One of the ministry offices given to the New Testament church after Jesus was resurrected is "prophet".
Ephesians 4:11-12 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
God often opens the eyes of prophets to see wrong that is being done in the churches and in the lives of individuals who identify themselves as being "Christians".
As a prophet, if we fail to warn that person when God shows us something, and that person dies in their wrong doing, their blood is on our hands, because we failed to warn them.
Even the apostle Paul said their blood would be on his hands, as an apostle/teacher, if he failed to give them all the counsel of God. Acts 20:26-27
The primary work of a prophet is to deliver warnings from God to the church.
We warn the church so they can have an opportunity to turn themselves from a way that is not godly.
But often the church people fight against the prophet and it is difficult for the prophet to keep going unless he is very trained in turning to God and being restored by God after the church people fight against him.
This Podcast is filled with examples of churches fighting against prophets today, and also in the Bible.
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God opens the eyes of prophets to see sin that individuals in the church are doing:
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* Saul fighting the prophet Samuel.
I Samuel 15 (The prophet Samuel delivers a message to Saul)
Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
(God didn't tell Saul to keep Agag alive.)
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
(God told Saul to destroy all ... but Saul kept the best of the livestock alive.)
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While Saul had gone to do this, God said to the prophet Samuel:
I Samuel 15
10 Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth ME that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following ME, and hath not performed MY commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.
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11 It repenteth ME that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following ME, and hath not performed MY commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.
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Samuel goes to meet Saul after the battle:
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he (Saul) said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
Saul seems now to see his sin, but God won't take Saul back, and God chooses David to replace Saul:
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel (God) will not lie nor repent: for HE is not a man, that HE should repent.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that HE had made Saul king over Israel.
I Samuel 15
12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.
(But God told Samuel that Saul did not perform all that he was told to do. Today, the church people try to argue with us, the prophets, in the same way, saying they didn't do "that", saying we misunderstand, and trying to explain themselves away while God shows us the truth about them.)
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
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Then Saul knows they did do wrong, but Saul blames the people instead of himself.
I Samuel 15
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he (Saul) said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
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Saul fights against Samuel the prophet:
I Samuel 15
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
(God did not tell Saul to keep Agag alive. Eventually Samuel the prophet will kill Agag.)
Saul says ...
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
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Samuel the prophet responds:
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
I Samuel 15
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
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Saul seems now to see his sin, but God won't take Saul back, and God chooses David to replace Saul:
I Samuel 15
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel (God) will not lie nor repent: for HE is not a man, that HE should repent.
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Samuel grieves over that which Saul did:
I Samuel 15
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.
And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that HE had made Saul king over Israel.
(Today we, as prophets, grieve when the church people try to explain away the word we deliver to them ... and they think to justify themselves in their disobedience against the word.)
I Samuel 16
And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided ME a king among his sons.
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Like Samuel grieved, we grieve today over those who say they are Christians while they reject that word God has us carry to them.
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* Examples of church people fighting me and the message God has given me to deliver to them.
- Sandra picking up dog
- Barbara failing to share what God gave her
- Often a person will say to me ..."I didn't say that ..." but he did say "that".
- They think they need one thing when God tells me they need another thing.
- When I share the truth from God and they say: "Yes, but it could be this or that."
- After I deliver a message from God, they often say to me, "Let me clarify this." ... They often say to try to explain away what they said and they think I misunderstood them.
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Prophets of God warn the church:
* Often the warnings are concerning their own preachers.
I Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
Many ministers are extortioners: They use scripture to wring money from you by threatening you, by making you think you will not be blessed by God unless you give to them. This is extortion.
Sadly, some ministers are fornicators. Jim Bakker was committing fornication at the time he was teaching Bible, while he was married to Tammy Faye Bakker. His fornication partner at that time was church secretary named Jessica Hann who admitted the sex with Bakker and went on to be in Playboy sex magazine. (Reported in Wikipedia)
Jimmy Swaggart was committing fornication with a prostitute in approximately 1988. He tearfully repented on his TV show. Then again in the early 1990's was committing fornication again with a prostitute. (Reported in Wikipedia)
Robert Tilton, Word of Faith, was extorting money in a big-time way from his church and a national TV audience. ABC Primetime Live exposed Robert Tilton's extortion on their national TV news program. (Reported in Wikipedia)
One after another preacher has extorted money, both big and little known preachers ... and many preachers have corrupted the word of God before the church and show no shame at all in that which they have done, and many have been fornicators and there has been sex abuse performed by church ministers.
We are not to keep company with such men when they are known to do these things in the church. We withdraw ourselves from them.
This was even happening in Paul's day.
II Corinthians 4 (Paul says:)
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Titus 1
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
Many ministers are extortioners: They use scripture to wring money from you by threatening you, by making you think you will not be blessed by God unless you give to them. This is extortion.
Sadly, some ministers are fornicators. Jim Bakker was committing fornication at the time he was teaching Bible, while he was married to Tammy Faye Bakker. His fornication partner at that time was church secretary named Jessica Hann who admitted the sex with Bakker and went on to be in Playboy sex magazine. (Reported in Wikipedia)
Jimmy Swaggart was committing fornication with a prostitute in approximately 1988. He tearfully repented on his TV show. Then again in the early 1990's was committing fornication again with a prostitute. (Reported in Wikipedia)
Robert Tilton, Word of Faith, was extorting money in a big-time way from his church and a national TV audience. ABC Primetime Live exposed Robert Tilton's extortion on their national TV news program. (Reported in Wikipedia)
One after another preacher has extorted money, both big and little known preachers ... and many preachers have corrupted the word of God before the church and show no shame at all in that which they have done, and many have been fornicators and there has been sex abuse performed by church ministers.
We are not to keep company with such men when they are known to do these things in the church. We withdraw ourselves from them.
This was even happening in Paul's day.
II Corinthians 4 (Paul says:)
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Titus 1
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
Acts 20 (Paul speaking to the elders at Ephesus)
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
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When a "brother" is committing sins, we are to put that person away from us. Don't keep company with such. Don't try to counsel him or pray for him. Paul says put him away from you.
I Corinthians 5
(Concerning a fornicator in the church group)
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
13 Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
13 Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Do what the scripture says to do. We must not explain away sin. We confront sin and cause repentance and follow godliness in the church.
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