‘Everyone come with a tongue, a scripture or a prophecy.’ 1 Corinthians 14:26
It is not just for the spiritual superstars. The New Testament teaches that it’s for all Christians. There are different measures of such a gift. This useful graph is drawn from Vineyard teaching.
I had the privilege of going to Mike Bickle’s church in Kansas a number of years ago and found it very helpful. They say that there are degrees, or measures, of the prophetic gift. The first ‘level’ is what Bickle called ‘simple prophecy’. It doesn’t put this particular gift over and above any other. It’s just simple prophecy.
Someone might have a prophetic gift. Someone else might have a prophetic ministry and then yet someone else, who’s more like the role described in Ephesians 4:11, has what could be called a prophetic office. This level of prophetic input is a rare thing. I have seen it. It’s where the accuracy and level of revelation is amazing. I have been in meetings where complete strangers to the speaker have been identified, asked to stand up and have been told their name. ‘This is your name and this is what you do as a job.’ That’s exciting and scary. When prophets like that come to town Christians repent before they come to the meeting! Everyone is faced with the fact that God knows that person’s name and if He knows that person’s name... He knows mine. He knows my name, He knows all about me! It brings a sense of the power and the holiness of God.
To be continued...
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