Part 11: Prophecy and Identity

Part 11: Prophecy and Identity

The New Covenant prophecies are meant for encouragement, comfort and edification (confirmation). 1 Cor 14:3.

In other words, we are not supposed to chase after prophecies for directions in life. Just because two or three prophets prophesied the same direction for your life do not mean that it is accurate and directional. It should be a confirmation of what God has already spoken to you. Our Father loves us so much that He is more than willing to speak to us personally on life direction.

Since prophecy boils down to hearing the voice of our Father, it is not difficult to hear from Him for ourselves. He is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. It is natural for the sheep to recognise the Shepherd's voice. Furthermore, He is our Father. The key is to trust, rest and abide in His love.

As a father, the responsibility to communicate to my son in a way he understands lies more on me than on him. Similarly, our Father desires to speak to us in a way we understand and He does so. We can simply rest and take the burden off our shoulders.

Because New Covenant is about sonship and identity, we can hear directly from Him concerning our life direction without a third party. Our life is significant enough for Him to speak to us directly as we seek Him in relationship and intimacy.

I have seen many believers queuing for their turn to be prophesied by one prophet after another prophet. That can really hinder identity, depending on the motive.

Some keep going from one to another and they take the prophecies so seriously,  without bringing them to process with the Father. We are His sons and daughters. We can have direct communion with Him.

Remember, prophecies are meant for confirmation/edification, comfort and encouragement. The problem is when we start treating the prophecies we've received as directions and statutes. We end up confused, disappointed and never growing in maturity in our identity.

One of the primary purposes of prophecy is to encourage us to have personal communion with the Father. Just as Sunday sermons are meant to encourage us to go deeper in the Word by and for ourselves, prophecies are likewise meant to "push" us into intimacy with the Father. Often, a lack of personal communion results in people chasing after prophecies.

When God speaks to you through another via prophecy, it is more often than not, what He has already revealed in His Word. For example, someone can prophesy on you and say, "God is going to release healing anointing on you. You will see many people healed from all kinds of sicknesses." 

Well, in reality, this is not something God is really going to do. He has already done it 2000 years ago on the Cross. He has already promised that in Mark 16:17-18 for every believer. The reason why prophecy is often spoken as though it is in the present or the future is either because you are not yet doing it or God wants you to renew your mind to what the Word has said. He wants you to see what He sees. Until you see what He sees, you won't do what He has said. When prophecy is released in that manner, it builds faith in you to believe in the prophecy --- which is simply what the Bible has said 2000 years ago.

Someone can prophesy, "God is releasing greater authority for you to walk in. You will see people walking out of wheelchairs and demons being cast out." The truth is, God has already given you the full authority in Christ the moment you became a believer (Matt 28:18). But the prophecy is to encourage and spur you on to start walking in what He has already said in the Word. Because without the prophecy, you are not going to move. So He gives you a "free kick on the butt" through prophecy so that you will move in faith.

What I'm saying is this... if we focus on walking in our identity according to the Word, we don't need to go after prophecies. If the prophecies come, they are what we have already heard during our personal communion with the Father. 

We need to go to the secret place because the Father longs to commune with His sons and daughters personally. #identity

P.S: In the New Covenant, every believer can prophesy, but not all are called to be New Covenant prophets (Eph 4:11). NT prophets should empower believers to hear God for themselves, instead of hearing God for them.