Break Your Limitation to Release Prophetic Influence
Prophecy is not just the ability to speak forth a future event and the details which will lead up to that event. It is much more than that. We are a prophetic people. Our God is a prophetic God and speaks to us through prophetic motivations using signs, wonders, and natural events. The superior gift is the office of prophecy.
“Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy…one who prophesies speaks to his descendants would not inherit the throne and God’s favor was men for edification, and exhortation, and consolation…one who prophesies edifies the church” 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3, 4. Paul tells us to ‘desire earnestly’ the prophetic gift. Why? As I search the Scriptures it is clear to me that God is a communicator. He desires to speak to His people and to His world. His heart is that no one should perish. Prophecy is His great gift of communication to the church and the world. Therefore, to want more of the knowledge, understanding, and aspects of the Father we must learn to accept, administer, and communicate prophecy. This requires activation!
“Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying” 1 Corinthians 14:5. Paul is stating a clear direction for the church in its services about prophecy. The underlying factor in 1 Corinthians14 is ‘Edification.’ Paul requires prophecy to edify, exhort, and console [the church]. So many 21st c. churches do not engage in this gift. They are relegated by religious and theological tradition to claim 1 Corinthians 14’s gift of prophecy antiquated and not for the modern day ‘ecclesia’ [church]. Their understanding is that the preaching of the word is all the prophecy they’ll need. An activation in this gift is required now more than ever. Preaching the word is good, needed, and certainly accepted. Teaching the Scriptures is good, needed, and certainly accepted. However, prophecy is the heart of God whose great desire it is to communicate with His church and the prophetic gift accomplishes that task.
God Activates the Prophetic Office
In Deuteronomy 18:18, the Lord activates the office of prophecy; “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” This entitlement to Israel was not without purpose. They were about to enter the Promised Land [Cana] where the Philistine, the Amorites, the Amalekites, the Canaanites, and many other gentile nations had settled. These factions of the gentile tribes in the Promised Land were doing despicable things in the sight of the Lord. He ordered Israel not to get caught up in the practices of the gentile nations; spiritism, witchcraft, divination, human sacrifice, interpretation of omens, and sorcery were just a few of the things the Lord proclaimed detestable in His sight. God would raises up a prophet from among them to give spiritual instruction from the Lord in accordance to the Law.
In all ministry activations it is always wise to find discipleship and get mentored into the anointing that God has placed in your ministry. In 1986 when the Lord began to release the prophetic mantle in my life, I sought a prophet with whom I could enter into ministry relationship. I sat under this anointed man for over 11 years. It was not that I did not prophesy to people at that time [I had already spoken into the lives of several politicians including a US Congressman and a standing US President], because I did use the gift as I fully understood it. However, the mentor I chose to sit under taught me when prophecy is warranted as immediate or when to act in God’s timing to release the word. The depth of this man of God’s anointing was exceedingly great and accurate. I had witnessed him use the gift of the word of knowledge with accuracy and detail. He would tell people their names, or the names of their family. He would tell people their telephone numbers or what they did before they arrived to our services. Some church leaders despised him for this gift while others embraced it. However, there were many days I witnessed him standing alone in the ministry having doors closed to him because of his gift and I learned the office of a prophet can be a lonely place.
He started two churches in the Northeast; Connecticut and New York City respectively. His followers are international and his meetings were always held in local hotels and arenas because so closed church doors. His anointing always drew a crowd at the services and God always showed up.
Those days where a time of discipleship and learning curves that gave me invaluable training into the prophetic ministry; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:20. This man I sat under was making disciples and training us in the gift of prophecy.
Activation requires Discipleship
Jesus had His twelve, Paul had his five, and Bible Schools all over the world have their disciples. If pastors are not training and equipping a group of disciples with verified gifting in their church’s they are violating the command of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20. Discipleship is not just a sermon on Sunday and a Bible study on a Wednesday night. It is pouring your life into the students that have chosen to sit under your ministry and desire God to use them in a greater capacity than just a seat on a Sunday morning.
In order to give discipleship a chance to flourish in your community, you have to create Bible Schools, set up leadership training programs, and create seminars that promote and teach the disciples with the gifts that God has given them having placed those disciples in your house. My counsel to saints who want discipleship and are not getting it where they are now fellowshipping or sitting under certain ministers of God is to leave that place and find one that will disciple them. Time is one commodity we can never recover. Once it is gone, it is gone!
The spirit of Jezebel kills Activation!
Activation cannot be accomplished sitting under a leadership who has a controlling spirit. Now before some of your heads explode, let me explain the fine line between a controlling spirit and the very biblical principle of submission to authority.
The spirit of Jezebel is a witchcraft spirit that promotes rebellion in the world and most definitely in the church. This demon takes direction from the fallen angel Lucifer [Satan]. They are directed by what Isaiah revealed about them in Isaiah 14:13-14, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly [Jesus’ throne] in the recessed of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Their MO [modus operandi] is chaos, self-centeredness, and rebellion. They are set on destruction, not only to discredit the cross of Christ and His gospel, but to disquiet the authority of the church and His people. They are subtle in their approach and they are experts on using church leadership to squash ministries under the guise of submission to authority [if you do not comply, you are rebellious].
Does the above statement mean that there are no rebellious saints only those who are kept down by Jezebel [controlling] authority? NOT AT ALL! There are those in the church who are rebellious for many reasons and the church leadership is wise to keep them in check. Paul did the same and even warned us about it (1 Corinthians 1:11-17). However, that does not negate the fact that many leaders use a subtle power of spiritual abuse to control their churches. See the comparisons;
Subject Jezebel spirit Discipleship Activation!
Prophecy in services “Tell me what it is before 1 Cor. 14:3, “one who prophesies
you say it”-leadership edifies the church.”
Manifestation of gifts “I will tell you if you can 1 Cor. 14:12, “of spiritual gifts use them.”-leadership seek to abound for…edification”
Marriage “All relationships are of Matt. 19:4, “I have made them
God and viable.”-leadership male and female.”
Ministry “If you don’t do what I’m Never fitting square pegs in
telling you, you’ll never round holes.
have ministry here.”
-leadership
Preaching “There is only one preacher “I have been called to preach!”
In this house!” -leadership. Matt. 28:19.
Outside Ministry “I am not happy with your “How can I help you fulfill
approach to ministry.” your calling?”
Some of the examples I used to describe a disciple sitting under a controlling spirit are vague and I understand that. My intention is to draw reference to the many Christians who are called of God yet are controlled without discipleship and never given an opportunity to fulfill their calling. They sit quietly because they do not want to face the spiritual giant of Jezebel, who has already been defeated at the cross, lest they be called rebellious. Some of you most likely have already faced this attack and you are not doing anything with your calling because you are unwilling to go through the pain of causing a possible split from some of your lifetime friendships in the church.
Consider the life of George Whitefield. He was opposed by the Anglican Church, not just in England, in America as well. Still he pursued his calling with vigor and reckless abandonment to the harm it would cost his reputation. For Rev. Whitefield it was about the salvation of souls. When churches rejected his ministry, he brought it to the fields outside the town. He formed an orphanage for young boys called Bethesda in Savannah, GA. He wrote articles of theology opposing those he disagreed with and distributed booklets of his own theological teachings. His opposition formed committees to depose him, similar to Paul being opposed by the Jews at every turn. However, God used Whitefield to usher in the great New England revival of 1740; the Great Awakening. Signs, wonders, and miracles followed Whitefield’s ministry and those who had come to Christ. Why was he so successful even in the hardships of opposition? Because his desire was for the souls of men to come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Whitefield was hungry for God and to see the Lord’s great commission to us fulfilled (Matt. 28:20); [“George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century”, Arnold A. Dallimore, Crossway, Wheaton, ILL 60187, 1990].
“…before you were born, I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations”-Jeremiah 1:5.
The Scripture of Jeremiah 1:5 is a clear indication that God has a plan for our lives. He does not make strategies or give out anointing and gifting on a whim. He is calculated and strategic in His approach to the kingdom. Jeremiah was often in danger from political and religious leaders who were angry because of his messages.
Jeremiah’s prophetic warnings were pre-Babylonian exile (circa 626BC-586BC). When God activated his prophetic gift, Jeremiah set himself on a course to hear from God alone the things that would take place in the Spirit for the nation. He was always conscious of his calling in prophecy, and as such he proclaimed words that were spoken first by God Himself and were therefore certain of fulfillment. For Jeremiah, God was ultimate. His theology conceived of the Lord as the Creator of all that exists, as all-powerful and as everywhere present. At the same time, God is very much concerned about individual people and their accountability to Him.
Activation requires Accountability
“If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing;” 1 Timothy 6:3-4.
The one thing I teach in my school of prophecy is this; if you cannot sit under authority, you cannot have legitimate authority. If the activation of your gift contains strife and disharmony among men then you have fulfilled Paul’s words to Timothy. “…he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” 1 Timothy 6:4-5. Now let me be clear about the writing of this and its meaning. I am not saying that having doctrinal differences concerning the practices and the biblical theologies of your system of belief make you a rebel. I am saying when your gifting is used for financial gain alone [a.k.a. the prosperity ministry], or you are promoting a gospel contrary to what you have read in the Scriptures [Gal. 1:8], or any teaching that denies the deity of Christ, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection then you are in danger of having a depraved mind and losing your salvation. I will go as far as to say, this will cause you to lose your salvation!
It is always best to sit under leaders you trust and who will mentor you. Allowing them to ordain your life and send you out into the mission field or a church plant is always a good course of action. Your activation of the prophetic gift or any spiritual gift should not be self-attaining or a self-aggrandizement of your calling. Anointed activation of your gift should be the recognized by the church.
Activation requires Godliness
Some will read this and say, “Of course, isn’t that a given!” I say to you, not always. In my 45 years of ministry I have counseled a good number of ministry leaders who had no business being where they are in the first place. Some leaders are self-appointed, some self-titled (titles are fine, but they should be borne witness by the church), and some have gained ministry through their father’s/mother’s will even when not called; it’s the family business. Fine, I hear the head’s exploding out there and I want to say some of these inherent ministries do witness a call of God on their children’s lives, no doubt. However, the fact remains that many do not and hundreds of once thriving churches have gone the way of the DODO bird because the desire to keep the church in the family was greater than the desire to allow God to make the decision concerning the next generation of leadership.
“An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must manage his household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” 1 Timothy 3:2-7.
I recently counseled an international ministry leader who was in his for third divorce. Taking an external look at his ministry life there would have been no doubt that he was a wonderful man of God and well respected by his ministry peers. He was the Apostolic overseer of over 10 international ministries, appeared on numerous Christian television programs, ministered on television with Rev. Benny Hinn and Dr. Mike Murdock, and Dr. Mike Brown, and was a well sought-after speaker and dozens of mega-church ministries around the United States. However, taking a closer look at his home life was a completely different story. He was abusive to every woman he was married to, in some cases, physical abuse but mostly mental cruelty. He was estranged from his children in most circumstances with an on/off relationship depending on his mood swings. He abounded in God’s gifts to him but was extremely lacking in the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22ff). He would go to counseling and then find fault with the counselor. Eventually refusing to seek counseling for his behavior completely. His mantra was an abuse of God’s word to those who would seek to correct him, “…touch not God’s anointed.” His abuse of power and authority in his personal life with those who loved him was wrapped in a false understanding of God’s word.
I am telling this story because it would seem the activation of his prophetic gift was alive and well in him without having any responsibility to authority, anointing, or Godliness. It seemed as though the Lord was not concerned with these things in his life. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin at the cross. He gave us freedom. The freedom and liberty to make our own choices in life and in doing so the Lord still has us covered in the blood. In saying this, it is important to understand that the true gifting in the example I have given through this international evangelist has yet to be activated! He is operating in a shadow of his God-given anointing, as though the veil is still between him and the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies.
He was given a prophetic word that he and his third wife were being given a new opportunity, all the past sin had been washed away and they were going to be one of the next power ministry couples in America. However, he began to set the stage of disaster immediately in his marriage. His uncontrolled anger began to destroy their intimacy and violate the sanctity of their marital relationship. He never dealt with his low self-esteem issues and let his past dictate his future.
Prophetic activation requires the need for us to become Christlike in our approach to ministry, ourselves, and life. Our given gift-potential can be limited or non-existent if we are unwilling to surrender completely our lives in all respects to Christ. “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” 1 Corinthians 13:1.
“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” 1 Corinthians 13:2.
Activation requires Love [agapeo]
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 are very specific in regards to Paul’s instruction about the ministry gifts. V3. “And if I gave all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
Our love must be founded in the Fruit of God’s Spirit
The fruit of a tree is not for the tree but for others. Therefore, this beautiful characteristic indicates the Christian’s attitude to those with whom he comes in contact. Two thoughts have been expressed in this particular virtue; (1) Trustworthiness. Jesus said to the two who multiplied their talents, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things” (Matthew 25:21,23). This suggests, the one who bears the fruit of the Spirit will keep their word with others. They will be faithful to His covenants, promises, duties, and obligations. The true Christian does not shirk responsibility. (2) Trustfulness. Paul plainly teaches that the characteristic of love “rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things” 1 Corinthians 13:6-7. In our laboring for the Lord and reaping in a great harvest for the kingdom, both trustworthiness and trustfulness are necessary virtues. A Christian can be neither unfaithful nor suspicious. The activation of our gift lies in this understanding; Love (agapeo) must be our only motivation!
Shifting the Heavens
Our prophetic understanding of the kingdom of God births heavenly shifters. Wherever a shifter walks the atmosphere shifts. Whatever they prophesy it comes to pass. The Lord is declaring a shift through the activation of prophetic gifts and anointing. We must shift with God. He is taking us to a different level in the spiritual realm. We must embrace this shift with our gift activation in order to reap the last harvest. He is raising up “shifters” in the midst of the church. He is declaring the wonderful day of the Lord. This is not just a generational shift; it is something we must discern in our everyday lives in order for us to cross over and possess our Promised Land. Many of us have been stuck and will burn out it we refuse to make the shifts God requires. Those of us who shift with the move of God will be exalted. Our shift will active our potential and stir the gift within us in the following ways;
- Leadership—Elis will become Samuels, from Sauls to Davids (2 Samuel 1:5, 9-10).
- Paradigms—Sheep to soldiers; lambs to lions.
- Focus—Church minded to Kingdom minded.
- Structure—Man’ order to God’s order (Eph. 2:20-22).
- Heavenlies—The releasing of fresh anointing and the presence of His glory.
- Wealth—From the unrighteous to the righteous.
- Church Membership—The exodus from dead churches to Holy Spirit and fire temples.
Bringing Heaven to Earth
There is a Hanna generation arising! In 1 Samuel 1:9-12 the Scriptures tell us of the life of Hanna. A barren woman who sought the priest Eli for prayer in order to ask God to open her womb. In so doing, she vowed to dedicate her first-born to the Lord. The name of this child was Samuel, Israel’s first prophet. Eli’s prayer was honored and God opened her womb and she gave birth. This is the state in which we find ourselves in the church in this generation. There is a company of intercessors, a people of warfare, who are praying unlike they have ever prayed before in a Hanna anointing. They are entering realms of spiritual warfare, and many of the religious crowd do not mouths of those who are prayer warriors. However, we must keep praying for out of our mouths our prayers will give birth to a Samuel generation. Hanna’s persistence in prayer and petition before Eli caused her to go higher in the spirit realm. When God grants you access to go higher, you’ve got to remove the sackcloth and ashes and praise Him. Worshipping Him because of His promise!
All of this happened because Hanna prayed. She asked the Lord for a son, and her prayers gave birth to the prophet Samuel, who had an anointing to shift the heavens.
Activation through Intercession
One of the greatest and most precious offices to the Lord is that of the intercessor. Intercession is the I-beam that holds the building firm upon the foundation of the apostolic and prophetic anointing. It can be a church leader’s greatest asset if administered in proper fashion.
Intercession moves the heart of God toward our circumstances and situations. It leads us into deeper worship which causes UNITY to fill the house of God. When the house is in UNITY, God moves in our midst. He joins us in our praises. When we worship and UNITY overwhelms us, the Lord brings His anointing to bear upon us and His glory envelopes our inhabitance. When His glory is present heaven enters our situation and fills the house. The presence of heaven brings an anointing so magnified that all creation rejoices at the foot of the throne of our great King. In heaven, there is no sin; In heaven, there is only fullness of joy; in heaven, there is no pain; in heaven, there is no disease; in heaven, there is no death!
Intercessors are essential to the life of the church and the ministries it holds dear. These ministries thrive in the Lord because of the gift activation in the midst of its servants. Dead works, dead gifts! Living works, living gifts! A church Alive!
Explosive Power
God’s manifested glory brings an explosiveness to the ministry that He has entrusted to you. In 2007 I was ministering in a meeting in Savannah, GA. The leaders were just about to close the service when God showed up in the midst of our meeting. It was as if a blanket had been thrown on us and a quietness suddenly hit the sanctuary. The presence of the Lord was manifested in an anointing that began to touch the lives of the saints in attendance. We didn’t have to lay hands on anyone, we didn’t have to speak anything over anyone, and we didn’t have to say even one word. The Lord by His Spirit began to touch people in the congregation. His power was manifested not through any loud shouting, or any Holy Spirit dance, or even any worship music. It was through a quiet silence and an anticipation of His presence. When God enters a situation, things are stirred in the heavens and the whole of His creation comes alive! Healing occurred to the left of the sanctuary, a quiet admission of praise to the right, and all the congregation laid prostrate before Him in the auditorium. We were in His presence and it was the most glorious manifestation of Him inhabiting the praises of His people. “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” I learned that night that the power of God’s glory is the still small voice manifesting Himself after the thunder, after the lightning, and after the cloud of glory. He exploded on the scene with His presence! We gave an attentive ear and watched as the King of glory moved over His people touching each one as the need was revealed in their lives; that night, cancer was cancelled, diabetes was healed, physical ailments were made well, and the eyesight of a two-year-old little girl was restored.
The gift in you does not need a trumpet sound, a drum roll, or any fanfare. It only requires stepping into the greatness of the magnitude in which God gave it to you in the first place. What separated Abraham from the rest of his brethren was his action to believe that God spoke a true word to him. He believed God and walked in that belief (see Romans 4:3). He put action to his prophetic word responding to God’s promise. Abraham was a forward thinker. He believed the word God gave him concerning walking in ‘the everlasting covenant’ (Gen. 17:7). This is the very covenant that we, the New Testament church, have entered into in this present age and the age to come. The covenant of Abraham has unfolded into the everlasting covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. We walk in this promise (Gal. 3:29).
Our sufferings bring gift activation.
Activating our gift in Christ constitutes an action of grace. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Paul contends with the Lord about his sufferings, “…there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Paul understood that in order for the power of God to exalt Christ’s gifts within him for the perfection of the gospel message and the salvation of souls he would rather glory in his infirmities (2 Cor. 12:9). It is important to remember that the word ‘infirmities’ in the New Testament Greek refers to a spiritual attack more than our present-day interpretation of a physical affliction. However, in Paul’s case it was both. Yet, Paul draws our attention to, “… a thorn in the flesh, a messenger sent from Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!” (2 Cor.12:7).
Phases of Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
Weakness of Ability—It was not Spiritual inability but rather an inability of his own accord. He was made to rely completely on the Spirit as a nation copes with more powerful forces in war.
Weakness of human nature—Paul used the weakness of his flesh to promote the gospel of Christ through his preaching (Gal. 4:13).
Weakness of human ability—Paul had to rely completely on the Spirit in his lack of ability to minster the gospel (1 Cor. 2:3).
Insults and Reproaches—Paul was shipwrecked several times and in the midst of these storms he had to endure many insults and reproaches. As in the days of Jonah, when storms endangered a ship the belief was that someone on the ship had been cursed endangering all who were with him (Acts 27:10).
Necessities—It was Paul’s contention that preaching the gospel was not so much a choice for him as it was a compelling to send forth the gospel message (1 Cor. 9:16).
Persecutions—Paul was destined to suffer for the sake of the gospel to give recompense to his past sins. However, his strength in Christ was his desire to right the wrongs he had committed and if suffering persecution was the order for him, he was not going to deter from the cause (Rom. 8:35).
Distress and Anguish—Paul suffered many things for the gospel of Christ. Yet, he stood firm in the belief that not any one thing could keep him from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). These classes of sufferings constitute the buffeting of Paul by the angel of Satan which was his thorns.
We cannot ignore that our gifts are under attack daily by the spiritual forces of the devil. Children of God we are at war! If you proclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are a soldier in the army of God and you are open to attack from spiritual forces when you are ministering the gospel. Make no mistake, we have the victory! However, if the forces of evil can convince us to engage in the process of the spiritual battle then they will gain a foothold into our lives. The most they are able to accomplish is an impish annoyance.
The more the gift is activated the greater the light.
We cannot speak of the light without engaging the ministry of Jesus Christ in the process. Remember just as the talents in Matt. 25 were the Lord’s so the gift activated in us is also the Lord’s. Therefore, any brilliance of light illuminated into a dark world is the light of the Lord (John 1:4-5). When our gifts are activated for the work of the gospel His light shines in the midst of that gifting. Our gift is displaying the life of Jesus Christ. In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”
Not unlike an electrical dimmer switch in your home, the more we become like Christ the brighter the light within. We have the control with a dimmer switch to either brighten the room or cause lesser light to function. We can even turn the power off completely and sit in darkness. It is the same in the Spirit of God. The Lord has given us free will to control the aspects of His presence in us. The more we become like Him by surrendering our will to the Spirit of God, the more we display the fruit of Christ (Gal. 5:22) in our lives. The rule of the flesh in our lives is complete darkness and displays only evil in all aspects of its miserable existence. However, when we come to Christ, it is no longer we who live but He lives in us (Gal. 2:20). We are dead to our trespasses and the ability is within us to allow Christ to live and reign (Romans 6:11-13).
The Light within us is the Incarnate Word of God; Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus was the Spirit of fulfilled prophecy. Our gift has given to us the Spirit of Inspiration, realizing the day of Jesus and declaring to men that His glory dwells within us. He is ‘The Everlasting Covenant’ and this covenant dwells in the hearts of all believers. In Revelation 21:23, He is proclaimed the lamp of God’s glory and any light we carry because of God’s glory resting in us is but an archetypal light of which all other lights are types and illustrations. Nonetheless, the light of God in our gift is made manifest in greater power and greater glory by our surrender to Him in all aspects of our life. If our gift were a lamp to light a room, what good would that lamp be to anyone without the electrical power to ignite its purpose. It is the same with our Spiritual gift. If we do not allow the glory of God through His Holy Spirit to spark the gift (activation) in our lives to what end have we allowed God to use us? We are of no use to Him. However, if we allow the illumination of the Incarnate God set forth His Spirit in our gift (the gift He has loaned us), the Light within us will tell the world of His goodness and the testimony of His Son, our salvation.
Activations have training manuals.
Only an unwise man would set out to build a home without consulting a master builder. Even carpenters set themselves under the direction of the general contractor. Paul did not commission Timothy or Titus to the work of the ministry without a proper period of training and mentoring.
In order for your gift to manifest itself in the power of God you must come under authority and allow that authority to mentor you in the foundations of your gifting. In 1986 when the prophetic mantle began to activate in my life, I sought a prophet to sit under and learn of the uses and misuses of the gifting. It was not an easy road! Nor should it be. God had to pull at me and stretch me in greater anointing. I had to learn how to recognize when He was moving and respond accordingly.
There is a danger in allowing your gift to flow without a covering. You will more likely end up with the misuse of the gift operating in your ministry. This could result in harming those you had intended to bless.
Prophetic Activation is Inherent
In 2 Kings 2:4-14, Elijah is being taken to heaven by ‘the chariots of fire and its horsemen.’ A protégé of Elijah’s, Elisha, was refusing to remain across the River Jordan but instead insisted he remain with Elijah. The horsemen appear and Elisha requests that he be given a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Elijah’s tells him he requested a difficult thing but if his mantle falls to him it shall be as he asks.
The mantle represents the prophetic power, authority, and anointing that was given to Elijah in manifesting God’s presence in Israel. It was always the Lord’s intention to keep the mantle with His prophets until the days of the Messiah (Jesus Christ). When the Messiah’s ministry on the earth was to end the Lord would send us His Holy Spirit (the day of Pentecost; Acts 2). Elisha received the inherent power of the prophetic office when Elijah was carried away and his mantle fell upon him.
All through the history of the church in both the Old and New Testaments the office of the Prophet was to remain active. Our gifts are prophetically activated through the day of the Second Advent. They are a witness to the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption of man.
The prophetic activation of the gifts in your life do not end with you. They are inherent blessings to be passed on to your children and your children’s children from generation to generation. Our concentration in dealing with the issues of life at times will turn to generational curses and how to deal with them through the blood of Christ. Are you not aware that there are generational blessings the Lord has placed in you even more so, since the foundation of the earth [Jeremiah 1:5]? You must walk and operate in the understanding that you are a Covenant people sealed in the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Steve Rocco Ministries 