The prophetic person asks, seeks, knocks and pays the price until revelation is obtained. There are many forms in which the revelation comes, and the prophetic person does not limit themselves to one or two ways, but hears and sees through many different means. Following is a partial list of forms in which revelation is communicated to the prophet, beginning with the most basic, and working up to the most advanced.

1. Written Scripture. Scripture is the objective criterion against which all subjective revelation is measured, weighed, tested, and interpreted. That is to say, the Holy Spirit will not reveal something to a prophet that contradicts what has already been revealed in Scripture. “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89). The prophetic word is rooted in the written Word, and that Word is settled forever. We must submit ourselves to His Word, and not try to make the Word submit to us or to our revelation. Take for an example the prophet Daniel. Daniel began to fast and pray after he “learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years” (Dan. 9:2). To reward Daniel’s willingness to search for answers and to pray, God gave Daniel a vision that supported the written revelation of Jeremiah. Now both Jeremiah and Daniel’s prophecies are part of Scripture. Study that example and you will save yourself from a lot of unnecessary confusion and misunderstanding. The prophet must avoid the realm of speculation and learn not to go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4:6). This is good advice, not just for prophets, but for all of God’s people. We must master the written revelation, as this will be the basis upon which we will approve or reject any subsequent revelation.

2. Inward Witness. How does God give us specific guidance about matters not spoken of in Scripture? He uses the inward witness (or “gentle nudging”) of the Holy Spirit. How does one know to go here, or look there, or study this, or dig deeper into that, or pray about this particular matter? Where do these sparks of inspiration and insight come from? They come from the Holy Spirit, as He seeks to lead us into all truth. Sometimes these leadings are barely noticeable, almost as if you were thinking to yourself. At other times, these leadings are genuine “light bulb” moments when you slap yourself on the forehead and exclaim, “Of course! Why didn’t I see that before?” This may appear to be in the realm of the mind, and the mind is certainly involved, but it actually originates in the realm of the spirit, where the Holy Spirit moves and “the eyes of your understanding are enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). The key is to take none of this for granted. Treasure all these little insights and store them away in your heart.

3. Word of Wisdom / Word of Knowledge. Any of God’s people may operate in spiritual gifts as the Spirit wills, but the prophet seems to flow in these spiritual gifts more often than most. We must not limit our understanding of the spiritual gifts to what we have seen allegedly demonstrated on television, or in church services and revival meetings. Words of wisdom and knowledge do not have to be uttered to be valid, and they do not always have to be directed towards other people. They are simply Spirit-inspired fragments of insight into things past, present, or future: thus, it is a “word” of wisdom, or a “word” of knowledge, but it is not total wisdom or full knowledge. These fragments are typically used as calls to prayer, or perhaps specific answers to prayer, or specific insights. The key word is specific. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the man with whom you are living now is not your husband” (Jn. 4:17,18), she immediately perceived Him as a prophet. The word was specific and correct. It both exposed her and opened up the opportunity to minister to her.

4. Visions and Dreams. In the Old Testament, visions and dreams were more common because prophets did not enjoy the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as we do. To communicate, God often had to take direct measures to get His point across, whereas today (I believe) God prefers to use Scripture and the Inward Witness as the primary means of revelation. That is not to say that visions and dreams are not valid for us today. Paul dreamed that a man from Macedonia was calling to him for help, and he correctly concluded that God was sending him there to preach (Acts 16:9,10). God does use the occasional dream or vision to communicate revelation; however, not all dreams and visions are of divine origin. We must be sensible enough to test all things.

5. Other People. We can learn to recognize and hear God’s voice speaking to us through other people. Of course this includes older brothers and sisters and those who are pastors, teachers, and the like. But God can speak through anyone – young or old, believer or unbeliever. For example, God often speaks to me through other people, even when they do not realize He is using them to speak to me. And even though I may be “older” in the Lord and a teacher, I have things to learn from those who are younger. Even our critics and “enemies” (according to the flesh) can be used by God to teach and reveal truth to us. So we must not limit ourselves to thinking that God must always speak directly to us and would never speak through someone else. This attitude would almost certainly guarantee that God will use someone else to help you get over this self-centered view. On the other hand, if we are always looking to other people for guidance then it represents a flaw in our walk that must be corrected.

6. Prophecy. We would not want to overlook the fact that personal words of prophecy, encouragement, and counsel are possible means of revelation and guidance. We must test these words, ensure they do not violate Scripture, and receive them to the extent that they confirm what the Lord has already been showing us. If these words from others create confusion or intimidation then we can safely ignore them. God has other ways and means of getting our attention if He really needs to.

7. “The Hard Way”. This is the most challenging way to receive revelation – and by far, the most effective. Paul had a deep revelation of Christ. He also endured deep suffering. In fact, the abundance of his revelation required a corresponding “messenger of satan” to keep him humble (2 Cor. 12:7). Whatever this means, we can rest assured of one thing: Deep revelation is accompanied by deep suffering. Those who aspire to apostolic and prophetic revelation must be willing to endure apostolic and prophetic persecution. Does the revelation trigger the suffering, or does the suffering trigger the revelation? The answer is: both. If our suffering is light then our revelation will be shallow, but deep experiences lead to deep revelation, and deep revelation leads to deep experiences. The messenger is as much a part of the message as the message itself. It is a 100% certainty that the prophetic man or woman will experience deep testing and trials as part of their training.

We will develop that thought and build support for it as we progress. Because of the popular misconceptions of the prophetic ministry, some may initially find this definition too narrow. They may struggle with the idea that all prophetic utterance is Christ-centered. For instance, what about all those end time events in the Book of Revelation? Some of them do not seem to directly speak about Jesus. Are they not prophetic? This objection is easily overcome, but before we can overcome it, we must recognize one supreme, central, eternal truth: that everything God has done, is doing, and will do is connected somehow to bringing Christ more fully into view. Everything that God has said, is saying, and will say (prophetically or otherwise) is related to Christ: either directly, or indirectly, it all points and leads to Him. We can safely discard as “interesting, but not prophetic” anything that claims to be prophetic but does not reveal or declare something concerning Christ.

The Book of Revelation does not contradict our narrow definition; it supports it. Indeed, the first verse of the Book of Revelation confirms that the entire writing is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Christ is indeed revealed in the midst of the Ekklesia with awesome titles that include “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” (one of my personal favorites)… Faithful Witness… Firstborn from the Dead… The Lord God… The Almighty… King of Kings… Lord of Lords… Faithful and True… The Lamb… The Lion… The Root and Offspring of David… He Who Was, And Is, and Is To Come… the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End, the First and Last…” and so on. Christ is the Subject of the Book.

So while The Book of Revelation says a great deal about the end of the world, that is not what makes it prophetic. Its true prophetic purpose is not to reveal things happening in the last days, but to reveal the preeminence and victory of Christ in the last days. John gives us the Key there in the very first verse, and with this Key you can unlock the meaning behind all that is revealed in the Book of Revelation. Christ is the Key. Without this Key, all attempts to interpret and understand the Book of Revelation are futile.

So the Book of Revelation not only reveals Christ, it reveals that Christ is the purpose and intention of all Spirit-inspired prophetic utterance: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10b). Here are some other translations of Revelation 19:10b that are worth looking at:

“The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus” (NLT).

“The substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy (the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching and interpretation of the divine will and purpose, including both mine and yours)” (AMP).

The Amplified is good, but it gives the impression that prophecy is general “truth” that Jesus reveals. This is incorrect. It is not truth revealed by Jesus; it is the truth concerning Jesus. Jesus is the Subject of prophecy. Christ Himself is the purpose of all prophetic revelation and declaration. Knox is the most accurate:

“It is the truth concerning Jesus which inspires all prophecy” (Knox).

“The truth concerning Jesus” is a fair translation of “The Testimony of Jesus.” The prophetic ministry is zealous for the truth concerning Jesus, and it finds itself opposed to all falsehood concerning Jesus. This is the foundation of all prophetic ministry and the basis of all spiritual conflict, since the spirit of Antichrist obviously has the exact opposite goal.

We will have more to say about the Testimony of Jesus in due course. For now, it is enough if we simply settle upon this one principle forever: the prophetic word (and therefore, the prophetic ministry and the prophetically gifted person) has always been, is, and forever will be, the primary means through which the truth concerning Jesus (The Testimony) is revealed and declared to the world.

If that seems far-fetched, take a step back from the Book of Revelation, and look at the entire Bible. Where did it come from? How did it get here? Why has it persisted against all efforts to destroy it? It has endured because the Bible is a prophetic book, written by prophetic people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to prophetically declare the Truth concerning Jesus: either openly, in parable, in proverb, or in prophecy. Christ is the central theme of God’s eternal Purpose, and so He must, of course, be the Subject of God’s written revelation to man. Jesus declared that “the Scriptures testify of Me” (Jn. 5:39). And so they do. Those who know how to rightly divide the Written Word can find Christ the Living Word in every book, in every chapter. Some revelations of Christ are in plain sight. For example, Jesus is easily seen and met in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Old Testament prophets declare Him in types and shadows, while the rest of the New Testament declares Him more clearly in this age and in the age to come.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible contains the revelation of Christ. It is the Testimony of Jesus in written form. How the Spirit of Antichrist has tried to destroy this written Testimony of Jesus! All attempts to destroy this Book have failed. Today, the preferred method of the enemy is not to destroy the Book, but to get us to destroy ourselves by ignoring the Book. This has worked remarkably well. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6a).

The fact that we can casually accept so many words, visions, dreams, teachings, and experiences as “prophetic” when they do not reveal the truth concerning Jesus reflects the lack of knowledge that this book seeks to correct. Prophetic utterance does not deal with “things,” but with Christ. When the prophetic revelation is genuine, we will be able to answer the question: “What about this tells me something about Christ?” If we cannot find something of Christ in it, then whatever it is, it isn’t prophetic. May God show us the difference.

“And this is the testimony, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 Jn. 5:11,12).

“This is the testimony.” So, later when John writes that “the testimony of Jesus is the essence of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10) we know what the Testimony is: the Life is in the Son. If you have the Son, you have the Life; if you don’t have the Son, you don’t have the Life.

What does that mean? It means that all are saved in Jesus and none are saved outside of Him. It perfectly supports the very words of Jesus, also recorded by John: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father except by Me” (Jn. 14:6). This statement points to the revelation of the Eternal Purpose of God: that in all things Christ must have the preeminence. God has set the Son in the ultimate place of authority, establishing that all are saved in Him and none are saved without Him.

That simple statement – all are saved in Jesus, none are saved without Him – stands in stark contrast to the way of the world, the liberal culture, and the spirit of religion. How dare anybody suggest that Jesus is the only way to the Father! This is offensive to the Jew, the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Sikh, the Wiccan, the atheist, and every other stream of belief, including some so-called Christians. We are instead told that there are many paths to God, many expressions of faith. We have been told that all people of faith worship the same God, whether you call Him (or Her) God, Jehovah, Allah, The Universal Spirit, or some other name. We have been told that each path is valid for the person who happens to be traveling it, and that all roads lead to the same place. We have been told that only narrow-minded bigots and religious fanatics suggest that their way is the only correct way. Besides, what gives one group of people the right to judge another about what is right or wrong? In the name of love, harmony, ecumenicalism and universal brotherhood, we must (so they say) embrace all people and all beliefs. Diversity, tolerance, and unquestioned acceptance are the order of the day.

We are rapidly heading toward a time when the governments of this world will be forced to regulate and censor “religious speech” as the only solution to world peace. They will (correctly) determine that religion is the source of most of the world’s wars and deaths from war. They will then move decisively to silence, punish, and eliminate anyone who disturbs the peace with “hate speech,” which they will define as anything that appears to offend someone else’s beliefs or religious practices. This will not violate the conscience of most of the world’s religions, who will be allowed to practice their faith however they please, so long as they do not infringe upon the religious faith of others. But for the ones who bear the Testimony of Jesus – that all are saved in Him, and none are saved apart from Him – this will lead to widespread, universal persecution and death. Eventually, politics and religion will merge into a single entity that destroys all that oppose it.

This is not some wild conspiracy theory; it is precisely what the Book of Revelation describes.

“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held” (Rev. 6:9).

“When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them” (Rev. 11:7).

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11).

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17).

“I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God” (Rev. 20:4).

Amateurs of Bible prophecy, who would immediately dismiss these verses as being only applicable to some future period of time that does not affect them, are badly misinformed. All the established institutions of this world – government, religion, education, banking, commerce, military, media, and entertainment – are today becoming united under a single goal. There is a great darkness that directs and coordinates their efforts towards a specific end. Do they even realize what they are doing? Probably not, but whether they realize it or not, the powerful men and women in the institutions of this world are mere pawns being moved across the board toward a goal that they cannot even fathom.

Of all people, those who bear the Testimony of Jesus are singled out. For what reason? There is a spiritual wickedness that works within the world’s institutions and systems and seeks to destroy the Testimony of Jesus. We know it as the Dragon, the Serpent, the Beast, Satan. But all these identities can be summed up into a single persona: it is the spirit of Antichrist – that evil force that stands against and in the place of Christ; and therefore, against and in the place of the Testimony of Jesus. This is the spirit behind the desire to unite the governments of this world into a single entity and exert political and religious control over the entire population of the world. And according to Scripture, God will permit it to succeed for a period of time immediately preceding the literal, visible return of Jesus Christ to personally govern the nations of this earth and prevent them from destroying the whole population of the world (Mt. 24:22). The process is well underway.

The world rejects the Testimony of Jesus. The spirit of Antichrist is determined to destroy the Testimony of Jesus. Yet this Testimony of Jesus – that He is the only Way to the Father – is the foundation of Christian belief and the essence of all prophetic revelation and utterance. Any attempt to minimize this or to suggest that all other paths to God are equally valid violates this Testimony. This Testimony puts the claims of Christ at variance with every other religious path. It is the cornerstone of our faith, the foundation of all we believe – and the only hope for the salvation of mankind. No wonder the adversary fights against it.

Authority Over Sin

First, as a disciple of Jesus Christ you have authority over sin. Let’s illustrate that by turning to John Chapter 8, beginning in verse 31:

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, “You will be made free?”‘ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

So first of all, number one, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have authority over sin. Thanks be to God Who has delivered us from sin through Jesus Christ. We have authority over the penalty of sin, and we have authority over the power of sin. That means, according to Paul in Romans, that sin does not have to have dominion over us, as opposed to before when we had no choice, we had no say so, but we were bound by sin. And now, through the death of Jesus Christ, we’ve been delivered from the power of sin, and we’ve been delivered from the penalty of sin. So now we have authority over sin. So praise God for that! That is the first thing you have authority over as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Whoever the Son makes free, they are free indeed!

And you might say, “Well, I don’t feel like it, it doesn’t look like it, blah blah blah.” One thing you need to learn about authority is: authority is yours whether you see it, whether you feel it, whether you act upon it or not. You still have authority over sin. We’ll talk about how to increase that authority, and that’s the difference. The increase of authority over sin (and over anything else that we’ll discuss) is increased as you act upon that authority. We’ll discuss that as we go forward, but right now, just accept it on faith based on what Jesus is saying. He or she, whoever the Son sets free, is free indeed. So you have authority over sin. You’re no longer a slave to sin, instead, Paul says you are a slave to righteousness. Now the first step is recognizing that so you can start living according to who you really are, not the way you’ve been living up to the point where you gave your life to the Lord. So authority over sin – that’s what you have already, number one.

Authority Over satan

Number two, you have, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, authority over satan. You do have authority over the devil. I’ve already read this, but to reinforce the point once more – and there are many scriptures that we could provide to support this, but one of the clearest examples is Colossians Chapter 1 – so if you’ll turn to Colossians Chapter 1, I’d like to begin with verse 12:

“Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us…” (Now that is past tense. He has – not going to deliver us.)

“…He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.” The Greek word “power” there again, being “exousia”, more properly translated “authority”.

Once you have received an inheritance of the saints in the light, and you’ve been transferred out of darkness and into the Kingdom of His dear Son, you’ve been delivered from the authority and the power of darkness. Your eyes have been opened, and satan no longer has authority in your life. And so, you’ve got authority over the devil, you have authority over satan, and that is not something you have to work towards in an effort to try and get that. Instead, that authority is yours in the Name of Jesus. Now, listen! You don’t have to claim it; it just is. Whether you claim it or not, whether you believe it or not, you have authority over sin, you have authority over satan.

Now obviously some people have more than others – only because some people recognize that authority and they live accordingly. If you have authority over the devil, but you keep giving him permission to operate in your life, then guess what? He’s going to beat you up. If you have authority over sin, but you continue to willfully sin, and you don’t deal with those areas, and you don’t allow yourself to be crucified and dealt with in those areas, then you’re going to continue to sin – even though you have authority over sin, you have authority over satan; nevertheless, that authority has to be recognized, and then it has to be exercised.

Now regardless of what you believe, or what you think, or what you feel, or what you see, this is what the Scripture says. So that’s the second thing. You have authority over sin, you have authority over satan – as a believer, as a saint, as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Authority Over the World

Thirdly, you have authority over the world. And that is found in I John Chapter 5, if you would turn there please. Beginning in verse 4, it says this:

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Praise the Lord. Now, it doesn’t say you have to be mature. It doesn’t say you have to be spiritually adult. It just says you have to be born of God and believe that Jesus is the Son of God; and once you are born-again, God at that moment gives you authority over the world.

Different people could translate that to mean different things. I take it as: authority over the world system, authority over the ways of the world. It means the world no longer has to have that pull and that draw upon you, because your citizenship now is in heaven, and you can be an ambassador for Christ and a king and priest in His Kingdom and represent that to the world around you. That’s how you overcome the world. John says don’t love the world, or the things of the world, because the world and the things therein are passing away, but he who does the will of God will abide forever. And this is he who overcomes the world: those who are born again. Those who have believed on the Name of Jesus. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. So praise God.

Now, in the world you’ll have tribulation, so authority over the world doesn’t mean that my circumstances will always be just the way I want them; I’ll never have any problems, and I’ll never have any challenges. What it means is: in the midst of all of that coming against me in the world, I can still be victorious in Christ.

And so, you already have, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, authority over sin, number one; authority over satan, number two; and number three: authority over the world.

Now, since all disciples have this authority, why doesn’t every disciple overcome? You might be asking yourself that question. You might say, “That sounds good, I believe what the Bible says, but I certainly don’t see that happening in my life, and I don’t see that as being the standard for Christian’s lives as a general way of life. I don’t see this happening. So if all disciples have this authority, why don’t more disciples overcome?”

Well, I think the clue you’re going to find out is right back where we left off in John 8. You remember Jesus says, “If… if… if.” See, that’s a condition. “If you continue, if you continue, if you continue in My Word.” What happens if you don’t continue? Well, “if you don’t continue in My Word, then you’re not really My disciples, and therefore the Truth cannot make you free.”

Truth makes us free in a progressive sense. In other words, we have authority over sin, but many times we’re still bound by sin. We have authority over satan, but a lot of times we allow satan to intimidate us, or to exercise power over us, as a result of our own ignorance, our own laziness. See, God says “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” It is not because satan is all-powerful. It’s not because he’s even very powerful. It’s not because he has authority, in fact the exact opposite is the case when you’re born again, you become a child of God, you have authority over satan!

So how is it that the devil is able to accomplish so much? It’s because “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” It’s a lack of understanding, and actually a lack of wisdom, because we don’t continue in the Word, we don’t give the Word time enough to transform us and conform us. We don’t continue, we don’t abide in His Word. And so Jesus says (in effect) “if you don’t abide in My Word then you’re not my disciples indeed, you will not know the truth, and the truth will not make you free.”

It’s all contingent on abiding in My Word. “Abide in Me, I will abide in you, you will produce much fruit, and your fruit will remain,” it says in John 15. But, “if you do not abide in Me, if you do not continue in Me, if you do not continue and abide in My Word and in My teachings, then you will not experience fruitfulness, and you will not experience the liberty and the freedom that is there, that is available to you – but you’ve got to continue in My Word.”

Don’t be condemned, but just let me speak the truth to you. If you’re lacking in an area, it’s not because sin is so powerful. It’s not because the devil is so powerful. It’s not because the world is so powerful. It’s only because you have failed to appreciate and recognize and walk in the authority that God has given you. That’s it! You just haven’t grown up to the point that you can walk in the assurance and the knowledge and the authority and the maturity that God has already provided for you.

So don’t blame God, don’t blame sin, don’t blame satan, don’t blame the world – and don’t blame yourself. Just go ahead and say, “OK. I recognize now that I have failed to grow up in these areas.” And ask the Lord to help you to grow, and as you do, your awareness of the truth will begin to transform you.

This article is taken from an audio series titled “Spiritual Authority: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, And What You Can Do About It.”

There is a lot packed into that word governed that must be pulled out and examined. What does it mean to be governed by the Holy Spirit? It includes the following seven steps, and each come in their proper order:

1. Born of the Spirit

This is where it all begins for “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:5). The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, reveals our need for a Savior, draws us to Christ, enables us to call upon the Lord, and seals us with salvation. Apart from Him, we are blind, deaf, and dumb to the things of God, for “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).

2. Filled with the Spirit

The remarkable difference in the disciples before and after Acts Chapter 2 is faithfully recorded in Scripture. The fact of the matter is: you can follow Jesus for years without being filled with the Holy Spirit, just like His first disciples did. But they were always limping along, not fully understanding, not completely seeing, not really hearing what Jesus wanted to show them. It took the Holy Spirit filling them before they could really begin to “get it.” This accounts for the spiritual dullness of most people still trapped in Churchianity: they’re trying to follow Jesus without the infilling power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture has already shown us it doesn’t work; that’s like trying to run a marathon with asthma. We must “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).

3. Taught by the Spirit

Man can only teach us so much. The Spirit of Truth is a Teacher, and He is sent to show, reveal, and teach us things beyond the comprehension of mortal men. Many things that Jesus wished to teach His disciples had to wait because they could not receive it without the Holy Spirit there to assist. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (Jn. 14:26). The Holy Spirit’s favorite method of teaching is to put us in difficult circumstances. Read the Book of Acts and you see rapid growth and development of the Ekklesia. Even the apostles are learning and growing. How do we account for it? Their learning didn’t take place in a private mountain retreat or monastery, it happened in the trials and tribulations and enemies and circumstances. The Holy Spirit uses angry mobs, lonely prisons, and desperate situations to teach us things we won’t learn in a classroom.

4. Adjusted to the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not interested in filling our mind with interesting Bible facts and doctrinal trivia. The purpose of being taught by the Spirit is to be adjusted to the Spirit – that is, to give up our own stubborn way and come around to doing things God’s way. This adjustment is usually uncomfortable and often painful. But this is how spiritual growth and maturity occurs. If we are not willing to take what the Spirit has taught us and then submit ourselves to it, and be adjusted by it, then we will go the way of those who are “ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). The Holy Spirit withdraws and will show us nothing beyond the last point of disobedience. We are the most taught and preached-to generation in the history of the world but we are the least willing to be adjusted by truth when we hear it. If we will learn to quickly obey and apply what we are taught then we will make rapid progress.

5. Led by the Spirit

When a person is willing to be adjusted by the Spirit then they can be led by the Spirit. How can the Spirit lead a person that resists Him and refuses to be adjusted? It isn’t possible. Yet how easily and flippantly people pronounce, “This is how I am led!” as if that should settle all argument. Words may deceive but the fruit doesn’t lie. If everyone who claimed to be led by the Spirit were actually being led by the Spirit then the world would be a lovely, wonderful place. The truth is: carnal, fleshly Christians can’t be led by the Spirit because they won’t be taught by the Spirit or adjusted to the Spirit. Carnal people are led by their flesh, their emotions, and their feelings. You can fool others, you can even fool yourself, but God is not mocked. You cannot ignore the Spirit’s teaching, refuse the adjustment that the teaching is intended to make in your life, and then claim you’re being “led” by the same Spirit you just disrespected. Only those who are adjusted to the Spirit can truly recognize His voice and be led by Him.

6. Inspired by the Spirit

When a person arrives to this point they have learned to originate nothing, but to wait for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are under the government of the Holy Spirit from that point forward. The Spirit governs their speech and their actions. They no longer rely on the flesh. They no longer relish the praise of man, nor fear the criticisms of man. They are stirred by the Spirit of God, and they offer no resistance to His Spirit. They can be trusted with greater revelation and with the corresponding responsibility for handling it wisely, as a stewardship for the Ekklesia.

7. Kept by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit continually ministers life, light, love, grace, mercy, and peace to those who are wholly submitted to His Government. The inner man is strengthened and renewed day by day. Rivers of living water flow from within. The spiritual fruit bears evidence of a life submitted to Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control are witnessed in ever- increasing quantity. The battles are great, but His grace is greater, and His power is perfected in weakness. They are kept by the Spirit – reserved for His use, set apart for holy purposes, sealed, anointed, and empowered.

* * * *

If there is a shortage of genuine prophets in the Ekklesia now, it is largely because most people stumble and fall somewhere between Step Three and Step Four and proceed no further. If they continue to press forward in the flesh (or get sucked into religious leadership) then they become false prophets somewhere around Steps Five and Six, following all sorts of false leadings and being inspired either by their own imagination or by a demonic spirit. Step Seven is completely unknown to them.

The critical junction is the willingness to apply what the Holy Spirit teaches, and a readiness to be adjusted to His Word and His Way. When the Spirit whispers, we must be quick to say, “Yes, Lord; Your servant is listening. What would You have me to do?” Then, we must be quick to obey. There is no limit to what God can do in and through a person who is unreservedly committed to His Government.

There are larger issues which need to be prayerfully examined, including the sovereignty of God, His judgment on the world, His dealings with the Church, the doctrine of dual-citizenship Christians have with the Kingdom of Heaven and the nations of this world, the eschatological considerations to be made (if any), and so forth. We have already noted that we, as the Church, cannot continue to ask God to bless our unacceptable worship. Thus, there is something paradoxical in the song “God Bless America”. Can God really bless America, and do we really have the right to sing this song? To wrestle with these issues and come to an understanding of them requires more prayer and more words than we can do justice to at this time.

The issue of God sending judgments upon this world or upon this country in order to punish us is something which, admittedly, brings forth a personal response from us. We have lived through two major hurricanes, the last of which resulted in a flood which destroyed two houses in our immediate family and came very close to destroying our own. We have witnessed the devastation, the death, and the smell of it first hand. We have seen the inconsolable woman collapse to the ground, crying over and over, “They can’t find my babies! They can’t find my babies!” And of course, the inevitable questions which arise: did God cause this? Why did He allow it? Is God in control? Are we being punished? Why pray at all? So we have had the benefit of wrestling with these issues for two years, whereas some are only beginning to. By this time, everyone is wrestling with these issues, so this is a critical time in our individual history with God.

The following commentary does not attempt to address all of these issues. It was, and is, directed towards those who come along, while dead bodies are still being recovered, and try to establish themselves as a “prophetic voice” at the expense of human suffering. It is also directed towards those who, without thinking, forward these “prophecies” around and thus perpetuate their error and add to the confusion. Most of these “oracles”, and the ones who take issue with our stand against them, believe that the Day of Grace is over for this world, and for the United States in particular. We respectfully disagree! The fact that the Church remains in the earth as “salt” and “light” means that the Day of Grace is still here. Like Jesus, as long as we are in the world, we are the Light of the world, and we should work while it is Day, because the Night IS coming when it will be impossible to work (John 9:4,5).

The following attempts to give some general principles as to why someone with an “I told you so!” attitude is prima facie evidence that God has not spoken through them. Finally, it makes the point that a true prophet will know how to proclaim judgment and intercede against it at the same time. This apparent contradiction only underscores the need for wisdom, maturity, and prophetic responsibility, because it is certain we have not seen the last of trouble on the earth.

In Defense of God

“And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they went to another village (Luke 9:54-56).”

It is disheartening to observe how some within the so-called “prophetic community” will come forth in a time of natural disaster or human catastrophe and try to establish their credibility on the basis of some “word” of judgment which they purport to have received from the Lord in connection with the event. At best, it is inappropriate and inconsiderate to those who have suffered great loss; and at worst, it is morally, ethically, and prophetically irresponsible.

There are three important points to be made in this passage of Scripture which provide a standard by which we may reasonably measure a man or a woman who claims to speak on behalf of the Lord. It is hoped that this will provide some direction to those of us who are being inundated with “words” and claims of alleged prophetic significance.

May We Consume Them As Elijah Did?

The disciples tried to apply something of the spirit and power of Elijah to their own situation, but they were out of step with the Lord and His Purpose. Jesus could not, and did not, give them permission to do what they asked. They misunderstood their new role in a new Kingdom. What they failed to understand was that God’s dealings with man had entered into a new season, a new time, marked by grace, not judgment. The incarnation of Christ saw the beginning of a new dispensation of grace. In this season they were not permitted to call down fire from heaven to consume anything. The request that they be permitted to do so was met with a sharp rebuke from the Lord Jesus.

It is not that Elijah was wrong. Elijah was right for the season in which God placed him. But disciples of the Lord Jesus cannot do as Elijah did. One does not look for snow in the summer, or green leaves in the winter. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).” We know that there is a future judgment that God will bring upon the whole world, but that time is reserved for the very end and only after every means of grace has been exhausted.

It is a mistake to attach prophetic significance to every catastrophe which happens and label it as a judgment from God, especially if we are doing it in such a way as to lend credence to our own selves as “oracles” or “prophets”. Clearly, the ones who do this serve their own interests and not the interests of God. We are not in the business of saving the Church and judging the world; we are in the business of saving the world and judging the Church, and the Church is where God’s judgment begins, not the world (I Corinthians 5:12,13; I Peter 4:17).

There is a fine line, that we dare not cross, between saying God permits something to happen, and God causes something to happen. In times of natural calamity or in cases of man’s inhumanity to man, God can and will and does use these events to draw men to Himself, and He will often directly intervene in these events in order to minimize, or otherwise reduce, the negative impact such events may have. It is presumptuous to think that He sends such events upon the world today in order to “pour out” His wrath. To claim otherwise is be inconsistent with this season of God’s dealings. To attribute the evil acts of evil men to something God is doing to teach us a lesson is to grossly mischaracterize and misrepresent God, and it ought to stop.

This does not preclude a factual presentation of future trouble, but it should be tempered with God’s desire for repentance and restoration. For instance, we know that perilous times will come, and we know that men’s hearts will fail them for fear, and we know that in this world we will suffer persecution. These are Scriptural facts: are they not sufficient all by themselves? Why must each specific calamity be individually called forth and predicted? Or why must someone allege its “prediction” after it has already occurred? It serves no useful purpose, and is not consistent with our role as ambassadors of Christ, peacemakers between God and man.

“Ye Know Not What Spirit Ye Are of”

Now the second thing we want to examine is the spirit and timing in which these “prophetic” words, visions, and dreams come forth. There is a palpable sense of “I told you so!” one gets when reading these reports which, invariably, rise to the surface and become well-known only after the disaster has already happened. It seems as if the ones who forward these writings are almost gleeful at seeing something come to pass which (in a general sort of way) seems to indicate that a “true word” had been spoken. What purpose does it serve, now that the “judgment” has already occurred? Are we now supposed to bestow some kind of honor or service upon these prophets of destruction in order to validate them somehow?

We should question the validity and genuineness of any prophetic opportunist who elevates “their” word with such presumption and pride. It indicates, among other things, that they have done NOTHING to intercede against the very thing they have declared. If in fact God did reveal it to them, they failed to grasp that the proper response to the revelation was not mere proclamation, but intercession – and this is what truly separates a genuine prophet from a prognosticator and fortune teller.

If it was wrong for Jonah to become angry when his word of judgment DID NOT come to pass, how can it be right for someone to be happy when their word of judgment DOES come to pass? This assumes, of course, that the Lord spoke to them in the first place, and that, in and of itself, is highly suspect. Either way, whether the word is correct or not, the spirit is wrong.

At least Jeremiah wept when he announced the coming judgment upon Jerusalem. He lamented the coming to pass of his word, recording his grief in the Book which is so appropriately named Lamentations. What a contrast between Jeremiah and today’s “prophets”. The “Sons of Thunder”, James and John, were rebuked for having the wrong spirit, the wrong motivation, and the wrong perception of their role in God’s Kingdom. They were zealous for the Lord Jesus and for the things of God, but they were deceived by a wrong spirit, and they were not in a position to even know to what extent this wrong spirit had influenced their heart, their thinking, and their speech towards others. If this is our condition then we should repent and ask God to create in us a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within us (Psalm 51:10).

“The Son of Man is Not Come to Destroy, But to Save”

Like many of you, I am praying daily for God’s Kingdom and God’s Will to be accomplished in the earth. As I prayed it this morning in conjunction with the events of the last few hours I must say that it was with a new-found respect for the very words I am uttering to God in prayer. The aspects of God’s strategic and tactical Will are as vast as the universe and as narrow as the personal interest in the lives of each soul living on the earth, to the extent that the hairs on their head are all numbered.

It is clear that a large part of God’s strategic, overall, universal Will in this present age has to do with saving lives, not taking lives. Hence the apostle Paul writes:

“I exhort that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; WHO WILL HAVE all men to be saved, and to come unto the full-knowledge [epignosis] of the Truth [Christ] (I Timothy 2:1-4).”

The epignosis of Christ, that is, the full, complete, experiential, revelation of Jesus as He in fact is, the reality of Him as All in All, is the Divine Goal of God for all men. We, who are supposed to know the Truth, are called upon to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks towards this purpose, that God’s Will would be done on the earth. Proclamation without the accompanying intercession accomplishes little for God’s Kingdom.

Clearly, it is NOT God’s Will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). It is THE DEVIL who is a murderer from the beginning, who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. On the other hand, it is the Lord Jesus Christ Who is come that we may have abundant life (John 8:44; 10:10). The Lord is more longsuffering than some of His “spokespeople” would have us to believe.

Our Response

The issue of who is or who is not prophetically gifted should be the very last consideration for us during these important days. Instead, we should humble ourselves with prayer, and with fasting, asking the Lord to reveal His Son to us in an ever increasing way. If we would seek God for ourselves we would not need a prophet to confirm everything for us. At stake is the Testimony of Jesus, and right now that Testimony is broken down, due in part to the confusion and immaturity of the Church, and further complicated by a myriad of voices speaking on behalf of God when God has not sent them. We need to know God for ourselves before we can properly represent Him, or speak on His behalf, to the rest of the world.

–September 12, 2001

(From Chapter Twelve of “The Irresistible Kingdom”. Note: The word “Church” in this book always refers to the religious system, never to the Ekklesia.)

We are asking for two things. On the positive side, we are joining together with God and agreeing with Him, praying in line with His Eternal purpose in Christ for the recovery of the Heavenly Order and the establishment of the Irresistible Kingdom of God. On the negative side, we are asking for the end of this present evil age, the subjection of this rebellious generation, and the elimination of everything that fails to give Christ the preeminence, whether they are considered “worldly” things or “religious” things.

This kind of prayer is not a frivolous thing. It is calling for a revolution in the way things are. It is commanding all that is to make room for all that is to come. It is calling for the end of all things pertaining to man, this present world, and the defeated devil: “Your Kingdom come.” In this Kingdom, Christ alone has authority and power. Think of the implications. For this to be realized it will mean either the elimination or the subjection of every earthly government to Jesus Christ. It will mean the eradication of every religious institution, denomination, movement, group, cult, false religion, doctrine – anything which fails to give the Son the preeminence, and certainly those things which misrepresent, malign, distort, or bear false witness to the Lord Jesus. It will also mean the abolition of everything pertaining to the kingdom of darkness, every principality, power, and eventually, Satan himself. The souls of men who refuse to submit to Christ must also be judged and dealt with. The Creation which groans and travails in pain must be purified by fire, liberated, and recreated again. We are talking about a major upheaval.

When this Irresistible Kingdom of God comes in its fullness it will mean the consummation of all things – the ultimate goal of all God’s dealings with man:

“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together [Greek: re-gather] in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him” (Eph. 1:10).

This has been the goal ever since God initiated the recovery of the Heavenly Order so many thousands of years ago. However, the darkness is greatest just before the sun rises.

Conditions Existing in the Last Days

The consummation of the Irresistible Kingdom will be preceded by certain conditions in both the secular world and the religious world:

1) Conditions in the secular world. We can expect that conditions in the world will only get worse. This reflects a downward trend that was set in motion when Adam made his declaration of independence from God. This not only brought sin and death upon mankind, but it disrupted creation itself: “For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.” World conditions in the last days will continue to deteriorate, both in the natural realm and in the secular realm of governments and nations:

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in different places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Mt. 24:6-8)

And there will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then will they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Lk. 21:25-27)

In addition, we find a hint in the Book of Revelation that God will intervene in order to (among other things) “destroy them which destroy the earth” – presumably to keep the world from being completely ruined by man. Whether this is intended to be literal or figurative we cannot know for sure, but it certainly speaks of a terrible time.

2) Conditions in the religious world. The Bible is very specific about what we can expect in the Church system in the last days: not a great revival, but a great falling away from the truth.

• Let no man deceive you by any means: for that Day shall not come, except there come a falling away first… (2 Th. 2:3a)
• Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. (1 Tim. 4:1,2)
• For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [i.e., teaching]; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim. 4:3,4)
• Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist will come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1 Jn. 2:18)

The identification of “the Antichrist” is the subject of much discussion among those who study Bible prophecy. According to Vines:

Antichrist (antichristos) can mean either “against Christ” or “instead of Christ,” or perhaps, combining the two, “one who, assuming the guise of Christ, opposes Christ” (Westcott). The word is found only in John’s epistles.

John says there were many antichrists (not just one) who had already appeared. In addition, he says “they went out from us, but they were not of us,” which again refers to the fact that antichrist has its beginning in something that appears to be “Christian” in nature. This supports our understanding that antichrist is not a demon-possessed politician with grandiose schemes of ruling the world, but anyone who assumes the guise of Christ and yet opposes Christ. This is a direct reference to the Church, which for 1700 years has sought to deceive “even the very Elect” by assuming the guise of Christ while it either directly or indirectly opposes and resists anything connected with a genuine expression of Christ in the earth. For that reason the Church and everything connected to its system of religion must be judged…

This used to bother and upset me – now, I try to have a little fun with it.

One lady gave me the great revelation that there was something “wrong with my heart.”

“Really? What is it?” I asked.

She looked around and leaned in close to me…

“Bitterness!” she whispered gravely, crossing her arms and leaning back in a triumphant stance, satisfied that she had prophetically diagnosed my hidden condition and exposed Chip Brogden as a bitter, hurt, angry young man.

“Oh, THAT!” I boomed. “Jesus healed that YEARS ago! There’s just an old scar there now. He heals the wounds but leaves the scars.”

I smiled sweetly.

She became confused, blinked several times, and tried again:

“Oh, you are still HURT… you have PAIN… you need HEALING… the Lord told me to tell you…”

“Listen,” I said. “All of us have been, or will be, hurt. Pain is a part of living; it isn’t something to be healed from like a toothache or a broken toe. I know you’re just throwing out a big net to try to catch me into confessing something so you can get power over me, but if you’re going to give me a prophetic word, try something a little less generic.”

She just blinked and stammered; then she got visibly angry because I had “rejected” her “word.”

“Wait!” I called after her as she stormed off. “Now I’m sensing pain, hurt, anger, and rejection in YOU! You need HEALING!”

I’ve said that people like that will crawl across the country on broken glass to deliver a “prophetic” word, but they won’t drive across the street to listen to one.

Maybe you’ve had some of those experiences yourself.

The point is I am full of stories like that, but…

I can’t easily think of a single genuine prophetic experience I’ve received from others in the last ten years.

(I’m not saying there were none, I just can’t easily remember them.)

The genuine encounters are few, rare, and very subtle – no big “thus saith the Lord” moments.

But my bad experiences with “prophetic” people are numerous and easy to remember.

Now, if you can relate to what I’m talking about then you’re probably in a touchy place when it comes to prophetic things.

Most people (including me) have been so fed up with “prophetic” quackery that we avoid the subject altogether.

Scripture warned us this would happen, and tells us what to do about it:

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (I Thess. 5:19-22).

How does this apply to the subject at hand?

Here’s how I read it:

“When you allow the Holy Spirit to have His way among His people, the Revelation and Testimony of Christ is bound to come forth. This is a good thing. So don’t be suspicious of prophetic giftings and utterances; on the contrary, encourage them. But don’t accept everything you see and hear. Test and prove everything said and done. Exercise your spiritual discernment and if you find some nugget of truth worth keeping, hang on to it like a precious gem. Discard the rest. Never allow any kind of evil, self-serving, carnal purpose to masquerade under the pretenses of a false prophetic word.”

I like that. It makes sense.

If we despise prophetic ministry altogether, or take the arrogant position that “I’m led by the Spirit, so I don’t need no prophets,”
then we will miss a huge blessing and suffer needlessly.

Pain is a part of life, but there is no spiritual value in needless suffering – or suffering due to a lack of knowledge.

On the other hand, if we run around chasing prophets and prophetic words, we’re going to suffer, too.

So we have to learn how to recognize, restore, and receive from the genuinely prophetic men and women in the Body of Christ.

And my new book discusses all this in great detail.

So if you’re trying to sort out the difference between the true and false then this book will be helpful and encouraging – perhaps even eye-opening.

It is the best cure I know of for getting rid of those “prophetic pains.”

[1] 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15.

[2] 1 Pet. 2:5.

[3] 1 Peter. 2:9.

[4] 1 Jn. 2:18, et al.

[5] 1 Pet. 5:8.

[6] 2 Cor. 2:11.

[7] Jas. 4:7.

[8] Eph. 6:12.

“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” (1 Jn 2:27, NLT)

I don’t think anyone has ever made a decision or chosen a thing because they believed it was “bad.” Of course not! We choose what we believe at the time to be good. The trouble with that is we are still confident in the flesh, still believing we are capable of knowing good from evil. That is what Adam was looking for: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But over against that there is the Tree of Life, and here again is another example of the Christ-Life. Now that I am in Christ, and Christ is in me, I do not have to judge a thing by my own limited knowledge of “Good and Evil.” The issue is not “Good or Evil”, the issue is “Life or Death.” Eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil sounded like a good thing at the time. It was pleasant to look at, and it was desirable. That’s the way sin is. Sin is very desirable; if it wasn’t then no one would be temptable. We need a spiritual compass greater than the limited knowledge of Good or Evil, Right or Wrong, Good or Bad. We need a way to recognize Life and Death.

That may sound very esoteric and ethereal, so let me illustrate it with a practical example. A good friend called me who was concerned about what a particular individual was teaching. My friend had researched the topic, read everything the Scriptures had to say about it, asked the person teaching to more fully explain their position, and consulted with other people who tried to help dissect this teaching. My friend had called me to get my opinion, and began to lay out all the results of this intensive research into the doctrinal position of this person. I must say, it was complicated and very complex.

So I interrupted my friend at this point and said, “I appreciate all the work you’ve done into the doctrinal integrity of this particular person, but I do not need to hear all the reasons why you believe they are in error. I have met the person, and there is no Life in what they are saying. So I do not have to decide whether the teaching is right or wrong, because there is no Life there. If the teaching brings Death then you should avoid it, no matter how intriguing it may be. Even if the teaching is changed to be doctrinally correct, it should still be avoided because there is no Life in it.”

Likewise, I have listened to people speak – not just in a church service or a meeting, but just in conversation – and they can barely put a sentence together, sometimes they don’t seem to be making any sense, they certainly are not trying to teach anyone and they would never call themselves a teacher, preacher, or minister – but they have the Life. The Life is sufficient. How do you know they have the Life? If you have the Life of the Lord then you know when others have it. You know. You just know. The Spirit bears witness. You just know. And there have been times when I didn’t even like what I was hearing and seeing, and I began to judge it according to “Good and Evil”, but down deeper I sensed the Life of the Lord, and at that point you learn not to argue. I may not understand or agree with it, but I sense the Life of the Lord, and that is enough.

For instance, to Peter, the crucifixion of Jesus was a bad thing. He argued with the Lord and tried to prevent Him from doing God’s Will. Jesus rebuked Peter for listening to the devil and loving the things of man more than the things of God. See, Peter was making decisions based on his flesh. He wasn’t being led by the Spirit.

Some people visit my website and the first thing they want to read is our doctrinal statement. I suppose we could write one, or copy one, and get agreement on doctrine and teaching, and then someone could make a judgment along the lines of “Good or Bad”, Agreement or Disagreement. But that would contradict what I have learned by the Spirit: that we should have no confidence in the flesh. A doctrinal statement is a way around trusting in the Life of the Lord to give discernment. I’ve seen people with a perfect doctrinal statement that were dead, dead, dead. It means nothing – yet people put so much value in it.

Here’s what I say to people: read what we write, listen to what we say, and if the Spirit bears witness with you then you can trust the Spirit. Now if you don’t know how to be led of the Spirit then you have another problem. But notice I didn’t say you should trust me. I’m not going to hurt you on purpose, and I hope you won’t hurt me on purpose. Most of the hurt we endure is unintentional anyway. I have no confidence in my flesh, and I would never ask you to put your confidence in me or anyone else. But you can trust the Spirit of Jesus. And that’s what I’m getting at.

You have the Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty Comforter, Who lives in you. Now stop looking to man. Stop looking to yourself. Stop trying to figure it all out with your head. Trust in the Life of the Lord to show you the difference between Life and Death.