The Spirit of Prophecy: The Shallow End of the Prophetic Swimming Pool

The Spirit of Prophecy: The Shallow End of the Prophetic Swimming Pool

                 

Raising my children in Holland means that my children have to take swimming lessons because there are so many canals where they can fall in. This is a rite of passage and my oldest children have all gotten their swimming diplomas. They can dive, go through underwater obstacles, and swim in the deep end of the swimming pool. They passed swimming lessons, something that their father never did.

(Levi proudly showing off his Swimming Diploma)

When I was six years old, I remember jumping from the diving board on top of my swimming teacher because I was afraid of the deep end. I hated the deep end and would much rather would stay in the shallow end where my feet could experience the security of touching the ground.

Just like learning to swim in the shallow end of a swimming pool is different than swimming in the deep end, so there are different levels of prophetic ministry. The shallow end is the spirit of prophecy where everyone can potentially swim, the middle level is the gift of prophecy where less people can swim and the deep end is the office of a prophet where even less people can swim. Let us examine the shallow end of the prophetic swimming pool: the spirit of prophecy.

The Spirit of Prophecy

"...Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus." Revelation 19:10

The Spirit of Prophecy is the entry level of prophetic ministry for those who are being activated to prophesy. In the Old Testament, an example of this taking place is found in 1 Samuel 19:19-24.

"Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.  Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and prophesied.  Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?"

“Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said.      

            So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he

         walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth.  He stripped off his garments, and he too                         prophesied in Samuel’s presence...This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 

Saul and his soldiers were changed by coming into the presence of a group of prophets. They wanted to capture David, but instead the Spirit of God captured them and they began to prophesy. This is a wonderful example of how even unbelievers can be touched when there is a strong "Spirit of Prophecy". The Spirit of Prophecy shows that God is real.

The Spirit of Prophecy, the shallow end of the prophetic swimming pool, takes place with a special set of circumstances.

1) During a time of worship when the spirit of God is very tangible and it is easy for everyone to receive a message from God.

2) When people come into a group of prophets or are challenged by a minister to jump into the shallow end of the prophetic swimming pool and start prophesying.

In 1 Cor. 14:24-25 there is another example of everyone prophesying and an unbeliever coming to faith though their words.

"But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” 1 Cor. 14:24-25 

Once I spoke at a youth group where no one was interested to hear anything about prophecy.  One woman started the evening by saying that she wanted to know if God really existed and then I found out that three of the young men present were Muslim. The faith and expectation in the room was non-existent.

This changed when I began prophesying. Eyes got wide open as I started telling people things about their past, present and future. For an hour and a half, I prophesied over everyone and I could sense that the level of faith shot up very high.  

As the evening began to end, I challenged everyone to ask God to speak to them. To my amazement, everyone including the atheist woman and Muslim men were receiving accurate words and pictures from God. My highlight of the evening was seeing the change in the woman who wanted to know if God "really" existed. Tears ran down her face as God spoke to her and through her. A few weeks later, I baptized her. Prophecy is a powerful tool to convince people that God is real.  

(The Woman who wanted to know if God existed,  after that evening of prophecy, 
decided to get baptized).

In no way am I advocating that unbelievers and immature, rebellious Christians regularly prophesy. Anyone who wants to regularly prophesy must be accountable, humble, have a strong prayer life and habitually study scripture. However, when the spirit of prophecy is strong, it is amazing how everyone can hear God's voice and more importantly how people experience that God is real.