Theme: The Church as a prophet of God
Text: Ez. 2:1-5; 2 Cor. 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-6
We have been watching and listening to what has been going on at the National Reconciliation Committee meetings and I believe God is using this forum to speak to us as Ghanaians. As Ghanaians the allegations coming out of the National Reconciliation Committee concerning the atrocities committed in the wake of the revolution should make us all sit up because there is going to be a day of accounting, a day of reckoning coming to this nation unless we repent as a nation. Failure to repent will lead to a day in the not so distant future when we as a nation will have to answer for our corporate sin and for our individual sins. We may believe that somehow we will escape judgment and just walk away, but the Bible tells us to expect judgement unless we repent. Sometimes the reason why we are encouraged to do evil is because justice is not administered quickly. The reason could also be because having waited for 2,000 years we no longer look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have lost confidence that Jesus is coming again to judge both the living and the dead. We have lost the belief that our sins will find us out. The Church as a prophet of God is not being taken seriously at all. This is because the title of prophet is very common today and many prophets cannot be taken seriously. Here in Ghana, because of the abuse of so called prophets, many people no longer seem to attach any real significance to prophesy in the Church today. What is happening in our midst today should make us take a closer look at who a prophet is and what prophesy really is. 14 centuries before Christ was born Moses expressed the desire of his heart in the words ‘would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them.’ This same desire was in the heart of God as well. God wants his people to prophesy and he made this possible on the day of Pentecost when Joel’s prophesy 2:28 was fulfilled “And it shall come to pass…that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” Since Pentecost God has been fulfilling this word of promise. He has poured out his spirit and all over the world Christian believers have been prophesying, and the Church fulfilling its role as a prophet of God.
The word ‘prophet’ means, ‘to speak for, to proclaim,’ and ‘to foretell.’ The word also means to ‘forth tell.’ A prophet is a man who brings a message from God about current or future situations. Prophecy is normally God speaking to man through man and is one of the gifts of the spirit as listed in 1 Cor. 12:8-11. There is a gift of prophecy and there is the office of a prophet. 1 Cor. 14:3 declare, “He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”. Edification is building up, exhortation is stirring up and comfort is cheering up. This gift is not foretelling the future, nor is it for giving guidance. It is words given by the Spirit to build up, stir up and cheer up both believers and non believers. Whereas every believer has the gift of prophecy only those who are chosen have the office of a prophet. They are able to foretell God’s divine will. This role of the office of the prophet in the New Testament differs greatly from the gift of prophecy, which is available to every believer. The office or function of the prophet involves a Christ appointed ministry of a person. It is impossible for someone to appoint himself to the office of a prophet and thereby be one.
The Bible clearly allows for personal prophecy. Agabus told Paul he faced trouble in Jerusalem and Isaiah predicted Hezekiah’s death Is. 38:1. Personal prophecy refers to a prophecy or word the Holy Spirit may prompt one person to give another relating to personal matters. Many people feel deep reservations about this operation of the gift of prophecy because it is sometimes abused. In recent years we have observed hundreds of self-anointed and self-appointed prophets who are abusing this gift. This gift is abused when prophecy is used to manipulate the person receiving the prophecy. The Scriptures, however, offer us many safeguards against abusive uses of personal prophecy? First the word will usually not be new to the mind of the person being addressed, but it will confirm something God is already dealing with him about and which must always be confirmed by two or three witnesses. Secondly the person bringing the prophecy must have a credibility that is not related to his claim of having a ‘word’, but to his record as a trustworthy man of God who has been used in the exercise of this gift. And thirdly the prophecy or word is not to be considered controlling and should not dominate any ones free will. All prophecy is ‘in part’ declares 1 Cor. 13:9. This means that as true as that part may be, it does not give the whole picture. Therefore we should always prayerfully consider any prophecy by waiting on the Lord and trusting Him to guide us.
There are two different types of prophets and God has continually demonstrated tremendous concern about false prophets and false prophecy in Scripture. What is often seen today in the operation of the prophetic ministry has been prophesied in Scripture – Jer. 14:13-16 and Ez. 13. So-called prophets are prophesying from their own spirit, speaking out of their own mind. Some are prophesying out of wrong motives, and from a false vision and spirit of divination. The true prophet has the Spirit of God and the role of a faithful prophet is to point out the evils in society and bring the people back to God. It is therefore important to try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world. We know it is the Spirit of God when the prophet confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. It is the spirit of antichrist who is already in the world.
If a prophet confesses faith in Christ, he is a true prophet. This simple test can identify the many false prophets in the world today. Some co-called prophets are using a spirit of divination that comes from Satan. Paul encountered this spirit in a slave girl and did not want his ministry affirmed by demonic divination and so cast the evil spirit out of her. A spirit of divination usually operates for gain as in the case of the slave girl and this should not be the case with servants of our Lord. The Holy Spirit enables the true prophet to prophesy by the gift of a word of knowledge. There are different ways to tell the difference between a word of knowledge and divination? A spirit of divination draws attention and glory to itself and away from Christ. A spirit of divination will lead people away from dependence and trust in the Scriptures for guidance and spiritual nourishment. A spirit of divination brings confusion and ever deepening levels of deception to those who use it and come under its influence. True prophets prophesy what God wants them to prophesy. They are never motivated by what people want. Today many so-called prophets are motivated by what the people want. They prophesy over the people because that is what the people are looking for. The manifestations of the gift of prophecy should be Christ focused and brings blessing and should not hurt the flock or wound the sheep.
What is God saying today? God is addressing what we have in our society today that does not glorify Him. God hates dishonesty and dishonesty is seen in the cheating, the bribery and corruption that have become a way of life in Ghana. Dishonesty is so widely spread that even students are falsifying their examination results to get into universities. The courts are filled with cases of litigation because of dishonesty and these days’ discussions have been taking place about bribery and corruption in the judicial system. We have become a people who because of our own dishonesty see each other as being dishonest. We cannot trust anyone any longer. Instead we lust after the things others possess and our lives are dictated by our live for money. We kill for money – armed robbery and violence is commonplace. Never has there been a period in our history with the amount of armed robbery, domestic violence and child molestation that happens daily in our nation.
When we live in the midst of sin it is very easy to take sin for granted. When we’re exposed to immorality, after a while we no longer feel outraged by it and the unthinkable becomes commonplace. Today many people see nothing wrong with homosexuals getting married and refer to it as an alternative lifestyle. There is so much dishonesty, immorality, and crime in our nation today that something must be done about it. The only way to deal with the problem is to listen to the prophets of God who reveal God’s will and purpose for our nation. If we fail to do this God will judge our sin, both the sins of the nation and the sins of the individual. If we sin and live rebellious lives we will stand in judgment one day before God. God is a Holy God and we cannot approach Him in sin. Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to approach with His own righteousness, a righteousness that has never known sin. We can only attain this righteousness when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The first sermon that Jesus preached was “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” This Kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is the Kingdom of eternal life and the entrance into it is through repentance and faith. Repentance is the first response to the gospel that God demands. Nothing else can come before it and nothing else can take its place. Repentance means to change one’s mind and is a decision and not an emotion. It is an inner change of mind resulting in an outward turning back, or turning around, to face or to move in a completely new direction. Repentance is more than being sorry for past sins. It is a determined and purposeful turning away from a sinful past and a full-hearted turning to God. It is starting to live a new life. Without true repentance there can never be true faith. Without repentance faith alone is a mere empty profession. This is one reason why the experience of many Christians today is so unstable and insecure. They are professing faith but they have never practiced true repentance. As a result, the faith that they profess procures for them neither the favour of God nor the respect of the world. God does not want any of us to perish. He wants us all to live and enjoy the abundant life that He has made available to us but we can only do so when we repent and believe in the gospel. Let us today listen to what the Church as the prophet of God is saying. Amen!
