Monthly Archives: September 2009

“Larry, you told me the Lord was going to give me my own business,” she said, her eyes locking on mine. “So, where is it?”

This is the situation we prophetic voices absolutely hate.

On the one hand, we need to boldly speak by faith what we feel is a prophetic word to a person. But then, on the other hand, we have to recognize we can make mistakes.

“Well,” I replied, “what do you think? Was my prophetic word about the Lord giving you a business a true word or not?”

Her eyes blinked. “At the time, I really believed it was from the Lord,” she said. “But now, after all this time, I’m not so sure.”

“Okay, what have you done to bring this particular prophetic word to pass in your life?” I asked.

She sighed. “Well, I’ve been waiting on the Lord, you know, just waiting on Him.” Her eyes narrowed a bit, daring me to say something.

In my twenty-plus years of speaking prophetic words to people about their callings or their ministries or their businesses or prospective marriages or having babies or whatever, I have heard this answer countless numbers of times. In fact, I’ve heard it so much that I have to quell a scream from spewing out of my mouth whenever I hear it uttered.

What most Christians think waiting on the Lord means, compared to what Scripture actually reveals it to be, is about like the difference between night and day. Or in the case of New Testament prophetic words, it’s the difference between having a prophetic word coming to pass or one that fails.

A young Roberts Liardon said, “I knew that I was called to preach so I went out to meet my calling.”

Liardon’s words may sound brash to many believers, but they are scriptural.

So what can a New Testament believer do to help bring a personal prophetic word to pass in his (or her) life?

(Continued in Part 2.)

For me, Permission Granted is a book that I could only read a few pages at a time. Then, I had to digest what I had read, especially the chapters which Graham Cooke wrote.

For the most part, Gary Goodell shares his experiences about developing new ways of doing church. He is a fan of the simple church format and endorses holding meetings in businesses, coffee shops, parks and so forth. You can quickly read his chapters and understand the basic gist of it.

But I found Graham Cooke’s writing to be enlightening, profound and deep. I underlined specific parts, reread his sections many times and I can still open the book at random and be blessed by finding new revelations.

Here’s some examples:

In order to be alive to God in this way, we must surrender to Him and to everything He brings. He allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power… page 24.

When the system is more important than the individual, then we become a Pharisee and are guilty of the sin of expedience; the individual should suffer for the whole (see John 11:50)… page 43.

A society that values the individual will always rise to the highest place of its power because this value enshrines integrity, decency and honor. But when we cease to honor the weakest member, we are diminished as a company of called-out people… page 43.

We cannot indulge in the laws of reason and logic and expect to fight off the demonic. We cannot hear words concerning the future without willingly changing our practices in the present… page 158.

We must make sure that our relationships are strong enough to attract the presence of God as well as endure the warfare that our corporate anointing will provoke… page 205.

In distress, as a church, we will discover who is really joined to us in heart and who is joined to the euphoria of what was happening in the meetings…page 208.

I highly recommend Permission Granted if you searching for some meaty revelations about change, transitions, warfare and new ways of doing church.

Paperback. 280 pages. Published by Destiny Image. List Price: $14.99 and can be purchased here and here.