Prophecy Is Communicating the Heart of Jesus

(Prophetic Team Members praying for a woman in Budapest.)

Prophecy Is Communicating the Heart of Jesus

"... Worship God, because what Jesus is saying is the spirit of prophecy!” Rev. 19:10 ISV

            There are many misconceptions and caricatures of prophecy and prophets. One may be of a long bearded caveman who comes out with his stick in order to speak messages from God. Another one may be of a man walking on the streets carrying a sign which reads, "Repent for the end is near!"  However, the best picture of prophecy and of a true prophet is Jesus Christ himself. Real prophecy is about knowing him in order to say what he says, do what he does, and reflect his character (Rev. 19:10).

            Jesus described his character when he said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”(Matthew 11:28-30).

            Jesus is humble in heart and carries rest, comfort, and healing. His words bring life and health to our bodies as well as strengthening, encouraging and comfort (Prov. 4:22; 1 Cor. 14:3). Prophets need to avoid coming across as angry, arrogant or rude. This is why I always try to prophesy calmly and with a big smile. I try to be sensitive to God, but also to people.  Prophetic ministry should not come across as arrogant or manipulative, instead a true prophet will say what John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus, "He must increase and I must decrease" (John 3:30).

(I always try to prophesy with a smile on my face.)

            Communicating the heart of Jesus is the goal of prophecy. This presupposes that those who want to grow in prophecy must spend great amounts of time laying their ears on the chest of Jesus (John 13:23). As one worship song says:

"I want to sit at your feet.

Drink from the cup in your hand.

Lay back against you and breathe.

Feel your heart beat.

This love is so deep.

It is more than I can stand.

I melt in your peace.

It is overwhelming."

            God, the greatest lover, desires to share his secrets with us and humbly drawing near to him through prayer, scripture, meditation, silence and other spiritual disciplines is a way that we can regularly place our heads on the chest of Jesus. It is through intimacy with Jesus that we are empowered to speak his words to others.

           

            A young girl at a church once asked me, "How do you do that prophesying?"

           

            I answered, "If your mother called you on the phone, would you recognize her voice?"

           

            "Yes, I would," she responded.

           

            "Well that is the same with me and Jesus. I spend a lot of time listening to his voice and I recognize when he wants to tell me something."

            Jesus said that a good shepherd has "sheep [that] listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice”" (John 10:3-5).

            Jesus, the good shepherd, does not drive us by fear or condemnation, but leads us by calling us by name. Learning to discern the texture of any voice speaking to us helps us know who is speaking.

            One day, I was sitting by a pool while my kids and their cousins were swimming. Suddenly, I heard a voice inside of me saying, "I can give you great power. I can make you very powerful."

            Immediately I recognized the texture of the voice as not being from Jesus. I rejected this offer, rebuked the evil one and submitted myself to God (James 4:7).

            Ten minutes later, my then three-year-old Levi nearly drowned in the swimming pool. When I was not looking, he removed his floating devices and jumped in the deep end. My wife pulled him out of the pool faced down in the nick of time. Perhaps this was all a coincidence, or maybe this was an attempt from the evil one trying to tempt me, and even worse, to kill my son.

        When using the gifts of the Holy Spirit it is critical that we test all spirits (1 John 4:1). We must judge and test every prophetic word and hold onto the good and avoid every kind of evil (1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:19-22). Our primary guideline is not just that it be edifying, strengthening and encouraging, but also, does it sound like Jesus?

            Jesus said that a day will come when: "Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:22-23).

            The heart of prophecy is not prophecy, it is simply knowing and sharing the heart of Jesus.