This series on the prophetic is based off my handwritten notes, which I took as I attended classes on this topic at church in Mar 2024.

Introduction:

• Prophetic is God’s voice given to His Word (the Bible, different from the eternal Word / Jesus mentioned in John 1:1 article)
• That we may be build up / edified
• We need to hunger for His voice, and also be able discern / recognise His voice
• Be open to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him free flow within us, through His Word
• The Holy Spirit is our best teacher, and He gives us clarity on what He is saying to us
• And when we honour what God is saying, He will keep speaking
• Ezra 6:14: the temple building prospered through prophesying
• 2 Chron 26:5: Uzziah sought God’s advice through prophet Zechariah, and God made Him prosper
• He sought God how to built the country, economy, and the materials
• We should likewise seek His counsel too in our daily lives and ministry, through the prophetic
• Joel 2:28-29 article: God will pour out the Holy Spirit on us, that as New Testament believers we have the ability to prophesy
• Spiritual maturity / character is also important in the prophetic, that we may be able and willing to fulfil the purposes of God
• For instance, allowing God to break us, so that we may grow through the things He’s trying to do in our lives
• Eph 4:11-13: Prophetic ministry is also one of the crucial five-fold ministries: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (please refer to Five-Fold Ministry series)

Hindrances to the prophetic flow:

1. Ignorance: We need to remove ignorance in the choices we make and our habits (1 Cor 12:1)
2. Neglect: A lot of people start off good, but don’t keep growing in the gift (1 Tim 4:14). Timothy was pastoring the church, and there were distractions / oppressions to the church, but Paul warned Timothy not to neglect his spiritual gift.
3. Spirit of fear: We may have negative thoughts / emotions based on past failures operating in the prophetic, and thus be fearful about doing it again. Instead, let’s give ourselves room to make mistakes, and allow God to work on us. He has promised not to leave us, and to walk with us.
4. Quenching the Spirit through critical attitude: We might not be used to the ways the Holy Spirit does things, and it’s might also be different from how we expect Him to work. But we need to step back, and ask God to help us understand why He does things in His way.
5. Comparing yourself to others: We don’t have to emulate / mimic other people’s style / anointing, as they are not models even those prophets from the scriptures like Isaiah and Jeremiah. But let’s become the person whom God sees us as, and wants us to be. Lord, shape me the way you want me to be, as a potter shaping the clay (Jer 18:6).

Definition of Prophecy:

• Hebrew word ‘nataph’: Means to ooze like rain drops
• A similar Hebrew word ‘naba’: Means to speak / sing and prophesy under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Like feeling humid amidst a rainy weather.
• Greek word ‘pro’: Means before, that we speak about something before it happens
• Teacher’s definition: Prophesy is when a spirit-filled believer conceives a revelation from God, and then in cooperation with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit (ask Him what to do with the Word given), communicates that revelation to an individual or group, which in turn connects them to the purposes of God.