Category Archives: Prophecy

Click on following for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

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

C. If The Prophetic Words Are Confirmed, Then What?

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11: 32-34)

Chapter Eleven of Hebrews is a “Hall of Fame for Old Testament Saints.”  In it, we read that mighty men and women of God, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and others had testimonies which pleased God.

What was it they did?

They acted and persevered by faith. In fact, the phrase, by faith, is mentioned nineteen times and is the underlying emphasis for the forty verses of the chapter.

And why were these mighty people of God exercising their faith? They had prophetic words for their lives.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. (Hebrews 11:1-2)

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Our faith must be in God and it must be exhibited before Him. And whether or not, anyone else is able to see or understand our faith, is not important at all for the fulfillment of our prophetic promise.

You see, our approval comes from God, not men. He is the One who brings our prophetic words to pass, or rewards our faith and faithfulness.

For myself, I knew I was called to preach, teach and write within a few weeks after my salvation on May20, 1985. It came through a nighttime vision which I never mentioned to anyone for years.

But even as a young, know-nothing believer, I knew enough that I needed to prepare myself for my calling. I prayed. I studied the word. I listened to hundreds of tapes. I read hundreds of books.

Also, I rearranged the priorities in my life. TV, entertainment,  sports, career, many relationships and whatever became secondary to my pursuit of  God and His calling for my life.

Except for my family, no one knew anything about my spiritual discipline. I was an unknown in a small town. And there were no open doors for me to preach, teach and prophesy. As in none. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Yet, I did things to show my faith to God.

(Continued in Part 5)

My biggest struggles over the last ten years have been the unlearning and relearning processes I have gone through since Honey and I left the traditional church system.

Now, if you know me (or if you read my stuff on FaceBook), you’d understand that I’m not the type who changes easily. I stubbornly hold onto old things and am not quick to try new ones.

And you’d think that I would be the last person in the whole world the Lord would try to change, especially considering I’m 63 years old, right?

But my quirky wrinkles have not bothered the Lord in the least. He just used His special steam-iron to press everything out of my life. And to be honest, it’s a  very, very hot steam-iron.

So, starting next Monday, I will disclose the changes and the processes I have walked through and undergone since hearing the Holy Spirit say, “Too much pastoring in the church.”

The reason I’m doing this is that I feel Christianity is in the time period when the prophetic words spoken to Mike Bickle in 1982 will be fulfilled. The words were:

“I [the Lord] will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in one generation.”

If you are interested, stop back on Monday.

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s  a little of this and a little of that, all written  to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian journeys.

Click on following for earlier articles: Part 1 and Part 2.

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

B. If The Prophetic Words Are Not Confirmed Right Away, Then What?

Many years ago, a pastor stated, “If a prophecy is not confirmed by the Lord in a quick fashion, just place it on the shelf. Eventually, the Lord may confirm it.”

At the time, I thought what the pastor taught was wisdom, but since then, I have changed my mind. His words are not only unscriptural, but they are also foolish.

Are you shocked?After all, isn’t this an example of waiting on the Lord?

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:20)

And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

The Apostle Paul preached the gospel to the Corinthian Church; he was their spiritual father. When Paul states that his preaching was a “demonstration of the Spirit and power“, he is talking about the gifts of the Spirit and prophecy. Who do you think first taught the Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit? Of course, it was Paul.

So then, prophecy and the gifts of the Spirit are a part of the kingdom of God benefit package for us believers, okay?

But Jesus made an important point about the kingdom of God when He said:

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all. (Mark 10:15)

Now, let’s say, you tell your four year-old son that you are going to give him a new bicycle. What will happen next?

Your son will start pestering you and asking questions. “When can we go? Can we go now? Why not? Let’s go. Can I have a red one? Aren’t the stores open now? Why can’t we go now? Huh? Huh?”

He will continue until you either take him to buy one or tell him he can’t have a bicycle. He is not going to allow your words to collect dust on a shelf and just wait for some time in the future. He wants action now!

This is the attitude the Lord wants us to have with unconfirmed prophetic words. He wants us seeking Him until we know the answer.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek , and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

(Continued in Part 4.)

Once, I heard Lester Sumrall say, “I don’t always need a prophet to tell me certain things.”

I agree with Lester. After all, scripture states that “we know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9).

With this in mind, it does not take much thought on our parts to realize jobs could be a major concern for our neighbors and ourselves in the near future, especially in Western nations and America.

My city – Temecula, California – has a current unemployment rate of 15%, with no new employment opportunities lurking on the horizon. And according to the Labor Department, it could get much worse in the months ahead.

We need jobs. Period.

A loss of jobs will cause friction and despair in households which will cause marital problems which will cause children problems and on and on and on.

To counteract this trend, I have prayer walked my neighborhood and I am now prayer walking past businesses. As I walk by, I mention the name of the business and cry out to the Lord for His mercy on the business and for Him to create new jobs in Temecula.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)

My opinion is that the Church needs to be on the offense and not sitting in pews. How we handle our current circumstances will determine what we reap in the future.

So, what do you think?

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s  a little of this and a little of that, all written  to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian journeys.

“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.)