The Responsibilities of Prophecy ...continued

The Personal Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all the hearers of a prophetic word to weigh the word and its meaning for them. As we have seen Prophets are not infallible and therefore a responsibility passes to the hearers.

Ask yourself, is the word strengthening, encouraging, instructing, comforting or edifying the church?

There are five or maybe more possibilities:

The word is from God and is meaningful to you
The word is from God but is not meaningful to you
The word is not from God but is encouraging to you
The word is encouraging but not from God and is not encouraging to you individually
The word is not from God and is not encouraging.

The word is from God and is meaningful to you It is good when God speaks to you through a prophetic word and even more encouraging when the word is given to you as an individual. This is the word of God, not more important than scripture, but it is important that it is taken seriously and in faith.

Remember:
    1. If the word is directional or involves making major changes to your life it can only be confirmation of what you already know or of what you will know.
    2. If the word is directional or involves making major changes to your life it should be shared with others of mature standing.
    3. Ensure that you do nothing that would strive to accomplish the fulfilment of the word.
    4. Take time to pray specifically about what God is saying to you
    5. Record the word in some way so that you can recall exactly what was said.
    6. Tell the person who gave the word that it was for you.

The word is from God but is not meaningful to you Listen and rejoice that God is speaking to the congregation, even if it is not specifically to you.

Remember:
1. Listen to the word, record the word in some way so that you can recall exactly what was said, as someone may ask for your advice.
2. Put the word on a back burner and see if something comes up in the future that makes the word relevant to you.

The word is encouraging but not from God but is encouraging to you individually Well it's nice to get some encouragement but remember it is not God speaking. Therefore it should be respected for what it is.

Remember:
1. Listen to what the person leading the service says and how they respond to the word.
2. This is not a word from God.

The word is encouraging but not from God and is not encouraging to you individually Well it's good that someone is being encouraged in the congregation. Words of encouragement are like oxygen to those who work in the rarefied atmosphere of any kind of ministry.

Remember:
1. Listen to what the person leading the service says and how they respond to the word.
2. This is not a word from God.

The word is not encouraging or from God The message is rubbish if there is nothing in it that is of God or encouraging and should be disposed of as soon as possible.

Remember:
1. Listen to what the person leading the service says and how they respond to the word.
2. This is not a word from God.

It is important that everyone takes up his or her own responsibilities when dealing with the prophetic.

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