Mine the depths of these wells to draw from the heart of God
By Larry Sparks
Prophets need to intentionally dig and draw from these 3 wells in order to maintain prophetic ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, and POWER.
1. THE WELL OF THE WORD For the one who occupies the office of the prophet, or for the everyday believer who operates in the gift of prophecy (which really, can be ANY Christ-follower), there is something that is far superior to the act of prophesying—it's being immersed in the living, eternal, unchanging Word of God. The Scriptures. The Word of God must be paramount in our lives in order for the prophetic to flow with accuracy.
You don't prophesy based on opinion, mood, emotion, current events, popular trends, or political views. You don't prophesy from your soul or your head—your prophesy from your spirit, which is under the influence of the Holy Spirit. You can be confident that you are speaking in sync with the Holy Spirit when you create a well of the Word of God in your life, and thus, draw from this well as you prophesy.
We cannot love prophesying more than the Word. The moment our affections place prophetic ministry or a prophetic office as superior to the position of Scripture in our lives, we instantly set ourselves up for potential inaccuracy and deception. Scripture is your prophetic guardrails. And not a casual approach to the Bible either. Not picking and choosing what Charismatic “proof texts” want to use to support our prophetic words, when in fact, the Bible verses/promises we are throwing out are completely out of context.
Solution? Study the Word. Mine its depths. Dare I say, move beyond the comfortable and casual. Do some additional study. Pick up the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. Read reputable authors and yes, scholars, from other theological traditions. Love the Scriptures, for as you study the Bible, passionately digging in to its richness, you are building an internal well out of which you can prophesy with accuracy.
2. THE WELL OF THE GOSPEL
If you want to maintain integrity in the prophetic, never let yourself graduate from being absolutely awestruck, wrecked, and amazed by the Gospel… it’s implications to you personally, and to the entire planet!
This Gospel reveals how dead people were brought back to life. You were among the dead!
This Gospel announces that a holy God, in His infinite goodness and love, has declared you “not guilty,” even though, because of sin, you deserve to be. You’re justified and made right with God!
This Gospel reveals the ultimate agenda of God to fill the Earth with His glory—not through buildings created by human hands, but through human hands created by and anointed with the power of God.
The Gospel doesn’t stop with you getting your sins forgiven, becoming born again, and going to Heaven one day, someday. That’s simply the inauguration of the glorious reality you have been ushered into. Why did God forgive your sins? So that you could become a fit dwelling place for His Spirit to accomplish His objective since the beginning—to fill the Earth with His glory! (Num. 14:28)
Choose to live awestruck by the mind-blowing realities that the Gospel eternally announces. After all, the Gospel is an eternal proclamation that you will be eternally responding to through “white hot worship,” as John Piper phrases it. There's a reason why the song of Heaven is the “Song of the Lamb” – the anthem of the One Slain. The Song of the Lamb is the eternal cry of the redeemed in response to the wonder and awe of the centerpiece of the Gospel, the God-man: Christ Jesus.
This will ensure that the prophetic operates in integrity. How? At the day's end, the prophet, or the believer operating in the prophetic, will treat the supernatural gift of prophecy with care and a sense of holy sobriety. It's only because of the Gospel that you can operate as someone who hears God’s voice, and thus, speaks His words.
3. THE WELL OF WARFARE
In the same way that, as prophetic people, you never graduate from living in awe of the Gospel, you never graduate from engaging the reality of spiritual warfare.
One of the most assaulted truths in the present church culture—particularly in Charismatic communities—is the need for spiritual warfare. The reality of spiritual conflict in the heavenly realms is being shoved under the proverbial rug – we just don’t want to deal with it. Namely, because of the abuses, weird teaching, and extreme devil/demon focus we have seen in the past.
Sure, many believers will acknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare, but at the same time, refuse to give it any level of emphasis. They believe that by not making spiritual warfare a “big deal” they will somehow become un-enlisted in the Lord’s army. Ignoring warfare doesn’t make it go away. In fact, silence is consent. The voice of the Ekklesia must make decrees against the advancement of darkness. No, we don’t live devil and demon-focused; at the same time, we don’t live unaware of their presence, tactics and attempts to hinder the purposes of God from manifesting in the Earth.
Yes, the prophetic brings edification and consolation. Yes, it encourages and builds up. It confronts and challenges. But do you know what the prophetic is also designed to do? Equip believers with prophetic weapons of warfare to stand on—immovably—and declare them over their lives and circumstances when it seems like all hell is breaking loose against Kingdom promises being fulfilled or Jesus-exalting prayers being answered.
Larry Sparks is publisher for Destiny Image, a Spirit-filled publishing house pioneered by Don Nori Sr. in 1983 with a mandate to publish the prophets. Larry is fueled by a vision to help the church community create space for the Holy Spirit to move in freedom, power and revival fire, providing every Christian with an opportunity to have a life-changing encounter in the presence of God. In addition to publishing, Larry is a regular contributor to Charisma Magazine, he conducts seminars on revival, hosts regional Renewing South Florida gatherings, and has been featured on Sid Roth's It's Supernatural, TBN, CBN, the ElijahList, and Cornerstone TV. He earned a Master of Divinity from Regent University and enjoys life in Texas with his beautiful wife and beloved daughter.
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