Coconut
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- Feb 17, 2005
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Where have all the Prophets gone?
Pick a prophet... any prophet? Lately we in the churches are playing this dangerous game. Nobody seems to be sure who is a "real" prophet and who just got lucky a few times and hit the nail on the head.
Why are we lacking discernment when it comes to knowing who is a prophet and who isn't? It might have something to do with people not understanding what Bible prophecy actually is ... and isn't.
Let's examine the general set-up in a typical church in America.
Pastors are locked into routines that creates a kind of domino effect. Complacency and fear on the part of the pastors who feel responsible for maintaining control tends to keep the door shut to true prophets of God coming into the churches. Instead of all the parts of the Body of Christ working together, the heaviest burden still remains on the pastors. Ironically, the balance is forsaken for the sake of keeping "order" in the church, which often means excluding those "high-risk" prophets.
On the other hand, everybody likes the evangelists to come in every so often, as these are frequently the most showy of all ministers. They can get folks stirred up enough, but not TOO much. The church leaders want these evangelists to preach a Gospel that persuades unbelievers to believe. So they "gift-wrap" their message so the ungodly will take notice. That "glitter wrapping" can take the form of loud and obnoxious showmanship.
Prophets generally don't come in gift-wrapped, unless they've devised some kind of "Schick", like singing and dancing and rhythmically rhyming people into a kind of spiritual euphoria.
Prophets might exhibit outrageous mannerisms, dress in contemporary fashions, such as wearing black garments and a long hairstyles. But again, people are looking at that glamorous personality, and the Word of God then becomes much diluted. A compromise has to be made in order to be able to deliver a potent message. It's the tactic: "a spoonful of sugar helps the mediocre goes down".
However, you cannot hope the real ones will stay away forever. Ignore them, but they still keep coming ... yep, the prophets are here now! And they DON'T look like the aforementioned!
The reason the prophets are not visible in the church is because there is no room made for them. Everybody wants the pastors and teachers and evangelists, but they sure don't want the prophets - and even less - the apostles - to appear on the scene.
Because when a prophet or apostle arrives, it heralds all is not well. A chiasmic unmet need being avoided is about to be addressed. The prophet announces exactly what they may not want to hear. And an apostle is going to build them a new church. Nobody wants to hear those "hellfire and brimstone" messages! And there is invariably going to be a battle when a genuine prophet or apostle comes into town.
Jesus Himself made relatively infrequent appearances inside the temple. That's because He was certainly not welcome there! The religious leaders of Jesus' day were trespassing in the temple and ruling it. Jesus would only upset their agenda. It is beautifully symbolic that Jesus OVERTURNS the religious peddlers' carts when He enters the temple.
In conclusion, as long as a church adheres to its ceremonious rituals and practices, there won't much hope of a real prophet squeezing in, unless he (or she) literally bursts through the door and overturns the book and tape tables, and the flower pots all over the altar, and the velvet upholstered pews. In this day and age, that is almost laughable! Just imagine someone doing that -- and about a hundred squad cars would be summoned immediately with lights and sirens, and that one little "agitator" would be cuffed and hauled away by six burly uniformed officers!
I mean, sometimes it has even occurred to me that some of these "faith" churches have these security-guard deacons and ushers stationed strategically placed around the doors for the reason of keeping out just that very type of person. These guys are more like bouncers, eyeballing everybody that comes in the church door. Lord have mercy on anyone who exhibits "disruptive" behavior!
The church sentinels are so busy filtering out what they anticipate as bad, they won't be able to receive that which is good -- that which is truly from God that would make all the difference between "church as usual" and a genuine move of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, in an effort to keep everything in a decent and orderly manner, they've got their pre-planned prophecies, where someone is assigned the role of speaking out in a prophetic manner. That again, is almost laughable! Or, how about when somebody is selected prior to the service to be the designated tongue-talker? Then the pastor himself may give the interpretation, or the pre-selected "interpreter".
It's all orchestrated prior to service. It's all part of the show, to keep the congregants amused and to keep them believing this is "real church". And, that, they believe, will keep the coffers filled. People aren't going to pay for something that doesn't give them their spiritual "lift"!
Lord, we can only keep praying for a loosing of the true prophets of God in Your church, and for true apostles to go where they are sent by You to go and build new churches.
Right now the commercial prophets are going out to all parts of the globe, yet some of these people are not equipped for the work because they were neither truly called by You, nor were they adequately trained and discipled before they set out. They assume You, God, will be there when they get there. This is like toes trying to be fingers.
Compounded by the sanction of church committees who hand these well-meaning ministers their passports to foreign lands, these prophet-merchandisers are ill-prepared to face the reality of what they will meet when they reach their destinations. WHY?? BECAUSE THERE IS A STARVATION FOR GENUINE BIBLICAL PROPHECY TO BE DELIVERED IN THE CHURCH TODAY!!!
Jesus stormed into the temple, and we pray You, Holy Spirit, thunder into the midst of church services today just like Jesus did when He took whips and beat the money changers and drove them out! Hallelujah! Holy Spirit, we call upon You praying You will forcefully drive the religious spirits out of the churches! Glory to God! Holy Spirit, let the prophets of God come in and say what MUST be said. No more "hat-and-cane" Christianity, no more toxic faith, no more pomp-and-circumstance religious fairs.
Holy Spirit, PLEASE come!
We have been praying that You will be welcomed. But it's clear to see that they WON'T welcome You. So, we invite You... PLEASE TAKE OVER, Holy Spirit! May God's prophets now come in! No more showboating, no more grandstanding, no more back slapping or "Jesus pep-rallies". No more church as usual. No more politics. No more religious theater. Praise the Lord! Glory belongs to the Lord alone!
Ministers of the Gospel, take heed.
http://ezraministries.tripod.com/id20.html
Pick a prophet... any prophet? Lately we in the churches are playing this dangerous game. Nobody seems to be sure who is a "real" prophet and who just got lucky a few times and hit the nail on the head.
Why are we lacking discernment when it comes to knowing who is a prophet and who isn't? It might have something to do with people not understanding what Bible prophecy actually is ... and isn't.
Let's examine the general set-up in a typical church in America.
Pastors are locked into routines that creates a kind of domino effect. Complacency and fear on the part of the pastors who feel responsible for maintaining control tends to keep the door shut to true prophets of God coming into the churches. Instead of all the parts of the Body of Christ working together, the heaviest burden still remains on the pastors. Ironically, the balance is forsaken for the sake of keeping "order" in the church, which often means excluding those "high-risk" prophets.
On the other hand, everybody likes the evangelists to come in every so often, as these are frequently the most showy of all ministers. They can get folks stirred up enough, but not TOO much. The church leaders want these evangelists to preach a Gospel that persuades unbelievers to believe. So they "gift-wrap" their message so the ungodly will take notice. That "glitter wrapping" can take the form of loud and obnoxious showmanship.
Prophets generally don't come in gift-wrapped, unless they've devised some kind of "Schick", like singing and dancing and rhythmically rhyming people into a kind of spiritual euphoria.
Prophets might exhibit outrageous mannerisms, dress in contemporary fashions, such as wearing black garments and a long hairstyles. But again, people are looking at that glamorous personality, and the Word of God then becomes much diluted. A compromise has to be made in order to be able to deliver a potent message. It's the tactic: "a spoonful of sugar helps the mediocre goes down".
However, you cannot hope the real ones will stay away forever. Ignore them, but they still keep coming ... yep, the prophets are here now! And they DON'T look like the aforementioned!
The reason the prophets are not visible in the church is because there is no room made for them. Everybody wants the pastors and teachers and evangelists, but they sure don't want the prophets - and even less - the apostles - to appear on the scene.
Because when a prophet or apostle arrives, it heralds all is not well. A chiasmic unmet need being avoided is about to be addressed. The prophet announces exactly what they may not want to hear. And an apostle is going to build them a new church. Nobody wants to hear those "hellfire and brimstone" messages! And there is invariably going to be a battle when a genuine prophet or apostle comes into town.
Jesus Himself made relatively infrequent appearances inside the temple. That's because He was certainly not welcome there! The religious leaders of Jesus' day were trespassing in the temple and ruling it. Jesus would only upset their agenda. It is beautifully symbolic that Jesus OVERTURNS the religious peddlers' carts when He enters the temple.
In conclusion, as long as a church adheres to its ceremonious rituals and practices, there won't much hope of a real prophet squeezing in, unless he (or she) literally bursts through the door and overturns the book and tape tables, and the flower pots all over the altar, and the velvet upholstered pews. In this day and age, that is almost laughable! Just imagine someone doing that -- and about a hundred squad cars would be summoned immediately with lights and sirens, and that one little "agitator" would be cuffed and hauled away by six burly uniformed officers!
I mean, sometimes it has even occurred to me that some of these "faith" churches have these security-guard deacons and ushers stationed strategically placed around the doors for the reason of keeping out just that very type of person. These guys are more like bouncers, eyeballing everybody that comes in the church door. Lord have mercy on anyone who exhibits "disruptive" behavior!
The church sentinels are so busy filtering out what they anticipate as bad, they won't be able to receive that which is good -- that which is truly from God that would make all the difference between "church as usual" and a genuine move of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, in an effort to keep everything in a decent and orderly manner, they've got their pre-planned prophecies, where someone is assigned the role of speaking out in a prophetic manner. That again, is almost laughable! Or, how about when somebody is selected prior to the service to be the designated tongue-talker? Then the pastor himself may give the interpretation, or the pre-selected "interpreter".
It's all orchestrated prior to service. It's all part of the show, to keep the congregants amused and to keep them believing this is "real church". And, that, they believe, will keep the coffers filled. People aren't going to pay for something that doesn't give them their spiritual "lift"!
Lord, we can only keep praying for a loosing of the true prophets of God in Your church, and for true apostles to go where they are sent by You to go and build new churches.
Right now the commercial prophets are going out to all parts of the globe, yet some of these people are not equipped for the work because they were neither truly called by You, nor were they adequately trained and discipled before they set out. They assume You, God, will be there when they get there. This is like toes trying to be fingers.
Compounded by the sanction of church committees who hand these well-meaning ministers their passports to foreign lands, these prophet-merchandisers are ill-prepared to face the reality of what they will meet when they reach their destinations. WHY?? BECAUSE THERE IS A STARVATION FOR GENUINE BIBLICAL PROPHECY TO BE DELIVERED IN THE CHURCH TODAY!!!
Jesus stormed into the temple, and we pray You, Holy Spirit, thunder into the midst of church services today just like Jesus did when He took whips and beat the money changers and drove them out! Hallelujah! Holy Spirit, we call upon You praying You will forcefully drive the religious spirits out of the churches! Glory to God! Holy Spirit, let the prophets of God come in and say what MUST be said. No more "hat-and-cane" Christianity, no more toxic faith, no more pomp-and-circumstance religious fairs.
Holy Spirit, PLEASE come!
We have been praying that You will be welcomed. But it's clear to see that they WON'T welcome You. So, we invite You... PLEASE TAKE OVER, Holy Spirit! May God's prophets now come in! No more showboating, no more grandstanding, no more back slapping or "Jesus pep-rallies". No more church as usual. No more politics. No more religious theater. Praise the Lord! Glory belongs to the Lord alone!
Ministers of the Gospel, take heed.
http://ezraministries.tripod.com/id20.html
