The Day God Kept Me From Prophesying
I’m deeply concerned that in some parts of the contemporary prophetic movement there is an overemphasis on giving out personal prophecy at the expense of preaching and teaching the Word of God. I have had multiple pastors and saints at different conferences and churches throughout the world tell me, “Put down your Bible and prophesy to us.”
If we drift from the foundation of the Word of God in the contemporary prophetic movement, we will create a generation of prophetic people who are hungry to be stimulated with words of blessing but who do not want to get impregnated with the truth of God’s Word. Many will hunger for personal prophecy but reject the foundation and place of encounter in the Bible. We must have prophets and prophetic people who want more than to be tickled with promises of destiny and wealth. We must be provoked into holy and righteous living through biblical teaching and preaching.
If we drift from the foundation of the Word of God in the contemporary prophetic movement, we will create a generation of prophetic people who are hungry to be stimulated with words of blessing but who do not want to get impregnated with the truth of God’s Word.
I see God raising up plumb-line prophets in the earth who are going to teach and encourage a generation to primarily give themselves to the study of the revealed will of God found in Scripture and less time chasing after the hidden will of God oftentimes revealed in experiences. We desperately need to see the Word of God handled accurately and with integrity in the contemporary prophetic movement.
The Plumb Line
While the two disciples were on the road to Emmaus, Jesus chose to use the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets to reveal Himself to them. There were not portions of Scripture that Jesus threw away simply because they could be potentially offensive. As the body of Christ experiences a revival of the Word of God, there will be a company of plumb-line prophets emerging who are going to preach and prophesy Genesis through Revelation.One of the greatest mistakes we can make in the contemporary prophetic movement is to limit our revelation of who God is based on our personal experiences alone and not according to the full counsel of God as revealed in the Bible. For example, some prophetic people have had deep personal encounters with the goodness and kindness of God, but from their experience, and therefore erroneously, they portray God as if He is only good and kind. They categorically reject any idea of the correction, discipline, and rebuke of the Lord because that has not been their personal experience.
The plumb-line prophets are going to bring greatly needed balance to the contemporary prophetic movement as they will preach and prophesy directly from the Word of God. There will be no aspects of God’s character and nature that they will hide from burning hearts who are desperate to encounter Jesus Christ.Several years ago, I ministered at a church that was well known for hosting prophets from all over the world. They advertised the meetings online, and at every session there was not a single seat open in the entire building. As we began to worship, God spoke to me immediately and said, “Jeremiah, My people have come for personal prophecy as they have for many years in this place, but they do not want to hear My written Word taught and preached. I now forbid you from giving any personal prophecies this weekend.” Immediately my heart stopped as I knew how disappointed the people would be who had driven and flown in from all over the country to be at these prophetic gatherings.For six sessions on that weekend, I preached and taught out of the Word of God with everything I had and prophesied to no one. The altars were packed every night as God was calling His people to repentance and prayer. After the conference, the pastor came up to me with an incredible smile on his face. He said, “Son, we have been hosting prophetic conferences here for more than 25 years. This is the first time ever where the Word of God was preached and no personal prophecy was given. Without hesitation, I can tell you that this was the best prophetic conference we have ever had.” I was stunned. He then handed me a love offering and said, “This is the largest love offering we have ever received for a guest speaker. The people were truly transformed and moved by the power that is truly found in the Word of God. Thanks for coming.”On the plane ride home from that weekend I cried my eyes out. The people not only gave extremely generously, but I knew God blessed my obedience to follow His voice in that moment. Could a revival of the Word of God truly be coming to the contemporary prophetic movement?
Many of the prophetic words that God wants to release over His people in this hour have nothing to do with what we are going to receive and everything to do with who we are becoming. We are going to witness a rise of prophetic words that are directly geared toward assisting people in partnering with their ultimate call in life: “to be transformed into the image and likeness of the Son” (see Rom. 8:29).
Many of the prophetic words that God wants to release over His people in this hour have nothing to do with what we are going to receive and everything to do with who we are becoming.
Unless we wholeheartedly give ourselves as prophets and prophetic people to embracing every aspect of God’s character and nature as revealed in Scripture, we will not only limit Him but also misrepresent Him to people.There is a road to Emmaus being unveiled to this generation. God is calling His people to fresh encounters in the Word of God. Plumbline prophets are rising who will preach and prophesy out of the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets, and the New Testament. These prophetic messengers will burn with fresh fire and zeal to anchor the Church in the knowledge of God. An igniting of the contemporary prophetic movement is coming, and the source of that fire is going to be the restoration of the full counsel of God’s Word.