The Lord wants us to grow in the ministry of the prophetic, to create a prophetic seedbed at All Nations. A healthy church has a prophetic ministry that creates an atmosphere for spiritual encounters with the living Christ.
The role of the prophetic in the church is to express the loving heart of God, exhorting, strengthening, and encouraging as is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:3. Every member has the full toolbox of spiritual gifts through our relationship with the exalted Christ and we are exhorted not neglect the gift of prophesy.
The elders watch over doctrine, direction, and discipline in the local church. God’s divine order is that the elders are the highest authority who prayerfully weigh the prophetic word before it is released.
Once a person has submitted a prophetic word or scripture to the elders, God will give them the wisdom and grace not to quench the Spirit and also to protect the sheep. Jesus warns us against those who do not enter the sheep pen by the gate in John 10, but climb in by some other way, and He calls them thieves and robbers.
This is the reason why so many people have been hurt and subsequently neglected the prophetic. In 1 Corinthians 14:26, we are reminded that things must be done in order so that the church may be built up, for God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As an eldership, we have committed ourselves to intentionally tune into God’s voice and not to quench the Spirit or to treat prophesy with contempt. In I Thessalonians 5:19, Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” We have been instructed to test prophesy and hold on to what is good.
God wants to speak even more clearly to us as a church. We as All Nations church desire to grow in the prophetic. Over the coming months, we trust the Lord to stir up the gifts in a greater way, especially the prophetic.
When we pursue love and we desire to prophesy, we will move forward. The heart of the prophetic is to restore and redeem. This will bring freedom and will awaken our destiny in Christ. God wants to empower us and unlock the supernatural.