Posted on 05/20/2021 8:03:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
If you don’t believe that God still speaks today, or, more particularly, if you don’t believe in the continuation of prophetic ministry, this article is probably not for you. But if you do believe that God still speaks and that the gift of prophecy continues until today, this article might be just what you need. Allow me to explain.
Spiritual disappointment is a very real thing, often leading to deeper disillusionment and, in some cases, total loss of faith.
“This whole thing can’t be real,” some conclude, as all the supports of their faith seem to collapse like a row of dominoes.
I address that topic in my new book Has God Failed You: Finding Faith When You’re Not Even Sure God Is Real, focusing on what happens when our prayers are not answered and we feel as if God has let us down.
But I want to focus on one particular aspect of spiritual disappointment here, namely, disappointment in failed prophetic words, leading to the deeper questioning of other words we believed to be from God. “Maybe none of it is real,” we wonder out loud.
This is a perfectly natural response to failed and/or false prophecies, leading us:1) to question the specific prophecy that failed; 2) next in the sequence, we question the person delivering the prophecy; 3) then, if the doubts are deeper still, we question the gift of prophecy itself (or, the ministry of contemporary prophets in general); 4) then, if we’re unable to separate prophetic ministry from the charismatic movement as a whole, we question that part of our belief system; 5) finally, if the charismatic part of our belief system is totally intertwined with our overall belief in Jesus, we question the rightness of our faith as a whole or the reliability of the Bible or even the existence of God.
After all, if one part of our faith that we were convinced was real turns out to be false, maybe everything else we believed is false as well.
It is this kind of logic that causes many people to fall away from the Lord. As Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.”
For many others, though, it’s not a matter of complete falling away from the faith but rather of spiritual burnout in one particular area of our faith. And, given so many prominent failed (or, false) prophecies in recent months, there’s a lot of prophetic burnout going around. Are you suffering from that yourself?
You wonder if you’re really hearing from the Lord in your own life. Or you find yourself being skeptical about any prophetic word you hear. Or you even question past words that you once believed to be true.
How do you deal with this kind of burnout? And what is a healthy, biblically safe method to rebuild your confidence in the prophetic?
I’m quite aware that, to the skeptics and critics, the very premise of this article is totally off base, since, in their view, there is no prophetic ministry today. That’s why I started my article as I did: this article is probably not for you. (For those with sincere questions about whether prophecy and other spiritual gifts are for today, I suggest you watch this debate.)
But for those readers who do believe that the Scriptures clearly teach the continuation of the gifts, here’s what I recommend as an antidote to prophetic burnout.
First, recognize where there has been an unhealthy dependence on prophets (as if God’s written Word was insufficient and as if the Lord didn’t lead you directly and personally). And recognize where there has been an over-exaltation of contemporary prophets, as if they somehow stood above pastors or teachers or other ministers.
In short, do a prophetic detox.
Second, read through the New Testament again, in particular Acts, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and 1 Thessalonians 5, and ask yourself: Do I accept the testimony of Scripture above my own experience? Do I recognize the importance of prophetic ministry for today?
Pastors and prophets and preachers may mislead us, but the Word of God will never mislead us. And God’s Word explicitly enjoins to seek earnestly the gift of prophecy and calls us not to despise prophecies.
Third, recognize that 10 or 100 or even 1,000 false words do not negate a single true word. Go back through your own spiritual history. Were there times you felt clearly led by the Lord to make a certain decision or step out in faith, and that word proved precise and true? Or did you receive a prophetic word from someone which was clearly supernatural, revealing information known only to you or speaking of future things that came to pass with stunning accuracy?
Go back and recount those words. Journal them afresh. Rehearse them before the Lord (or with friends and family). Let your own faith be built up. And, when appropriate, fight the good spiritual fight based on those words which still speak of future promises. (See 1 Timothy 1:18.)
Fourth, remember the words of Jesus, who said, “I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.” And, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:14, 27).
Putting prophecy aside, as a child of God and as a sheep in the Lord’s flock, you have a personal relationship with Him, and you can hear His voice – almost always, that inner voice, that inner sense, that inner leading.
Cultivate your own relationship with Him through meditating on the Scriptures, through worship, and through spending quality time in prayer. Before you know it, fresh confidence will rise in your own heart, and whether someone prophesies accurately or not, your own relationship with God will be rock solid and strong.
Let the prophetic burnout be gone!
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 40 books.
Wake up and realize that you’re alive and therefore today is a very special day where you can do all that you can to benefit others
Look at the trees the birds the sun the flowing river and realize your place in this beautiful pastel
No.
We win.
No, it starts by not believing in persons to start with.
Persons, are infallible.
Is someone today a “prophetic” person because they tell you they are, or, are you certain that G-d has told you they are.
The key problem, beyond persons today claiming to be prophets, is modern “prophetic interpretation” of ancient prophetic words.
If something is subject to modern interpretation, and knowing that is outside the core necessary beliefs that Yehusa the Christ is the only begotten son of G-d, who died for your sins, to rescue you from death, if you just accept Him as your savior, then I strongly suggest you do not need to go down the rabbit hole of prophetic interpretations. You will know, one way or the other, when G-d determines you can know. Leave it alone and don’t vex yourself about it in the meantime. I do not believe that G-d is concerned that you do or do not accept someone’s modern interpretation of ancient prophecies. They sell books but believing them one way or the other should not affect your core beliefs in G-d.
I am not suffering from prophetic burnout.
I don’t read prophesies.
I have friends two in particular who tangent to prophesies. They are highly educated with deep religious devotion. They figuratively grab your face, look you in the eye saying ‘here is what is going to happen ... Jesus knows...”
I smile then change the subject.
That they are constantly wrong does not deter them
I followed a prophesy once. I was sure we had only months to live.
What a waste
Jesus said beware of false prophets They come in sheep’s clothing
He also said:
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.“
Never will I understand what about this do people not get.
All of the stuff I get is meant for individuals and is shared with them as such to benefit them. It has not been wrong once in the nearly 20 years I have gotten special knowledge from time to time. And the LAST thing I would do is to try and make money from a GIFT that is meant for another one of his kids.
And you are telling me that because???
Did you think I was pointing a finger at you, in some way?
I’ve heard a lot of false prophets over the last 50 years. And I’ve heard some real prophecies. Wilkerson’s book, THE VISION, is in the process of being fulfilled.
The New Testament acknowledges false prophecies. In 1 Cor 14:29, it says, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.” This calls for a public judgment of prophecies, so the congregation can know if the prophecy is real, or the result of last night’s pizza.
The reason people suffer from crises of faith is because they have wrapped their life in the mantel of idolatry and thus (often unwittingly) worship something other than God, then they question why they have been separated from him. We live in a world that promotes idolatry and seeks to separate all mankind from the Lord.
Too many people believe that prophecy is defined as “God telling me what I want to hear”.
My prophetic burnout occurred back in the mid 1970’s during the great call to rapture by the likes of Hal Lindsey whose book “The Late Great Planet Earth” was a best seller, Chruistian fundamentalists were running up Winnebago sales and heading for the southwest desert and T sales of “When the Rapture Comes This T Shirt Will Be Empty” went through the roof. Various Armaggedon scenarios were being bandied about and interpretations of The Book of Revelations were claiming an immanent nuclear war. It was pretty huge back then, but seems silly now.
Anymore, someone tries to tell me I’m going to die tomorrow is gonna be nursing broken facial bones.
Some youtuuuber said tomorrow is the Big Day.
I think it was on youtube...anyway.
I’m more of an observer/data taker these days, so what I’m feeling is political/Satan burnout, not prophet burnout.
There’s almost no escape from politics and Satan’s divisions and deceptions these days other than by using the Bible to help to dissipate the smoke.
There are prophecies being fulfilled in our times seemingly about these times, as well as many people in our modern times who claim to have God’s messages and warnings for us now and for the immediate future.
To me, all of these things and the news of the day become a daily puzzle to solve that’s much more interesting ... to me ... than any daily crossword puzzle ever was.
This is real!
And I want to get a sense of how God works with us and the story we’ve been born into, you know know what I mean?
I look for the stuff beyond the constant marvel that is this world He has created and the rules and principles that govern it.
As an observer/data taker, I can see and better understand that He’s everywhere and that the Bible story is real ... including everything written about Satan, the ever present enemy, his nature and the tricks he has used and still uses to trip us up and get us to fall away from God.
Using the Bible as a reference and as a decoder/translator to understand the events of our times is about the only way to stay sane, to stay safe and to stay peaceful in the world today.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
I guess you could sum that up as use-but-don't-abuse the gift of prophecy, nor let others abuse it. I'd say to extend that to the other gifts as well (my summary of 1st Corinthians 14).
Yes persons are fallible, and they are also susceptible to all sorts of irrational things like peer pressure. So if a church says “everyone can have the gift of prophecy” and then 9 people stand up in the church meeting to say “I received a word from the Lord”, it puts a tremendous pressure on the 10th person to say “me too!” even if they did not.
Not at all.
I was simply pointing out that there are some of us, actively asking for the gift of prophecy to benefit and encourage others. I don’t seek to exploit this (I know there are those that do), but it does seem to be an actual supernatural experience when it happens.
I suppose I did bad job in pointing out that scams are exhausting - both perpetuating one and being duped by one. There is the burnout. God is still working Plan A and using some really unlikely pieces to do small parts of it. And I feel fine... last time I checked, God does too.
The problem is too many self-proclaimed prophets who go around spouting *Thus saith the Lord....* when they don’t have the spiritual discernment of a grapefruit.
And that includes those who preach from pulpits that churches bring in and announce that Prophet So and so is giving us a word today.
It can destroy a person’s faith when the person isn’t really well grounded and the alleged prophecy doesn’t come true. There’s too much manipulation and guilt tripping involved in the modern *prophetic* movement.
Best to stick with the Word itself and take others opinions with a large grain of salt.
Quote
He also said:
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.“
Never will I understand what about this do people not get.
Stanne, those words are not recorded in every gospel.
Luke and John do not share those words.
So, the Holy Spirit placed those words, or that theme, in the first 2 gospels.
Maybe by the time, or era of Luke begins, there will be people who will know.
But those represented by Mathew and Mark will not.
And that’s why Jesus’ words in Luke are slightly different and omit the no man knows language.
People may not need to look to humans for prophecy. Just read His Word critically.
Instead of seeking harmony of the gospels, study the disharmony.
And Ask, Seek and Knock.
All the answers are in His Word.
He tells quite a story of prophecy with what is in each gospel, and what isn’t.
These last 2,000 years are discussed in His Word.
And so many in these last 2,000 years have had no need to know the day or hour. Because they were to die before His return. Maybe that’s why it’s only in 2 books of His gospel.
The best book to read for prophecy is the bible.
But it takes eyes to see and ears to hear.
Patterns repeat.
He changes not.
And there is a time when people alive will know.
And those people will be looking up. For their redemption will be near.
If one can see just the 4 gospels as eras, or segments of time within the Kingdom on earth, they may just start to see prophecy burnout only comes if one stops reading the scriptures. And they will seek to have that blessing of recognizing the times and seasons. For it will be close.
Because all the wisdom, understanding and knowledge is in His Word.
No need to buy another book.
The world, and the church, would have time when no man would know.
Represented with Mathew and Mark.
But it was also going to have about 2,000 swine.
Swine,unclean doctrines of demons,not to be consumed.
Luke has that swine too.
Johns time does not.
Mathew,Mark,Luke and John tell more than just the past.
It tells the present and future.
What was, what is, what’s to come.
If you are reading the Bible, you are reading prophecies.
If you see a disharmony or discrepancy in the gospels, you are reading prophecy.
And the best one to answer those prophecy questions is the Author.
“ Instead of seeking harmony of the gospels, study the disharmony.”
Yeah, no thanks. We Catholics, as persecuted as we are by Protestants who think they can interpret the Bible better than the philosophers and theologicians who have done so for us, look to Catholic teaching. Studying the disharmony in the gospels seems like one of those activities best left to those domineering mansplaining Protestant men I have met in my travels who like to take over as preacher and spiritual director
Take that to the foot of the Cross of Jesus.
Beware of Catholic teaching, stanne.
I was introduced to the 15 promises, and tested them with scripture.
And realized the Mary and Jesus had to be false because the promises contradicted scripture.
Then there was the Catholic teaching on the Immaculate Conception.
Scriptures told me that meant the Papacy and Pope is Antichrist.
Then there was the Catholic teaching on the 1st/chief importance of the gospel.
Scriptures offered a different version.
False Mary, False Jesus, taught by Antichrist , with a false first importance of the gospel also.
Protestants may not be at that point in their journey.
But thanks to those Catholic teachings, Christ led me away from Catholic vs Protestant.
Even led me away from Catholic or Protestant.
It was neither.
No philosophers or theologians needed. On either side.
Just Catholic teaching, the scriptures, and a call to test and prove all things.
And I understood why Paul warns about another Jesus and another gospel.
Take care
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