the next minute. Hence, the need to judge every prophecy. More
on judging prophecy is written in my book titled, "LET ALL PROPHESY."

In all, the goal of prophesying is not to be right or wrong, but to edify. If

the recipient is edified in the spirit and the truth, then you have done a good
job.

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 CHAPTER TEN

PITFALLS, GUARDRAILS AND FRUITS OF PROPHETIC

MINISTRY

PITFALLS PROPHETS SHOULD AVOID

There are certain pitfalls that are common to the prophetic ministry, these
pitfalls have brought an abrupt end and colossal damages to ministries in the
past. Here are a few of them that every prophet should watch out for;

1. Lust for money

God's servant must receive grace and build discipline to overcome lust for
filthy lucre. This is a commitment that every minister must make before
launching out into ministry. Money has made ministers make certain
decisions out of the will of God. Desire to meet needs has also made some do
things that are unrighteous.

Because the prophetic ministry compels honour and respect, it is a

ministry that the devil seeks to pervert by stirring the ministers to use their
gifts and graces as a means of personal gain. It is out of place for prophets to
demand for a sum before they serve others with their gifts. What led to the
fall of Balaam, though he was a mighty prophet, was the lust for filthy lucre
and greed.

Jude 1:11

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 “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in
the gainsaying of Core”.

A counsel for every minister is, study the Scripture and build faith in God's
ability to meet your need, and whatever God is not giving you, don't have.
Paul said, having food and raiment, let us be content. The emphasis there is
not food and raiment, but contentment with what God generously provides
through righteousness.

1 Timothy 6:5-11

“Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of

the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith
content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of
God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness.”

Every minister must deal with the love of money; it will ever be the root
of all evil. Greed, covetousness, lust for material things, can be the
manifestations of love for money. The truth must be established in our

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hearts, that true prosperity is not first material, but spiritual, and it is more
valuable to be rich in mercy, goodness and meekness than in material things.

Gehazi lost the prophetic inheritance he should have received from Elisha to
lust for material things. These things are written for our admonition (2 Kings
5:20-27).

2 Kings 5:20

“But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold,
my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at
his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will
run after him, and take somewhat of him.”

If a man takes what God did not give him, it usually leaves the man with
sorrow and regrets.

2. Pride

God cannot help a proud man. James revealed to us the end of a proud
man.

James 4:6

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the

proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

If God resists a proud man, then men won't be able to help him. Pride
precedes destruction, and a haughty spirit before fall. Pride comes in when a
minister begins to think of himself more highly than others.

Philippians 2:3

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 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

The prophetic ministry has a way of calling the attention of men through
spectacular revelations, signs and wonders. The minister must consciously
and consistently point the attention of men to Jesus and direct men to give
him the praise and the glory. Peter and John had to do the same when they
mentioned how they were able to heal the impotent man. They didn't say it's
because they were highly anointed or exceptionally graced, rather they
pointed to the name of Jesus.

Acts 4:7-10

“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what
power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled
with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and
elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done
to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole.”

One time the Lord showed me a vision, in the vision, he took me to a

jewellery store. He took me to a show glass that has a very beautiful pearl in
it. We both stood in front and I looked in amazement at the beautiful gem.
In no distant time, people began to surround us to have a gaze at the gem
and the crowd grew large. Then the Lord asked me "All these people, what
are they looking at?" and I replied "The Pearl". "Can they see the pearl

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without first seeing the show glass?" He asked, and I said, "No". He said to
me, "I am the pearl, you are the show glass, I am the glory in you that attracts
men to you, without the pearl the show glass is nothing, it's the pearl that
makes the show glass valuable,". This lesson did a whole lot in my heart, it
taught me humility, Christ is the treasure in the earthen vessels that we are.
It is His glory that men see that makes them come to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency

of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

3. Sexual impurity

Sexual impurity may not only bring a scandal that taints the minister's
reputation amongst men, it may also defames the body of Christ to whom he
belongs. Sexual impurity is a work of the flesh that ministers must be dead
to. Sexual scandals don't just happen, it is usually a graduation of lust,
inordinate affection, illicit sexual desire that has lingered and allowed to
survive in people's thought realm.

It begins as a seed of carnal thought which can be immediately uprooted.

However, if it finds an atmosphere to grow in the mind of the person, in a
short time it will produce ignoble fruits.

A way to overcome this pitfall is to always kill the carnal thought of sexual
impurity. And if one notices a potential or tendency towards sexual impurity,
such should consciously go to God in prayers and meditate on the Scripture
of victory over sin to kill the tendency. If it proves hard, then bring it to light,
talk to leaders whom you can trust about it and have them pray with you.

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There's wisdom in dealing with the little leaven that can leaven the whole
lump, right on time.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye

should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should
know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which
know not God.”

Lastly, there's wisdom in not assuming that you are infallible, only God is.
But as you walk in obedience to the Lord, mortifying the deeds of the flesh
and conducting yourself wisely amongst the opposite gender, the tendency
to fall for sexual sin tends to zero.

4. Lust for food

Ministers of God should learn to exercise self-control over food. What to

eat, what to drink and what to wear should not hold dear in their hearts.
Ministers who have a problem exercising discipline over food will not be able
to fast as they should, and waiting on God in fasting and prayers is a must for
prophetic ministry and ministers generally.

Matthew 4:1-2

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be

tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and
forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Prophets of old like Moses, Elijah, even Jesus and many other ministers
in the Bible fasted. They are examples for us to follow.

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 It is also out of place for ministers not to pay attention to eating correctly.
Feeding on junks and overly and unduly skipping meals is not okay.
Consistent feeding on junks could shorten one's lifespan because of the
chemicals used in preparing some of them, and usually does the body more
harm than good. God wants us to take care of our body, which is His temple.

On a certain day, I saw a picture of a man of God celebrating his 75th year
anniversary and he was looking really young as though he was in his 50s. I
asked the Lord, what's the secret of living long without looking haggard, He
said, "Faith confessions, eat good food and at the right time, learn to rest
when you need to and don't always overwork your body."

5. Lust for fame

Fame is a tool for spreading the good news of the Kingdom. Influence
sometimes ride on the wings of fame. The desire to be famous can lead
ministers to do unrighteous things in order to have access to big platforms.
This is tantamount to the works of the flesh. Fame is what God gives, and
until God give it, we can't receive it, if we take it forcefully through carnal
means, it will come with sorrow.

We must let people know that not everyone will have an international or
worldwide ministry, not everyone will have a television or radio ministry, not
everyone will have a national influence too. All these happens first as an
election of grace before they happen as reward for faithfulness for those who
have been ordained for such level of influence.

What the election of grace hasn't given, faith and faithfulness in service
will not help you receive. However, faith and faithfulness in service will help
you lay hold on the fullness of what election of Grace has given you.
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 Luke 4:14-15

“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and
there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”

God gives fame in different measures to His servants, so they can teach
and preach the gospel of the kingdom to more people that His name may be
glorified.

6. Complexity

Jesus is the model of the prophetic ministry, whatever cannot be seen in

the lifestyle of Jesus should not be adopted as a pattern for ministry. Jesus
preached the gospel of the Kingdom with several references to what was
written at different point. Jesus lived a normal life, He lived as a man, He did
things that humans do, He often referred to Himself as son of man. He ate
with His disciples, wore clothes, visited friends and even went to a wedding.
None of these hindered Him from living also as a son of God, who without
stress did things that are supernatural. He healed the sick, raised the dead,
cast out devil, turned water to wine and performed diverse miracles.

Every prophet is first a man, then a son of God, then a servant of God to
His people. He is all of these at the same time. There is much wisdom in
knowing how to balance all these expressions embodied in one person
without having to put on an air of spookiness. The supernatural life that
prophets live shouldn't make them feel super special, rather humble. We
must always remind ourselves that we are humans growing into the
perfection of the son of God. We must consciously and intentionally labour
to be simple in our delivery of the gospel and be simple in our lifestyle.
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 2 Corinthians 1:12

“For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that

in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but
by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world,
and more abundantly to you-ward.”

Every minister must be content with staying in the Word and allowing the
Holy Scriptures to draw the boundary for his operations, preaching and
ministry. We must bury carnal desires to sound deep and honour the word
of God in context and learn to submit to the consistency of the Scripture,
rather than making the Scripture say what we want it to say. For this cause,
every revelation must be passed through the sieve of the consistency of the
Scriptures. If a Scripture verse negates the claim of any revelation, however
prophetic it is, the revelation must be bowed to the truth and the truth of the
word must prevail.

PROPHETIC GUARDRAILS

These are systems that God has put in place for the establishment,
preservation and safety of the prophets and every ministry alike. We will
consider them one after the other;

1. Spiritual Family

Psalms 68:6

“God setteth the solitary in families.”

There is strength in unity, the strength of an army is usually greater than

the strength of a single soldier. The design of God is that each saint will be

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connected to other members of the body. Your company or tribe as some
other people call it, is that gathering where you are your best under God. That
place where you are known by the Spirit and received as God's servant, where
they believe in you and God's work in you. It's that place where you rub mind
with like minds.

After that the Sadducees arrested Peter and John for healing a lame man.
They went to their company to report all that happened, they all prayed
together and the Holy Ghost came for them with fresh impartation of grace.

Acts 4:23

“And being let go, they went to their own company, and
reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto
them.”

Acts 4:31

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

You company is ordained by God to help you remain in the will of God.
They supply strength, encouragement, prophetic intelligence and
sometimes, commissioning in God's will as in the case of Paul and Barnabas
(Acts 13:1-4).

2. Accountability

Every minister must be accountable, firstly to God, secondly to those God

has placed as his overseers, thirdly to his brethren (accountability partners),

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and lastly to those who looks up to him. Accountability is a system God has
put in place to preserve, establish and restore the path of the just.

A man who is afraid to be accountable to anybody will make a bad leader

who is not worthy of the submission of others. Accountability and
submission cannot be separated, sometimes accountability demands the
submission of your life, message, ministry, prophecy, revelation and visions
for scrutiny.

Paul, who was a man highly graced in supernatural visions and revelations
was accountable to the elders and apostles in the church. He submitted his
message and revelations for scrutiny having being in the ministry for
fourteen years, lest he runs in vain.

Galatians 2:1-2

“Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with

Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by
revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I
preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of
reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.”

He didn't submit his revelations and gospel to the immature and babes
but to elders, men who are of reputation. We can always trust the Spirit of
the Lord to confirm His words to those we ought to be accountable
to. Especially, if we know they have a track record of walk with God and they
are not insecure.

Hebrews 2:3

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 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at
the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him.”

Accountability is a blessing that the saints should be grateful for. A

privilege we must not abuse. Unless a man learns submission and
accountability, heaven will not release the full measure of authority ordained
for him in ministry.

Accountability accords you the opportunity to open up to share your

secret weaknesses, faults and imperfections that you may find help. The devil
wants men to fight their weakness alone, because he knows that if a man
opens up the weakness, it will be fought by a team and victory comes
speedily. God gives us leaders, accountability partners, so that we can find
strength to overcome whatever is secretly eating us up at any time. Whatever
fault a man expose to light is threatened already but many die up because
they won't speak up. Trust those God has placed over and around you, they
are your wall of security, always open up on any lingering weakness before it
gets the better part of you.

Hebrews 13:17

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves:
for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account,
that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is
unprofitable for you.”

If you have been accountable before and your vulnerability was used
against you, I pray God heals your heart and lead you to His servants who
are after his heart and would love you from God’s heart.

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 3. Prayers

A man who cannot sustain a consistent prayerful life will have a problem
maximizing his destiny and the fullness of God's plan for him. A praying man
is the one who assumes the posture of weakness, to such, God shows Himself
strong. Jesus prayed, He prayed consistently, He prayed for hours stretch,
He prayed all the time. The apostles prayed and taught us to pray unceasingly
too. Peter said, the apostles will give themselves to prayer and the ministry
of the Word (Acts 6:4).

Prayer align us with God's will, prayer opens us up to the revelations of

God about our lives and the Kingdom. Prophets who don't pray may sustain
the use of a gift of the Spirit but the freshness of the Spirit will be gone. The
gifts without the presence and freshness of the Spirit is not a complete
package.

A praying prophet is one who is positioning himself for heavenly

revelations and visions.

Habakkuk 2:1

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and
will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall
answer when I am reproved.”

Praying in other tongues consciously and consistently cannot be over

emphasized. A man that will abound in God's secrets and revelations must
also abound in speaking godly mysteries via tongues.

Ephesians 6:18

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 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints.”

1 Corinthians 14:18

“I thank my God; I speak with tongues more than ye all.”

Prayer also helps the minister to remain in the will of God. If

peradventure, the minister is deserting his ordained assignment or his place
of calling, through consistent praying in other tongues, God will make known
his error to him and show him what to do. A man who prays always in
tongues will not have a problem discerning the will of God per time.

4. Passion for Jesus

Nothing must replace the love of God in the heart of His prophets. A
prophet who is not passionate about Jesus is buying his way into error and
misfortune. One of the secrets of prophetic authority is love for Jesus. Love
for the person of Jesus must supersede love for ministry, gifts, platforms,
signs and wonders, wining soul and having relevance.

The prophetic ministry is one which usually have an outlook of the

spectacular; the signs and the wonder. However, for a prophet to keep his
eyes and gaze pure, he will have to keep fanning to flames the fiery passion
of his perfect love for God.

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:

because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love.”

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 The love of God takes away the fear of error, the fear of falling, the fear of
getting it wrong, the fear of back sliding. For God has not given us the spirit
of fear but of love, power and sound mind. Passion for Jesus keeps us in his
will and shields us from distraction.

5. Obedience

1 Samuel 15:22

“Obedience is better than Sacrifice and to hearken than the fats

of ram”

Obedience helps us to remain in the path that God has destined for us to
walk. Obedience to God's word and Spirit, is the bridge to walking in destiny.
There's no fulfilment of God's purpose, maximizing destiny, pleasing God
and enjoying the fullness of His blessings outside of obedience.

The word of God reveals to us the preordained path that our feet should
walk, we walk the path by obedience. It is the not the hearer of the word that
is blessed but the doer thereof. Obedience to God's ordinance helps brightens
our conscience and help our heart become more tender to the end that
hearing God's voice becomes easier there by. Disobedience hardens the heart
and darkens the conscience. It opens the door to the devil and makes you
vulnerable to the attack of the enemy.

Obedience to God is the way we build a life and ministry that will stand
the test of storms and wind. It also shields us from distractions, attacks,
unnecessary stress and pain and keeps us in God's perfect will per time.

Matthew 7:24-25

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 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it
was founded upon a rock.”

6. Honouring God’s Word

A minister who will last in ministry is the one who honours the word of
God. One who doesn't have so much honour for God's word will easily be
carried away by false doctrine, deception, seducing spirit and lying tongues.
The word of God in a major guardrail for our lives, relationships, marriages,
ministries and all that we do.

Isaiah 66:2

“For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things
have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to
him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my
word.”

If only we will stay on the Word and obey the leading of the Spirit, our
lives will be beautiful and our ministries will truly bring glory and honour to
Jesus.

The word of God should be our reference for all things. The witness of the
Word must be the first and last resort every time we seek to know the will of
God about anything. The Word of God is the will of God revealed.

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 As prophets, every revelation, dream, vision, perception, experiences and
encounters must be passed through the sieve of the Word. Whatever doesn't
align with the consistency of the Scripture should be discarded.

If we will listen to God's voice, pay attention to His leading and study to
show ourselves approved, we will become workmen who bring full pleasure
to God. If we allow His word to dictate the way we live, judge things, relate
to people, handle money, build our home and do the work of the ministry,
we will be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

FRUITS OF THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY

1. Repentance

Prophetic ministry calls men to repentance, it reveals the will of God to

men and draw their hearts to Him. The prophets declare God's word and His
Spirit convicts the people. One of the core messages of the prophet is tied to
calling people to repentance. Repentance is not just for the folks that doesn't
come to church. Every time a man come short of God's standard; he only
finds help by repenting. Repenting is the way we ascend heights in God.
Repenting is the way we move up and align with God’s standard that won't
be brought down to our level. Repentance is captured in acknowledgement
of wrong, a strong desire and necessary actions to turn from it.

Repentance is what both the self-righteous church folks and the worldly
sinners rubbed in sinful mud needs. It's a need for everyman at different
levels, those in the Kingdom and those outside the Kingdom will have need
of it at different levels. Hence, the prophet’s ministry will still be valid as long
as men exist on the earth.

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 Matthew 4:17

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

2. Aligns men with destiny

The Scripture tells us that prophet Samuel met Saul and revealed to him
God's plan for him. He revealed to him that God had elected him as the first
king of the nation of Israel. Samuel didn't just prophesy over Saul, he also
anointed and ordained him for the throne. (1 Samuel 9 and 10).

Within the prophetic office is the supernatural ability to bring clarity and
definition to people's destiny and to call forth the heavenly mandate God has
given to people. This is one of the things prophets do with prophecy. Through
prophecy, prophets align men with their eternal and preordained version.

3. Stirs hunger for God

The prophetic ministry is also designed to stir hunger for God in men. The
revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit are to exalt Christ before men and reveal
His love to them. The fruitfulness of the prophetic ministry is seen in the
adequate response from those receiving the prophet's ministry. Adequate
response in repentance, increased desire for God and His Kingdom and
passion for Jesus.

God sometimes permit prophets to share their supernatural experiences

in Christ to stir the saints unto jealousy for the things of God. This should be
done in the spirit of meekness, fear of God and boldness that comes from

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God, to show men what's possible in Christ through the ministry of his Spirit
to us.

4. Miracles, signs and wonders

Healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out devil, supernatural debt
cancelation, opening the eyes of the blind, binding the broken-hearted,
supernatural multiplication of food are a few of the miracles that
accompanied the prophetic ministry in the Scripture.

The supernatural power of God is present by the anointing upon the

prophet to help solve problems too. God cares about His people and He
wants to solve their problems and meet their needs supernaturally. The
prophetic ministry is one of the ways God sets the ball rolling for His people
to receive the miracles they need.

Prophetic utterances, instructions and decrees are very key for the
manifestation of the miraculous. Faith in God and the prophet of God is key
to receiving miracle from the ministry and grace of a prophet.

2 Chronicles 20:20

“Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established;

believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”

5. Transformation

The joy of any true minister shouldn't be in number of members but

transformation in the souls of men. The proof that we are called is not first
accuracy of prophecy, but men who have gotten it right by the prophecy. The
true labour over the saints is the formation of Christ in His full measure in
them. Those who receive the prophet’s ministry, must love Jesus more, serve

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Him better, know how to be led by the Spirit more, walk in holiness and
please God better.

Paul was talking about the seal of his calling and he referred to men whose
lives are changed and made better by his message.

1 Corinthians 9:1-2

“Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ
our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle
unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine
apostleship are ye in the Lord.”

At another time, he called them his joy. This is because what gives a true
minister joy and fulfilment in ministry is to see that men are changed and
transformed.

Philippians 4:1

“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy

and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”

People shouldn't consistently sit under our ministration and be

comfortable in their sin and worldliness, in rebellion against parents and
authorities. If a congregation is spiritually cold, the first point of call is to
check their man of God.

6. Spiritual growth

Acts 15:32

“And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted

the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.”

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 Growth is progressive, when people receive our ministry consistently,
after a while there should be a considerable change in their lives for the
better.

They should grow in wisdom, spiritual stature, knowledge of God and

discernment. This will mean that as prophetic minister or prophet who
minister once a while as God opens the door ministry, we should have a way
of taking feedbacks from those receiving our ministry. This will help us to
know how God has helped us thus far and where we need God to help us now.

Prophets who are also called to core discipleship must be intentional

about each of the sheep that God has committed to their care. They must take
heed unto the flock to be sure that they are not just increasing in knowledge
without giving their hearts to receiving and obeying instructions.

Acts 20:28

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over
the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

There is wisdom in feeding the sheep systematically; grounding them in

the very foundations of the doctrine of Christ, of repentance, faith, baptism,
laying on of hands, resurrections, judgement, holiness, love, brokenness,
giving, obedience and others. If we build men well, they will stand the test of
hard time and their strength depends on what we feed them with.

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE RISING BREEDS OF PROPHETS

Here is a prophetic word I received and published on 20-08-2019, as

touching the emerging breeds of prophets that God is raising in our day and
time.

The word of the Lord came to me and I heard, these are the days the Lord
is raising unto Himself, different breeds of prophets;

Prophets are rising like Samuel, with the kingmakers anointing. These
ones will have the anointing to enthrone and dethrone kings by the Spirit of
the Lord. They will uphold the righteousness of God’s justice over thrones of
governance. Their strength will be from the Lord, sourced through
separation unto Him.

Prophets are rising like Jeremiah, who will bear the burden of nations and
lament over the wickedness of nations that hearts may turn to the Lord.
These ones will be trained by the Spirit to sit in the council of the Lord to
hear the heavenly counsels.

Prophets are rising like Elijah, who will hold nations, land and territories
to ransom by the voice of their words until men yield to the Lord in
repentance. These ones will disgrace false prophets of other gods in broad
day light. Elijah’s public strength is from his secret life with God. These ones
will be trained by the Spirit to stay in the secret place until the time of their
manifestation.

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 Prophets are rising like Daniel, whose devotion to the Lord and
intercessory strength will expire the might of the demonic princes and
priests. These ones will answer the questions of kings and rise as the kings’
secret advisers. These ones by wisdom and intercession, will make bare God’s
plan for nations, land and territories that they have been assigned to. Those
called in this wise will be trained by the Spirit to despise riches, fame and
world glory. It’s their major source of temptation. They must keep their
loyalty to God, lest they be defiled. They must be ready to go through the fire
for their faith.

Prophets are rising like Jonah, whose words will be laced with fire that
will cause the heart of men to burn. By their obedience in declaring the word
of God, nations will weep and kings will put on sack clothes as they will turn
in repentance to God for the aversion of imminent judgment. These ones
have the anointing to harvest nation in a day. The devil usually deceives some
of these to turn form the call but when they finally obey, the anointing rests
on them.

Prophets are rising like Joseph, who may not heal sick bodies but will be
as sages interpreting dreams, dissolving doubts and hard matters. The
nations will depend on their wisdom prowess for nation building and societal
and economic reforms. These ones will heal the fragmented and disjointed
structures upholding the wellbeing of nations. This they will do by the gift of
God that is in them. These ones will be trained by the Spirit to deal with
betrayals, scandals, distrust and remain innocent lest they lose the anointing
on the gift.

Prophets are rising like John the Baptist, who is the voice of the one
preparing the way of the Lord. These ones will burn with the revival fire

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of God. They will call many unto repentance, they will revive the hearts of
individuals and multitudes. These ones will be the forerunners for spiritual
revival and awakening. Raised in the back side of the desert. They will come
forth with spiritual might to declare God’s word in power.

Prophets are rising like Agabus, who will foretell with spiritual maturity
and accuracy, events that are yet to happen. On a local, national and
international scale, based on the influence God is giving such. That the
people of God may prepare and not be caught off guard. Many of these ones
won’t be on lime light.

Prophets like John the beloved are rising, who will be equipped with
revelatory gifts to show us what direction God is going and who will connect
for us God’s thoughts in the past, present and future by the spirit of prophecy.
Persecution is what characterizes the ministry of this kind of prophets but
they must learn to rest in the love of God, lest they are caught on demonic
web of self-pity, depression and hurts.

Prophets like Moses are rising, sent to lead God’s people to the promised
Land. These ones will function as teaching priests. They will teach God’s
people the law and lively oracles of God that they may journey correctly to
God’s intended destination for them. The devil usually tempts these ones
with a desire to go out to perform before times. Discerning of time & season
will help these prophets stay on course.

Prophets are rising who will be as interpreters of the laws, ordinances,

ways, moves, and operations of God on the earth. These ones will have on
them a heightened manifestation of the spirit of prophecy that testifies of
Christ. They can see through the veil of time to know where God is going and
where He is coming from and they will by the Spirit reveal the reality of the
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Kingdom in plainness of speech. Many of them will function as seers, scribes
and utterers at the same time. One of such is Paul of Tarsus.

For there are diversities of administration/ministry, but the same Lord.

The last day’s prophetic office has several streams of operations. That is why
no two prophets are the same.

Some are called to embody God’s power which is administered by His

wisdom, these ones will record great manifestation of signs, wonders and
miracles that will cause men to marvel and turn in repentance to God. While
some others are called to embody God’s wisdom, which is administered by
His power. These ones will be as sages whose wisdom will answer questions,
proffer solutions, bring counsel, and reveal the mind of God that men may
perceive His love and turn to Him in repentance. This does not in any way
signify that the one can’t function as the other, however, a particular
prophetic stream will be more prevalent than the other in every prophet.

Accurate discernment of the administration of the prophetic office to

which a man has been called is very vital, it helps him remains relevant in
God’s plan as he abides in the calling wherein, he is called. The primary
assignment of the prophet is to love the Lord, be intimate with Him and lead
others to do likewise. If you do this, you will not fail.

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 PUBLISHER’S NOTE

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OTHER BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOADS ARE:

• The Enlightened Conscience.
• The Christocentric Prophet.
• Let All Prophesy.
• Angels - Scriptural Exploration 0n the Ministry of Angels.
• Deliverance from Demonic Affliction.
• The Transgenerational plan of God (Mantles - Vol. 1).
• Spheres of Influence (Mantles - Vol. 2).
• Mandates and Measures (Mantles - Vol. 3).
• The School of the Spirit.
• The Spirits of Just Men.
• The Anointing of the Scribe.
• Demystifying Dreams.

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• Lessons from the Prayer Life of Jesus.

Mini e-books include:

• Victory Through Faith.
• The Mystery of Rest.
• The Power of Retreating.
• Creating the Future.
• Living by Prophecy.
• Tongues and Creativity.
• The Beauty of Ordinations.
• Purpose Discovery.
• Revisiting Spiritual Experiences.
• Intercession.
• Christians in the Market place.
• Dreams and Visions.
• Understanding Times and Seasons

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