Discerning & Interpreting

Geoff Pick
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ISBN: 978-1-291-53658-4
Copyright 2013 Geoff Pick
All rights reserved.
Bible quotations are from the New International Version and English
Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.
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Permission is granted to
reproduce parts of this
book for non commercial
ministry training purposes,
on the understanding that
users quote any excerpts in
context and credit the
source title and author.
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A word of appreciation
Special thanks, goes to Sue Payne who shared, advised and proof-
read the manuscript. Sue shares a strong heart for the prophetic and
she has collated prophetic materials for the Bristol region, and is also
an active intercessor.
Enid Clarke, who proof-read the manuscript and proved her eye for
detail, has helped me a great deal over the years thanks mum.
I appreciated usual suggestions concerning revisions made by Michael
my brother.
Thanks to many prophetic friends Emily, Eddie, James, Dave, Keith,
Heather, Paul, Priscilla, Deborah, Alan, Martin and others, you
continue to inspire me.
Thanks to Emma, my wife, for making life so good.
Geoff Pick
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A call to write
It was a cold January day and I had just over an hour to spare, while
my wife was at a business meeting. I felt unhurried as I wandered
around the shops in this unfamiliar town. After about 20 minutes I
discovered a local Christian bookstore. I stepped inside and felt
something unusual. It felt as if I had passed through an invisible glass
doorway, entering a new phase of my life. I did not understand this
feeling.
Usually when I visit a Christian bookstore, I scan the shelves and
then pick up a book with a theme that attracts me. I open the book
and read from somewhere in the middle to see whether the content is
insightful and inspiring to me.
On this day, my approach had changed. I had a strong impression
that the usual almost magnetic attraction that drew me to specific
books had been switched off. I had a sense that I am another author
entering a bookstore, although I had never written a book in my life
and did not feel gifted in literacy. I later wondered what this sense
might mean. Could it be that God was showing me that I was already
carrying a message to be shared with others? At that time the only
one that I shared such thoughts with was my wife.
Over the months that followed, a couple of prophetic people spoke
things that confirmed this impression: I see you as a writer and
another I can see you sitting at a desk writing something. I was yet
again reminded of how I had felt in the bookshop, earlier in the year.
Finally as summer arrived, I felt compelled to start writing about the
experiences and understanding that I had acquired on prophecy.
Three days after starting to write, I was with a group of Christians
and I took the opportunity to receive some prayer for myself. I had
not shared with anyone in this group about the book that I had just
begun, but someone had a prophetic word God has given you
authority to teach. Not exactly the standard type of prophetic word
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given to people coming for prayer. The timing encouraged me to
continue to work on the script with fresh enthusiasm. About a month
passed and I realised that several books were going to be produced
on various prophetic themes.
This book is the first to be completed and covers issues surrounding
the practice of exercising prophecy, discernment and interpreting
visions. While the Bible alerts us to false teachers and false prophets,
we need to be aware of the dangers of false discernment. The
importance of the practice of discernment is brought under scrutiny
to clarify what real discernment is from that which is mere human
opinion.
The stories and teachings presented here are designed to bring an
increased awareness of issues that can affect us when operating in the
prophetic realm, that can bias and inhibit the process of bringing a
pure prophetic word. Some readers will readily identify with these
experiences and may feel that they are sharing a personal journey like
their own.
The content covered is designed to train the reader to:
Prophesy from a place of security.
Increase personal effectiveness in using the prophetic skills.
Eliminate psychological influences that distort vision.
Interpret visions and dreams using Biblical methods.
Test prophecies and assess prophets effectively.
Distinguish between true and false discernment.
Counter false decrees and demonic revelation.
Work with complementary gifting and ministry.
Build a healthy prophetic community.
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1 PROPHETIC PERFORMANCE
A longbow a vision .........................................................................12
Encouragement and feeling valued ..............................................13
Supporting and respecting others ...............................................15
The pressure to perform.................................................................16
Grace and love in the face of persecution..................................17
Shifting the channels as we grow..................................................18
Prophetic comparisons .....................................................................19
How we see ourselves and God................................................... 20
2 HEARING, SEEING AND SHARING
Is it you God who is speaking?.......................................................22
The value of recording what is shared.........................................23
Hold to revelation above opinion..................................................24
We benefit from accountability......................................................25
Stepping through the process.......................................................26
Speaking in tongues and interpretation.....................................28
Prophesying one to one ...................................................................29
Effective communication to large groups ...................................29
Prophesy with wisely chosen expressions...................................30
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3 INTERPRETING DREAMS & VISIONS
Describing the significant aspects................................................32
Interpreting visions - see the context............................................33
The limitations of symbol dictionaries .........................................33
Pictures that are consistent to theme...........................................34
Two images can make sense of one another..............................35
Multiple pictures for a church.........................................................36
Spiritual concepts in the world of dreams ..................................36
Psychotherapy, dreams and the divine.........................................38
New age and occult dreamers ........................................................39
God-given dream interpretation....................................................40
Recognising God-given dreams ....................................................41
4 FALSE DISCERNMENT TRAPS
The fruit foundation.........................................................................44
Manifestations in meetings..............................................................44
Perceptions will distort the assessment .......................................45
Veiled critics falsely discerning others......................................46
Discerning - the motives behind discerning................................47
False discernment ministries............................................................48
False discernment gifts .................................................................50
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5 DISCERNING SPIRIT AND TRUTH
Prophesying out of the wrong spirit..............................................51
Characteristics that may indicate a false prophet ...................52
Inexperience and discernment.........................................................53
The love foundation .........................................................................54
Prophets free of rebellion................................................................54
Unity empowers and brings victory ..............................................55
Balance in prophecy.........................................................................57
Discerning by how they present Jesus.......................................58
Discerning who is being honoured................................................59
Recognising the spirit behind the words......................................60
An inner witness receives the word with joy ...............................61
True words will manifest in time......................................................61
Answering the words of the enemy...............................................62
Refuting a curse..................................................................................63
Sharing brings confirmation ...........................................................64
Intercession changes a prophesied outcome .............................65
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6 THE PROPHETIC HOUSE
Resistance crushes the young prophets.....................................68
Culture of love and nurture.............................................................69
Are we free to be us?........................................................................69
Disruptive words ................................................................................70
Davidic warriors bold before men..............................................71
Davidic leadership.............................................................................72
Raising up the mighty men................................................................73
The books of heroes yet to be revealed.................................75
7 SHARPER PROPHETIC TEAMS
Knowing our prophetic scope........................................................77
Knowing our gift mix and passions................................................78
Ministering complementary gifts together ..................................79
Prophetic teams..................................................................................81
Practising the prophetic gift............................................................81
Blind prophetic processes..............................................................82
Dealing with personal prophecy minefields................................83
Separating thoughts from prophetic words...............................84
Prophesying independently over an individual...........................85
Weighing independent visions and words given ........................86
Respect the recipient........................................................................90
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As you make your journey through the
experiences and perspectives shared here,
my hope is that you will increase in wisdom,
sensitivity and clarity in ministering the
prophetic to bring lasting fruit for the
Kingdom of God .
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1 Prophetic Performance
A longbow a vision
As I prayed with two good friends, Eddie and Emily, who are both
active and seasoned in using the prophetic gift, we focused some
prayer on one another and prophesied over each other in turn.
As we prayed over Emily, I saw a longbow of an archer. The wooden
part of the longbow was maroon in colour and the feel of it was both
strong and flexible, but at the same time it felt lightweight and easy to
handle. I sensed that the maroon colour was due to the longbow
being dipped in the blood of Christ Jesus. I waited a while and then I
began to share what I saw in this vision.
As I continued looking at the picture in my vision, it seemed
incomplete. I was wondering, where were the arrows? Then after
what seemed like minutes I pictured an arrow; the shaft was
composed of a small tightly wound-up scroll of paper with writing
inside it. I understood that the arrows I saw each represented a
prophetic message. An arrow would be fired into a situation or life to
bring about a God-given purpose. Each arrow carries a message that
brings abundant life, in the form of a healing, truth that sets free,
deliverance or empowering strength to the recipient.
I wondered why the arrows had not appeared initially with the
longbow when the vision first came. Emily told me afterwards that
she had also been asking the same question in her mind. Where are
the arrows? So we both had been sensing that these vital arrows
were missing from the picture at first, but why did we both feel that
so strongly?
Then I realised that, as prophets, we can tend to place a high value
upon the words we bring (represented in the vision as arrows). Often
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prophets lose a sense of their own value and identity, if the prophetic
contributions are not frequent.
To God, it is the vision of the longbow that is the important thing.
He values and loves his responsive prophetic vessels, those who
share His life-giving message. As prophets our eyes tend to be
intensely focussed on the prophetic words, yet God is treasuring his
beloved prophets, as a good Father who loves his children. Our
security in Him is one of relationship to God through Christ.
The ministry output that we value so highly, is comparatively
incidental to God. Our prophecy flows out of who we are in Him
and the prophetic gifts that we might value highly are what he has
bestowed upon us.
Knowing our value as children of God is a vital ingredient in bringing
a pure ministry that is healthy. Intimacy with God means that our
security does not come from our outward performance or by
recognition from others. If we know who we are as sons and
daughters of God, then we are going to minister life out of love, with
the Holy Spirits presence leading us. What we prophesy is more than
just words of truth - there is a transforming spirit and life within the
message.
Encouragement and feeling valued
We can all hear the voice of God and prophets may need
encouragement to step out and share. The prophetic word has a vital
role in building up and serving the Christian community and needs to
be valued.
A word in season can cause any discouraged Christian to press on in
the face of circumstances that are causing him to want to give up,
save a marriage, and hold another back from disaster. We probably
know only a fraction of the effect that right prophecy has on a
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Christian community, which is why this gift needs to flow as a pure
stream, guided by wisdom and sensitivity. Stepping out and
prophesying can risk rejection. As prophetic people we can get
damaged by one word, one look of disapproval, or even a non
response when words of knowledge are given.
From participating in a meeting as a young enthusiastic Christian, I
readily felt inspired to read scripture or pray, but still hesitated to
share an impression, picture or prophetic word, as inexperience
limited my confidence in entering into this realm at first. After all,
What will they think of me if I get it wrong?
No one questions the appropriateness of prayers, or whether sharing
verses from the Bible is good, and on occasions verses are misplaced;
but prophetic words alone seem to be tested vigorously. Fear says,
If I get it wrong am I going to be labelled as a false prophet and be
rejected by my fellowship group?
It is such a breath of life when a brother or sister encourages us to
take our first steps in sharing prophecy. However if we are sensitive
we can face a struggle. When words are shared, but either passed over
or not responded to, a degree of sensitivity can kick in and self-
doubts can come flooding in, whether there is any comment or not.
Even subtle things that might be as simple as not being
acknowledged or implied criticism can be devastating to someone
stepping out in faith.
One prophet, James, comments about his experience of doubt after
no one responded to a word of knowledge that he had.
At the time when it happened I started to think that I was operating
in the flesh and maybe that I was off track, I felt so discouraged. This
morning in church I felt that God was giving me a word, but I never
shared for fear of getting it wrong again.
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He was discouraged and needed some reassurance. We set up a
prophetic exercise with another man and I asked if James was OK to
bring a word over our mutual friend. My discouraged friend
immediately brought some excellent words that confirmed things in
the other persons life that James knew nothing about.
This gave James the much needed confidence boost and he then felt
released to continue to bring words in the potentially intimidating
environment of his full church meeting.
Supporting and respecting others
When weighing a prophecy we always need to respect the person
who has shared the words or pictures. It is not easy at first to
separate human thoughts from the Holy Spirits and there is a
temptation to fill in gaps with safe phrases such as expressing Gods
love, or using verses from the Bible. So what might have been a word
directly from the Holy Spirit, can have added thoughts, albeit Biblical
ones.
It is good to encourage people to share even small single words or
impressions and treat these as valuable, so that people do not feel
that a longer or a more culturally acceptable format for presenting a
prophecy is needed.

The ability to receive pictures is not always matched with the gifting
to interpret them or articulate the message that is being received
symbolically. People may feel the need to offer an interpretation
rather than sharing meaningless pictures. When others are present
who understand visions, they can often help with interpretation. This
can be a bit like Joseph stepping in to interpret Pharaohs dream.
We should never apply a term like false prophet, to Christians
finding their way in using the gift. A false prophet is not someone
who is in the process of learning to prophesy with others.
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The inexperienced still need to be encouraged even if they are making
some mistakes, as they may judge themselves harshly, or be
stigmatised by others if exposed harshly. People already know that
none of us are perfect. So it is good to avoid terminology that might
put a person down, who was trying their best, who may have already
been fearful at the prospect of speaking out in a group.
In the Old Testament false prophets were supposed to be stoned to
death, although many true prophets were not well received either. In
the OT, the Spirit of God would come on a prophet for the purpose
of delivering a message. There were relatively few of them. In the
post-Pentecost times in which we live, it is a different situation.
Jesus says that we can all hear His voice, it just requires practice.
Keep in mind that we live in a time of Holy Spirit manifestations
through each believer and our gifts can grow most easily where they
are welcomed.
The pressure to perform
Once having stepped out and gained confidence in prophecy, a
pressure to retain the prophetic credibility that has built up can
follow. Are we only as good as the last word that we shared? Am I
sharing as often as I did last month? Did I get some of it wrong this
time? What will others think of me? Why did no one encourage me
this time, after I brought a word of prophecy?
The need to be affirmed is usually present with us.
Somehow when we first became born again as Christians, we knew
that we were there by Gods grace alone, but once we start to do
ministry we can forget that we operate out of an acceptance with
God. We dont expect others to be perfect. Even our leaders have
their own imperfections, and yet we can suffer an underlying feeling
that we have to strive to perform perfectly in order to please God. A
focus on performance not only makes us nervous, but it can also lead
to pride. Any Christian, who becomes more concerned about their
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prophetic abilities than their intimacy with God and love for His
people, is at some risk of going off the rails if they venture into
isolation and do not receive credible guidance.
The combination of operating in spiritual gifts whilst walking in love
is both powerful and essential to building the body of Christ. The
whole emphasis of St. Pauls writings on the gifts is that they are
nothing in the absence of love. A self-exalting prophet, who operates
in a way that is lacking in love needs to have their prophecies
weighed even more carefully, but God does use people like that too,
so dont automatically dismiss words from the immature or those of
poor character.

Grace and love in the face of persecution
A woman who when a new Christian faced a lot of jealousy because
she grew rapidly in her spiritual gifting says:
I was growing quickly in the Lord. He was interacting with me quite a bit. I
could hear Him, in visions and dreams. I had experiences with angels and was
woken up in the middle of the night by Him. He was giving me revelation all the
time... in the Word, through worship...etc.
So, I would ask people I thought to be more 'mature', questions or tell them what
the Lord was doing and they... the women, would tend to be haughty or dismissive.
I would feel a kind of jealousy from them... they were surprised that the Lord was
working so quickly in me and I don't think they liked it much. They even started
rumours in the disguise of 'prayer requests' about me.
They kept me off the intercessory prayer team and that sort of thing.
I asked the Lord if I could leave the church after about 6 months because of it.
He told me He wanted me to stay, it was my spiritual foundation. He said it
wasn't my problem it was theirs. He said he would deal with it. I learned Grace
and Patience. I learned to rely on Him to tell me who I was. I learned not to be
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defensive. I also learned to sit back and stay quiet until the Lord told me to
speak.
One of the big things the Lord taught me through it was not to take offense - to
forgive and pray for them. Offense is a spiritual 'killer'. Responding in this way
also led to me being literally delivered from the rejection that I had carried for
years.
So out of her experience, the Lord used the persecution from
misguided mature Christians, to deepen her own experience and to
drive her deeper in her freedom in Christ.
Shifting the channels as we grow
The growth in our prophetic gifting is really inseparable from our
growth, as Christians in our relationship with God. We need to keep
the focus on developing our gifts without losing sight of our personal
growth in all aspects of our faith, or we will end up in a spiritual void.
Sometimes God may choose to speak to us in unfamiliar ways. The
gift will shift in a way that helps us to grow.
I had become used to receiving scripture verses to act as a guide,
alongside prophecies. Then that all important support was pulled
back for a season and I found if I tried to work with scripture verses,
I was stepping off the Holy Spirits anointing. This forced me to
deepen my understanding in handling the prophetic vision. As a
result of this I learned to operate in sharing the prophetic visions so
that they could be valid as stand alone contributions.
Then I found new ways to use scriptures looking up the meaning of
places and peoples names and pulling deeper insights out of what
appeared to be speaking on one level through prophecy.
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A man, with whom I exchanged prophecies some years back, had his
prophesy gift fall idle for a long season. I had half felt that this might
happen, as it was clear that he had started to find his validity in the
frequency with which he used his prophetic gift. It was not a case of
feeling proud, but feeling abandoned by God, if prophecy did not
flow. His own spiritual performance had become a measure of his
worthiness. It was easy for him to feel insecure without the regular
reassurance that God was working through him.
He found that in this new season, the Bible became his main source
of inspiration. God used this time to develop new capabilities in him
that enriched his life and his ability to minister to others. Such change
is always likely to happen and while it is not comfortable at first, it
creates opportunities to learn and develop.
The knowledge of who we are in Him and the shaping of our
character and destiny is a high priority for God. Performance can be
a major distraction to our relationship and love for Christ. Prophetic
performance is no exception.
Prophetic comparisons
Where frontline ministries are admired and highly regarded, there can
be a perception that a prophetic hierarchy exists, where God
somehow speaks more powerfully to such famous names than to
local individuals. Terms such as prophetic office can be applied to
certain ministries and there certainly are proven trusted prophets
around. Even the most respected people at times have got things
wrong and some can even depart from the true path. Whether it is
God who speaks is what matters. It is not the status of the person
bringing the message that needs to be weighed, but whether God is
speaking. The issue is as basic as comparing oneself with others in an
unhealthy way.
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A prophet, who was feeling insignificant, commented,
I really despise my own gift at times because it doesn't look as good as someone
else's gift, such as those who get the powerful open visions."
Where such a hierarchical perspective exists, discouraged individuals
may hold back, and be particularly worried about prophesying to
large groups or over more experienced leaders. One or two set-backs
and an aspiring prophet might end up not sharing what they believe
God is giving them. Is the God in us any less than the God in them?
I have been surprised on some occasions after prophesying to people,
to find out that they were prophetic people themselves, in leadership
positions. I had not known at the time who I was prophesying to. I
guess God arranges things like this to reassure us.
At a low point in my life, a man was introduced to me in a large
gathering, as a friend of a friend. He asked a couple of us to pray for
him as his life was changing direction. As I prayed I had a picture for
him and afterwards he told me that someone else had just brought
the same word that very afternoon. I later discovered he was an
intercessory leader, whose book I had read as a teenager. That was a
surprise and an encouragement to me, as I had through a deeply
wounding experience lost confidence for a season, and I had not
used the gift to minister to strangers for a long while.
How we see ourselves and view God
How we perceive God will be influenced by our own beliefs and
attitudes, developed in the visible world. Many people feel that Gods
voice sounds like that of their father, or perhaps the church leaders
that shaped their faith attitudes. If we have had a life of negative
experiences, we might feel more identification with a God, who was
about to slay the disobedient or strike people dead. A negative
experience of an authority figure can mean that such characteristics
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become projected onto God. So with such a mindset, God can seem
distant, disinterested, judging or performance oriented etc.
How we see God influences how we are likely to prophesy. A poor
understanding of God and His Word can limit the effectiveness of
our prophesying. If God is our lover and friend we will easily come
to love the body of Christ and reach out in love to the world. If God
is a generous provider well naturally be kind and giving too. Where a
sense that God has not fully forgiven us exists, a full prophetic
expression of Gods grace is going to sound a bit limp and we might
naturally want to bring judgemental words that are consistent with
the feelings that we hold about how God sees us.
A negative attitude towards ourselves or others will limit our ability
to be spokespersons for the Lord. Using terms like its not going to
happen for me, or negative terms coupled with "always", or "never"
regarding health, family, relationships, personal finances, and
employment situations puts us in an unhealthy mode of thinking and
brings negative emotions that accompany such thoughts. Where
negative attitudes exist they can colour the way we see ourselves and
others before God. A sense of condemnation can subtly accompany
these wounds and this can distort how we prophesy.
We can overcome negativity by aligning our thinking to the Word
and developing a Biblical perspective on our self value. We need to
express the goodness of God towards us and our unshakable faith in
Him. Gods love never fails is one of the vital truths. God can be
trusted is another foundational truth. When we live out an experience
of knowing and being His beloved bride, we are expressing truth
through our lives the most powerful prophetic expression of all.
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2 Hearing, Seeing and Sharing
Is it you God who is speaking?
Whether hearing God for ourselves or receiving words from others,
we have a responsibility to determine the source of the prophecy, to
know whether God is speaking, or if other influences human or
demonic are behind the word. In a large gathering the responsibility
for testing sits with the leaders, although all present have a measure
of responsibility and could share their concern, or affirmations
depending on the local meeting structure. Words are rarely assessed
immediately in a meeting unless they display either a serious error, or
are examined by leaders as a confirming directive.
Where words are specific to the overall direction of a church or
individual, it is unwise to act on them without a strong inner witness,
prior leading, or independent confirmation of the word. So never
expect a church to immediately take a new direction in response to
giving a prophetic word, except where prophets have been proven to
be reliable and where leaders are free to act without further
consultation.
In a detailed prophecy, it can be difficult to tell where human
inspiration ends and God-given insight comes through. It is good
practice to record words to compare them with other words, as
patterns can be revealing. As we prophesy in part, one prophecy can
form part of a jigsaw that fits with another, so the message or picture
can emerge from a combination of related prophecies.
Just as one Bible passage sheds light on another, the understanding
gained from each prophecy ensures that other prophecies are better
understood and interpreted consistently. There are examples of this
throughout this book.
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The value of recording what is shared
When the Holy Spirit speaks to you through words, a vision, an
impression, a still small voice, or through someone else, remember it
and write it down as soon as possible. This is so basic, yet many do
not do it. We are later able to review what is being said and ask the
vital question Is this God speaking to me?
In the same way, those sharing prophetic words publicly in churches,
do not often record the exact words. Occasionally a prophet, leader
or member of a church will seek to record prophecies and these serve
as an excellent guide for future review. We can see if there is any
consistency in what God is saying to a church over time.
When taking notes as a prophet speaks, it can be difficult to capture
everything. If possible use a voice recorder, because we forget most
spoken words and do tend to recall selectively. At first some words
may not seem to be important to us, but later we may see their
relevance.
Many feel uncomfortable being in the limelight and some never like
cameras or videos pointed at them. Ideally seek permission in
advance to record prophecies and treat the recordings with respect.
Use the recording to transcribe words. Dont play them to others or
give copies to others without first obtaining the speakers consent.
Some may shutdown their gifts if they feel they will be over
scrutinised, although others will feel honoured to share and be heard.
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Hold to revelation above opinion
Once recorded, guidance and revelations need to be weighed, and
things wont always be clear for some time. A true revelation should
not be too hard to work out, after all God knows our limits.
New Christians need to take the opportunity to look at what they
believe God is saying with experienced believers, ideally a home
group leader or a pastor who knows them.
If a prophetic word involves you in taking a significant life-step, or a
moving elsewhere, it is wise to ask trusted leaders to seek God on it. I
have made mistakes in my own life by misinterpreting words that I
received for myself. In one case I thought God was giving a go-ahead
and reassurance in response to a prayer, but actually the word was an
amber light that I had not fully grasped. I believe that had I listened
to mature wisdom at this stage, I might have taken a different path.
Dont rely on advice that is purely other peoples opinion. Most
people in your existing church probably do not want you to leave and
will be cautious about a change. Others conversely may have their
own life regrets about missed opportunities and these may feel
strongly that any open doors should always be pursued. In other
cases advice can be based on what someone else experienced in a
similar situation. All such experiences offer insight and are worth
hearing, as long as these are recognised as opinions and weighed as
opinions.
You are unique and so is your call and what is needed is God-given
direction not human opinion even from those who might seem to
know what they are talking about. Where someone goes away and
prays about it and then has a strong sense not based on their initial
thoughts, perhaps even revealing aspects that they could not have
known naturally it is wise to listen to them.
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We benefit from accountability
While some are insecure about sharing words from God, at the other
end of the spectrum you can meet people who know everything
and believe that any thought passing through their mind, must be
God. Fortunately these types are fairly rare, and easily spotted.
Be wary of strangers, who approach you in unmanaged ministry
environments. Be wary of anyone who brings a negative word over
you, such as saying you are going to be alone to a married person.
Such words sound like spiritualism or speaking a curse. A true word
will bring comfort or strengthening, and if it is a rebuke it will be
redemptive not condemnatory.
Not everyone who confidently brings a word is operating in the Holy
Spirit, which is why words must not be accepted without
consideration. Be careful of prophetic people with unknown
backgrounds, who try to operate outside your pastoral covering. Do
not receive prophecies from those without accountability to spiritual
authority or without agreement for your own pastoral covering to be
consulted.
Certain types of words should set alarm bells ringing. Teenagers do
not need to be told by someone else, who or when they will marry.
Unfortunately people often seek to hear words that are like this.
Ideally take such words to pastors, or more experienced leadership, as
scripture says the body must weigh the words. No one should assume
that they have a right to prophesy irresponsible things in secret
without accountability to appropriate leaders.
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Stepping through the process
When receiving an impression, feelings, pictures, or even words, the
challenge is to know what, if anything, to do with it. Sometimes
wisdom and pictures received in a meeting are not always for sharing
at that moment. If pictures are likely to be incomprehensible to the
potential hearers, they will need work to obtain further
understanding. If necessary seek more revelation to help unpack what
has been received.
There is little point in sharing a picture without an interpretation,
unless doing so in a prophetic group who are ready and prepared to
interpret it. There is no need to feel under a pressure to share every
thought that comes, in case it is a word.
Apart from when hearing direct word by word instructions, there is
often a sequence to the prophetic process in putting a complete
message together.
Prophetic Conception Can come as a Vision, Impression or
Feeling.
There is nothing wrong with identifying feelings of joy or even other
perhaps more disturbed feelings. At this stage picture visions can be
described in detail, where others are helping the prophet in
interpreting.
Where words are received, ask whether God is:
a) Imparting the precise text directly, or
b) Is the prophet finding words that initially express the
impression that (s)he is receiving?
Both of these experiences of receiving are valid, but in the latter case
it may be that words need to be altered later for greater clarity in
expressing the prophecy. Sometimes in making changes to written
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prophecies I add square brackets to offer added [later for clarity]
changes. This preserves the original as well as helping readers less
able to cope with more advanced concepts and phrases.
Initial Assessment How much of this is just the Holy Spirit?
Are other influences impacting the vision, such as recent experience,
knowledge or things shared previously? Is there a sense of the Holy
Spirit as author? Visions that come first, quickly and effortlessly are
often from the Holy Spirit.
Interpretation From the components of the vision, there is a
need to perceive the message being communicated, through insights
gained from looking at the components of one or more pictures. The
Holy Spirit might point to a chapter or verse in the Bible through the
symbols, or express symbols that themselves are particularly
meaningful to the recipient. The pictures may relate to the theme of a
service or something the individual is struggling with. The Holy Spirit
can reveal things in ways where the meaning is private without the
prophet even knowing the details, so that the recipient can respond
without the risk of gossip. I saw an example of this, where a prophet
was given a vision of a ship coming alongside a floating mine. The
recipient, a man, was being warned that flirting with a female work
colleague would cause damage in his marriage and life. The word was
expressed in symbols that he alone understood.
Evaluating the interpretation - Is there a sense that God is
revealing the meaning, or is this purely human logic with a number of
possible meanings?
In ministering one to one, if we are uncertain of what the
interpretation is, we can offer the pictures to a safe recipient, who
is familiar with the prophetic, and ask whether the pictures mean
anything personally.
Delivery We need to make a clear presentation of the message
to others to ensure that all recipients understand. For longer words it
can be helpful to begin by summarising and then delivering the main
message. When delivering the prophetic message, the inclusion of
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substantial original picture details can dilute the interpretation or be
confusing to listeners. It is better to concentrate on the message
itself.
Weighing Testing of the words and visions by those present.
This is usually the responsibility of the meeting leader or others in
authority. If you are responding to personal prophecy and receive
something that you are unsure of make a note and review it later.
Receiving with faith Once the recipient has accepted that God
is speaking.
Respond wholeheartedly to the Holy Spirits direction.
Set aside any human thought aspects, if present.
Put on the shelf unclear or incomplete words for future
reference to compare with other later words.
Understanding a prophecy is not always a clear-cut true or
false decision.
Speaking in tongues and interpretation
If we have the gift of tongues and use it for praying aloud in a
meeting in an unknown language, then we need to reach out in faith
as a group and expect to have the supernatural ability to interpret it,
so that the hearers will understand and be built up. Often the one
sharing the tongue will also have the interpretation.
St Paul wrote,
Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret
I Cor.14:13

Singing in tongues used in expressing worship does need an
interpretation.
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Sometimes others will have the interpretation. Sometimes more than
one person will think that they have an interpretation. This is possibly
because one of them is sitting on a prophetic word and assumes that
it is the interpretation. This situation can create a little confusion,
when the prophecy is spoken out first.
Prophesying one to one
One-to-one ministry allows questions to be asked that help the
prophet discover the understanding of the receiver. It is often the
case that a person receiving may not interpret correctly what a
message is saying, as God may actually be challenging the natural
orientation, or a blind spot. Where the message is not understood it
might even be misinterpreted, especially if people do not record it.
The hearer may have a burning question and be looking for a
confirmation of something else. This issue may block the recipient
from listening. They may start missing the point by unconsciously
trying to make a word fit as an answer to their own burning question.
This is one reason why personal prophecies that are specific are best
shared with those with pastoral knowledge of us, who can help guide
us in applying the word effectively.
Effective communication to large groups
The ultimate stage of ministering prophecy is the communication
task. After drawing an interpretation out of a vision, the challenge is
to deliver a concise clear message. The amount of support
explanation needed will depend on the understanding of the hearers.
Care needs to be taken to help less experienced people to grasp what
the message is about.
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Often a leader will step in and offer validation and explanation to a
message, which can be a better explanation than a prophet might
make. Leaders generally possess stronger teaching gifts than prophets
and are generally excellent communicators. Leaders understand how
to present words in ways that will be clear to the people who most
need to hear the message. The standing of a leader ensures that the
congregation will give more attention to the prophetic word than
when a prophet brings it unsupported.
Prophesy with wisely chosen expressions
In language there are phrases and concepts that can cause problems
when used prophetically. Modern language has used concepts like
wicked to mean good, which obviously is like saying black is white.
It is part of the Christian transformation to move to a place where,
Yes means Yes and No means No. In the same way, if we
are not alert, phrases we use casually in our daily lives can act like
curses being declared over ourselves.
Phrases that are used in speech often carry double meanings that
when used in a prophetic word would be inappropriate. We are not
here to pick holes in each other for minor flaws in speech, but we
would be wise to clean up our own phrases. We need to avoid all that
can tarnish the truth of the prophetic message, so that we excel in
blessing those who listen.
What is wrong with the phrase from the prophecy below?
He loves you and he wants to bring you deeper into the
relationship with me
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This is an example of untidiness in a prophecy, where the prophet
mixes expressing what God desires to do (using the third person -
He), and speaking directly as the voice of the Holy Spirit (in the first
person me).

It is not uncommon to switch the mode of expression between
paragraphs, although prophets who seek excellence in delivery need
to be thoughtful as to how they express what the Holy Spirit is laying
on their hearts.
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3 Interpreting Dreams & Visions
Describing the significant aspects
Impressions do not always have obvious meanings. At times others
can help us make more sense of what we receive. When describing a
vision it is useful to understand more than just the outline details of
the picture.

Aspects such as, whether an item seems to be a good, neutral or a
bad thing helps us to understand what is being communicated?
What characterises the principle object of the vision?
For example if describing seeing a telephone:
Is there anything unusual?
Style: old, ornate or modern colours material.
Mobile, office or home phone.
Is there anything missing from the phone?
Is it with another object? Is either in the foreground?
Is there a background scene to describe?
Although it is not necessary to fill in all the detail of a vision,
remember that others cannot see, feel or hear the sounds in the
vision when we simply answer the question, What do you see?
Someone helping to unpack and interpret a vision or dream needs to
understand the significant aspects. The interplay of sounds, images,
emotions and any other aspects of the experience are vital in order
for the input of others to be informed, valid and helpful.
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When interpreting visions - see the context
In my experience I have found that certain objects in visions are
often repeated in different forms and contexts. The same item will
convey different meanings according to its unique individual
characteristics or the unusual context in which it appears. One
example I have seen of this is different visions involving swords,
where each is conveying a different message. In one case I saw a
sharp sword with a golden handle lying on its side on the ground.
Here the interpretation was an encouragement to pick up our
spiritual weapons that are available, but unused. The golden handle
represented our intimacy with God, and that reminds us that our gifts
operate effectively, as we are living in close relationship with Him.
In another picture I saw a sword covered in jewels being held by a
minister, who was leaning on it. He was able to lean on this sword
that symbolised strength for ministry, as he was empowered by the
praying Christians. Here the message of the prophecy was given to
honour the churchs intercessors, who were praying regularly for the
minister.
The limitations of symbol dictionaries
Imagine if I had consulted a dream symbol dictionary to interpret
such pictures and looked up gold, sword and jewel, then tried to
piece together a message from the different parts without first
looking at the overall context.

A sword has several main symbolic interpretations: War, Judgement,
Word of God (Bible), none of which fits with the two visions shared
above.
While a dictionary can at times reveal the meanings of the
components of a dream or vision, it can never take account of the
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unique context in which the objects are shown. Looking up and
stringing together the dictionary meanings will rarely work.
Symbols do not usually mean the same thing to everyone. For one
person a dog can represent a creature of affection, to another the dog
is a threat. I recall being in a small group where we shared our
feelings about different objects, and found that one man was a
passionate enthusiast of steam trains and someone else actually had a
fear of them.
If used, Biblical dictionaries need to be consulted carefully and with
prayer, as it is all too easy to come up with any number of
interpretations, using such tools. In the wrong hands there is a real
danger that dreams can be misinterpreted, or that a dream deemed as
being from God when it wasnt. Such interpretations can burden the
individual with ideas about his/her destiny that carry the weight of a
religious pressure to fulfil. Not every revelation or dream given by
fellow Christians with good intentions will be an accurate
interpretation or something that God is revealing to us.
Hold lightly to such revelations, wait for confirmation, and seek
trusted advice from those who will tell us when we get off-track.
Pictures that are consistent to theme
When I see two pictures in a vision, I often find that they shed light
on each other, and when viewed together the meaning becomes
clearer. When praying for a man who was a stranger, I recall having
two such pictures that related to the outlook the individual had on
life. The first was of a wooden shelf in a garage attached to a brick
wall, viewed from below. This picture spoke of insecurity, privacy
and loneliness, as the shelf was outside the main part of the home
and what was on the shelf could not be seen.
The second picture was of a car with one seat. That expressed a life
journey of independence and isolation again and reflected a person
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operating alone. So the two were linked and expressed similar
perspectives of the mans life.
I did not know the man and had been asked to pray for him by a
friend of his. She later told me that he had actually lost both his
parents and did not feel that he was part of a family.
Two images can make sense of one another
Pictures often comprise two or more objects. In a vision I saw a
Jews harp on the left side of the picture. A Jews harp is an
instrument that is played in the mouth of a musician. It consists of a
flexible vibrating metal tongue, held in a small frame that is held in
the mouth. A person wearing a pair of glasses was looking at it from
the right-hand side.
The interpretation of this picture concerned someone who attended
the church service. While the minister of God was speaking in the
power of the Holy Spirit (represented by the Harp); some were only
looking through a man-made viewpoint, rather than listening to a
spiritual message that carried real anointing. Attentive listening ears,
attuned to the sound of the Holy Spirits instrument were needed, but
some present were not tuning in to and hearing what God wanted to
communicate.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they
are discerned only through the Spirit.
I Corinthians 2:14
He said, You have been given the chance to understand the secrets of Gods
kingdom. But to outsiders I speak by using stories. In that way, They see, but
they will not know what they are seeing. They hear, but they will not understand
what they are hearing.
Luke 8:10
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Multiple pictures for a church
One morning I had a series of pictures that showed different aspects
of the Holy Spirits work in a church.
I was attending a particular church for a number of weeks and I was
not familiar with the congregations activity outside the main service.
During the service I had a vision of a montage of pictures, showing
symbols that represented the various helping ministries of this
church. A net represented the outreach to those outside the Church.
A support bracket designed to hold a pipe, indicated the churchs
readiness for the next phase of what heaven had planned to pour out.
The pipe itself was absent, as the absent pipe represented a future
move of God that would take place in that church. There were
several other symbols that described various other ministries of that
congregation. I sensed that this was a good place to fellowship and
joined that church.
Spiritual concepts in the world of dreams
There is a natural desire in many of us to tap into hidden spiritual
wisdom that will guide our lives. This is why so many, even world
leaders, read horoscopes, or see fortune-tellers. I suspect that some
people becoming aware of dreams, as a way that God speaks, can try
too hard to listen to God through their dreams. This can be a
massive distraction, as dreams can be no more than personal
thoughts or reflections. Once undue attention is given to dreams,
there is also a possibility that some might end up unconsciously
manipulating their own dreams, to tell them what they want to hear.
Dreams are influenced by daily experience and bodily feelings too, so
that someone losing their blanket at night might dream about being
somewhere cold.
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On occasions creative people set out to solve problems or develop
ideas in their sleep using dreams. Dreams become a less inhibited
zone where ideas can emerge outside the conventional realm,
releasing creative ideas.
According to Scientific American
Techniques to control, or at least influence, our dreams have been shown to work
in sleep experiments. We can strategize to dream about a particular subject, solve
a problem or end a recurring nightmare. With practice we can also increase our
chances of having a lucid dream, the sort of "dream within a dream".
How Can You Control Your Dreams? Jordan Lite - July 29, 2010
In a personal example, I once dreamed that my beloved came back to
me. That dream made it harder for me to give up someone that I had
already lost, because I wanted to believe that it was God speaking,
rather than my own heart. Dreams often express our own longings.
As spiritually minded Christians, we can make the mistake of
attributing such dreams to God, when they are just our own hopes.

Devout enthusiastic Christians hold many spiritual concepts in their
natural minds, so when they dream, there is often a spiritual
component to a dream. These spiritual thoughts churning through
the mind do come out in dreams. The Christian may also read and
think about themes that are biblical or spiritual in content and these
themes can come through in dreams. It would be an illusion to
assume that because a dreams content is spiritual or Biblical that
God is revealing messages through the dream.
Many Christians long for the return of Christ or the Rapture and
many do dream about it. It cannot be assumed that such dreams are
divine revelations about how the event might occur. I knew one
person who dreamed about her church community all disappearing
up into the air at the rapture of the church. She shared this with
others and many years later the same person died a natural death and
that particular church closed down and people dispersed to join other
church groups.
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Psychotherapy, dreams and the divine
Todays wise men come with strings of academic qualifications.
Psychotherapists of various schools use interpretations based on their
psychological training to unlock a deeper meaning of dreams and to
help the dreamer explore his/her inner world. Explanations of dream
meanings will vary according to the particular psychological schools
assumptions and theory used to interpret the dream. These
techniques can work well along with other psychological approaches
in helping distressed individuals find healing by exploring their inner
worlds. It is a means for an individual to open up and express deep
feelings.
Such theories are unlikely however to have any real value in
understanding or interpreting a truly prophetic dream. The Holy
Spirit brings relevant revelation of the past and imparts healing words
of life that brings a lasting peace to the persons soul. The Holy Spirit
deals with the roots of an issue and draws the individual deeper into
the knowledge of Gods love, where ultimate wholeness is found,
rather than just re-adjusting the soul.
Any psychological dream interpretation will be based on a
combination of theories and the psychotherapists experience; the
interpretation is no more than intelligent deduction. Psychological
dream interpretation does not claim to interpret divinely inspired
dreams, or provide an understanding of a persons destiny. It is
therefore more limited in scope, than the infinite wisdom of the Holy
Spirit, whose help is available to us for divine dream interpretation.
Divine revelation needs divine inspiration to interpret it.
The ultimate question is: Are we as Christians truly tapping into the
full resources of the prophetic stream in bringing divine
interpretation or are we leaning on other human techniques that are
devoid of the Holy Spirit?
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New age and occult dreamers
Those operating through spirits, or new age principles, also interpret
dreams. Popular New Age books often look for objects that have
specific meanings, so there is a wealth of ready-to-use resources for
dream interpretation in the form of new age dream dictionaries that
provide a simple means to construct possible meanings from a
dream. Many of the dictionaries are using symbolic meanings that are
occult based, or linked to folklore. New Age based material, even in
the hands of well meaning Christians must be considered just as
Satanic as using Tarot cards.
Some ambitious prophets like to feel that they can embrace all
sources of truth to increase their prophetic capability. Such rash
assumptions show a lack of discernment, and indicate someone
heading into deception. We read in the book of Acts that new
Christians burned their occult books and we should follow their
example by not allowing even a hint of New Age to be associated
with the true prophets.
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A number who had practised sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned
them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty
thousand drachmas.
Acts 19
13 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and
announces to you a sign or wonder,
2
and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes
place, and the prophet says, Let us follow other gods (gods you have not known)
and let us worship them,
3
you must not listen to the words of that prophet or
dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him
with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 13
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God-given dream interpretation
Truly God-given dreams do not rely on the wisdom of secular men
to interpret them. Daniel, through prayer, not only knew what a
dream was about, but received the interpretation directly from God.
Where people rely on other tools to interpret dreams, they are less
likely to hear from heaven.
26 The king asked Daniel, Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream
and interpret it? 27 Daniel replied, No wise man, enchanter, magician or
diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a
God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what
will happen in days to come
Daniel 2
Joseph also showed that God himself holds the key that unlocks
dreams for his own people. There were many wise men in Pharaohs
court, but their skills were not up to interpreting a dream that came
from God. It needed a prophet to interpret it and the dream became
a means of changing the leadership and destiny of the nations.
Pharaoh who was the leader of Egypt had a dream that is recorded in
Genesis 41: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up
seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven
other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the
riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat
cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream:
Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After
them, seven other heads of grain sproutedthin and scorched by the east wind.
The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh
woke up; it had been a dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent
for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but
no one could interpret them for him.
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Now others thought that Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams,
but Joseph when asked actually says that the interpretation needed to
come from God.
Genesis 41:

Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream, and no one can interpret
it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret
it.

I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the
answer he desires.
Later Pharaoh asked them, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom
is the spirit of God?
Recognising Gods signature in dreams
Biblical dreams have often foretold a future event, shown an
individual destiny, or issued a warning. There is no hint that Joseph
continued to interpret dreams for Pharaoh - it seemed to be a one-off
instance.
Although I have frequent prophetic visions, I have only had a few
dreams that I actually believe came from God. I dont feel that my
dreams are generally for guidance, or specifically from God. A few
Christians have learnt to hear God through dreams and are able to
harness this tool effectively, although many others can get distracted
by a fascination with dreams rather than being helped.
For me, when I have been sure that God was speaking via a dream, it
has been very clear. One particular dream I had, brought valuable
understanding and order into my life.
As a young man in my 20s, I dreamed that I was driving my car on a
motorway and I noticed that the speed of the car had reached
100mph. I knew that I was going far too fast. I consciously tried to
make the car slow down. Slowing down seemed difficult, as if there
was an unnaturally strong momentum carrying the vehicle forward.
As I gradually managed to bring the speed down to 70mph, I noticed
that I was now on a normal A-road, and I was still travelling too fast
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for these more restricted road conditions. As I again slowed down,
the car reached a minor road, and was still doing over 50mph, which
was dangerous on this narrow road. Finally, I braked hard to bring
the vehicle to a steady 30mph, but as I did, I found myself on a
muddy countryside track, which rocked the car. Ahead of me, I could
see a gate at the end of this track. As the car sped towards the gate I
saw a sign on it that read,
You are going to crash.
At that point I woke up. Almost immediately I recognised the
interpretation. I was living my life far too busily (something others
had been telling me). I was going out late every night, had a busy job
and barely took time to rest and relax. The message to me was a
clear warning to slow down and stop rushing out to socialise, when I
barely left any time to organise my own life and catch up with odd
jobs. I dont know why it took a dream to break a lifestyle pattern,
but I imagine that I had avoided thinking about giving up what I
naturally enjoyed.
Visions sometimes contain keys that confirm their validity, where the
symbols have an unknown meaning to the prophet, but particular
meaning to the recipient. I was once sharing a word with someone,
whom I had never met face to face. I was speaking with her over the
phone and while sharing a word for her, I saw a picture of the Sydney
Opera House. I had no idea why, but the picture had great
significance for her and validated the word I had given. The Sydney
Opera House was her chosen computer screensaver and was a source
of significant spiritual inspiration to her.
Another time a friend called Eddie was sharing a picture and
interpretation for a young man in California, who was in need of
healing. The vision was of this man symbolised by a salmon,
swimming upstream. In addition to his interpretation, the images
themselves had a validating significance, as unbeknown to Eddie, an
intercessor visiting and ministering to the same person, used this
unusual symbol as her website theme.
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While it wont always be there, it is worth looking beyond the
immediate prophetic message interpretation for symbols that can
provide a key to understanding or a confirmation of the messages
divine origin that are not obvious at a first glace and might seem
irrelevant.
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4 False Discernment Traps
The fruit foundation
When discerning anything new, or even prophecies, people often
speak of testing the fruit of a ministry. This is a bit impractical as a
test, as the type of fruit people look for can take years to manifest.
Another danger is that individuals can manufacture their own
definition of what type of fruit is expected. Can we judge renewal as
ineffective simply because it had little or no impact on conversions to
Christ? If a teaching ministry does not incorporate mission as part of
its agenda, is that a lack of fruitfulness? For some, the question is
whether it is producing the same type of fruit as their own group, or
a past respected ministry, or by definitions that measured previous
moves of God.
Sadly in practice looking for the fruit, is often a closed minded and
cynical response to something that has yet to become fully grown.
For who has despised the day of small things?
Zechariah 4:10
Manifestations in meetings
Physical manifestations, that include shaking or other unnatural
movements, occasionally occur in Christian gatherings. These can be
disturbing to onlookers. Some react by concluding in the name of
discernment, that such things are, not of God. Judging such
manifestations from a distance or via second hand reports is unwise.
Experiences outside a concerned observers current church life may
easily be branded as not of God. A few extreme critics have been
known to claim that demons have infiltrated Christian meetings and
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that anointed leaders are being deceived by the enemy for allowing
such things to occur. If any such leaders fall, these critics get louder
and claim to have been proven right all along.
Discerning a manifestation by its outward form however, is
meaningless, since the enemy generally will counterfeit with a credible
copy. So whether weeping or laughter is happening, or dramatic
shaking, most manifestations occurring under Godly ministry are
going to be the genuine article and often bring emotional healing or a
deeper experience of Gods love. Those who have been touched
powerfully by the Holy Spirit may or may not have dramatic physical
reactions, but have often testified to being more in love with God,
having greater freedom from sin, or becoming more effective in
ministry after the special touch from God.
Demonic manifestations can also occur in the presence of anointed
ministry, just as they did when Jesus or Paul operated in the Holy
Spirits power. These ideally need dealing with by experienced
ministers. Demons witnessing the presence of God are going to be
irritated by it, so they are likely to protest where the Holy Spirit is
operating in power.
Church history shows that the church tends to change its ideas about
what is thought to be of God in one season, that was not of God
in an earlier period. The work of the enemy is likely to arise when
least expected. We need to stay alert, but avoid the suspicious
mindset of the heresy hunter, that inhibits receptiveness to the true
work of the Holy Spirit.
Perceptions will distort the assessment
In listening to others we often carry emotions and perceptions in
relation to others that can colour our discernment of what they
bring. Sometimes people judge the prophetic word by their
relationship with the speaker, or by the social standing of the prophet
within the church, or the world. Less educated people often have an
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excellent gift of hearing from God, although their background can
create a credibility gap and they may not be heard as easily as a
perceived potential leader. I have often been amazed how God
speaks so clearly to those who seem disadvantaged and less able, who
wont necessarily have the aptitude to express the wisdom that they
carry.
Inexperienced leaders can feel out of their depth and take a cautious
approach that lacks the confidence to see the gem in a word. The
strange pictures that are often difficult for prophets to share are likely
to be suppressed or rejected by those with such cautious mindsets.
Past experience of bullies, rivals or people we just did not get on with
can mean that people who remind us of them receive a more negative
assessment. Accents or race can carry perceptions too, so that people,
who are unlike us, may not be received as favourably. These natural
gut feeling judgements are not discernment, but feelings that can
interfere with the weighing process. We need to recognise and face
our own prejudices, to judge with spiritual discernment.
Veiled critics falsely discerning others
One of the most damaging character tendencies that can operate in a
church is that of fault finding. Where a critical spirit is obvious, it
holds others back from stepping out into the forefront and playing a
full role. No one feels comfortable serving others with their gifts, if
they face negative hints over their performance, or a negative
reaction towards themselves. Open criticism is likely to be rebuffed,
exposed or frowned upon by the hearers, so the tendency of a critic
is to veil the criticism making it more lethal.
If only the body of Christ was as sharp at discerning the spirit behind
implied criticism as it is in testing the prophetic. It is the duty of the
body of Christ to weigh words and then in most instances, our
response will be to encourage those who bring the words. Discerning
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needs to be about drawing out the good and honouring those who
seek the Lord, bringing His word for the benefit of all.
Discerning - the motives behind discerning
Motives are important, both in those prophesying and in those
receiving words. In reality the majority of Christians will be unaware
of the minor imperfections in a prophecy and most are very
appreciative when words are shared with them. So please do keep the
problem issues discussed below in perspective, they are the
exceptions.
A few people disagree with what is shared prophetically for entirely
the wrong reasons. A few will judge out of their own emphasis and
opinion. Others may have a misunderstanding of what was shared. A
few might operate in a spirit of competition. Some will hear a
message that challenges their attitude, so they get uncomfortable and
dont like what they hear.
Thankfully I have found that such negative reactions are not that
common. Even if such attitudes exist, they are not often expressed
openly.
Minor local prophetic errors dont represent any real threat to the
faith of a Christian community. It may be that people prefer to keep
quiet than risk a confrontation. The correct Biblical response of love
would be to let small mistakes pass, rather than exposing and
embarrassing a brother or sister in Christ.
People often approach prophets to ask them whether a particular
relationship will be blessed. Some are genuine and ready to lay down
their desires on the altar in obedience to what the Lord tells them.
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Others however will be offended or rebuff any word that goes
against their own desires. So when a self-seeking recipient responds
by suggesting are we misinterpreting the vision, or that maybe
God is asking for a delay, then they are trying to ignore a red stop
light warning. Clearly they were not seeking a word from God, but
somehow thought that a prophetic decree would cause them to
receive whatever their natural desires wanted.
Assuming that a person is not on a romantic rebound, most
Christians will support relationships between believers and will not
want to discourage anyone.
False discernment ministries
There are genuine Christian people, who have reservations towards
ministries that are actually moving in a fresh way with the Holy Spirit.
There can be good reasons for their caution:
A lack of experience of the Holy Spirits work mean that such
people tend to discern that supernatural manifestations are
synonymous with disorder and seem unsafe to them.
In other instances leading individuals have or have been
perceived to operate in an inappropriate or unbiblical way.
Those who associate themselves with a new ministry can be
immature or even enemy plants their influence can undermine
the credibility of a genuine move of the Holy Spirit.
Experience of ministry with elements that are spiritually
unhealthy, can make it hard to accept the genuine article as
certain styles or aspects can look similar.
In spite of these real concerns, there remains a degree of attack
against cutting edge ministries from vocal individuals, who make
extreme claims that serve to undermine ministry.
In the past Christian conflicts have often emphasised the theological
differences between denominations, such as salvation theories
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whether a Christian can fall away from the faith, or the religious
practices of organisations.
Todays divisions can include false accusations implying that many
Christians ministering renewal and healing are doing so under the
influence of demonic spirits. This creates a climate of suspicion,
casting a shadow over legitimate ministry, a result of discernment
views expressed that cannot easily be shaken off or logically
disproved.
It is important to use discernment in weighing the words of critics,
with respect to their comments on ministries they attack. Always look
at whether critical verdicts on Christian ministries, are offered in a
redemptive way with humility.
There is a place for correction in brotherly love, outlined by Jesus.
First go to the brother/sister privately and raise the issue, then if they
do not listen, go with a second witness and only then, if necessary,
bring the matter to the church.
There are some sad examples of criticism on web pages that list the
names of numerous ground-breaking leaders with negative comments
about something they once said, did or were rumoured to have done
which is then cited as proof that these people are false teachers and
false prophets!
There are examples of online videos, which have been cut to distort
things that are said and video films are deliberately sped up to make
Holy Spirit shaking manifestations appear more violent and jerky.
Such self-styled discernment websites are unaccountable to the
body of Christ and their authors seem to be demonstrating a
wholesale resistance against much of what the Holy Spirit is doing in
the church today in life-transforming Holy Spirit renewal and healing.
Setting aside those with legitimate issues requiring correction, I
wonder if the words of Jesus below are an appropriate warning to
those who are deliberately engaged in calling the work of the Holy
Spirit demonic.
And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Matthew 12:31
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False discernment gifts
There are extremes around when it comes to discernment. Some
Christians appear to consider all spiritual things to be of value and
they lack a proper alertness to the possibility of a prophecy coming
from demonic or human sources. Other individuals seemingly head
off in the opposite direction by being ready to suspect anything that
is new to their experience or outside their own denominational
practice.
In the first case people risk being deceived, and in the latter case
people are already deceived, because they claim to see what is not
actually real. There is a huge danger from operating out of opinion
and prejudice against things that are different to our own ways,
instead of weighing a word in a spirit of openness and humility.
What is too often overlooked is that Satan himself and the Pharisees
both carefully presented their arguments with scripture, dressed up to
look authentic. We are warned to avoid the wolves dressed in sheeps
clothing. Sheeps clothing represents a Biblical style that is familiar,
but that very kind of familiarity is all the more deceptive, because it
does not seem to bring thoughts that are foreign to our norms.
Whether deliberate or self-deceived a false prophet never presents
himself as a wolf.
Where prophecies are feared as a means of deception, or people live
with a fear of being deceived, an unhealthy insecurity exists. False
discernment gives a false sense of playing it safe, but can reinforce
the very prejudices that the Holy Spirit is trying to break. We need to
recognise that an unhealthy fear is at the very heart of the kingdom of
darkness.
False judgements and innuendo made against cutting edge ministry
regularly dishonours truly anointed ministers in the name of
discernment.
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2 Discerning Spirit and Truth
Prophesying out of the wrong spirit
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from
God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the
spirit of falsehood.
1 John 4:6
A true prophecy often brings faith, peace, joy, and conviction - the
spiritual fruit that is produced from contact with the Holy Spirit. A
demonic spirit can seem authentic and even carry something about it
that can feel spiritual, but lacks the peace that comes from a true
Word from the Holy Spirit.
The nature of the enemy is to give false prophets an illusion of
control in what they are empowered to do or speak. The spiritualist
has a gift that can be developed and controlled. This can give the
false impression that the enemys servants are actually more powerful
than the servants of Jesus.
Someone speaking from a wrong spirit can innocently believe that
s/he is in tune with the same God, or could be a witch or wizard and
be deliberately penetrating a circle of Christians. The followers of
Satan can cloth themselves as angels of light with the look and feel
of the genuine. We might expect to sense bad vibes, but if this was
so obvious, no Christian could easily be deceived.
Those operating out of spiritualist demons can appear to hear things
in detail and give accurate words of knowledge, so it wont seem on
the surface that they are misled. There is a good example of this type
of prophesying out of a wrong spirit in the book of Acts chapter 16.
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16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave
who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of
money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us,
shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the
way to be saved. 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so
annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus
Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her.
Acts 16
Characteristic tendencies of a false prophet
While none of us are perfect, a false prophet is more likely to have a
number of elements that do not sound or feel right.
Prophets that do not build the church
Godly authority is rejected these prophets are not open
to correction.
Rejection of Holy Spirit led legitimate churches and their
leaders.
Words are brought that undermine leaders.
An outward appearance that can seem OK, but with
something lacking that disturbs the Holy Spirit within us.
When the false prophet speaks, other prophets feel blocked
and discerning Christians dont feel close to God.
Deepening of sectarianism or isolation.
The relationship with God the Father or the importance of
Jesus Christ appears absent they focus on the spirit or
angels almost exclusively.
Negative views towards the Bible, extremes of grace or
legalism, and distorted salvation doctrines.
A tolerance of darkness
Alternative sources of truth such as people who want to
embrace and teach things that come from New Age sources.
Occult experiences, UFO experiences and other weird stuff.
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Ancestor connections with spiritualism or other darkness.
Vision to see into private personal issues outside the domain
of prophets. Revelations that appear inappropriate could be
from deceiving spirits.
A worldly attitude
Prophesying flattering words that build pride and favour.
Motivated by personal financial gain, status or attention.
Looking at gifts with a self-development perspective rather
than for building others up in the faith as a servant of Christ.
Lack of righteousness in lifestyle or attitudes including sexual
immorality, or inappropriate relationships.
Being materialistic or critical of others who have more than
they have.
Putting others down to exalt self.
Inexperience and discernment
Without a clear understanding of the Bible, and its message, a
prophet will be limited in how the wisdom of heaven can be
expressed reliably. Even when hearing from God, without a solid
foundation based on a Biblical understanding, words can be
presented poorly, be loaded with human assumptions and be
misapplied in ways that undermine the prophets credibility.
One of the keys to understanding and working with prophecy is
the realisation that we prophesy in part. Scripture itself is like a
jigsaw of hidden clues that reveal Jesus as the Christ, who fulfilled
all the prophecies concerning himself in his earthly ministry.
There are times where God speaks to new Christians or young
children and shows them things that they could not have learned or
known. Experienced Christians can assess what is being shared and
understand the implications. It can be impressive to see the
revelations of someone who has not had time to learn, but it is
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good to stay alert to discern such words as revelations to children
can also come from spirits of divination. These spirits give children
knowledge beyond their understanding, and can sound authentic.
The love foundation
The fruit of the Holy Spirit according to the Word in Galatians 5 is:
love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-
control.
Here there is a test of the heart of the prophet. Is the ministry
expressing the heart of the Holy Spirit and expressing his character?
In the greatest Bible chapters describing the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
we find that St Paul places the Bibles foremost passage on love right
in the middle of the instructions on ministering gifts like prophecy.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have
not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices
with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails
I Corinthians 13
Prophets free of rebellion
An attitude that expresses the fruit of the spirit is a reliable indication
that good fruit will come in time. Where prophets are self-seeking,
they are at risk of operating out of another spirit.
Prophets in rebellion against leadership and operating in pride will
tend to attract evil spirits. Watch out for the minister who rejects
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correction from legitimate authority, or rejects a God-given destiny,
and starts building his own kingdom. Rebellion is defined as being
like divination in the Bible. That clearly indicates that a spirit of
divination finds a home with rebellion and can be expected to be
operating in rebels.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
I Samuel 15
Saul later consulted a medium, confirming the link between rebellion
and divination.
Rebel Christians who set up their own groups in opposition to Godly
leaders, and who are following a divisive agenda, can lose energy as
the Spirit of God withdraws. Many young, formerly on-fire
Christians, can quickly become disillusioned followers, who often
never return to their original church or vibrant faith. Some divisions
produce cults, which are characterised by being exclusive, believing
that salvation can be earned and a rejection of Biblical foundations.
Unity empowers and brings victory
Rebellion can take other forms. Those who judge other ministries
with harshness can be operating out of rebellion, if they do not
recognise the work of the Holy Spirit in another ministry.
Teacher, said John, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we
told him to stop, because he was not one of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said. For
no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad
about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.
Mark 9:38-40
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The Holy Spirit is also speaking today into many areas and one vital
one is the unity of His church. God once woke me up during the
night and shared some words that included the vital theme of unity.
In these days I am calling many into My service from all walks of life in your
land. Many in the church will receive prophetic understanding of their call and
role. They will not walk in the counsel of men but by my Spirit. I am going to
shake the land and awaken my people. The work is not for groups or
denomination, but will be a divine awakening across the land. From every church
group and people group will arise, servants who hear His voice and obey me. I will
bring about a shaking of the denominational spirit of saying "we [alone] are the
church" and of backbiting. I will be the glory of these days. It will not be a day of
favour for a special group of believers.
For those who continue to be marshland dwellers [living in yesterday's move of
God] there will be silence in heaven. They shall not witness the flow of the river of
life being poured out everywhere. Denominationalism is as the power of witchcraft;
a means to divide, which withholds the blessing. As you learn to value and see me
in all disciples of the true light, then the shackles that cause the blessing to be
withheld are broken.
Fear O enemies of the Word your time has come. When the people of the Holy
covenant arise, they will arise until you're crushed beneath their feet. This is the
promise to mankind from Genesis to Revelation. HE who overcomes will walk in
great power and anointing. The day of darkness shall flee before those who stand
and call down the walls of the enemy - The Jericho walls. But they shouted
together, as they walked together and this unity under my command shall succeed
where individual initiatives have failed. Learn from me and trust in My Spirit
and Word to guide. When you trust in My spirit He will reveal my Word in
ways that you could never fathom. His calling is upon you, His Word is in your
heart and His Spirit causes you to say:
"Father in Heaven we worship you, as the fragrance of Divine love is poured out
for many."
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When unity between Christians, in the life of the Holy Spirit,
expresses itself in love, the unbelieving world will be without the
excuse that Christians cannot agree with one another, and unable to
use that as a reason to not believe in Jesus.
34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another.
John 13:34-35
1 How good and pleasant it is when Gods people live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running
down on Aarons beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3 It is as if the dew of
Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life for evermore.
Psalm 133
Balance in prophecy
Rather than always going along with the flow of visions and
prophecy, it is vital that those who lead are able to discreetly discern
the truth of the prophetic words.
We are seeing recent vision expressed in new models of charismatic
street ministry from street pastors, to healing on the streets and
prophetic evangelism. Many long for more fresh revelation that will
take the church forward into a new level of victory, but not every
word that promises new things will be of God.
Although a true revelation is never going to contradict scripture, it
does challenge conventional understanding of Christian practices.
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Whether receiving personal prophecy, or listening to words shared in
a group, always ask is there anything that is not true or that creates a
means of spiritual growth that removes any need for Christs work in
us?
The enemy will at times try to get us focussed on our own gifts and
abilities more than on Christ and the mission he has given us. Satan
suggested that Jesus turn stones into bread, jump from a tall building
and gain political influence over the world. We need to be grounded
in obedience to God, rather than a hope of exercising independent
spiritual power.
Discerning by how they present Jesus
1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You
must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many
false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God:
If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real
body, that person has the Spirit of God.
1 John 4:1-3 (New Living Translation)
So prophecies need to be in line with sound doctrine. Evil spirits may
give accurate words, but will seek to pervert truths, or emphasise the
unimportant.
This verse is about seeing Jesus as both fully God and fully human.
Some in error taught that Jesus was simply God, similar to the myths
of Roman gods that visited the earth, and others have erred in saying
that he was a divinely inspired man, like a prophet. The danger of
these false ideas is that they undermine the power of Christs
redeeming sacrifice on the cross. The reason for the virgin birth was
that the Holy Spirit was able to conceive Jesus as both fully man and
fully God. As God, He was not born with original sin, as those born
of Adams lineage but through the seed of the woman He was
formed as fully man.
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Discerning who is being honoured
2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to
Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid
that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow
be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11
This verse warns that Christians can be led astray and distracted away
from Christ. Just as the son honours the Father, and the Holy Spirit
honours the Christ, so the prophets honour God as the three in one.
The false prophets often exalt themselves and some are even foolish
enough to place their own prophecies on the same level as scripture.
The real danger of this self-exalted attitude is that such words are put
beyond the process of weighing and the prophet in effect removes
himself from the protection of having others testing the words that
he brings.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless
chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.
1 Timothy 6:20
This chatter may include false ideas that subtly distract, undermine
leaders or cause arguments that create factions. False knowledge can
include the incorporation of teachings from twisted theologies that
contradict the Bible, man-inspired wisdom, or the New Age, that
bring knowledge and solutions not rooted in divine truth. Satan is
called the Father of lies, but his most effective lies are a mixture of
truth and lies.
Deception comes attractively wrapped in a package labelled peace
and reason, but underneath are twisted truths hidden amongst some
apparently delightful gems.
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Recognising the spirit behind the words
14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me 15 just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the
sheep.
John 10:14-15
For those who live close to Jesus and His word there will be a
discomfort in hearing false words. Many such words may on the
surface be true, but somehow they will bring a sense of heaviness and
distance from God.
As a young Christian I was flicking through radio stations and found
a broadcast where the Gospel was being preached. As a young
passionate Christian I listened eagerly to the words hoping to learn
key truths. While I listened I felt my spirit sinking and at first I
assumed that there must be something wrong with me. I asked
myself whether I was in sin or pride and therefore not attracted to
Gods word. As I examined myself and prayed, the radio broadcast
finished and they announced the name of the preacher. I was relieved
to find it was actually a false cult leader whose name I recognised and
I realised that it was the Holy Spirit in me that had signalled that
something was not right in the preacher.
When some people use the right words and something does not feel
right, there may be a reason for it. As we fellowship with the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit our spiritual sensitivity will increase.
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An inner witness receives the word with joy
Judge the spirit of the prophecy before you judge the truth of the word
Graham Cooke.
Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit can expect to have a
confirming witness to the words that are shared. When a word causes
the hearer to be encouraged and built up it is likely to be God
speaking. Often one or more people in a church may already be
hearing the same things, or have a related scripture on their minds.
The counterfeit of this inner witness is the cheers and smiles that
come when a prophecy confirms the sectarian standpoint of a
church. Perhaps this is an example of how wolves in sheeps clothing
are often more acceptable than the real thing.
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ferocious wolves
Matthew 7:15
True words will manifest in time
A true word will come to pass. Some words give times and dates to
events and it can be seen whether these come true. One problem
here is that when calling into being a next move of God in the life of
a church or individual, it wont be immediately obvious what is
occurring. In some cases the process of change may be occurring
inside people and not be immediately visible. However, looking back
it may be possible to say that something changed around that around
a period of time.
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20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,
Jesus replied, The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be
observed, 21 nor will people say, Here it is, or There it is, because the kingdom
of God is in your midst.
Luke 17
Answering the words of the enemy
A true prophet can hear words about the plans of the enemy.
This is illustrated in what Jesus said in Luke 22.
31
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.
It is vital to understand how to handle a prophet hearing what the
devil is planning, doing or attempting. Such knowledge is vital in
spiritual warfare, but can be very misleading as it needs to be
qualified and answered with a counter proclamation.
We read in Luke 22 that Jesus followed up the initial statement.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you
have turned back, strengthen your brothers.
The enemy may claim that he holds a particular city in spiritual
chains, because of an ancient covenant. This type of revelation of the
enemy stronghold is incomplete. Speaking out the plans, or words of
the demonic, may mean repeating their lies. Hearing the enemy does
not make one a false prophet, but proclaiming the demonic message
as if it is the final word on an issue can do more harm than good.
That is the opposite of the purpose of bringing a prophecy, which is
to build up and strengthen believers.
Once Christians take on board the idea that they are living in a hard
place in the grip of the enemy, they become like the 10 spies, who
claimed that the people occupying the land of Israel were too strong.
Listening to and focussing on the activities of the enemy leads to a
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greater delusion of darkness. Such prophecies are rather like the
deceptive use of scripture by Satan in tempting Jesus. Words of this
type need to be carefully examined and challenged with scripture and
intercession to win the battle.
An understanding of demonic activity needs to be discerned by the
Holy Spirit in order to tear down the arguments of the enemy (as in 2
Cor 10:4) and set the captives free, through the authority that belongs
to the disciples of the King of Kings.
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 9 All this I will give you, he said, if
you will bow down and worship me.
10 Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the
Lord your God, and serve him only.
Matthew 4
Refuting a curse
A woman, who attended a church, had a spirit of divination in her. I
was not aware of this when I first met Amber (not her real name),
but others had already sensed that something was not right.
One day she suddenly announced that she had seen a vision of my
car wrapped around a tree. Immediately I spoke out rejecting the
vision in the name of Jesus. I believe that the curse behind her words
was real enough. Her own family had been involved in a car accident
a few years before, which had left a family member permanently
disabled.
I have no idea whether there was a demonic curse connection in that
accident, but I consider it a real possibility given the words she spoke
out to me. I thank God that my own teachers had prepared me
enabling me to refute this curse, using the name of Jesus without fear.
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Sharing brings confirmation
Not all prophecy can easily be judged by the Bibles principles. One
example being a specific word of direction, such as, the time is ripe
for harvest and evangelism. This type of word is about the spiritual
seasons and the Bible does not indicate when this might happen.
Words like this are not unbiblical and the best check is a
confirmation that is independent of the influence of the initial word.
There are examples of words that have become popularised and
widely believed, but subsequently have been proven wrong.
Fear of being labelled as being wrong, can mean that the gift of
prophecy is not often displayed outside of the safe confines of a
trusted group. When a word speaks to a church or group it will not
always be intended for sharing beyond the immediate circle of
people. However some words are generally applicable and making
such words available more widely creates the opportunity for
confirmation through others.
Just as people in the same room can be aware of God speaking the
same message, it is particularly encouraging when you find out that
people in the church in another part of town or further afield are also
hearing the same message.
The internet provides a good place to make prophecy available for
the encouragement of all. I have seen on several occasions words
being given independently within days that are bringing similar
messages, and people who are not even in the same nation are
confirming each others message.
When I first received a prophetic word that spoke about the nation, I
was initially unsure about what I had written down. I had felt out of
my depth at the time and it did not fit with the Sunday church
prophecy model (tradition), that I was used to hearing. I shared it
with a church elder who felt it was from God, and some time later
with prophetic people outside the UK, who had greater experience in
the prophetic of this type.
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Prophecy that is given for the whole church is not the creation of the
prophet or group from where it is proclaimed. The same words can
be expected to be heard in other settings where the people of God
are obedient and open to the wind and direction of the Holy Spirit. I
have observed many people, who have felt relieved to hear that what
they felt God was saying was being confirmed by others. These
chance encounters are just the tip of the Iceberg.
As God said to Elijah when he thought he was alone in his stand
with God,
I have seven thousand like you.
It is time for the UK prophets to come out of hiding and share
what God is speaking.
Intercession changes a prophesied outcome
In 2005 prophecies began to be shared around local prayer groups
that spoke of London being flooded by the River Thames
imminently, and that there was a need to prepare for major flooding from
the Thames - covering significant areas of the London flood plain - inclusive of the
financial centre
The warning was echoed from many sources including the UKs
leading prophets who put out a release stating that:
... the urgency we feel in the release of this communication is due to our belief that
the above events are imminent". 24th February 2006
There was always a possibility of a flood occurring. London had
completed building a tidal flood defence called the Thames Barrier in
1982 and the prospect of a flood was always a real possibility.
In 2005 intercessors had already seen an exceptional prophetic
fulfilment in Prophet Chuck Pierces word about a sword of
judgement hanging over London, which was fulfilled just 40 days
later by the tragic 7
th
July, London bombings.
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As a result of the many flood prophecies, intercessors were praying
for a miracle and for London to be spared from a damaging flood.
The many 2005 warnings were made even more credible in that there
had been an earlier warning given. Five years previously a brother had
shared a vision concerning a big flood affecting the City of London
and was told that the sign of it coming would be the appearance of a
whale in the River Thames.
Then suddenly a whale was detected crossing the Thames Barrier on
the 19
th
January 2006 and then seen again the following day. The
British news media and public were mesmerised at the appearance of
this Bottlenose Whale, as the species had not previously been
recorded in the River Thames.

By this time the prophetic alerts had been sounding loudly for over
six months and an Apostle sent from Argentina to await a London
revival, prophesied boldly indicating a precise date and month, in
March 2006, when the promised London flood would occur,
although he suggested that the flood would only be a minor breach.
I already had links with numerous prophets and heard from two
unknown prophets independently, near to the prophesied deadline.
These both felt that there would be no flooding in London at all.
This contradicted the widespread expectation now among prophets
and intercessors and was a bold move for the two who had stepped
out independently of each other. They were proven right, as the
widely prophesied flood did not occur in March 2006.
Did the original prophets get it wrong? No certainly not.
Why then did the prophesied event not happen?
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It is likely that the original prophecies that were warnings and were
confirmed by many others had produced a substantial prayer
response that changed the course of events. The Body of Christ had
time to pray and repent on behalf of the nation. The same thing
happened with the story of Jonah and the whale a deadline for
destruction was given, but thanks to the wicked citys right response
judgement was delayed for generations.
Was there any unusual sign of repentance at this time?
Yes the Church of England formally repented for its role in the slave
trade on the 8th February 2006.
Concerning London, Rev Heather Butler, who had prophesied that
the flood had been averted, commented:
I believe that there are righteous people in the land and across the waters that
have raised a standard in this nation and the lord has heard that voice.
Why might judgement have fallen at this particular point?
One possibility is that it could be related to significant legislation that
was in progress toward becoming law.
The Blair Government was confidently pushing through a bill that in
its original form, without the sensible amendments proposed by the
Lords, could have been used against Christians engaging peaceful
evangelistic activity.
This Religious Hatred Act in its original form was miraculously
halted by just one vote in Parliament on 31 Jan 2006, and was only
the second surprise vote that the large majority Blair government had
ever lost.
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6 The Prophetic House
Resistance crushes the young prophets
Prophets can bring perspectives on situations that are invisible to the
natural mind. It is difficult for those who hear without the eyes of
faith to fully embrace a prophetic message that challenges the status
quo, at the time it is given. In bringing a challenging message, the
prophet can face attitudes and perspectives that have been built and
reinforced by a group over the years. The culture, theology, and
experience of a church community may be unintentionally hostile to a
God-sent message. This means that without a willingness to be
challenged, a church group can become the unintentional killers of
the word of life. It is not unusual for prophetic people to feel that
they dont fit into a church.
In an insular or indifferent church environment a prophet can easily
be shut down. Such churches may exhibit openness to the
prophetic, as long as it reinforces the status quo, or aligns with the
vision and aspirations of the denomination/stream group and its
leadership vision.
Equally the church needs to have a prayerful openness that welcomes
and discerns the message clearly. Scripture warns us against
embracing every teacher or prophet and to shun what are purely
flattering words. At the same time we are told to eagerly desire the
spiritual gifts. A healthy church will be both hungry for more of God
and seeking greater effectiveness in prophetic ministry.
14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
I Corinthians 14:14
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Culture of love and nurture
In Christian circles we need to encourage and respect people trying to
step out in hearing from God or using other spiritual gifts. The
Biblical position is that all can hear Gods voice and share Holy Spirit
inspired wisdom and encouragement. As gift users we need to learn
humbly, allowing others to test the words given, and training
ourselves in separating our own thoughts from those of the Holy
Spirit. This can happen more readily where the fellowship group is
supportive of individuals - a truly safe place to learn and grow.
People who feel led to step out in prophecy often need considerable
support from others as they venture out on a limb. Many true
prophets are relatively self-effacing people, who do not think they are
significant, and these people need a lot of encouragement and
reassurance to open up and share what they are hearing.
Where a Christian community puts the relationship with Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, as foremost and people embrace the prophetic but
dont focus on the gifts, there is a healthy environment to minister in.
Where people feel loved for who they are and dwell in unity with
others, people feel open to receive mentoring advice and
encouragement to develop their gifts usefully in Gods service.
Are we free to be us?
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be
greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and
those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are
not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest,
and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Luke 22
The kingdom of the enemy is dominated by fear and uniformity. In
the James Bond movies most of those who worked for the wicked
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usually appeared as uniformed men, who lacked the ability to operate
without detailed specific orders being given. This pattern of
conformity occurs as people learn to fit in with the world and then
carry their learned attitudes into the church. In churches the
conforming tendency can also emerge. Are we operating in freedom
and grace or under a pattern that has been set by what has previously
been modelled?
The pressure to conform often comes from the back row senior
members, whose views can often be narrower than that of the
leadership team itself. In trying to conform to accepted patterns
themselves, such tradition conformists will tend to show
disapproval of those who step outside of the box. They may feel
that they are being loyal to the leadership in shaping the newer
members of a church to follow the old ways and become models of
their traditions of dress code and theological thinking style.
There are however limits to the expression of individualism. A
devotion to truth can become a weakness if we fall into a mode of
being critical and opinionated and cause unnecessary offence to
others. We are called to fit in and respect the conscience of others
and honour them to promote harmony in the body of Christ.
Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10
Disruptive words
When prophetic words are encouragements to go on in faith, or are
bringing a vision of Gods love or grace, there is little to discuss or
weigh. There is every reason to flow with that, however at times such
words can come when they are a distraction to the true direction and
flow of the meeting. Out-of-sync words can divert the group from
where the Holy Spirit is leading.
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Such disruptive words might occur where a church service has
reached a beautiful place of worship, and the presence of God has led
the people to a deep awesome quiet moment of just soaking in His
presence. Suddenly a word comes with a force that breaks the
precious moment of Holy tranquillity, calling for a stepping out in
evangelism or social action. Nothing is wrong in principle with what
is shared, but it is just not the right moment for it. Restless Martha
type personalities need to learn how to enjoy stillness.
Davidic warriors bold before men
David versus Goliath is probably the best known story of winning in
the face of mammoth opposition, a story that permeates both faith
and secular realms, but there is little grasp in either sphere of the full
scope of the real battle that was fought on that day.
David faced untold opposition, just to be able to take a stand, from
those who were supposed to be on the same side. Battles in the mind
and undermining opposition from other Christians can prevent
numerous warriors stepping into a place where they can face the
giants, let alone slay them.
We cannot defeat the giants, if we surrender to social pressures along
the way. Killing Goliath was the easy bit. It was getting into the arena
for the fight itself that was the really hard bit. David faced family
members who questioned his motives, a King who doubted his
ability and a giant who mocked him as dog.
Davids victory is a prophetic picture to any believers who hope to
rise up and change the world around them. It illustrates the weapon
of prophetic decreeing in warring against the prevailing decrees of the
enemy that would have put lesser men into a place of fear.
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Davidic leadership
David was both a prophet and a leader of men. As a leader he
modelled courage, faith and devotion and as a prophet he was
capable of seeing with the eyes of faith. The prophets were the ones
who anointed the leaders of Israel, so as a prophet he was able to call
forth the God-given greatness in others.

Davidic leaders are those who follow the model of David, a man who
was devoted to God and did not fear the opinions of mortals. This
type of leadership is in stark contrast to that of Saul, who feared men,
but disobeyed God.
A Saul style culture that has built up over generations will take time
to change. Those, who dont feel able to move into their individual
destiny, take time to emerge from under Sauls (mans) control. Even
where people begin to express themselves more freely, a Saul
tendency can rise up and pressure everyone to do the same thing
together. Freedom to dance for instance does not mean that those
who are experiencing God in a quiet moment of awe cannot do so.
For people to dance under pressure from others is actually anything
but freedom in worship. Even with a Davidic leader in charge it can
be hard to promote a culture of freedom, where people have been
used to doing church under a Saul-type leader.
The Holy Spirit is at work to promote the Davidic leaders and pull
down the Saul leadership and systems. This does not mean that all
traditional churches will fall and new streams alone flourish. Saul-type
leadership can be found in the successful growing movements too.
Saul-type leaders can be identified by the aggressive spirit in which
they deal with those who sincerely differ from them on certain non-
essential issues. Saul leaders will tend to sideline or remove talented
people and create a core of aspiring leaders chosen for their readiness
to be shaped in the mental mould of their Saul-type leader.
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There are many leaders in more traditional churches who operate
with the heart of David. They are in traditional churches because
God saw their patience and called them to minister to the Christians
who take more time to step into a fuller experience of the Holy Spirit.

I have witnessed a culture in a church where the leader had clearly
facilitated the development, confidence and encouragement of
others. Those in this church assembly all seemed completely at ease
in stepping out to minister to others. I believe this was just one small
aspect of creating a culture of freedom and trust.
Raising up the mighty men
One of the key features of Davids team was that mighty men were
part of his band. These were those who stood out as having an
excellence in their fighting ability. The Bible records their deeds and
mentions that there were thirty-seven of these characters singled out
as mighty warriors. They did not join him as mighty men, but were
raised up under Davids leadership.
Davids mighty warriors are listed in 2 Samuel 23
Josheb-Basshebeth raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom
he killed in one encounter 2 Samuel 23:8
Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand
grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great
victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the
dead 2 Samuel 23:9
There are many more individuals listed. Those who were loyal and
operating under Davids authority were also able to walk in greatness
like David, the giant killer. There is no mention of Saul having any
mighty men although he also led the nation of Israel.
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Why did significant warriors not emerge under Sauls leadership?
The answer can be found in I Samuel 18:
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the
women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and
dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lyres. 7 As they danced, they
sang:
Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. They have credited
David with tens of thousands, he thought, but me with only thousands. What
more can he get but the kingdom? 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye
on David. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but
had departed from Saul.
Sauls reaction to David, in his role as a warrior hero with a
reputation for greatness, was one of fear. He wanted great warriors,
but with a lesser greatness that did not outshine his own image before
others. As the moon never outshines the sun, so the insecure Saul-
leader needs to be pre-eminent.
In such a situation heroes do not easily emerge. Leaders who focus
on being in control feel that they are the ones to always preach or
pray for others. By seeking to maximise their personal recognition,
they fail to produce disciples or gifting in others. They only produce
the clones of second generation Christianity.
There are many situations where ministry needs to be left to trusted
and experienced people, who understand the need for sensitivity and
discretion. Those in leadership need to be aware of whether they are
enabling the next generation of leaders to flourish. Churches where
prayer or healing ministry is always restricted to a single leader or
elders may have the hallmark of the priest/laity separation. This type
of division can hold a church back and keep people undeveloped.
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The books of heroes yet to be revealed
In a vision concerning the things to come, I saw books on a shelf.
On the spine of one book I see the word Deeds. This is a library of
books telling of the future kingdom heroes.
In the Bible we catch glimpses of some of the events in the lives of
Davids mighty men, just a few highlights that are recorded telling of
impossible odds that these warriors overcame.
There are books written in heaven about the future heroes of faith
the enemy does not know these stories yet, these stories will unfold
as the sons and daughters of the Kingdom are revealed. There are
powerful mantles for these humble servants of the kingdom.
These are like the days of Elijah, not Elisha. When Elisha took up
Elijahs mantle, he had the double portion that he had asked for, yet
this limited his power to reproducing the ministry of Elijah. He
actually only produced the same miracles as Elijah, albeit twice as
many. The miracles that Jesus has called his church to do were never
designed to be repeats of what the master did, but Jesus himself
promised that believers would see even greater miracles.
In Acts 2 the tongues of fire touched the assembled people, each
uniquely. They were waiting in obedience in the right place in
readiness to receive from heaven. In receiving the gift of tongues, the
believers did not all speak in the same language, but many different
tongues. Each had been given unique abilities to fulfil their unique
mission. Just as DNA creates a unique code for a new individual and
nobody is a precise copy of the former generation, so the Kingdom
of God also produces a fresh unique variety of ministries and styles.
God is ready to give gifts and send His power. We need not limit our
faith to praying only to see what has already been seen before.
Neither are we to be limited to praying only for the same level of
impact as before, placing a ceiling on what God might do.
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The time to dream great dreams for people of Christ is here.
Let the Holy Spirit excite and stretch faith. As we believe, let us step
out in obedience looking only to Him to bring the enemy under our
feet.
Let Christ reign in us and express His power through us.
We need to find the place where we receive from Him, all that He
has for us and walk in our own divine destiny.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
John 14:11-13
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7 Sharper Prophetic Teams
Knowing our prophetic scope
Whether we prophesy over ourselves, family, friends, neighbours, or
people in our local church we will be bringing vision, edification,
warnings and encouragement. The areas we prophesy about can
depend on the scope of the anointing that we carry. Although those
who work in and pray for issues of government, church or the
nation, are, like Daniel, more likely to hear words that speak into
these wider social and political situations, others can certainly
prophesy into these too.
The greater our understanding of the area we are prophesying into
the more effective we will become as communicators, however
working in combination, with others, who have the expertise can be
even more effective. Prophesying into areas outside our own
knowledge has the advantage that we are not as influenced by our
current opinions, while those with knowledge of a situation can often
recognise the particular significance of a prophetic word.
For some, the gifts of healing operate alongside the prophetic gift,
and those regularly praying for others to be healed readily receive
prophetic words in this area.

Some who prophesy words of knowledge for individuals can feel that
their words are of less significance than those who receive words
over larger situations such as insight into nations. Yet it is the same
Holy Spirit at work in us.
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Knowing our gift mix and passions
Prophecy and words of knowledge are gifts from above, but who are
we as Kingdom people?
Outside of the community worship and service participation, who are
we when we are alone with God? How do we operate and what is our
prayer and meditation mainly about?
The theological or denominational label can be part of the way that
we define ourselves. Yet a person, who leads worship in a lively
Charismatic Church, is just as likely to enjoy moments of quiet
meditation in his personal devotions with God. How we spend time
with God alone says a lot about what we are looking for in our faith.
How we relate to God can take many forms:
Walking with Him - Finding God in creation and bringing a
Godly perspective into our relationships and life activity,
where His Spirit brings lighter, more fulfilling and joyful days.
Practical - Asking for Gods help with our tasks, or for
inspiration in preparing a talk, presentation or sermon. This
outlook in prayer activates Gods direction and guidance over
practical daily life issues.
Intercession - Focussing prayer on others, who are sick or in
need, reveals a compassionate heart in the believer. Prophetic
intercession and words of knowledge for healing or salvation
can flow from this type of prayer.
Soaking - This devotional experience can include soaking
prayer, worship and just 'being' in God's presence to know
him more deeply. This outlook brings an expanded heavenly
vision that inspires worship.
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Meditation - Thinking through the Word or listening to God
to receive wisdom, faith and understanding of His ways.
Patience in meditation brings greater insight into what is read
and can help root the word in our hearts. Prophetic
understanding can build from this framework.

Personal Guidance - Seeking Gods guidance to discover the
plans he has for us. This is about discovering our destiny and
purpose. This can bring vision that reveals a long term future
plan, although it is just as likely to help us to take small steps
along the way.
Releasing Wider Vision - Asking God to speak and reveal
answers to larger issues, perhaps bringing a word to
encourage the local fellowship. Prophets receive insight for
the government, workplaces, local churches or other groups.
God may reveal His strategies for taking a city or nation for
effective prayer, clear understanding and encouragement.
How we relate to and experience faith in our lives and our time alone
with God can indicate the scope of prophetic perspective that we will
tend to operate in. The issues that we are personally engaged in
usually influence our prayer and our prophetic focus.
Ministering complementary gifts together
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us
Romans 12:6
Rather than being focussed on a single gift, almost all of us have a
range of natural and spiritual gifts to varying degrees. Some gifts may
be dormant and will require practice or training. Gifts and ministry
roles of various kinds are listed in: 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12 and
Ephesians 4.
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Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms.
I Pet. 4:10
When we use the gift of prophecy to minister, other gifts are also
operating. With one-to-one prophecy, the sensitivity and care of a
Pastor / Encourager can make the experience a more positive one
for the recipient.
The teaching gift helps us in communicating the word effectively, as
teachers understand how to present information in a clear and easy to
understand manner. Teachers know how to break a message down
into bite-sized portions. Teaching ability is not a gift that is confined
to the preaching ministries and those who hold ministerial office or
titles.
Having received a prophetic calling around age 20, for a long time in
my own life, I sought primarily to develop the gift of prophecy. One
consequence of concentrating on this gift was that my focus for years
was probably far too narrow. I was focussed on the Holy Spirit and
receiving pictures and words, but had not realised the need for
complementary gifts that were needed to communicate effectively to
others. This was a significant limitation on my personal growth in
using prophetic skills.
The realisation came through a mature prophet, who called me a
Holy Spirit junkie, and then prayed for such various new abilities to
develop and grow.
By seeking and praying for complementary gifts to grow, that help us
to minister to others more effectively, the value of prophecy is greatly
enhanced.
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Prophetic teams
Prophets who are working together in small groups to minister to
others can each bring pictures, prophetic words or Bible verses in
relation to the same overall message being given by the Holy Spirit.
When these revelations are put together, examining what has been
received can often bring a greater clarity to the interpretation of a
word. As we prophesy in part, the more that is received from the
Holy Spirit, the more complete the message becomes.
In Healing Rooms where people come to receive healing prayers,
team members need to receive words quickly, and deliver with clarity.
Those ministering first share what they receive with each other and
then invite the recipient into the prayer room for ministry.
By sharing words as a team first, it becomes easier to see what the
overall message is. The room leader can identify any possible
ambiguity, suggest the best ways to express the revelations and
determine the most beneficial order for prophets to share and pray.
This preparation helps to ensure that those who come for ministry
have a better chance to grasp what is being given.
Practising the prophetic gift
We are told to stir up the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as it strengthens
others in their faith and builds the church.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you
through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6
It is not certain which gift the Apostle Paul is referring to in 2 Tim 1,
but he also indicates elsewhere that the gift of prophecy has a very
important place as a key gift that we are to desire to use.
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Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 1
Corinthians 14:1
There are various ways to encourage the use of gifts, which involve
practicing with others in small groups.
Pairs - We can work in twos, where each brings a word in turn for
the other. Ive done this where a group leader says imagine the other
person is a particular fruit, piece of furniture or other item, then the
leader asks us to use the item to bring prophecy for the other. The
idea of using an object is just a means to stir the imagination and start
the prophetic flow. Those using such techniques may just flow as
God leads without the aid of the item.

We can also prophesy over ourselves with another confirming
independently.
Blind prophetic processes
Sometimes prophetic exercises involve hiding the identity of the
person who is being prophesied over. A facilitator prays about which
label to give each candidate and allocates a symbol as a code
representing each person. People then have no idea who they are
prophesying over. So when praying for Mint we have no idea who
that is and any pictures are not influenced by prior knowledge or
perceptions of him/her.
People can often prophesy boldly over themselves not realising they
are calling forth their own destiny, free of modesty, pride or
inhibition. After the prophesying is complete, all the codes are listed
with the names they represent. This is a good technique as it helps
those who know a lot about others in the group to be open to the
Holy Spirit unhindered by their minds.
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Praying for people around a room can be interesting. As a prophetic
exercise we can ask God to give us words for someone in a group
and write down the words. Afterwards when we share, we are not
influenced by others and clear links can often be seen between the
words or pictures that come from different people.
Dealing with personal prophecy minefields
If a prophetic vision or the explanation of a vision is too complex, the
recipient could well misinterpret it.
As personal prophecy is often given for the purpose of challenging
and liberating the recipients mind, there are often barriers, even
minefields, built into the individuals understanding, beliefs and
attitudes.
It is not easy for any of us to accept that our thinking needs
adjusting. In the first instance, we rely on our current thinking as our
means of judging everything we perceive.
We can easily judge the prophetic word with our current
understanding, rather than letting the word minister life-enhancing
revelation, truth and grace so that our innermost being cries out
Yes.
To help navigate the minefields of misunderstanding, I find that it
can be helpful to talk through what is being revealed with the
recipient and ideally with another who knows the person well.
Explore the issues that are coming up, and look at ways that the word
can be applied. Sometimes linking the prophecy to an example from
the Bible can help. Talking about practical examples of where it
might be applied in life, can help make issues clearer for those for
whom abstract prophetic concepts and symbols are foreign to their
practical down-to-earth thinking.
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Separating thoughts from prophetic words
When entering into a discussion after a prophecy is shared, it is an
opportunity to listen and gain a better understanding of the
recipients thinking. Did s/he understand and receive correctly what
was shared? This is not a moment to add advice or opinion hastily.
Take care, as there can be recipients who tend to think that
everything that you speak, after the prophecy is given, is from God
Always keep the prophetic word separate from any thoughts to
ensure that the proper weight is given to a God-breathed revelation
and it does not get diluted by the prophets potentially misguided
perceptions. If the recipient seeks further clarification beyond what
the Holy Spirit has revealed, the prophet needs to indicate that s/he
is sharing personal thoughts on the situation. This helps to ensure
that the prophetic is not jumbled up as a mixture with human
thoughts.
Sometimes prophets see things that shock or embarrass them, so
instead of sharing what God gives them they prefer to offer gentle
advice, which the recipient does not know is actually based on a
prophetic word. The vision may have been a key to unlocking a
situation, but it is held back to avoid confrontation and the risk of
being rejected.
Great wisdom is needed where such communication is embarrassing
or hard. Nathan the prophet confronted David with a story about an
anonymous person, let David pass judgement and only then showed
him that he, David, was the one being judged for his sins.
See 2 Samuel 12.
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Prophesying independently over an individual
When praying with friends and prophesying over others, it is
encouraging how words and images can overlap, confirming the hand
of God on an individual. Such encouragement can restore vision and
hope.

We responded to the need of a discouraged lady we had led to the
Lord, who had been feeling as if God was not interested in her life at
all. She had become a Christian a month before. On returning to her
country, she felt lonely, but had stepped out in faith and prayed
boldly for healing for others and had seen initial results, and then
later wondered why people did not always get healed. Betty
thought that God did not care for her, as she struggled to live out the
Christian life in difficult circumstances.
It was just a month after she had decided to ask Jesus into her life,
and the fact that Christian life was not as easy as she had hoped had
left her close to despair. She shared this with us over Facebook.
I prayed with my wife for her and immediately saw a picture of a
courtyard with a well in the foreground. In the background was an
archway leading out of the courtyard. This indicated the need to
drink from the well of Gods Holy Spirit and his resources, before
venturing out into the world (the foreground represented the current
stage, while the archway in the background represented the future
ventures of going out into the wider world).
I then asked another friend, Dave, to seek God for her. He was on
Facebook at the time and he knew nothing of the first picture I had
had for her.
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Dave began to have a picture of a flower that had become droopy.
The flower was on its own and was bending in the wind. It was not
close to other plants. (This indicated her loneliness). In time he said
the plant will grow stronger, bloom and butterflies will come and
settle on it (referring to her feeding others as she grows strong).
After Dave had finished, another gifted friend, James, was also
contacted via Facebook and was asked to do the same, unaware of
what had previously been given by Dave and myself.
James responded,
Geoff I'm getting a picture of a gold chalice that looks like it was
designed by a skilled craftsman, the kind that only a King would
drink from. It has been decorated with many different jewels. I
believe this chalice is Betty and she is designed and created for a
purpose that only she can be used for. She is a vessel made for great
things. She has much to pour out into others. I believe the Lord is
saying that she contains the "New Wine" and that she will carry
revival to other people, and that wine will never run out. The best has
been left till last. I feel the Lord is saying she will pioneer a ministry
that no-one has ever pioneered before. The Lord is doing a new thing
in her life that will impact others.
Weighing independent visions and words
These three prophetic messages all came via visions. The overall
message of these visions linked together in a clear way. The Holy
Spirit used related themes that expressed a clear and consistent
prophetic message, with a high degree of agreement. All the visions
were completely independent of the others, without any prior
knowledge of what pictures the others had shared or would bring.
Where two independent visions agree so strongly there is little chance
that human imagination is behind the pictures. In this case where
three prophecies almost match, it would seem that there is a near
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certainty that human thoughts were not involved in the overall
message. However this level of certainty applies only to the overall
message, as we cannot be as sure that the details of the interpretation
are equally as perfect. Neither Dave nor James knew much about
Betty and the words brought seemed to be highly appropriate.
A final confirming factor in weighing these visions is that the
message really answered Bettys need and was kind of the
encouragement that she needed to lift her spirit.
In the visions there are several closely related themes that run
through the visions. The symbols of:
A Well to drink from
A Plant that is alone and droopy (by implication needing
water, nutrition and strengthening)
A Drinking vessel for serving wine
All speak of quenching the thirst; the need to drink, to draw water
and to share new wine.
The messages:
All contain revelation that is focussed both on the present and the
future.
In each case the present is connected with her personal growth and
the future brings a promise of ministry to others.
The archway gives future access to the wider world.
Butterflies will come to feed, speaks of future ministry to others.
She will pioneer a ministry again the future tense is used with
ministry.
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In addition to the parts of the prophecies that repeat themes, the
gold chalice fit for a king message that James brought answered the
cry of Bettys heart in that she had been feeling that she was nothing
to God.
The fact that these words came via someone who did not know her
current feelings gave the prophecies greater weight.
Betty responded very positively.
Praise God, I was so down, but He has lifted me up and made me happy today.
Thank you Lord. I really needed this, as I really needed to know these things and
God answered me. Thank you Lord!
Later I revisited these visions, sensing that there was more to be
unpacked. Viewing them in the same order I realised that there were
other themes running through them. One of these themes was the
gradual increase in height of the water that finally becomes wine.
The water comes first from the lowest depths of a well in the
seclusion of the walled courtyard. The archway shows the route to
the outside fields where the next vision begins.
Then nutrients and water are drawn up by the roots of a flower in an
open place, and then nectar is produced and shared with others. Here
the emphasis is on feeding and then giving out.
Finally the jewelled gold drinking chalice represents Betty elevated to
the highest place of service, where water is turned into fine wine. In
this final picture the refined drink is elevated above the ground and
this vision is about giving out the New Wine to others.
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The three visions form a story of three life-stages:
First Stage - New Christian
The depths of the well symbolises the resources that experienced
Christians have built for new believers to feed on.
The courtyard shows that in the initial stage of growth there is a need
to stay in seclusion within the boundaries set by others. The archway
showed the way out of the courtyard towards the next stage.
Second Stage - Growth
This vision was of field in which a flower is initially alone, putting
down its own roots to draw water. Although weak at first, she comes
into bloom and attracts others to feed them. This is the phase of
standing as a Christian in ordinary life, where her strength grows
enabling her to give out to others.
Third Stage - Ministry
Finally we see the gold jewelled challis fit for serving wine to a king.
This seems to indicate a high calling in the Kingdom of God, a
ministry with many gifts represented by many jewels.
Prophecies of this type provide a clear revelation of Gods plans and
destiny, yet the fulfilment can depend on the individual choosing to
walk in the calling that God has given to them.
In familiar fellowship groups where a person is well known to the
team ministering, this type of consistency in prophetic words might
occur naturally due to the influence of prior knowledge. By
prophesying with others to those we dont know, as in this case, the
risk of a false agreement coming as a result of natural understanding
is practically eliminated.
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Respect the recipient
People are free to accept or reject prophetic words. If recipients
reject what is given, it can be a sign that they are not yet able to grasp
the new understanding, or not yet ready to make changes. It is best to
let people be honest and certainly not apply pressure. The recipients
may need to hear the same issues in another form before the message
gets through. It is better to know whether the recipient is unable to
accept what is being shared at the time, than to have someone meekly
pretend to go along with a word to please the one giving it.
If the one receiving prophetic words is vulnerable, inexperienced or
young it is wise to invite their pastor, parent or a friend to join you in
sharing. They can help you by confirming the word and supporting
the recipient in working through any issues. Even though a prophetic
revelation comes from God, we are not perfect communicators, just
as the receivers are not perfect hearers.
Approaching very young people on their own is not wise as it can be
misconstrued, so keep things safe and above suspicion.
Prophets are messengers serving God and blessing both pastors and
recipients with gifts; we are not army generals commanding a
response, an approach that would be rather scary for those being
ministered to! When offering prophecy to others, always aim to keep
the approach light and polite. Asking the recipient whether it would
be OK to share something that you believe is from God, is much
more acceptable than imposing a prophetic word on someone
uninvited.
By courteously offering to prophesy first, the person who receives
can take time to prepare. This helps him/her to listen more clearly
and even make notes. It creates a breathing space that can help the
recipient to weigh what is being given. By treating people with
respect and love, we are expressing the highest values of the
Kingdom of God.
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Postscript
Readers, who are not already prophesying, might now feel
encouraged to get into action by ministering to others through the
prophetic gift. Pray for spiritual insight and for opportunities to open
up for you. If first-time or new to ministering to others, work
alongside someone more experienced whenever you can.
For those who are already operating in prophetic gifts, I hope that
this has been helpful and brought some clarity to issues that we can
encounter when ministering in the prophetic.
If you felt that the book ended a bit suddenly without a long
conclusion then you are perceptive there is more to tell.
Those who read the introduction section to this book A call to
write, will realise that I started to write on related prophecy themes
and God-willing, several other books will follow.
Please feel welcome to communicate with me via the Facebook page
listed below, or even review the book online via Lulu.com
Thanks for staying with the text until the end.
Geoff Pick
PS - Further copies can be obtained from the online bookshop at
http://www.Lulu.com
Just search under author name Geoff Pick
Online prophetic resources where current prophecy
and national prophetic words can be accessed at:
www.ourchurch.com/member/p/propheticwords
http://ukpropheticwords.blogspot.co.uk
My Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/prophetsanointing