PART ONE

An Unhealthy Appetite

There is a growing sense of grief both in the Lord's heart and in the hearts of those who live, move and find their being in His heartbeat, concerning the mis-direction of prophetic ministry among His people at this time. This trend can especially be seen within the internet church, which provides a mirror and measuring rod for the church among many nations. What I am about to share should not be taken as a blanket statement about the current state of prophetic ministry in the church. There are many genuine prophetic voices at various stages of maturity who together speak the counsel of the Lord to His church for this day. Nor should it be considered as an attempt to stifle the church's pursuit of spiritual gifts or release of prophetic ministry. None of us should want to return to the days when the prophetic office was despised and prophetic experience was scoffed at by so many in the church. What I am suggesting, however, is that the current imbalance and obsession with all things bearing the label "prophetic" needs to be addressed and redressed.

Anyone who is involved to any significant extent in prophetic ministry on the internet must surely be disturbed by the over-proliferation of questionable "prophetic words" among the Christian internet community. "What's wrong with that?" you may ask. "Didn't Joel prophesy that the Spirit would be outpoured in the last days? Shouldn't we therefore expect an increase in prophetic manifestations?" Yes indeed, but I am not talking here about what the Spirit is doing and will continue to do. I am questioning the source of much of what is fed to the church as "prophetic". Others will say "but the tares must grow with the wheat". Yes, but there is danger when tares are called wheat and we can no longer tell the difference.

With all due respect to the prophetic community, let me draw attention to the following: There are believers who publish "the word of the Lord" written in the first person tense almost every day. I don't question that the Lord speaks daily, but I question that He gives messages for His corporate church to one specific believer on a daily basis. Then there are believers who can't function without their daily internet "prophetic word fix", yet who haven't picked up a Bible in months. There are others who can't rest unless their latest dream has been interpreted by several people on a "dream list", but who have no idea how to seek and hear from the Holy Spirit for themselves. Literally hundreds of prophetic "words" are fed to the Body en masse each week through email lists, with little or no responsibility taken for discernment. And there are ministries now telling us we need to be living in the "extreme prophetic", and someone has to ask why? What is so mundane about life in the Spirit, Who Himself is the Spirit of Revelation, that we are now being called to a more "extreme" level? Some ministry leaders are teaching young disciples that unless they are being regularly visited by angels and having third heaven experiences, they are prophetically incomplete and immature. I challenge the authenticity of a gospel that emphasises manifestations and experiences while faith, character and sacrificial lifestyle take a lesser place.

It seems like there is no limit to the internet church's appetite for the prophetic in greater and greater quantities. Unfortunately, it is often quantity at the expense of quality. In such an atmosphere of frenzied feeding, each prophetic offering is devoured so greedily many don't know if they are eating healthy food or maggots disguised as bread, and many more just want a diet of candy. Far from giving the Holy Spirit the honoured place He is entitled to, this trend rather dishonours the true spirit of prophecy, as genuine words and revelations from the Lord are thrown into a common melting pot along with a putrid mix of false and counterfeit prophetic words and experiences. The Holy Spirit is precious and unique; He is not generic.

Let me repeat that I am not attempting to downplay the absolute necessity for the church to be seeking to be a prophetic church. Nor am I undervaluing the gift of prophecy or calling into question proven prophetic voices. So what am I saying? I'm saying that not everything being labelled "prophetic" is necessarily prophetic. Not everything labelled "thus sayeth the Lord" is the word of the Lord. Not everything labelled "exhortation and edification" is the right food for our spirits. And not everything posted on the internet labelled "prophecy" is actually from the Spirit of Truth. I am raising my voice to call for greater discernment amongst the body and greater responsibility among the true prophets of the Lord.

A Word About Words
Today's internet is literally alive with so-called "words of edification" that are in fact nothing more than sympathetic thoughts born in the souls (flesh) of men and women, stroking the flesh into a state of comfort and false security. They do not arise from the Spirit of Truth and have no revelation life in them. Many of these are written in the first person tense which infer the Lord Himself is speaking directly to the hearer. However, the Spirit of the Lord does not seek to comfort the flesh, but to crucify it.

At a recent workshop run by this ministry on Discerning the Word of God, several participants objected when I suggested that a particular (anonymous) internet word was not from the Holy Spirit, because it sought only to comfort the flesh and did not reveal Christ in us. Why did they react this way? Because many in the church have been trained to expect prophetic words to always make them feel good. And while the scriptures do teach that the gift of prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3) respectively, those words mean 1) to build up; 2) to summons or call near; 3) to persuade, arouse and stimulate. I fully believe the Holy Spirit can and does use the internet to speak to and teach God's people, and for many of us it is a rich source of blessing and edification. But the church must take responsibility for discerning between that which is Spirit and that which is merely dead flesh.

In contrast, there are many words being published on the internet that are authentic words from the Lord, but they were never meant for the internet. When the Lord speaks to us prophetically, our first consideration should always be whether the word, vision, dream etc., is to be applied to ourselves. There are too many assuming that everything they hear or see prophetically must be published, when the Lord is speaking privately and individually to them. There are too many posting and speaking out words from presumption rather than unction. There are too many with a word for the Bride who do not even love her. And there are too many assuming to speak direction to the Lord's Body who have never been to the Cross.

Many using the internet to publish "words" seem to think a multitude of words will somehow prove their prophetic calling, when in fact the opposite is true. However, this is a direct result when prophetic experience is emphasised and elevated over and above intimate relationship with Christ. (Please understand that I do believe there are several genuine prophetic ministries who deliver authentic words to the church via the internet, but fewer than many assume.)

As one who has ministered to and with prophetic people over several years, let me say I believe mature prophets speak and share their revelations ONLY when directed to by the Holy Spirit. Much of what prophets are shown is for the purpose of intercession, or strategic spiritual warfare, and never passes their lips in public. True prophets do not speak for the Lord in the first person tense casually. Furthermore, in my experience there are many mature prophets who give a word from the Lord only rarely. But when they do, I listen, because I know they don't speak for the sake of gaining a reputation and a following. Like Samuel, the word of the Lord is "with them".

"I Will Come to Visions and Revelations......'
This boasting is all so foolish, but let me go on. Let me tell about the visions and revelations I received from the Lord. I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don't know; only God knows. But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told. That experience is something worth boasting about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about my weaknesses. I have plenty to boast about and would be no fool in doing it, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it. I don't want anyone to think more highly of me than what they can actually see in my life and my message, even though I have received wonderful revelations from God. (2 Cor. 12:1-10 N.L.T.)

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he had been granted third heaven prophetic revelations and experiences where he had witnessed such amazing things he was unable to repeat them. Paul was writing to the Corinthian church at a time when they had been visited by what he calls "super-apostles" who disputed his apostolic authority to instruct them. The Corinthians therefore wanted Paul to prove his apostleship through relating his prophetic, supernatural experiences. Paul, however, refused to use these experiences to validate his apostleship, testifying to them instead about His experience of Christ's grace.( If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity, 2 Cor 11:30) The reality of His communion with Christ was so central to His gospel that even fourteen years after His third-heaven visit he would not allow those experiences to distract from the message of the Cross. "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world". ( Gal. 6:14)

I'd like to share at this point that I am no stranger to profound prophetic experiences, and I'm not ashamed to say that personally I love being led by the Spirit into that place of prophetic revelation, whether it be through third heaven experiences, visions, or other manifestations.. I make a habit of sharing these experiences with those to whom I am accountable, but rarely publicly, and then only when specifically directed by the Holy Spirit. I have learned to be careful in the way I share such things even with those who know me personally. The reason for this is because that's exactly what they are - EXPERIENCES! My friends, prophetic experiences are entirely wonderful, and exceptionally exhilarating, and should be expected as a normal part of the Spirit-led life. They can be life-changing, they can provide vision and direction, and they can help lay the foundations for life-long ministry. However, they can never replace communion with Jesus and our Father, and they are not intended to do so. Even the highest forms of prophetic revelation are a by-product of our intimacy with Christ. It is His fellowship and presence we seek, not revelatory experiences for themselves. The prophetic experiences and revelations granted to Paul were so profound they were forbidden to be spoken, but his testimony still remained "For me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Satisfaction can only be found in a life of deep communion with Jesus and the Father.

Now you may feel I'm stating the obvious, but take a look around you. Many believers are pursuing revelation knowledge as a substitute for the revelation of Christ. Multitudes are believing revelatory experiences are a sign of their acceptability with the Father and a measure of their spiritual maturity. If you are one who's been led to believe moving in signs and wonders is proof of God's approval of your lifestyle and your ministry, you're believing a lie. There's only one sign that will ever be the measure of the Father's approval - yours, mine or anyone's - and it's the sign of the Blood of the Lamb on our souls. The only extreme experience we should be pursuing is extreme passion for Christ. We don't need to be extreme about anything else but the depth of the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17) By all means the church should be demonstrating the power of the Spirit - this is our inheritance - but only as a witness to the all-sufficiency of the Cross and the victory of the Resurrection. A gospel of power devoid of the Cross is just as dangerous as a gospel of works devoid of the Cross, and they are both rooted in false religion.

What we call "the prophetic" is now largely replacing the centrality of Christ and His Cross. How many believers in the western church would attend a conference promoting the "extreme CRUCIFIED LIFE"? Or what would be the popularity of a minister laying hands on believers to release a deeper EXPERIENCE of the Cross? How long would the line be? (By the way, if there's anyone genuinely doing this, let me know, because I want their hands laid on me!)

The prophetic imbalances I have been highlighting are only the fruit of a far deeper imbalance currently evident in the Lord's Body and serve to expose a deeper need to which the Holy Spirit would draw our attention. As I have held these things before the Lord it became clear that so many in the church are seeking identity in prophetic words, signs and manifestations rather than in the face of Christ. But then the Spirit said to me "you must look deeper to see where I want to lead the church." We must therefore move on to two important questions: Where is the exercise of discernment? And where is the fear of the Lord?

Part Two to Follow
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Cheryl McGrath
www.greatsouthland.org

Copyright 2004 Cheryl McGrath, Great South Land Ministries, Australia.

PART TWO

You may or may not share my concerns about the current direction of the prophetic in the Body of Christ. Nevertheless, I hope you will stay with me as we look at a deeper truth that needs to be realised by the church. If we will heed the Spirit He will always reveal the mind and heart of Christ for us and therefore we will grow more quickly into the fullness of His stature.

And My People Love It So.....
An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? (Jeremiah 5:30--31)

The prophet Jeremiah wrote these words during a time of great turmoil in Israel's history Notice he did not refer to false prophets, but to prophets who prophesied falsely. These were apparently genuine prophets who had compromised their calling for the sake of expediency. He goes on to mention priests who rule "by their own power". Rulership is not the same as God-ordained leadership. The word "rule" in the Hebrew means to "tread down, to subjugate, or prevail against". Jeremiah is referring here to a suppressive exercise of lordship of the kind Jesus warned against in Mark 10:42 and 43. In other words, these religious leaders do not seek to lead by the Spirit's anointing, but rather rule over and seek to control God's people by means of their own strength, knowledge and reason. One has to wonder how these prophets and priests, both in positions of leadership among God's people, had come into an agreement to misuse their offices in this way.

Sadly, one of the things I believe the Lord spoke to me in preparing this article was "My prophets are ruling My church...." I believe He is grieved at this time with the elevation of prophetic ministers to a place of rulership among His people. In much of the church, prophetic ministry, which for centuries was despised, persecuted and crushed by organised religion, has now been raised to such a place of authority that many of God's people give more credence to the prophets than they do to the Anointing within (1 John 2:27). Prophets are called to equip the Lord's people to know and hear the Holy Spirit, not to stand in for Him.

Furthermore, while many genuine prophets spurn this place of elevation, many others have compromised their callings to gain it. The Lord also spoke of unholy alliances between prophets and false apostles, indicating that in order to escape rejection and gain acceptance and credibility, there are prophets who have put their seal of approval on false leadership. To do so they have had to water down their primary message of uncompromised holiness and speak soothing words to the people. In return for his/her compromise, the prophet is endorsed by the false leader and each retains a place of good reputation and comfort. But the Lord goes on to say that all this is only made possible because "My people love it so." And so in this day, even as in Jeremiah's day, unholy alliances are being formed to deceive and control God's people. These are of a threefold nature between compromising prophets, false leadership and the people who want it that way. This kind of alliance should most certainly be described as astonishing and horrible because it is counterfeit and maintained by the spirit of false religion. Some of these prophets have been deceived, and these the Lord would call back to the holiness of their calling through repentance and re-consecration. The Lord's word must never be negotiable, and the Lord's prophets must never be compromised.

Now understand here that I am not speaking of ALL prophets, or ALL leaders. Neither am I legitimising those unhealed lone prophets who, having been mistreated and misunderstood by misguided leadership in the past, now refuse to walk in any form of accountability at all. No, I am referring to a false, apostolic/prophetic religious system emerging in a last days church that "loves it so."

Two Hidden Within Five
There has been much spoken in recent years about the restoration of the fivefold governing ministries of Ephesians 4:11. I am one who believes that the raising up of these five grace gifts of Jesus to His church, is a necessary and major work of the Spirit at this time. These servant-leadership ministries must be allowed to function to their fullness in order to bring the Bride-church to perfection. However, within the fivefold there is a twofold. Before the five can function appropriately two of the five have first to come into unity in the Spirit.

And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. Mark 6:41-42.

In the story of the feeding of the five thousand we see a prophetic picture of the fivefold governmental ministries given by Christ as a gift of grace to His Bride (Eph. 4:7-8). There are five loaves, which must first be broken to be fit for the Bride to eat, just as the Bread of Life, Jesus, was also broken in His own body. It is in the breaking that the multiplication takes place. The five loaves speak to us of the Bread that comes down from Heaven and represent the five-fold functions of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Twelve is the prophetic number representing corporate government. The twelve baskets filled with surplus bread and fish speak to us of the full sufficiency of this Christ-appointed fivefold government to bring the Bride to maturity. What then, of the two fish? I believe the two fish represent the twofold that is hidden within the fivefold - that is the joint foundation-laying ministry of apostles and prophets. Just as bread brings a fullness and nourishment to the physical body, fish also provide an added source of essential nutrients that are unique to that species. Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God (Deu. 8:3). Prophets bring to the Bride the rhema word tempered by the logos. Apostles deliver to the Bride the logos, impregnated with the rhema. Both together provide the Bride with specific revelation and direction for the hour.

Built Upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

The Lord's heart is towards His holy apostles and prophets. He thinks on them and watches over them jealously. He does not love them, favour them, or bless them more than any of His other servants, but He invests much in them and guards them with a most ardent zeal. The apostles and prophets are not the foundation of the church, for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). However, together they have been appointed to lay that solid foundation.

The Lord's heart is to draw together His chosen apostles and prophets with a strong binding. Until this takes place there will be no securely built foundation from which the three other governing ministries of evangelists, pastors and teachers can launch forth. The church cannot come to the fullness of Christ without the operation of all five, but I believe before the five can function together as the Spirit wills, these two foundation-layers must be bonded together by the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit is saying to us that indeed there is a threefold alliance that will be established in these days and it is a most holy alliance. It is the alliance of prophets, apostles and the Spirit and it shall not be by the might or the power of men that this alliance will be forged, but by the Spirit of the Living God. We have not yet seen this happening on a major scale in the church. What we do often see are attempts to patch up the old wineskin by re-naming and repositioning, but this is the work of the flesh and not of the Spirit of the Lord and therefore will not stand.

The Lord does indeed desire to raise up and release His fivefold prophets in this hour, but it has always been His intention that they should govern alongside the complementary ministry of apostles. It has not been an easy time of transition for the prophets while they have awaited the release of the apostles, nevertheless neither prophets or apostles will minister within the Body of Christ to their full potential until they are aligned together by the Spirit.

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3
The Lord Jesus referred to the twofold ministry of apostles and prophets in His crushing rebuke to the hypocritical religious leaders of His day (Luke 11:49). He said that some of the apostles and prophets would be persecuted and killed. The book of Revelation records, however, that their blood will be avenged by God Himself (Rev. 18:20). Paul also mentioned this partnership of apostles and prophets as having been granted insight into the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:5).

A study of the close working relationship between Barnabas and Paul will further reveal the Spirit's evident intention to establish ministering partnerships between apostles and prophets. We know that Paul was an apostle and teacher (2 Timothy 1:11), and Barnabas is listed first as a prophet and later as an apostle (Acts 13:1; 14:14). It was Barnabas who brought Paul, (then called Saul), to the twelve when the other Jerusalem disciples were afraid even to associate with him (Acts 9:26-27). Later, Barnabas again sought out Saul in Tarsus and brought him to the church at Antioch (Acts 11:25). It is clear that this unique partnership was recognised and endorsed by the leaders in Jerusalem because the council of apostles and elders referred to the two men as a functioning unit, calling them "our beloved Barnabas and Paul" (Acts 15:25). In Acts 13:2 we read that as the church ministered to the Lord the Holy Spirit said "now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Together the two were sent on three official assignments by the Antioch church and together they demonstrated the Spirit's power and suffered for Jesus. Sadly, a strong disagreement between Paul and Barnabas brought about the end of a partnership that had been ordained by the Holy Spirit, a clear case of man separating what God had joined (Acts 15:39).

A Testing of the Prophets
To whom much is given, much is required. The Bible indicates that prophets have been chosen by the Lord to exemplify suffering, affliction and patience (see James 5:10). Likewise, apostles are set forth as spectacles before angels and men and even appointed to death (see 1 Cor. 4:9-13). We could easily apply all of these statements to the life of Jesus Himself, who patiently endured suffering and affliction , was appointed to death and set forth as a spectacle before angels and men. Prophets and apostles are called to testify with their lives the fellowship of the Lord's suffering.

The Lord is calling for the restoration of a twofold foundation laying generation of His holy prophets and apostles to once again lay down their lives together daily for the sake of His church. This must happen if fivefold government is to be restored and His Bride-church is to emerge on the earth in the full reflection of His glory. One of the ways in which the church can make herself ready is by recognising, and receiving the twofold ministry of prophets and apostles.

Over the past two millennia fivefold prophets and apostles have largely been rejected by a religious system that denied both their necessity and their existence. The church has suffered much self-inflicted lethargy and ineffectiveness during this time. In recent years the Spirit has been patiently restoring the prophetic office to the church and this will surely continue. As five-fold apostles now begin to emerge from years of hidden cave-dwelling there is a testing coming for the prophets who have walked just a few steps before them.

The test for the prophets is whether or not they will now embrace their fellow apostles, making room for them in the spirit of Barnabas, who was the "son of encouragement." There is a tendency for prophets to want to gather in companies, and this is both right and understandable considering the persecution and misunderstandings prophets endure as part of their territory. However, those companies must now make way for the partnership of apostles, otherwise the Bride will suffer needlessly. Obviously, I am not here referring to the self-proclaimed apostles we witness in some parts of today's church whose purpose is to make a name for themselves and to gain position and reputation. These are merely card-carrying imposters who will not stand up under the tribulation and affliction experienced by all of the Lord's genuine holy apostles and prophets. They were present in the early church, and so they are present with us now. The church, however, is in great need of the true twofold complementary ministry of prophets and apostles together.

These are truly dangerous days for the church, when holy is mixed with profane and many who have neither been called or chosen seek to lord it over the people of God using doctrines of demons and lying signs and wonders to control and deceive. It is crucial therefore that true prophets and true apostles merge together through the eternal Spirit of Holiness to undergird and strengthen the Lord's maturing Bride. In this hour there are multitudes of emerging apostles who the church does not yet recognise as having been sent from the Lord. Just as Paul did, they come in unfamiliar style and from unexpected backgrounds. These emerging apostles are going to need the fellowship and the encouragement of the prophets. It will be prophets who recognise these apostles first. It should be prophets who welcome and support their restoration and appearance in the Body.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Prov. 27:17

Apostles and prophets have been ordained by the Spirit to complement and complete each other's callings. Prophetic zeal needs apostolic wisdom. Apostolic grace needs prophetic fire. Prophetic passion needs apostolic authority. Prophets equip the Body to discern holy from unholy. Apostles engender holy fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. I believe we are seeing so much confusion and mixture in the church today because the prophetic life of the church is operating at this stage of transition mostly without apostolic accountability. The twofold ministry of apostles and prophets is being called forth by the Spirit to provide the elect Bride with the wisdom and holiness necessary for her survival in the season coming upon her.

Prophets of God, there is coming to the Bride of Jesus a time of both deep distress and unparalleled power. She will need the full counsel of holy prophets and apostles who walk together in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3). What will you do in the end? Will you open your ears to the heartcry of your brother and sister apostles as they come forth from the womb of the Spirit? Will you come to them as Barnabas in encouragement, support and partnership as they seek to find their place in the Body? Will you in humility and reverence before God allow yourselves to be joined to them, nothing lacking, for the service of the Lord and His Bride?

May the work of the Spirit be unhindered, who says :"Now separate to Me the apostles and prophets for the work to which I have called them."

Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Cheryl McGrath
www.greatsouthland.org

Copyright 2004 Cheryl McGrath, Great South Land Ministries, Australia.

This article may be copied or reproduced freely providing copyright notice and contact details remain intact
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Cheryl McGrath
Great South Land Ministries, Australia

Website: www.greatsouthland.org

Great South Land Ministries,
PO Box 6430, Coffs Harbour, Australia 2450

Telephone: 0266 517220; Mobile: 0422 156 020; International: 61 66 517220

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