Birthing The Destiny Within
The Bible makes one thing abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV) — we must eagerly pursue, seek to acquire, and most importantly cultivate spiritual gifts – especially that of prophecy.
When we observe the landscape of our modern age, it becomes evident that certain spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of prophecy, have laid dormant and have been cast away to the ether due to the religious habitations of many church ages before us. In so doing, many blessings have been cast away and the floodgates of revelation due to the church have been sealed shut… Until now!
“The prophetic voice which opens doors to blessings.”
1.Invest, Digest, and then Profess
Like the “body” of Christ, we are also composed of many parts with a plethora of varied functions made manifest in our unique gifts with the intent to serve and equip the saints. However, a gift is only as good as the individual who commits themselves to understanding and mastering it. The Apostle Peter expressly states in 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NKJV) that it is our righteous charge to be good stewards of the gifts imparted to us for the betterment of those who desperately yearn for and need them.
At the end of ourselves, we find our purpose in others:
When we chose Christ, we swore ourselves away to a divine purpose that extends far beyond any selfish endeavor. We became servants of the most high and in so doing, we submit ourselves to His will which is to uplift others. This is the charge of the prophetic gift, to abandon prideful motives and follow the mission statement of 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV), which is to edify, exhort, and comfort others through the gift of prophecy.
When you delve into the depths of revelation, you detach yourself from your present situation and you begin to see and hear what God has for others. In that moment, every ounce of self is gone, and you begin to become a true vessel for God.
How do I invest in my prophetic development?
- When you first begin, it seems like a daunting mountain with a peak that eclipses the horizon. But every journey starts with a leap of faith, it is within the bounds of faith that we become yielded and usable. It takes an ounce of faith to move the heart of God towards you.
- Begin to form a relationship and history with God, it was David who so chased after God that eventually he became recognized as a friend for his pursuits. When we pursue closeness with God, He rewards us by strengthening and molding our gifts because we have warranted a higher dimension of trust.
“Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. He was even called the friend of God.”
2.A Gift Promised to Others.
Hannah could not conceive, and the Bible declares that it was God who shut up her womb, but she made a vow that changed everything: Hannah promised her child to God out of pure self-lessness because she knew the child was not her gift, but one that the world desperately craved in the form of Jeremiah. Much in the same way, the world today is yearning for prophetic voices that remain stifled, ready to emerge.
Where there is no vision, there is no law.
It is the prophetic that operates as the eyes of God on earth, visions are cast from the utterances of prophets. For too long the church abandoned the prophetic and the result was orphaned generations lost in a sea of confusion and rejection guided by the waves of depression and religious dogma.
“Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the first place, and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honour?” - AW Tozer
A house divided shall surely fall.
Man was not created to be an isolated and confined being, but rather to exist among and for the brethren. Prophecy is designated for a time and a person, when we fail to love and be with others, we render the vehicle of prophecy null and without a path to its intended goal. If you desire to go deeper into the prophetic and access new realms with God, you need to be available for His people, to love them, to counsel them, and to guide them. When you begin to display this characteristic, God can begin to pour a greater abundance of the prophetic into your wineskin.
An old proverb declared, “it takes a village to raise a child”, well, “It takes an ekklesia to develop a prophet!” When conjoined as one, the gifts and graces of others only add to your revelation and depth of understanding in the spiritual arena which we find ourselves in as warriors of Christ.
“Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors, they are established.” - Proverbs 15:22 (NKJV)
3.To Declare a Thing
So far, emphasis has been placed on the ‘being-with’ aspect concerning God and others and this was vital as it is the elementary aspect of prophecy, it is the “training ground”. This is the area where first God imparts, then others curate but the final aspect was missing. To go forth and flow with the Holy Spirit as he gives you utterance. This is faith in action and the outer expression of what has been formed internally through the former mediums.
“Being filled with the Spirit is simply this - having my whole nature yielded to His power. When the whole soul is yielded to the Holy Spirit, God Himself will fill it.” - Andrew Murray
To step out in absolute surrender, yielded fully to the Holy Spirit and within the grace gift afforded to you means that you have emptied yourself fully and you now stand as a functioning representation of Christ. To prophecy is to bring forth to others the utterances and decrees of the Father who is yearning to commune and be with His children to safeguard them from the vile and putrid hindrances of this world.
When we take a leap of faith, we open our hearts and allow God to do what He wants to. We become like Mary, a vessel eager to fulfil her destiny by carrying the gift that would save and safeguard the whole world! Such is prophecy, the defeater of dead and broken dreams, the custodian of futures, and the eagle that surveys the land knowing where and when to begin a movement for the future. When we fail to see, we fail to plan.
Be not like Saul who had all the potential, but yielded no great fruit.
All of this is available to you, all that is required of you is to seek the Father, commune and be trained by His people, and then finally, step out and do as Jesus commanded: To do His business, until He comes.
