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Prophets. What image springs to your mind when I say this?? Maybe those people back in the '80's who thought The Rapture was imminent (Concord, NH still bears some stickers), maybe those people in movies with the signs saying, "Repent!! The end is near!!". Or maybe you think of people like Elijah or John the Baptist. Whatever the image, it's definitely safe to say that the gift of the prophet is the least understood among the five.
In order to thoroughly understand the five gifts, we need to understand a foundational truth that God was bringing in the gift of Jesus. That is this -- the Church is a body with Christ at its head. The human body has 11 systems that function in coordination with each other, if any one of these is weakened or stops, the whole body is negatively affected. All systems are equally important for proper functioning and growth. The Church may only have 5, but the concept is meant to be the same. Our guest speaker this week shared about someone he heard as saying that due to C19, 30% of the Church would die out. He was speaking of Church buildings rather than the people; which, of course, comprise the true Church. God never intended for HIs Church to be organized like a business. It is meant to be an organically functioning entity like our bodies. So in that way, the past year's mess has been a good thing. God's core mission is always about community. As we observe through The Gospels, Jesus came to turn human understandings and traditions on their heads. This week's explanation of the office of the prophet takes us to one such story.
Turn with me to John 2:12-17 -- Jesus' clearing of the Temple gives us a comprehensive picture of the gift of the Prophet. There are 5 key elements to observe here.
1. Location -- The Temple was where people went to connect with God. The prophet is meant to speak to the Church body or individuals within it.
2. Selling -- No one can serve 2 gods. It was not right for merchants to make a profit in the House of God.
3. Whipping and flipping -- a prophet is never satisfied with the status quo of the Church.
4. Den of thieves -- they were not observing the true purpose of the Temple.
5. People reacted -- vs. 17 speaks of the scripture that reads, "zeal for your house will consume me."
The Gifts each have unique roles in the Church and so their orientations and relations differ.
The Apostle's orientation is forward to new things. They reach out from the Body.
The Evangelist's work is external to reach the masses and direct them to a Body.
The Shepherd (Pastor) is for internal maintenance of the Body.
The Teacher instructs and edifies the Body.
The Prophet's orientation is both vertical and horizontal. They are well connected to God while ensuring others are filling their roles properly.
One way to think of the Prophet may be like that "weird Uncle" at the Family Reunion, not the creepy pedo, but just the guy that keeps to himself and maybe "marches to a different drummer." (if the Prophet is mature, that's the beat we should all be marching to)
Some characteristics unique to the Prophet may include the following --
- future vision w/ God -- Isaiah's prophecies focused on Jesus, the coming Messiah
- staying true to the message, maintaining core focus -- Hosea's life reflected that of Israel's relationship to God.
- questioning methods and motives -- Nathan called King David out. Called it as he saw it.
- care for others -- this is one of the least understood pieces as they may appear judgmental -- Jeremiah wept due to his passionate emotion
- not well liked due to their brutal honesty
- speaking for God -- this is the most dangerous piece as many who think themselves to be Prophets may be wrong. It is wise to keep the first 3 of the 10 Commandments in mind here. Anyone who seems to randomly say things like, "I think God is telling me..." or "I feel God is leading me to..." are probably taking God's name in vain. Deut. 13:1-5 and 18:14-22 have serious things to say about those people. False gods = idolatry -- Elijah on Mt. Carmel
- an immature Prophet may lack grace - "Here to correct others" -- Jonah was immature.
- frustrated with others who don't understand the message
I have to be honest and say I've recognized things about myself in both of these messages so far, and in email convo w/ my Pastor, he wonders about another... IDK... lol As he would say though, we're sharing the journey... Hope to see you next week for the next leg of it!!
God Bless!!
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