Spirit of Prophecy in People Gifts
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
A Teaching on 12 Prophetic Giftings
Years ago I knew a prophetic preacher who was very anointed and inspired. After sitting under his teaching for a couple of months, I came to the conclusion that he was not just sharing good stories, good Bible teaching, and inspired messages… this guy was a prophet. I never knew a prophet before and this was first hand experience of sitting under someone who had the gifting. It was in the days that the word prophet was not used, in fact he might have been thrown out if such a thing had been suggested.
Anyway, it really intrigued me that week after week he was speaking right into my own life of either something that the Lord had just spoken to me, or something that I would be going through that week or season. I was really wondering how he did it! In answer to my question, the Lord revealed to me that this man was a forerunner and simply lived his life as an example, from day to day, and simply shared what the Lord was speaking to him about. He wasn’t trying to be a prophet and look into the future for some great piece of revelation. But his very life was prophetic, merely by the inspiration he spoke, the lens he saw through, the placement and timing in which he walked, and by the events ordained for him to experience as a prophetic sign. (I will explain these.)
There are various kinds of prophetic giftings and I would like to share some of them with you. Some people operate heavily in one, but not necessarily in others, some operate in all. I function in a conglomeration of most of these, (some weaker, some stronger) and bounce back and forth depending upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. However it started a step at a time, learning as I went, then being released into new levels of anointing as I went. I think that when the Lord had OT prophets co-mingle in prophetic schools, it was because it was a growing process and they did learn by seeing it modeled. The following are brief descriptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the prophetic giftings. I pray the Lord stirs your heart to receive more of His expressions through His prophetic Word, coming to life.
This post is based upon the following scripture:
Rev 19:10
…for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
There is actually a spirit of prophecy being released upon God’s people in these last days that is birthing a prophetic people, who are prophetic in their gifts and expressions. I named a few of them in the post, I believe there are more.
This release of His prophetic spirit is a new level of prophetic expression and anointing that also enhances both those in the office and those who prophesy. However the post is not speaking about a distinction between the office of prophet nor those who prophesy, rather about a prophetic people. May His prophetic expression stretch us into new territory!
PROPHETIC INSPIRATION
This above fellow had a very anointed and charismatic speaking gift. It was his primary gifting of Prophetic inspiration. He would seemingly just open his mouth and share whatever was on his mind or heart and it would speak right into people’s hearts. He had an occasional dream or picture that he might share, but he was a fluent and punctual speaker. You can find this same gifting of inspiration in prophetic musicians, prophetic intercessors, prophetic warriors, prophetic pastors, prophetic teachers, prophetic drama, prophetic writing, arts, decorating, poetry, etc, etc! It is simply the expression of what is on one’s heart from the Lord to share through whatever means. It is God inspired or breathed, and He is the Source of the thought, people are the expression and the tool, and the Holy Spirit is the One Who brings it to life in others. It is the Lord Who knows the people that the Word is intended for, and it is the Holy Spirit that brings it to life for them; the person is just a conduit.
This kind of prophetic gifting is inspired communication. It is not something that one tries to do, or make prophetic, it simply is just communicating what God is stirring on ones heart or mind. The people I have observed with this gifting, are dripping with the anointing, and practically everything they share, even if it is what their child said that morning, is prophetically inspired. And yet these people are seemingly always longing to be used more by the Lord, and rarely see their own gifts of inspiration. I think that some do not see it, because they think it needs to be more complicated than just sharing what pops into their heart. But it isn’t complicated, it’s that easy. The key ingredient in this gift (as in all of them) is the anointing of the Lord.
David’s Psalms are a good example of prophetic inspiration. He was just singing to the Lord what was on his heart and what he was feeling. He had no clue that what he was singing was the Word of God and that multitudes would feed upon it, research it prophetically, and use it as anointed weapons against the enemy. Neither did he have a clue that his music was intercession where angels were sent forth upon his words.
Inspired prophets learn best by expressing the Word of the Lord. They learn by doing, not necessarily studying or meditating. They are often not well developed in listening skills. But they are charismatic in expressing what they understand from the Lord.
PROPHETIC SEERS
A picture is worth a thousand words, and the Lord speaks to seers pictorially. Seers are gifted in dreams and visions. And they gain a great amount of satisfaction on chewing all the meat off these. They see things as parables, and allegorical language. They learn to interpret what they see by grounding it with the Word of God, and applying it to other pieces of previous revelation that the Lord has already grounded. Seers make very effective watchmen, for they are able to observe what is going on at a distance, then pray about it. Other times, a seer is inspired to be able to communicate (through various means) what he sees. Sometimes he speaks it allegorically, sometimes it is through prophetic teaching, sometimes it is through on the spot inspiration.
I shared in a previous writing that prophetic people each look through a different set of lenses. They look into the distance to see what is coming. This is especially true for seers. These lenses are various degrees of thickness. I had shared revelation that some prophets have telescopes, some have various lenses all the way down to eye glasses. The longer the lens, the farther out in the distance they see. A prophet can also be given several lenses in his inventory and will mix and match them according to the need at the moment, as directed by the Holy Spirit. These lenses range from right now Words, to just coming ones, to way out in the distance Words.
Understanding prophetic lenses can be very frustrating to a prophetic seer (and to the listeners) especially in the area of timing. What they see is vivid and real and right now in their own walk with the Lord. This includes everything the Lord is talking to them about, including all the confirmations and signs to back up what they see, hear and understand. But the actual Word for the body of Christ doesn’t come to pass for many years.
In the OT the following were listed as seers: Samuel (1 Samuel 9:19), Gad (2 Samuel 24:11), Heman (1 Chronicles 25:5), Iddo (2 Chronicles 9:29), Hanani (2 Chronicles 16:7), Asaph (2 Chronicles 29:30), Jeduthun (2 Chronicles 35:15), Amos (Amos 7:12).
Prophetic seers learn best by seeing the Word of the Lord. Therefore they are often naturally less verbal but more observant of what is going on around them. Sometimes seers have a tendency to leave gaping holes in their communication. They see things pictorially and when they communicate what they see, they think that others can fill in the invisible blanks. Sometimes the Lord will team up a seer with a person who interprets or even teaches, so that there is a clearer understanding when the Word is shared.
PROPHETIC MUSICIANS
Prophetic musicians sing and play their prophetic songs, through creative ways. Of the above seers, Heman, Asaph and Jeduthun were prophetic musicians. It is highly possible that some of the songs these prophetic musicians shared were actually their visions put to music.
Wonderful creative inspiration is falling on the musicians.
· The spirit of prophesy may come upon a musician and he will sing an unrehearsed song of the Lord, bringing a Word in season to those listening.
· Words of knowledge can be sung instead of spoken.
· The musicians may bring forth unusual sounds via their instruments or even voices that portray what the Spirit is communicating through feelings or the Word.
· Some musicians are being led to half sing, half speak the Word.
· Others are miming what is being sung, via their hands and body.
· Some are dramatizing their songs.
· Some sing of the visions they see to whatever chord progression comes to mind.
· A song leader may choose a list of songs that are a prophetic announcement to what is coming, and they may be sharing songs that prepare the hearts of the people for that season.
· The Lord is moving on musicians to prophetically sing the scriptures to non orthodox sounds and chords, of no particular rhyme or song, as an act of intercession and prayer. I often sing my heart’s prayers to the Lord, instead of speaking them. Some of my most intimate moments are when I have sung my prayer to the Lord, then I sing His response back to me. Sometimes I can hardly sing because I feel the passion of His love for me as I am singing His Words back to me.
· Others may use their prophetic musicians gift to half sing, half teach. The other day after I led us into a prayer of repentance, a prophetic musician came to the mike and sang a few lines about repentance. Then she spoke a little paragraph, teaching about what the word repentance meant, then she moved into a song of the heart where she was repenting via song. It was a very moving Word through half singing, half teaching.
· I have seen the best offerings taken when it becomes an act of worship and the musicians sing the prayers to the Lord and sing about giving our offerings to Him, as the people come out of their seats and place money at the altar.
Prophetic musicians learn less from observing, and best by doing; expressing how they feel through song. Prophetic musicians fight fear of man, and desiring man’s approval. They finally overcome when their hearts and expressions are towards the Lord and not man at all. CD’s with music but no words are a good way to grow in this gifting. For musician’s, prophetic “jamming” sessions are great platforms to grow in this anointing. My prophetic heart yearns for every church to have a weekly gathering of all musicians, (not just the worship team) so that they could nurture their giftings in a corporate setting. Too often very anointed musicians are left on the sidelines watching.
PROPHETIC FORERUNNERS
Another kind of prophetic gifting has to do with one’s placement and one’s experience in the body of Christ. I have seen many visions of people being lined up in rank and file. The above man had the placement of a forerunner and the path he walked with the Lord was a few steps ahead of others who were following behind. It was no big deal to him, he simply shared what he was going through at the time. With no control of his own, what he shared ended up being the immediate upcoming future Word for others. His placement was a matter of timing, he just happened to be a few steps ahead. Not all forerunners are just a few steps ahead. Some are placed way out in the distance (years) and they point the way by example and modeling what the Lord has shared with them.
Prophetic forerunners are like signs, tokens, living parables. Their lives are like living stories that communicate not only to their personal lives what the Lord is saying, but also to the body at large, by modeling through example. Here are some prophetic examples where people portrayed the Word of the Lord through people’s actions. Their actions were like signs pointing the way, or demonstrating the Lord’s Word:
1. Agabus took Paul’s belt (Acts 21:10-11)
2. Saul tore Samuel’s robe (1 Sam 15:27-28)
3. Ahijah tore his cloke into 12 pieces (1 Kings 11:30-31)
4. Elisha told the king to shoot an arrow (2 Kings 13:15-18)
5. Jeremiah hid the linen belt near the river (Jer 13:2-10)
6. Jeremiah smashed the jar (Jer 19:10-11)
7. Isaiah walked naked and barefoot (Isa 20:3-4)
8. Ezekiel used a sword to shave his head (Ezek 5:1-4)
9. Hosea married a prostitute (Hos 1:2)
Prophetic forerunners learn best by doing. They are hands on kind of people. They are tactile, receive and give touch, they enjoy experiencing the Lord through living parables, they enjoy the full use of their senses in hearing the Words to the Lord. They may be less skilled in verbal abilities, since they like to live more and talk less. They like spice in life and change, merely so they may experience more. Prophetic forerunners are sometimes lonely, as what they are experiencing in the Lord is not what others are experiencing. This is because they are walking ahead and paving the way for others to follow. Prophetic forerunners often take the road less traveled, because they are creating the road as they go.
PROPHETIC PASTORS AND TEACHERS
Prophetic pastors and teachers are inspired through and by the Word of God. They are prophetically drawn to teach about sections of scripture that have prophetic relevance. This not only includes what is traditionally accepted as prophetic passages, it also includes any passage that portrays a prophetic message. For instance, this year I wrote the article on Peter’s life called, “The Great Fishing Story” based upon the prophetic revelation that there were many in the body who had become so sifted that they felt they had disqualified themselves from their callings. This story is about how the Lord is going to circle around and re-gather those people back into their callings. Often pastors and teachers do not realize how prophetic they are, they merely feel the inspiration to share out of the Word of the Lord. But that inspiration is actually prophetic and pointing the way or preparing the way for an upcoming prophetic season.
Jesus had the best teaching gift. He knew the Word of God, then opened it up with understanding and it came alive. (Luke 24:32-33) “And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Prophetic pastors and teachers learn best by studying, pondering, searching and praying over the Word of God. They ask questions and analyze, they see patterns, they see themes, they see motives and scenes behind the Words, they see over all context to issues that cross reference. They make good puzzle builders, working with little details and communicating how they fit. This gift needs a good balance between pondering and communicating. Pastors and teachers are not necessarily the best skilled in personal people relations, because they spend so much time studying and reflecting. They are often much more skilled in public relations than personal ones.
PROPHETIC EVANGELISTS
We are going to see a wonderful marriage of the prophetic giftings coming upon the gifts of evangelism, in order to reach the lost and win souls. These gifts will hone in on the hearts of man and bring the secret issues to light. (I Cor 14:24,25) The Lord God Almighty wants these lost people to know that He KNOWS their name, He has the very hairs on their heads counted one by one, and He CARES for them more than they can even conceive! Prophetic Evangelism is going to explode in such power that the world will take notice. Jesus’ gifts to see and speak into the hearts of mankind and bring masses to Him, are our best example of prophetic giftings in operation. (Matt 9:4, Matt 4:23)
Prophetic Evangelists learn best by one step at a time obedience to the prompting of His Spirit. They will never know whether the prompting is from His Spirit unless they dip one toe in the water and try. It takes a courageous heart to reach out past their own little world into the heart of another. The pitfall of such an attempt is facing failure and thus wounding of one’s faith. The blooming prophetic evangelist needs to practice trusting that seeds planted will bring a harvest, because the Word of God does not return void.
PROPHETIC APOSTLES
The word apostle means “sent one.” There are many practicing prophets who have been prepared in the fire that will receive their promotion into the apostolic callings with gifts of signs and wonders. They will not leave their prophetic giftings behind, but rather add the increase from a new enduement of power from Him. (This is true of all the giftings as promotions come.) These are ambassadors, speaking into nations with multiplying signs and wonders.
There are also hidden ones who have waited in the tomb, to be raised up into resurrection power. They too have gone through the fire, but have become so dead to self that they think they do not have a purpose. He has kept these hidden from the world and from the enemy so that through His resurrection power, He shall raise them up as His banner to carry Jesus Christ wherever they go. The book of Acts and the Gospels are our examples of prophetic apostleship.
The prophetic apostle learns best by learning to walk in His Spirit every moment of the day, always communing with the Lord and seeking His perspective on everything they see and hear. It is practicing the Presence of God. The weakness of the prophetic apostleship calling will be one’s focus. It can be a stumbling block and distraction to look at oneself, or for others to look towards the person, when it is the gift of God that operates through this public gifting.
PROPHETIC INTERCESSORS
Intercession is an act of mediation, or a go between for the Word of God. It is taking the rhema Word of God from heaven and being a bridge for it to come to pass on earth. Just as in the tabernacle, the place of intercession was in the holy of holies, away from public view. These are some of the highest levels of the prophetic giftings, that the public rarely sees. The Lord speaks to them His secrets merely because He wants to, and they listen, merely because they want to hear Him. It is not what is shared, or what is heard, but the intimacy of being together. It is like Mary; they receive, believe, stand, then wait for the Word of the Lord to come to pass.
Mary held in her physical womb, God’s seed. Prophetic intercessors hold in their spiritual wombs, God’s seed. He implants little Words that are carefully held, and nurtured, and grown in a safe environment, and one day they bring forth a wonderful harvest. Prophetic intercessors pray over what they are given, cherish and keep what they are given. Some go through great levels of sacrifice to guard what has been given. All are forms of intercession to bring to birth the Word of God, spoken from heaven, onto earth.
Prophetic intercessors learn best by obeying. They live a sacrificial life style hidden away from the world, and stay closeted in the secret place. They feel like aliens in a foreign land, and they live and breathe to hear and know the Word of the Lord. They are more reflective than outgoing and have excellent listening skills.
PROPHETIC WARRIORS
Prophetic warriors will hear and see the promises of the Lord, often seeing the obstacles and hindrances set in opposition for that Word to come to pass. They have been given great authority and anointing to stand against opposition, and they have fierce nurturing hearts for what they protect. They pour their lives and energy into standing upon the Word of the Lord, and resisting any nuance of even a suggestion that it will not come to pass. They have been given special armor to set their faces like flint and not budge. They are planted deep in the Word of the Lord. They know their opposition and they know the Sovereignty and power of God. They have a strong gift of faith. David was our best example of a prophetic warrior.
A prophetic warrior learns best by small, safe doses of measured warfare. It is carefully allowed one step at a time by the Lord. They learn through their wounds how not to get ahead of Him by fighting presumptuously. Prophetic warriors don’t operate well on committees. A prophetic warrior is often more bold, outspoken and impulsive. That is because demonic opposition needs a quick slash of the sword.
PROPHETIC ARTISTS AND DANCERS
A prophetic artist has a combination of the seeing gift and the gift of inspiration. They see the Word of the Lord. Then they make it come to life through expressive means of communicating that Word.
A prophetic artist learns best by feeling. They are sensory people and enjoy creating what they sense around them. They like the Word to be demonstrated and tactile, or at least expressive and vivid. Colors, expressions, pictorial language, even sounds and mood each have prophetic significance. The craftsmen in the tabernacle and the temple were our examples of these gifts.
The Lord has been raising up the gifts of prophetic dancers, who have the gifts to express through their bodies what the Holy Spirit is saying to their hearts and emotions. It is a beautiful release of His Presence that comes as they abandon themselves in pouring out their passion to Him through movement. The OT dancers with tambourines and banners, going before the armies in battles, were wonderful examples of the power of God to break through the demonic ranks with the power of praise.
Of all the giftings above, prophetic artists have the hardest time differentiating between the anointing of the Lord and themselves. And that is to say, they do recognize their gift as from the Lord, but they tend to personalize and identify the acceptance or rejection of their gifting, with themselves. Other prophetic giftings are not quite as personal as the prophetic artist, so this can become a stumbling block. They are more feeling oriented, more subjective and less logical in their approach to sharing.
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The bottom line of all the prophetic expressions is number one, His anointing within and upon us to express His heart. And number two, that we should not feel the obligation or stress to “produce or act prophetic.” Rather, it is His super, over our natural expression of Who He is, as we respond to His Spirit. It is the same Holy Spirit in operation, but each gifting is a unique way of communicating His prophetic Word. He is an awesome God we serve!
