PROPHETIC WORDS

GOD IS REFINING AND REDEFINING PROPHETIC MINISTRY

by Lyn Packer

This prophetic word was given at the NZ Council of Prophets gathering and Behold Conference in Christchurch, March 2024.

God is currently purifying His prophetic ministers, calling them to purity, maturity, and to a renewed sense of the fear of the Lord in their ministry. He is also re-stating and clarifying what a prophet’s role is.

Knowing our Covenant

There is a fresh call for prophets to know the covenant they operate under, so they don’t operate from an old covenant mentality, thereby giving words that become a toxic mixture that brings people into fear and confusion, rather than strengthening their faith, building up, comforting and empowering them.

He is calling prophets to understand the love, grace, and mercy of the Trinity in a greater way, both mentally and by experience.

Dismantling ego

God is dismantling working from ego in prophet’s lives…bringing them to a fresh place of working from a place of surrendered sight, hearing, emotion, and speech. There will be an increased laying down of our perspectives in order to gain His. In the days ahead we will see many prophets surprised as God exposes their own hearts to them and they see just how much of their ministry was driven by misunderstanding of God’s heart and ways, wrong theologies, a desire for acceptance, a platform with recognition and fame, and more…

Alongside that, God is calling for a greater weighing of words before they are spoken – weighed against the revelation of God in Christ. He is also asking us to take responsibility for the words that come from our mouths – to minister with humility, dethroning ego, and admit it when we get it wrong.

Change in perspective

He is reminding us as prophets to come up higher, to see from a heavenly vantage point and to declare from knowing His eternal plans. Within that we must look back to see forward clearly – to see His eternal plan for mankind.

He is calling us to come above second heaven viewpoints to see from a heavenly vantage point, with our perspective having been formed by knowing the mind of Christ.  He is calling us to act as heavenly ambassadors who prophesy solutions from heaven and release the power and provision contained within the words we speak from the Lord, rather than acting as doomsday prophets.

We are to look no longer to the old covenant prophets as the model for ministry, but to look to Christ as our model, the one who in His prophetic ministry is the truest representative of God.

The power of words

God is also reminding us afresh of the power contained within the words we speak, and because we realise the power of words to build up and establish or tear down, we don’t just say words but we send our words to do a job. (A mature use of the prophetic involves sending words to frame and create realities, because they are a ‘now’, creative word from God. Immature use of the prophetic gift usually involves simply passing on a message rather than sending words to do a job and expecting their words to bear fruit.)

God is increasing our faith and broadening our view of how a prophet ministers, from a narrow view of just being able to give prophetic words to being able to see those words established through faith. We will increasingly see prophets become not just revelators and messengers, but establishers and builders with their words, as they receive revelation of the power of the words they give.

The rise of builder prophets

We will see a growing emergence and call to prophets to build. We are in an Ezra 5:1,2 time – “Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.”

We will see the rise of and recognition of multi-gifted prophets who, as they did in the early church, go on to not just give a word, but to establish the church in the word God gives through them, through proclamation, preaching/teaching, discipling, power demonstration, and hands on helping to establish and help bring the church to maturity. We will see an increase in prophets realising they are called to more than just giving a word; they are called to the Ephesians 4 mandate to help bring the church to maturity, and to train people for their work of ministry (not to do it all themselves). We will see a new measure being used for the five-fold prophets – a moving away from only what they are seeing and saying, to what they are building.

Rise of the craftsmen builder prophets – Zech 1:18-20. The only things I can see recorded in Scripture that terrify the enemy are craftsmen builders – “Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”

These builder prophets will terrify the enemy as they instil hope and faith into the church and help to release a generation of prophetic builders – people who see the heart of God for broken systems, know His mind for them, and are trained and equipped to make a difference in their assigned spheres of influence, and in their God-given assignments: assignments to “rebuild the broken cities, and restore streets to dwell in” Isa 58:12.

BIO