Called to Be a Prophetic People

Image by DS Stories, from Pexels

In Revelation 19:10, John, overwhelmed by all he had been shown by the angel, attempted to fall down and worship him. The angel immediately forbade John from doing so and exhorted him, “…Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The New Living Translation (NLT) states it, “…Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”

What does this tell us? If we are followers of Jesus, we hold the testimony of Him in our hearts. And because He is our all in all, our primary focus should always be Him. That includes when we prophesy.

God calls His Church to be a prophetic people. It is part of our purpose and inheritance in Christ. The Holy Spirit desires to speak God’s thoughts through us for many reasons, including (but not limited to) evangelism; intercession; revelatory teaching of the Word; encouraging or exhorting; and bringing correction, direction, or counsel. All these elements of prophecy testify of Jesus in one way or another. True prophecy points people to Him.

Therefore, if we suppress the Spirit’s prompting to speak what is in His heart, we are not fulfilling a large part of our calling. Why would we do that? Probably the most frequent reason is intimidation. We fear making a mistake and being rejected, ridiculed, or reproved. Perhaps we think only people who are known as prophets are allowed to speak, but 1 Corinthians 14:31 says, “For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” Maybe our minds have limited us to the idea that prophecy is only supposed to happen in a church setting.

If you think of prophecy as speaking forth the heart of God, anywhere and anytime He leads, it won’t seem so intimidating to you. You don’t necessarily have to give a “Thus saith the LORD” message. In fact, starting out with that phrase isn’t usually the best idea anyway.

If you feel an urging to encourage someone with a thought you sense is from the Lord, do that. It can be as simple as sharing a Bible verse you think the Lord wants to speak to him or her. Sometimes, the Lord gives me several verses for a particular person to comfort them or to cause them to reach out to the Lord for themselves. The results of sharing them have generally been good.

As you are praying, maybe you suddenly have an idea about exactly how to intercede. Praying by the leading of the Holy Spirit is an element of prophecy. The Lord might urge you to share with a person you prayed for what you received while praying. Do it, and you will bless that person.

Thirty-three years ago, I received a cancer diagnosis. At my first visit to the oncologist, he gave me a devastating report of just how bad it might be. But when I got home, a card from a friend was waiting for me in my mailbox. It simply said, “Lee Ann, Jesus says not to worry. You will be all right.” That friend took a step of faith in sharing what she heard prophetically, but I am grateful to this day for her timely word.

Recently, I shared with our prayer group a Bible verse which kept coming to mind during our worship time. What I didn’t anticipate doing was then going on to expound on how that verse applied in our current circumstances. I didn’t have to think it out; it just flowed. That is an aspect of the prophetic.

A lady in our home fellowship shared a Bible verse I had not previously been aware of, and it taught me a basic truth about the Lord. She mentioned the verse in passing, probably not even realizing she was prophetically flowing in the Spirit. But she was doing just what 1 Corinthians 14:31 says, “For you may all prophesy … so that all may learn.” I learned something new about the Lord’s nature that day.

I know of a few Christian authors who use fiction to speak the word of the Lord prophetically into people’s hearts. They each have a gift for showing people aspects of Jesus through their writing. Their novels act as subtle parables to bring particular truths and to draw their readers closer to Him.

Perhaps God inspires you with songs to glorify Him. Writing lyrics or composing music by the prompting of the Holy Spirit is a form of prophecy. Consider Fanny Crosby’s thousands of beloved hymns. Handel wrote Messiah in about three weeks’ time. He locked himself away, barely eating or sleeping during that time, and when he came forth with the finished score, he said he felt he had been in the very presence of God.

When we understand that prophecy is part of every believer’s calling in Christ, we can be confident that He will use us in it in a variety of ways — often quite subtly. Expect Him to use you prophetically wherever you go. Ask Him to! Ask Him to help you be sensitive to His leading, and to give you the courage to speak forth what He brings to your heart.

The more you step into yielding your words to Him, the more often it will happen. You will end up glorifying the Lord Jesus more than you ever thought possible. It is a satisfying and exciting way to live.
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation

You Are Not Elite (And That’s OK)

In the more than fifty years I have been involved in Spirit-filled churches and parachurch groups, I have seen in most of those groups the notion that we were the best group in town. The theme was consistent: We are where it’s at. We are the ones who carry the plan of God. Ugly, when stated so matter of factly, isn’t it?

I heard it said in private conversations and, sadly, from the pulpit. (One pastor apologized publicly the following week.) Sometimes it was subtle, and at other times, it was quite blatant.

Or, how about these lines?

• Revival will start with us.
• This group knows how to pray God’s kingdom in like no other.
• The destiny of America/Israel/our state/region/city depends on our prayers alone.
• If we don’t do it, nobody will.
• We are God’s instrument to bring about __________.
• Jesus can’t come back unless we usher Him in. (Seriously???)

Honestly, we need to stop it. It is delusional! We should love our local fellowship, but at the same time realize that we aren’t the end-all. Other people besides us have the call of God on their lives — separate from being part of our group. It doesn’t all hinge on our little corner of Christianity. In fact, if we could see the big picture, our group or flavor of the Church is probably a small sliver of the whole.

Consider Elijah’s conversation with God in 1 Kings 19:14 and 19: Elijah says, “I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant … and I, even I only, am left.” God responds, “I still have left to Me seven thousand in Israel whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Or how about what John the Baptist told the religious leaders in Matthew 3:9: “Don’t think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you, God is able to raise up children to Abraham of these stones.”

So much for thinking it all hinges on us — any of us. While it should humble us to realize we are not the elite ones, people who are necessary for God’s plan to survive, it also takes from us all inordinate pressure.

Consistently through the years, I have reminded our prayer group that we are one small gathering among thousands of intercessory groups who are also praying the same things we are, led by the same Holy Spirit. When we see that we have gained a mighty answer to prayer, we rejoice, but always with the understanding that we are a piece among many other pieces in God’s vast army of prayer warriors. We all work together.

No, you are not elite. Your group is not elite. I would especially like to repeat this to our friends in the apostolic/prophetic movement, which I have identified with for many years. We are each special in God’s eyes, yes — special simply because we are loved by Him and moving with Him by His grace. But so is every true believer and every gathering of true believers. We are one with the greater Body of Christ, not elevated over our brothers and sisters.

It’s important to consider this often. And if we drift back into thinking we are of a higher caliber than others, it is time to repent from the depths of our hearts.
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Check out Lee Ann’s books and audio resources.
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Heading into 2023

First of all, I want to wish each of you a Christ-filled, blessed Christmas this year! Thank you for reading my blog posts — many of you for years now. Every time someone takes the time to comment or e-mail me to say you were touched or that a particular post was just what you needed, I am blessed.

As we wind down on 2022, I thought I’d share what I am sensing God is saying for 2023:

Get your running shoes on, and fine tune your headset to God’s frequency. We need to be ready to run with Him, and to do that well, we must clearly hear His voice.

I know, I know. It’s short, and maybe not earth-shattering. But whatever we do for Jesus can have a far-reaching impact, if we just make ourselves available to Him, be prepared to go, and then do it when He calls our name.

My prayer is, “Lord, clear out the static from our minds. Help us to hear You clearly, and to respond quickly to Your promptings. Our day of increased activity for You is on the horizon.”

“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.'” — Isaiah 6:8
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Lord willing, I will be doing a free online 5-week course on Christian dream interpretation fairly early in 2023. If there is a lot of demand, I will do it twice, as I want to limit attendance to about twelve per class. In a couple of weeks, I will have more details for you.
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AND, for those of you who need a last minute gift, here’s an inexpensive idea which could change someone’s eternity! (How about that?)

Do you have a loved one who is not a believer, but is seeking? How about one who is new to being a Christian or is shaky in knowing what they believe? Before Whom We Stand: The Everyman’s Guide to the Nature of God (affiliate link) may be just what they need! (This is the Amazon link, because they can still get it to you or your loved one before Christmas, while I can’t guarantee to do that.)

Before Whom We Stand
(affiliate link)

Until next year! And God bless you! ~Lee Ann

 

The Spirit of Prophecy

Revelation 19:10 tells us “… The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This verse gives us a measuring stick by which to discern prophetic words (and we desperately need to discern them in our day):

The ultimate focal point of prophecy must be Jesus. If it glorifies man or any other being, or if it feeds fleshly desires, it is not the testimony of Jesus.

Let’s look at Revelation 19:10 in its entirety: “And I [John] fell at his [the angel’s] feet to worship him. And he said to me, ‘See that you do not do it. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'”

Fulfilling “the testimony of Jesus” requirement doesn’t mean that prophecy cannot have a broad scope of what is revealed. The Bible speaks of specific reasons the Holy Spirit speaks through prophecy:

• It is meant to uplift, spur on, and encourage individuals and the corporate church. I Corinthians 14:3 explains this: “But he who prophesies speaks to men to edification, exhortation, and comfort.”
• It warns of things to come, so that believers can prepare/take action. “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there would be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren who dwelt in Judea” (Acts 11:28, 29).
• It leads people to repentance and belief in God. “But if all prophesy, and there comes in one who does not believe, … he is convinced of all, he is judged of all, and the secrets of his heart are thus made manifest. So, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly in you” (I Corinthians 14:24, 25).
• It gives specific direction. “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel…. And he said, ‘Listen, all Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. The LORD says to you, “Do not be afraid or dismayed by this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, and you shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you…. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD will be with you'” (II Chronicles 20: 14-17).
• It leads us to worship. In the passage we’ve just read, the next verse (v. 18) notes the people’s response to the prophecy, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.” (Also see I Corinthians 14:25 again.)
• It can announce or impart God’s purposes for a church or individual. “Do not neglect the gift which is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands…” (I Timothy 4:14).
• It can be a tool for intercession and spiritual warfare to accomplish the revealed purpose. “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on you, that by them you might war a good warfare” (I Timothy 1:18).

There are other purposes of prophecy mentioned in the Bible, but these are a good start on our way to receiving and using prophecy correctly.

Bottom line once again: If it glorifies Jesus and fulfills His purposes, it is true prophecy. If it glorifies man, it is not the testimony of Jesus. If it panders to fleshly ambition, it is not the testimony of Jesus.
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation

Proceed

I feel I have a current word for the Church in general, but some of you will find it is also for you about a specific matter.

I heard the word, “Proceed.” As I waited, I felt the Lord expounded on it further.

In God’s dealings with His people, there is a time to camp and stay still, and there is a time when He says to move forward. When Israel left Egypt and had come as far as the Red Sea, they became afraid when they realized the Egyptians were pursuing them. Moses comforted them and assured them that God would fight their battle for them. He said to the people, “Fear not. Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall not see again forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13, 14). This was all true. He did fight for them and save them with the miraculous parting of the Red Sea for Israel and the drowning in it of the Egyptians.

However, it was not the sum total of God’s counsel. More needed to happen. God responded to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward” (Exodus 14:15). It was in the going forward that He saved them.

While Israel was in the wilderness, there were God-ordained times of resting in one place, even for months at a time. At other times, He directed them to move forward. When they were to rest and stay put, the cloud of His presence remained stationary over the tabernacle by day and His pillar of fire did the same by night. But when the cloud or the pillar of fire moved, the Israelites did, too.

The Church is called to be a people of rest as well as a people on the move. Sometimes one aspect is more prominent than the other for a while. Sometimes we completely rest in intimacy with Him on the inside, while outwardly we are expending unusual amounts of energy on action. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) is balanced against “Go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to [you]” (Deuteronomy 1:8).

For some of you in particular, the Lord says, “I have given you a mandate. You have prepared for it and prayed into it. Now it is time to set forward, to proceed.”

With this, He reminded me of Revelation 3:8: “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

Follow the cloud; follow the fire. Take courage in Him, and let Him lead you in moving forward.

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Books and audio by Lee Ann (click link for full list):

Full Gospel Family Publications

Answering the Jeremiah Call

“See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” — Jeremiah 1:10

This was part of Jeremiah’s commissioning by the Lord to be a prophet. In that day, there were certain realms of authority exclusive to prophets. But since the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost some 2,000 years ago, the scope of who can participate in prophetic responsibilities has broadened.

In Acts 2:17, 18, the apostle Peter quoted Joel 2:28, 29: 

“And it shall come to pass in the last days,” says God, “I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”

The common man would prophesy, see visions, and receive messages from God through dreams, all because the Holy Spirit was now poured out upon all believers, not only the prophets. 

Do we have prophets today? Yes. Do they carry authority in certain areas peculiar to them? Yes. However, God also intends for His Church to be a prophetic people as a whole. In a sense, we are called as a people to be His prophetic voice. This is important for us to understand so we can be effective in carrying out His work.

In our present Church Age, Jeremiah 1:10 is a commission to all of us. God has set us, His prophetic Church, over nations and kingdoms to uproot, pull down, and destroy the works and schemes of Satan. We are also called to build and to plant God’s holy purposes — His kingdom. How? We do it primarily through intercessory prayer and decreeing what we know to be God’s will.

It’s important to note there is a divine order in fulfilling Jeremiah 1:10. God spoke first about rooting out, pulling down, destroying, and throwing down. Strongholds belonging to the devil often need to come out and down before God’s purposes can be planted or erected, just as farmers must get the stones out of a field before it is ready for sowing, or as old buildings must be razed before new ones can be built on their spot.

This is true for our personal lives and relationships, and it is true for nations as well. I believe that in the United States in the near future, we will see a phenomenal amount of tearing down of Satan’s plans. Then rebuilding can begin. While some building and planting can coincide with the uprooting process, much cannot. Everything must take place in its proper order.

We see the tearing down and building up principle in James 5:16-18, where we are encouraged to be like Elijah (again, a hint at the Church’s prophetic calling): “…The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”

First came the drought (tearing down); then came the abundance of rain (building up). Notice that James portrays Elijah as an ordinary person, such as we are, but his fervent prayers and decrees of what God had shown him brought about massive results.  

In 2008, I asked the Lord to tell me about the coming awakening. This is part of what He said in response: “It is a move of My Spirit that will transcend everything you have ever known. I will rearrange the courts of My house. I will make them available to the common man.”

We are living in a day when the “common man” has access to all the authority of heaven. We should not think that only an elite few have power to be heard by God or to make a difference. 

Are you willing to be used by Him to bring about mighty changes in your nation, state, or city? Will you take hold of Jeremiah 1:10 as your personal intercessory commission from the Lord? He is not looking for those who are uniquely gifted. He is only looking for those who are willing. 

Here am I, Lord, Send me. 

 

The Intercessor Manual, by Lee Ann Rubsam

The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation, by Lee Ann Rubsam

Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 4) — Prayer

For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, … and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.  — Hebrews 4:12, 13

We can pray from our intellect (soul), or by listening to the Spirit and then praying what He prompts us to say. Many intercessors never get past their natural understanding — but we can learn, if we want to.

Most of us experience stressful times when we launch into prayer based on our own understanding — especially when we have distressing needs. As we continue to pray and cry out to the Lord earnestly from our hearts, He faithfully adjusts our prayers, causing anxieties to lessen and our faith to arise. These personal SOS signals we send heavenward are a normal part of prayer life. But they are not what I wish to address today.

Let’s talk, though, about learning to intercede from the spirit, rather than the soul, when the concerns  are not quite as pressing, whether we are solo-praying or with a group. Our goal, as I have shared in my book, The Intercessor Manual, should be to pray like sharpshooters aiming for the bullseye, rather than randomly spraying buckshot all over the county, hoping to hit something in the process. The key is shifting into prayer led by the Spirit of God.

A first step is identifying what Spirit-led prayer feels and sounds like, compared to how prayers coming merely from the intellect sound. This takes practice, but we can become more adept as we keep at it.

Let’s look at some telltale signs that we are praying from a soulish perspective:

1.) Our prayers exhibit fear. When we carry on in an anxious, “Oh, I hope You can do something about THIS, Lord” vein, we are neither discerning His power, nor His willingness to answer us. We end up majoring on a lot of what-ifs.

2.) Our prayers sound like we’re parroting news commentators and political analysts. These prayers are usually coupled with fear — because spreading fear through sensationalism is what the news media does best.

Fairly frequently, I get e-mails from prayer warriors who have worked themselves into a tizzy about reports coming in from news services and watchdog organizations. They plead with us to pray very, very hard to keep the latest evil plot from happening.

It’s easy to climb on their hand-wringing bandwagon, but if we take time to ask the Lord, He may tell us that we can rest easy on the issue everyone else is hyperventilating about. It is already a non-issue with Him, and we can invest prayer energy elsewhere. Just because a news commentator or watchdog group tells us something is serious does not mean it is. Remember, a lot of these “experts” are not Christians, and of those who are, many of them are operating from a soulish perspective.

What we put into ourselves is what will come out in our prayers, so if we make a conscious choice to severely limit the clamor of these voices, and invest our time in absorbing the Bible instead, we starve soulish praying.

3.) Our prayers are very general. These petitions sound much like one of the lines in Away in a Manger: “Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care….” Or, as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol said, “God bless us, every one!” I don’t mind either the song or Tiny Tim, but as a way to pray, this is not effective.

General prayers are easy to speak, because they carry no risk. They also have no teeth. With such all-inclusive, vague praying, we are bound to nick a few targets, even if we miss most entirely. But there is no way to measure whether we have received any answers. You won’t ever see a news headline screaming “PRAYER ANSWERED! GOD BLESSED EVERYONE IN OUR CITY TODAY!“

4.) Our prayers exude unbelief. The prayer group is asked to petition for a desperate need, and just how dire it is gets explained down to the last detail. By the time the explanation is finished, what little faith anyone might have had has flown the coop.  From there, the whole tone of prayer becomes, “God, we’re asking because it’s the right thing to do, but we’re pretty sure already that You’re not going to intervene anyway, so Thy will be done.” It’s depressing — and it comes entirely out of a natural-minded mentality.

In Mark 9:14-29, Jesus told the father of a boy with an unclean spirit, “All things are possible to him who believes.” If we don’t have faith that He will answer, like that father, we should admit our unbelief and ask Him to fix us. We need to take steps to align our spirit with the Holy Spirit and then make our request.

5.) Our prayers are against people or people groups. If our prayers carry an attitude of hatred, or are asking for harm against someone, they extend beyond being soulish to being devilish. This should be obvious, but apparently it is not, as I have heard them prayed from time to time in gatherings I have attended. There is often a tone of anger accompanying such prayer. Pastors are criticized brutally. Minorities or people of different political, moral, or religious persuasions are prayed against and referred to as “those people.” Ahem!

If there are evil people holding political power, pray for God to deal with them His way. Ask Him to soften their hearts. Often it is best to pray for the removal or restraint of the specific evil itself, rather than going after the person(s) perpetrating it. Remember, our warfare is not against people, but unseen spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:12). Whenever we forget that, our praying goes awry.

We can also ask the Lord to remove those who need removing and raise up better people in their place. But don’t curse anyone or pray harm upon them. Let God deal with the when and how. We should take a lesson from the story in Luke 9:51-56, where James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village. Jesus rebuked them, saying, “You don’t know what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

These are five identifiers of soulish praying. No doubt there are more. If you can think of any, would you please share them in a comment?

Next time, we will talk about how to identify and shift into prayer coming from a Spirit-led perspective.

Previous: Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 3) — Prophecy
Next: Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 5) — Prayer

 

 

The Intercessor Manual, by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

Your Intercession Questions Answered, by Lee Ann Rubsam

Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 3) — The Prophecy Connection

For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

— Hebrews 4:12, 13

When we continually plant the living, infallible Word of God in our hearts, it breathes life into us in ever-increasing measure. Our ability to discern between soul and spirit in people’s words grows keener because of the Word living inside of us. In addition, the more we absorb the Word, the more it changes the words coming forth from us. We begin to speak prophetically.

Prophetic speaking happens in many varieties and flavors. Some of us will prophesy over others, perhaps moving in the word of knowledge, too. Some will release a word of wisdom and be very aware of doing so. For others, the prophetic word is more subtle. Our word of wisdom may show up as counsel we offer in everyday conversation, which speaks directly into someone’s heart, without us realizing we have spoken by inspiration of the Spirit.

Not every prophetic word we release has to be as concise or emphatic as a “Thus says the Lord” word. We might share quite informally with someone a sense we have about his or her future, not even recognizing in the moment that we are speaking by revelation. Our prophetic utterances may also come forth in what we pray about and the angle from which we address a prayer issue.

Some of us will operate more obviously in the prophetic gifts than others, but all God’s people can speak prophetically at some level — and we should desire to do so, according to 1 Corinthians 14 (see vs. 1, 31, 39).

Prophetic release of the word of God can take a couple of forms:

1.) Speaking the infallible, written Word (the Bible) into a particular situation through declaration and petition

2.) Speaking the prophetic word of the Lord as we hear it by revelation.

Either of these forms can come forth as either straight-up prophecy or as prophetic prayer. Prayer and the prophetic speaking of the word of God go hand in hand.

As the Word of God lives, thrives, and grows in us, our words will increasingly take on the same qualities as the written Word, as described in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, … a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

A genuine prophetic word:

• Brings life to its hearers.
• Is infused with power. It puts things in motion.
• Has the authority of heaven in it to change lives, situations, or even regions.
• Keenly discerns and divides between soul and spirit.
• Reveals the intents of hearts.

Because all things are open and naked to the eyes of “Him with Whom we have to do” (v. 13), by His Spirit He can reveal concealed motives to the prophet (or prophetic intercessor) when necessary. He also reveals hidden plans of the enemy, so that we can either warn God’s people or nullify those plans through warfare prayer.

A note of caution:

When the Lord reveals people’s hidden motives to us, we must be extremely careful with how we handle that information. We want to have the same heart as the Father does. While He sees sin exactly for what it is, He sees with a redemptive heart. If we step into soulish thinking, we will process this type of revelation with criticalness, a desire for judgment against what we see, and the temptation to expose it. But God is compassionate toward the person whose attitudes or lifestyle are a mess. His goal is mercy. He wants to set people free and restore them. We must make His goals our goals.

Most of the time, that means we have been given such revelation for prayer purposes only (personal prayer, not passing it on to a prayer chain). Occasionally, the Lord may instruct us to talk privately with the person about what God has revealed, so that he or she may come to repentance. But that must be done discreetly and tactfully, and only once we are sure the Lord is calling us to do it.

Next time, we will talk about how to cross over from intercession fueled by the soul to Spirit-led intercession.

Previous: Discerning Between Soul & Spirit (Part 2)
Next: Discerning Between Soul & Spirit (Part 4) — Prayer

 

The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

 

 

Growing in the Prophetic (CD or mp3 set),
by Lee Ann Rubsam

Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 2)

Each of us must make daily choices of whether we will think according to the soul or spirit. We have to decide whether to agree with the soulish viewpoints of others, or whether to refuse them in favor of the Spirit. As I said last time, besides secular movers and shakers, some Christian leaders who carry a great deal of influence are speaking from the soul, rather than the Spirit.

We must learn to recognize whether what we are listening to is originating with soul or spirit. Once we know how to identify which it is, we are well on our way to understanding how to respond to it.

The answer is simpler than we might suspect: it is wrapped up in the Word of God.

For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit … and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.  — Hebrews 4:12, 13

Part of the reason believers are so easily led about by soulish influencers is because the majority of us are not well-grounded in the Bible. When we continually eat from God’s Word, we are nourished by the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, counsel, and truth. He becomes the strongest Influencer in our lives. Therefore, when we come into contact with even the most convincing voices, a red flag pops up inside warning that something isn’t right. Colossians 3:15 refers to it as the peace of God ruling (like a judge or umpire) in our hearts. We know in our spirit-man whether something we are being told is right-on or off-kilter.

Do you want to keenly discern between what is of the soul and what is of the Spirit? Here are three practical steps to get you there:

1. Fill yourself with the living, powerful, sharp Word of God. It will help you discern whether to reject or accept the voices of other people. Even more importantly, it will help you quickly discern what is soulish within your own thinking.

2. Pray for greater wisdom and discernment. God wants us to have these qualities even more than we desire them for ourselves. That’s why He encourages us in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all men liberally and without reproach, and it shall be given to him.” When the red flag pops up inside of my spirit, if I am not immediately certain why it is there, I ask God to bring to mind a Bible verse to help me know why. He is faithful to do that.

You can also form a habit of frequently asking God to reveal to you His perspective through the inner voice. As we wait upon the Lord, listening for Him, He gives us understanding far beyond ourselves — whether it is about current issues, teaching we have heard, or personal relationship challenges.

3. Once you have discerned that someone is consistently speaking from the soul, shut your ears to that. Those of us with inquiring minds have a tendency to listen to what people say, even when we know they are off. It’s a curiosity thing. We hope we can “eat the chicken and leave the bones.” Unfortunately, even when we know the truth, if we keep on absorbing teaching or opinions which are not right, those ideas inevitably start to stick to us, even though we don’t want them to. It’s best to shut them out.

Does this mean we should expose to everyone else that So-and-So is coming from a soulish perspective? I don’t think so. Feeling the need to expose can quickly develop into alignment with the devil,  who is the accuser (Revelation 12:10). Just shut your own ears to it, and let the Holy Spirit deal with the other person in His way and time. Focus on talking about Jesus and His qualities, rather than what’s wrong somewhere.

To recap, if we want to discern correctly and be led by the Holy Spirit, rather than by natural-minded thinking, we can hone that ability by

• Feeding on the Bible, letting its truths influence what we think
• Seeking God continually for greater wisdom and discernment, so that we are not fooled
• No longer subjecting ourselves to the words of an influencer once we determine that he or she is speaking from a soulish perspective.

Next time, I would like to examine how Hebrews 4:12, 13 can help us in the areas of prayer and prophecy.

Previous: Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 1)
Next: Discerning (Part 3) — The Prophecy Connection

Yes, You CAN Be an Intercessor! (CD Set or mp3)
by Lee Ann Rubsam

Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 1)

The phenomenon of social media has brought to the forefront a problem we have in Christianity: our inability to discern whether shared ideas are coming from the soul or spirit. In this series, we will look at what we can do to keep from buying into and spreading soulish opinions. We will also look at how discerning between soul and spirit assists us in prayer and prophecy. Our goal should be to operate more consistently from the spirit than the soul.

“Soul,” as I will be using the term here, refers to natural-minded thinking: what comes of intellect and logic alone. “Spirit” refers to the part of us which is able to connect and commune with God, to understand His ways. God has given each of us a soul, made up of our mind, will, and emotions. The soul in itself is not bad — but because sin has marred it, if the soul is left to itself, it can come to very wrong conclusions. It needs to be ruled over and assisted by our spirit.

Being soul-dominated is not limited to indulging in a sinful lifestyle. Having a soulish mentality can also lead us to self-righteously champion Bible truths on a purely intellectual level, thinking that we have the counsel of God, but missing the mark by a mile. My pastor referred to this as applying truth based on the tree of knowledge of good and evil, rather than on the tree of life (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-7; 3:22-24). It is possible to be right, and yet not be righteous.

An example of soulish thinking I frequently see is Christians justifying and even encouraging unkind speech and actions. The argument goes something like this:

Jesus was not “nice” in how He spoke to the Pharisees. He even called them names. So, as a Christian of righteous principle, I am free to “tell it like it is” (translation: be mean) in how I talk to and about people. I am just doing what Jesus did — calling out hypocrites and Pharisees.

The “Pharisees” referred to are usually believers who do not see things from their viewpoint — and of course, theirs is the right one! There’s a problem with this mindset, however. It is just as pharisaical as those it attacks. And if we agree with it, we’ll find ourselves thinking, “Yeah! Give it to ’em good!” But here’s where the difficulty lies: we are not all-knowing, as God is. Jesus could clearly see what was in the Pharisees’ hearts, while we do not have that advantage. All the facts aren’t known to us, so we can easily misunderstand people’s motives.

The Pharisees were legalists. They operated completely in the soul realm, according to their intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures. Mercy? They had none. Compromise? They felt comfortable with their own. They just didn’t approve of other people’s versions. Jesus, on the other hand, always listened to and moved with the Holy Spirit. His purpose in rebuke was not to condemn the Pharisees, but to radically stir up them and those they held in bondage to see their desperate need for a Savior.

Colossians 4:6 counsels us, “ Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every man.” Salt with no grace irritates and burns. But Jesus was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He knew how to answer every man, in every situation. He did it with redemption uppermost in His mind.

Whether realizing it or not, the soul-motivated person accuses for selfish reasons — to maintain his own comfort, to get his way, to build up himself by putting down others, or to gather a following. He assumes he knows the motives of the person he condemns. However, the Spirit-led person, like Jesus, is motivated by a goal of redemption.

On the surface, opinions or arguments coming from the perspective of the soul can be pretty convincing — especially when crafted by someone who is skillful with words. Well-presented logic appeals to our natural mind. Unfortunately, some Christian leaders with large Internet platforms are speaking from the soul, not the Spirit, and because they have such weighty influence, it is easy to accept what they say unquestioningly — and then parrot it to our own circles of influence.

Why does any of this even matter? First of all, because if we speak in agreement with soulish things, it is a terrible witness. Nonbelievers around us recognize that we are not speaking like the Jesus we say we represent. And for those of us who function as intercessors, if we do not correctly discern soul and spirit, we can easily become entangled in praying from erroneous perspectives brought on by unquestioningly accepting whatever we are told by people of influence.

So, how do we discern soulish thinking and avoid it? We’ll talk about that next time.

Next: Discerning Between Soul and Spirit (Part 2)

 

Growing in the Prophetic (CD or mp3 set),
by Lee Ann Rubsam