August 19, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Do You Need A Prophet?
#1 in a Series: It’s Significant
If you are like many Christians, we all want to know what is on the horizon. We like to know what God is planning to carry out in our near future—we want to be prepared. We know that whatever God does, He does things that no one else can do, and what He does can be so significant no one can escape His purposes or wrath.

However, so often we get caught up in the hip of God’s events. ‘What are the prophets saying?’ ‘When is what they say going to take place?’ In today’s culture we have Christian prophets and ‘economic gurus’ proclaiming certain doom. They seem to be reading from the same script—to me all of this can be confusing to say the least.

What bothers me the most is often the specifics they use. Rarely does God use specifics unless He is talking with a certain individual or select group of people. Rather, in Scriptures, God does not give times and what times He does give there is always symbolism with it. The problem is ‘prophets interpreting their own prophecies’. There is always an urgency left with us once God tells us something but to place a time on what or when God plans something could always be in error.

Over the 50+ years as a Christian I have witnessed, heard, or been a participant in ‘what God will be doing and what to prepare for’. I know that bad times are coming—they have always come and always will up till Christ’s return. How you respond to prophetic predictions will be the difference between a mind at peace or living in panic mode. Many people are saying that September 2015 is a critical month economically but that has been said for almost every month for the past 6 years.

Furthermore, there is a push today to be a prophet—many people want to be at the ‘center of attention’ of the Body of Christ. Just because God shows us things does not mean we should be called a prophet or teacher. Neither office comes without warnings and great
responsibility. ‘The greater the dire prediction the greater the possibility that people will listen to me’—this motive is not good. If you want to be a prophet be prepared for being poor, alone,
persecuted, rejected, and without a family in most cases—Old Testament examples. New Testament prophets are much kinder and find a humble place within the church and are not lifted up above anyone else in God’s family.

We know that the Holy Spirit will tell us of things to come, Jesus spoke of this, but concerning times, He warned us that God alone decides on times. Furthermore, Jesus said to be careful of false prophets and teachers in the last days. Any prophet that wants to be heard, noticed, respected is no prophet. Will God; can God give warnings to the whole Body at Christ at one time? Of, course, that is what I would be looking for—consistency and God speaking to many people at the same time.

I want to be prepared for whatever God brings and want to listen to whatever He is saying, but to follow a specific prophet and have his/her words guide my thinking and decisions is very poor judgment. Let’s ‘try the spirits’ and listen to truth when it is spoken appropriately (the Bible gives us instructions). Paul was told that harm would come to him if he traveled to Jerusalem, but he still went. He knew his destiny and he knew the Holy Spirit would warn him of things to come, but he left it at that.

If it is time for us as a ‘last-days church’, it is time for ‘peace of mind,’ ‘to be anxious for nothing,’ ‘to be calm in the eye of the storm,’ and ‘to have the strength of the Lord’ (joy) to do His will! Do I need a prophet—no; do I need the prophets to judge themselves and live by New Testament direction, yes. Come on church, awake from the slumber you are in and be ready ‘watching and praying’ for God to fulfill what He has promised since Christ walked on the earth—Christ coming back in the clouds!

WWJWMTD