True prophecy

 BY Argie Simonis

Today I will talk about true prophecy. I would like to get deeper on this topic for 2 reasons:

1st - The prophetic gift is one of the best tools that the Lord has given His body but it is not used properly,

and

2nd - Because of ignorance, this gift has been abused to such an extent, that instead of being a blessing it has become a thorn in the body of the church.

I will try to explain more what true prophecy means, and a message about true prophets will follow. So don't miss it.

I will begin by reading something from Proverbs:

"A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!" Prov. 15:23

Let us not forget that the Lord speaks from the 1st chapter of Genesis to the 22nd chapter of Revelation. God basically speaks throughout the Bible. Many of you may have had bad experiences with the prophetic and I totally understand. This is because the prophetic word is given by imperfect people, mistakes may be made, but God does not stop speaking and He certainly does not make any mistakes.

There are some very basic characteristics of true prophecy.

1 - It is accurate.

When the Lord speaks through a man and addresses other men, He speaks accurately. I will refer to one of the most awesome prophecies in the Bible in terms of the accuracy with which it is given. It is when the prophet Samuel, who learned to hear the Lord from a young age, prophesied to Saul the first time he met him. Saul was looking for the donkeys that his father had lost, and so he went to see if the prophet knew anything:

"Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD has anointed you to be captain over his inheritance?" 1Sam. 10:1

Here Samuel anoints Saul as king privately, but later he does this publicly. He gives him this prophetic word to show him that the Lord is speaking to him.

"When you are departed from me to day, then you shall find two men by Rachel's sepulcher in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went to seek are found: and, see, your father has left the care of the asses, and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

Then shall you go on forward from there, and you shall come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet you three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

And they will salute you, and give you two loaves of bread; which you shall receive of their hands.

After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when you are come thither to the city, that you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

And the Spirit of the LORD will come on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man." 1Sam. 10:2-6

Do you see the accuracy of this word? When the Lord wants something, he simply speaks it. So when the Lord wants to do something in your life, He speaks it and His power is available in you so that you can see this word fulfilled and your life changed!

2 - True prophecy brings encouragement.

Let's go back to 1 Samuel 10:15:

"And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray you, what Samuel said to you.

And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not." 1Sam. 10:15-16

You see he didn't tell his uncle what happened. Don't you wonder why?

Let's go back to chapter 9:

"And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people." 1Sam. 9:2

From this description we see that Saul was a handsome man who stood out among the people. Samuel was to elect a king for the people.

"And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold he has hid himself among the stuff." 1Sam. 10:20-22

You see, you can't hide from God :)

So this is why Saul received such an accurate word from Samuel. Because he was insecure. The same happens with many of us:

"Can God really use me?"

"Can I do something important for His kingdom?"

That is why this prophetic word is given to Saul, to encourage him. That is exactly what prophecy is.

3 - True prophecy comes to pass.

"And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day." 1Sam. 10:9

All those signs happened that day. Some of you may think that Saul did not end up well according to the Bible, and I understand that. But for many years Saul was a good king. That's why you don't let one failure make you completely reject a person. It's something you wouldn't want to happen to you either.

Look at another verse from Joshua:

"There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass." Joshua 21:45

- All came to pass -

Everything that the Lord speaks comes to pass.

Amen;

I hope this message has clarified within you the meaning, role and character of true prophecy. In the next message I will talk about the true prophets, so don't miss it!

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