Prophets without burden

Prophets without burdenBy Lars Widerberg1. Prophets are sent, holding a heavenly mandate, to protect people. The prophet is sent to correct the people. The properly conducted prophetic ministry provokes those who are strong and who live securely to cover and to serve the weak.A prophet, a real prophet is brought up and then brought forth into the arena of man’s struggle to be concerned, to be bothered. A man, even worse, a prophet who does not care about the pain of the poor and needy causes the heaviest burden to be machinated and prepared for the Father’s heart to carry.A Samuel’s attitude is spelled out thus: ”As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will instruct you in the good and right way.” 1 Sam 12:23. Jeremiah reaches out for more tears: ”Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” Jer 9:1.

Well said. provokes those who are strong and who live securely to cover and to serve the weak.A prophet, a real prophet is brought up and then brought forth into the arena of man’s struggle to be concerned, to be bothered

Those modern so called third wave prophets – and apostles – do not seem to carry much of a burden for the poor and needy, do they?Terry

Those modern so called third wave prophets – and apostles – do not seem to carry much of a burden for the poor and needy, do they?Of course not! Poor people can't afford the latest conferences and books!

2. A prophet is a prophet if he is willing to give himself away to the cause and ways of Heaven. Having a diploma from a ”school of prophets” or a business card carrying the title ”Prophet” does never turn a man into something that the presence of the Lord alone prepares for and produces. The bigger the advertisement machinery grows to promote a ministry, the farther from truth, the farther from the reality and presence of Heaven. The increase of Christ is not to be ordered by man’s hand or to become nurtured and propagated by the man’s natural capacities. The Spirit grieves beyond measure in displeasure as to what is to be seen among what should be the leadership of the modern Church.Those prophets without burden are never interested in men. They are but proclaimers of events. Those prophets without burden are not really interested in God, only in what God might have for them in categories of blessings and a prosperous future. They do not care for dry and meagre reality - they live a fantasy. Their messages are wind and vain imagination.

3. A messenger who has not been willing to move into close combat with reality, with the pain of the downtrodden will not be able to bring a message of relief and healing. A painless message cannot ease the pain. A painless message cannot carry a burden. A true messenger of the Lord begins every voyage at the Cross. Each and every piece brought forth from his mouth is marked by the Cross. In his heart you will find a Cross as in the Father’s. Thou dost desire truth in the inward parts, in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom, Ps 51:6.The prophet without a burden is a perplexing reflection of the ruling forces of the world of this day. He is indeed a sign of the times. There is a good word for these men: Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness. Jer 3:22. If they only would respond properly: Surely, the hills are a deception, a tumult on the mountains. Surely, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. Jer 3:23.

4. The modern prophetic message is a quite comfortable one. God is going to act mightily on behalf of his people. Allow yourself to adjust to what God is doing today. It never pushes people into action. It describes the future in bright terms. It predicts the near future in generalisations and vagueness as to be interpreted and applied in any situation with greatest liberty – prophecy is like a straw hat, one size fits all. If the prophet misses the mark, he is easily and carelessly excused and continues to be endorsed and recognised as a true prophet among the rest of the band who dismiss the issue of standards. No correction, don’t touch the prophet. We will certainly touch any of these men for the sake of vindication of the poor and needy, who always pay the bill. Prophecy is indeed an issue of standards, of truth in the inward parts.

5. A prophet as well as his message is born before the Lord. Prophets are men of prayer. Men who have learnt to sit in quietness before the Lord cannot but be permeated by his pain regarding the situation of the oppressed. Prophets and priests administrate salvation, solid and substantial ability to cope. Prophets feed the hungry. They provoke the rich to pay the bills of the poor. Their aim is to free the captives. Prophets tell the truth. Those who come out from the presence of the Lord without these imperatives melted into their character have done a poor job in the closet. If you find a man praying for imprisoned and tortured friends in the Lord, you have found a man moving in the prophetic realm. If you see men and women engaged in feeding and sheltering refugees and runaways, you have found a prophetically productive fellowship. If you are among those who cannot but give yourself to prayer for the many who struggle in poor conditions, you have entered the prophetic dimension. The rest of them, those who talk about ”what God does today” and explain ”present-day-truths” prophesy wind. And wind they will reap in plenty.END

Prophets tell the truth.

How do we learn to speak into this mess?

The prophets learned to listen.The prophets learned to sit in silence.The prophets learned to keep quiet.They kept on being silent until the Lord had spoken.We generate too much noise in which it is extremely difficult to evaluate and set aside that which holds eternal value.They did not speak until they were absolutely sure that they had heard from the Lord.They did not speak until that which they were about to bring forth was purged and purified seven times, Ps. 12.Most of us talk too much too soon.They spoke because their hearts were touched by a burden from the Lord.They spoke with clarity because they allowed themselves to take time to think and pray.

Regular, ordinary decency seems to open the safest route to this position.Silence and awe build proper foundation for communion unto maturity.Am I right?Terry

This is not a generation completely void of true prophets of God. Perhaps they are not Samuels or Jeremiahs, but the Spirit has not completely withheld that gift from His people in our time.But I believe that these men and women serve a smaller group of believers than those reached by traveling the nation and appearing on television, selling how-to books and videos, recommending at least $25 donations on pre-printed "tithing" envelopes.Many, too many, modern-day prophets forget that God is the focus, not them. Prophets are messengers, not performers, and messengers should loathe the spotlight.I have long held that pride is Satan's favorite sin -- it led to his fall as well as the fall of Adam and Eve. How can they call themselves prophets -- messengers of God -- and we call ourselves Christians if we credit ourselves with the things that are rightfully to His glory?