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-- © In Christ Ministries 2009 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from <jane@icmi.org> --
-- USED ON PROPHETIC-SCHOOL WITH PERMISSION FROM COPYRIGHT HOLDER --

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES
Authors: Jane Fitz-Gibbon <jane@icmi.org> http://www.icmi.org
Michael Gerner <mgerner@aol.com>
Teresa Seputis ts@godspeak.net http://www.godspeak.net
Editors: Al Vesper, Teresa Seputis

Judging Prophecy; 2nd Edition

Lesson 4

By Jane Fitz-Gibbon

The Process Of Discernment

This is the third lesson where we are looking at the topic, 'What to do when we receive a prophetic word.' In the last two lessons we looked at prophecy in the Old Testament and prophecy in the New Testament. We saw how in the Old Testament the prophet was the mouthpiece of God; the word spoken was received in its entirety as of God. In the New Testament, there was a change--prophecy was a gift to the church with a much greater emphasis on discernment. So now (in this lesson), want to take a closer look at the process of discernment.

In short, what should we do when we receive a word from another? E.g., what do we do when we are given a prophetic word from someone else for ourselves?

Of course, the word may just be a general word of encouragement, in which case...be encouraged! But sometimes the word may be more specific, more directive, even corrective and will need a response from us. We need to discern if this is God speaking to us. Prophecy is given through imperfect human beings; words may even 'begin in the spirit and end in the flesh'. We do need careful discernment. Then, when we accept it as a word from God, we need to exercise care in how we interpret it and how we apply it. There is a process in prophetic revelation; we need to ask three questions:

  1. Is it from God? (Revelation)
  2. What does it mean? (Interpretation)
  3. What do we do with it? (Application)

Of course, we divide and categorize only as an aid to understanding, in reality the process will overlap and flow together. Let's look at each of these.

1. Is It From God?

When someone prophesies to us, the first thing we need to do is to decide if it is indeed a word from God. There are three things we can use to evaluate this word, or to "check it out".

FIRST CHECK:

We need to test it against Scripture. Prophecy will never contradict the revelation given in the bible. Here's a real situation we have come across in pastoral ministry: a young couple, much in love receive a word that as they are planning to get married it is acceptable for them to start to live together. This word would have to be rejected, as it is not according to Scriptural principles.

SECOND CHECK:

We need to look for an inner witness. This is not so easy to define. It is something deep within us that recognizes that this is something of God, or conversely, that it is not something of God. It's not always easy to describe it to anyone; simply 'I know, because, I know, because I know'. It is that which John talks about 'As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you.'

[It is also worth noting the character of the person giving the word although as we see with Balaam's donkey (Num 22:28), God can speak through anyone! However it is helpful when receiving a prophecy to know if it is given through someone who is a Godly person and in good standing with other Christians.]

THIRD CHECK:

Prophecy is often a confirmation of something or some direction that is already being pursued or perused. Confirmation may come in the form of other prophecies from different sources, in the reading of Scripture, in circumstances, in wise counsel and advice and in a deep sense of inner peace. It is always wise to seek further confirmation of prophetic words.

2. Interpretation

The next stage in the process is interpretation. As a rule of thumb, it helps to look for the main point, the central issue. If this prophecy is from God, what is the main thing God is saying. If you like, what is the punch line? C.H. Dodd did a good turn for biblical scholarship when he pointed out that the parables of Jesus usually have one thing to say, and it is usually the punch line of the story. Most of the other details, descriptions and side points are just good story telling. The narrative is used to create an image...you picture the story, visualize it and if the story telling is good, enter into it. Then comes the punch line. 'Ah, now I see' is the response the story teller hopes for. When God speaks to us through prophecy it is often the same. It is not the details but the main point which is the most important thing. If a spiritual interpretation is sought in every element in the prophecy, it opens the door for any flight of fancy which takes us! We can become bogged down in the details.

It is also helpful to share with those who have understanding and discernment. Don't seek help in interpretation from those who are immature in the faith. Our 'counselors' need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, aware of the ways of God, mature in the faith and able to tell one end of a theological argument from the other! The Celtic Christian practice of the 'soul-friend' (anamchara) is very helpful. A soul-friend is a mature spiritual person who knows God and us, and will help keep us from blind-alleys and dead-ends.

In interpreting prophecy we need to be aware of our bias and prejudices. These are not necessarily a bad thing, but we do need to realize that we have them. They are part of us, formed through our culture, our upbringing, our life-style. Biases color the way we see and understand everything, including prophecy.

One day, we were driving home from a visit to the optician. We had purchased new spectacles on a 'buy one pair, get one pair free' offer. It had made sense to us to have the 'free' pair made with the darkest possible tint to be used in strong sunlight. As we were driving home Andy kept commenting on how lovely the surrounding countryside looked; how beautiful it was, bathed in a sort of rose-colored hue. Everyone else kept telling him that they couldn't see it. Then we realized that the dark lens he had chosen had a red-tint. It was unnoticeable in the dark lens, but nevertheless it was there. He had interpreted the landscape through his particular pair of glasses! We do that with prophecy.

Of course, it may be that we feel the prophecy is from God but no immediate interpretation is revealed to us. That is okay. The prophecy may not be relevant at this time, but may pertain to something in the future. We find it helpful to have what we call a 'prophetic shelf'. This is not a physical shelf but a spiritual shelf. Prophecies that are not for now are put there. They are not 'out of sight' or forgotten, but occasionally read through and prayed into, waiting for the right time when God wishes to use or bring to fulfillment that particular word. We have several at present on our 'prophetic shelf', even words that have been spoken several times through different people. We are awaiting God's timing and further enlightenment. We need to learn to live with loose ends!

3. Application

Let's look just a little more closely at prophetic timing and fulfillment of a revelatory word. One of the most important things in the application and understanding of prophecy is to try not to manipulate it to fit our own direction or wish. It is also important that we don't try to make it happen straight away. We can learn from the examples of Abraham and Joseph. Abraham waited about twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the prophetic word about Isaac. He even tried to help God bring about a fulfilment on a couple of occasions! Here is the story in brief:

The prophetic promise came to Abraham, 'And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, To your offspring I will give this land' (Gen 12:7). Abraham wonders if perhaps the promise is to be fulfilled through his servant. That is not to be, the prophetic promise is renewed and expanded. 'But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."

But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Gen.15: 2-6)

As the promise remains unfilled, Sarah tries to seek another possible way of bringing the word to pass. 'Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children: and she had an Egyptian slave-girl, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave girl; it may be that I obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.' (Gen:16:1-2) 'And the angel of the Lord said to her, Now you have conceived and shall bear a son, and you shall call him Ishmael; for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.' (Gen16:11)

The prophetic promise was confirmed again! Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said to himself, Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live in your sight! 'And God said, "No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son; and you shall name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him."' (Gen 17:17-19) 'And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.' (Gen 21:5) Fulfillment at last!

Another example is Joseph. He received a prophetic word in a dream:

Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 'He said to them, "Listen to this dream that I dreamed. There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf." His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, "Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, "What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?" (Gen 37:5-10)

With Joseph, it was many years later after much persecution and hardship that the word came to pass. 'Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. (Gen 42:6)

I am going to share a personal story with you in the next lesson, as it illustrates how prophetic words, circumstances and inner senses all come together. Then, after that, we will look at what to do when the Lord gives us a word that He wants us to deliver to another person.


-- © In Christ Ministries 2009--
-- Do not republish without written permission from <jane@icmi.org> --
-- USED ON PROPHETIC-SCHOOL WITH PERMISSION FROM COPYRIGHT HOLDER --

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