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The Prophetic

tired woman

Feeling Unusually Tired Lately?

By | The Prophetic | No Comments

Have you been feeling exhausted, lethargic, passive, and not feeling like yourself? But then, at the same time, you struggle with insomnia. Despite your tiredness, you can’t find physical or mental rest. These physical issues are indicators of something happening spiritually. I speak all over the United States and ask people this question, and in crowds of people, 95% of them raise their hands that they are experiencing this same phenomenon. And even though their diets are healthy, and they exercise and keep their stress levels in check, they still experience this issue.

Dark Winter

At the time of writing this prophetic word, we’re coming into the winter. I’ve been hearing the phrase “dark winter.” You probably have been feeling lethargic and drained. It’s impossible to read the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, and not draw the conclusion that we are fighting demonic spirits. The Lord showed me in prayer that there is a spiritual slumber and a tiredness that has been sent on assignment by the devil to rob people from stepping into the fullness of why God has birthed them on the earth for such a time as this. Forces are trying to rob masses of people of their divine purpose. 

A People Who Dream

We are systematically being bombarded by an agenda to slow us down, to restrict us, to hold us back. And let me tell you why. You are a prophetic people. This is the generation of Elijah that will do what the prophet Joel prophesied about when he said, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28 ESV). If you don’t sleep, you don’t dream. And if you don’t dream, you don’t get revelation. If you don’t get revelation, you don’t get motivation. And if you don’t get motivation, you don’t take action.

There is an assignment from Satan to stop you from dreaming prophetic dreams and discerning the signs of the times. There is going to be a global harvest of souls. Your family is supposed to be saved. Your family is supposed to be delivered. You are supposed to step into financial provision. You’re supposed to be a Joseph building a Goshen where you have provision for your family before the economic collapse, but the devil is trying to stop you from getting it. 

A Vision of a Thief

Are you experiencing an attack in your sleep? Are your friends and family members opposing you? Have you been subjected to unusual cruelty? Are people criticizing you? Are they backbiting and talking about you? Have you been rejected or abandoned?

I had a vision in prayer. You were lying in bed, tossing and turning, and neither asleep nor awake in a twilight. A thief entered your home, and as he walked in, you knew it was time to wake up and stop the thief.

I saw in your closet a weapon. You knew it was there, but you kept telling yourself, “I’m too tired to stop the thief. I’m too tired to stop the thief.” And then you decided to let the thief rob you. You allowed the thief to steal your children. You let the thief steal gold-like items representing the Lord’s prosperity and provision.

The Lord told me, “Tell my people to awake from their slumber. Mike, pray for my people today. Break off every demonic assignment and cast every single demon out of their lives, their houses, and their bodies so that they do not miss their moment so that they do not miss their assignment.” 

The Root of Discouragement

The Lord said, “Many of my people have a root of discouragement.” What does that mean? You put your hope in man, and man has failed you. You put your hope in a church or ministry, and that church or ministry failed you, and it caused discouragement. Discouragement causes despair, and despair has disabled you. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov 13:12-14), and I begin to see a heart sickness. And the Lord says that He’s dealing with discouragement and heart sickness. Maybe you thought your spouse would become a man of God, and he never stepped in. You’re discouraged, and the delay has caused you to become heartsick.

You may have received a word about stepping into ministry, into your calling, and it hasn’t come to pass. You’ve been discouraged. You’ve been believing for and fasting for healing and said, “God, I know that you can heal me.” It hasn’t happened, and you’ve been discouraged, and that discouragement has turned to tiredness and lethargy.

Fight With the Opposite Spirit

So, what is the solution? You fight a spirit with the opposite spirit. When they accused Jesus of casting devils out by the power of the devil, Jesus said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” If you’re fighting passivity, lethargy, and tiredness and go lay in your bed, you’re fighting a spirit with the same spirit because they want you in the bed or in your favorite chair, scrolling all day. If the devil tempts you with being lethargic, you stand up. You rise and say, no devil, I’m going to take back everything that you’re trying to steal from me, and you’re not going to have my body. You’re not going to have my children. You’re not going to have my destiny.  

Perhaps you’ve been feeling a solicitation to sin or to temptation. This could include:

  • Wanting to go back to vaping or tobacco product
  • Wanting to relapse into alcohol addiction 
  • A solicitation back to pornography, lust, or dating websites 

Do not go back. Don’t turn into a pillar of salt in this season. Set your eyes forward. 

The Lord began to show me preservation. He is going to preserve your body, your mind, your anointing, and your calling. We’re going to say no to all the agendas of the enemy. 

Let’s Pray 

Heavenly Father, I pray for every single person reading this right now. I break every assignment of Satan off of them by the blood of Jesus, and I release the anointing to break every burden of isolation, loneliness, and fear. I speak to the spirit of python that’s been strangling their neck, and I command that serpent to loose their neck right now in the name of Jesus and to go back to the abyss.

You will not steal their life. You will not steal their breath. Every spirit of python, go in the name of Jesus. I speak to discouragement and depression, and I command every foul spirit of discouragement and depression to go in the name of Jesus. I see the Lord breaking heavy chains off of your neck. I break the curse of slavery. You will not be a slave to systems of government, systems of the world, or slaves to alcohol and tobacco. I break the power of mental slavery right now in the name of Jesus. You will not be a slave to pills. 

You will not be a slave to mind control. Every spirit that has been binding them and holding them back from activity, I command them to go in the name of Jesus now and I release supernatural encouragement, strength, and peace over every single one of you. 

The Lord has shown me right now that people have been talking about you, backbiting, and I see sores slicing your back. I hear the Lord saying that I will lift a standard against them and silence every tongue that has risen up against you. And the Lord says, when they talked about you, they were talking about me because you’ve been living for my name’s sake. And so right now, we cancel every assignment of slander, character, assassination, and gossip in the name of Jesus. We thwart it, cancel it, and ask the Lord to lift a standard against it right now in the name of Jesus. And I say peace.

I say peace. I take captive every thought that erects itself up against the word of God and pull it down right now in the name of Jesus. I pull down every single thought contrary to God’s word right now. Every lunatic spirit, the spirit of schizophrenia, the spirit of multiple voices, the spirit of deception, I command you to go right now in the name of Jesus. Loose them right now in the name of Jesus/ Some of you have been saying, am I going crazy? Am I losing my mind? No, your mind is kept in perfect peace by Jehovah.

The Lord is healing you to step into what God has for you. To step into your purpose, write the book, preach, prophesy, travel, get married, and have babies. The Lord is mobilizing. We are not going to be victims of this demonic global system to try to sterilize us, anesthetize us, and put us back to sleep. We will rise bold as lions and fight a spirit with an opposite spirit and not let the devil win.

You will birth that business. You will birth that ministry. You will step into your assignment from God, and you will not back down. 

In Jesus’ name, amen.  


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Girl with electricty running across her

It’s Time to Dream Bigger

By | The Prophetic | No Comments

Many of us know people who have embraced mediocrity despite deserving greater things.  We all have friends and family members who chose companions who don’t were less than ideal – we call that “settling.” Some compromise in both their professional and personal spheres, adopting the belief that contentment stems from embracing whatever life hands them.

Truthfully, it’s easy to settle for less in many areas of life.  We are tempted to exchange “free indeed,” which Jesus offers, for “freer than you used to be.”  Instead of God’s best, we settle for “just better.”  I don’t want a better marriage. I want the best marriage. I don’t want to be freer than I used to be. I want to be completely free. I don’t want to just feel a little bit better in my body. I want complete and total healing in my body. 

Genesis 11:31 (ESV)

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

Abram’s father, Terah, originally set out to lead his large family from Ur to Canaan. However, when they reached about halfway to Canaan, Terah decided to settle in Haran instead of pressing on. Consequently, Haran came to symbolize the land of comfort.

But there’s a pivotal message here: sometimes we exchange Haran for Canaan. Canaan, in this context, represents the land of promise. The underlying message is clear – we should not exchange comfort for the promise. These are distinct choices, and many find themselves at a point in their Christian journey where they celebrate progress but may unknowingly be settling for less.

It’s crucial to recognize that getting older and feeling tired isn’t synonymous with sanctification. The temptation to justify changes in lifestyle by claiming maturity needs to be scrutinized. God’s call is to press on to Canaan, not settle for comfort.  Maybe you say, “Well, I don’t club like I used to club.” Well maybe it’s because you’re older and tired, not because you’re sanctified!

What you do incrementally, your children will do exponentially. If you drink a little bit, your children will drink more.  If you party a little bit, your children will party exponentially more. We are called to set a standard of the next generation! Don’t settle for comfort when the promise awaits in Canaan.

You may have been delivered from a demonic enemy, but have you dealt with the “enemy of me?”  What do you do when you get delivered from demons and now you’re the problem?  What happens when you can’t blame a demon anymore?  Terah opted for the comfort of this new, like, Mesopotamian home.  But why would he stop halfway?  When I read Abraham’s testimony from Joshua’s standpoint, it gives another perspective. 

Joshua 24:2 (ESV)

And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 

Terah worshiped other gods. We’re all made and designed to worship.  What is worship? It’s the direction of your affections. We never stop worshiping, we just change the direction of our worship.  So, what are you worshiping?  Terah’s decision to worship other gods was going to affect his legacy.  

Abraham’s Legacy

Hebrews 11:8 (ESV)

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By faith, Abraham did something his dad never did.  His dad started the journey and led everyone toward Canaan.   But he stopped halfway because it was comfortable.  He worshiped other Gods.  God designed Terah to go all the way, but he compromised and moved to the next generation.  Maybe the generation before you was destined for greatness, and now God is speaking this message to you. God wants you to go all the way. When Abraham was called, he obeyed. And he went out to a place to receive an inheritance.

Understanding Inheritance

There are two kinds of inheritances: biological and supernatural.  You may have inherited your eye color or height from your parents.  This is biological inheritance.  This is not what the Bible is speaking about when it says that Abraham went to a place that he did not know to receive an inheritance. He was after a godly inheritance.

Some of you received generational curses of alcoholism, divorce, or premature death. But the Bible says he said he went to another land and he obeyed so he could receive another inheritance.  Premature death runs in both sides of my family. Men went to prison on both sides of my family, and there’s divorce in my family as well. I had to make a decision when it came to me. My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents may have been subject to the generational curses of the past.  But I was going to go into another land that I knew not. And I was going to obey.  I wasn’t I wasn’t going to worship the gods of Playboy Magazine. I wasn’t going to worship the god of Michelob and Miller Lite.  I wasn’t going to bow down to those gods, but I was going to go into another land that I did not know.

The Bible says, “He went out not knowing where he was going.”  You have to be willing to do something that you’ve never seen someone else do and to be something you’ve never seen someone else be.  

In the 1940’s, only 4% of all children were born to single mothers. In 2023, 40% of all births are to single mothers in this nation.  Fatherlessness is an epidemic.  Every problem we have is rooted in the absence of fathers.  Maybe you never saw your dad pray for your mom.  It’s time to be something different.  A non-anxious presence of a man in a home is a healing force from God. When a man begins to pray for his wife and lay hands on her, that flows oil through the whole family.

When I first got married to my wife, Julie, I had no idea how to be a husband. I’d never seen it before. I was angry all the time. The injustices of the world, how hard it is to make money. In my dad’s generation, you could get a job at McDonald’s and go buy a house and a car. Your wife could be a stay-at-home mom and you could pay in full for college after each semester.  The economy of my father’s time was very different.  Nowadays you have to have three side hustles, four businesses, you work full time, and you still don’t have medical benefits. And so you live under that pressure and you’re angry and frustrated all the time.  

It may feel like things are getting harder for you. The pressure is on. But let me remind you, the same boiling water that softens a potato hardens an egg.  So when you are under pressure, if you have the DNA of the kingdom on the inside of you, it will harden some resolve inside of you.

Abraham was under the same pressure. His dad was an idolator, but Abraham said, “I’m not going to worship those false gods. I’m going to worship the God of Israel. I’m going to make a decision. I will be the one that obeys.”

When we talk about spiritual inheritance, we’re talking about dominion. You’re not inheriting biologically, you’re inheriting supernaturally. Fear tells you “Why even try, because it won’t work!” Fear tells you, “Why even go into this area, it won’t work?”

Faith says, “No, I can, I will, I shall.”  Faith says, “I will go in, I will do it.” Faith says, “I’m not backing down.  I’m going to continue to move in this direction.”  

Terah traveled over 600 miles and he only had 450 miles to go. Some of you are right at the edge of your breakthrough.  You’ve already been 600 miles.  Some of you have been through so much, and you’re right at that point of breakthrough, but you’re getting ready to settle. You’re getting ready to be offended over something stupid. You’re getting ready to get captivated by the thoughts of all the gossip around you, and what other people have said.

You did not get this far just to get this far. You did not get this free, not to get completely free. You didn’t survive all the hell that you went through just to live this kind of life.

The Lord is calling you to this next level. 

Overcoming Scarcity Mindset

Terah settled at a place called Haran, which means “caravan route” in Hebrew.  It was never supposed to be a destination. Haran was located on the Euphrates River and it was just a caravan route, but he made a route his home.  Some of you are about to make a route your home.  And God does not want you to stay there.  He has more for you.  He wants to break the scarcity mindset. 

My mother was a single mother on welfare with five kids.  My mother and I received the ministry of deliverance and prophecy at the same time. We hadn’t been taught it in our local church; rather, it was through books we were reading, such as those by the Apostle John Eckhart, who was located on the south side of Chicago. 

Our church had a lot of people who had recently moved from Puerto Rico who had practiced witchcraft.  We started seeing demons manifest when we prayed for people, and we didn’t know what to do.  We started learning deliverance and prophecy, and the first person I ever prophesied over was my mom, and vice versa.  My mom and I started learning the power of decreeing. In the oldest book of the Bible, Job, he says, “I will decree a thing and it will be established unto me.” The power of life and death is in your tongue. So we started decreeing and declaring.  

Dream Bigger

I remember one day I was in my bedroom at the other end of our house and I could hear pounding and muffled yelling. As I walked down the hallway it got louder and louder  As I got to the kitchen I saw my mother at the table, praying in the spirit.  She was pounding her fist on the table and every time she hit the table, she said, “Dream bigger.  Dream bigger.”  

At this time, she had five kids, no husband, living in poverty in a home infested by mice. 

“Dream bigger.  Dream bigger,” she says again.  

Finally, she finished, and I said, “Mom, are you ok? What was that?”  

She replied, “The Holy Spirit was trying to get me to dream bigger.  I was repeating what He was telling me to repeat.  He kept saying, ‘Sandra, keep saying it, dream bigger.’  So I would dream about what would be possible with my five kids and he would say again, ‘No, dream bigger!’”

Every time she slammed her fist on the table and said, “Dream bigger,” she was increasing the borders of her belief.

She and I shared this story in my movie, The Domino Revival.  And in the movie, she looks into the camera and says, “If you are a single mother and you’re watching this movie, dream bigger.”

My mom was prophesying at that kitchen table so many decades ago.  I now pastor the fastest-growing church in America for the last five years in a row. She serves on the pastoral staff there.  She’s in a major motion picture.  My mom was just like Abraham.  She said, “I’m going into a place that I do not know, and I will not compromise. I’m not accepting just good when God has greatness inside of me.”

It isn’t your power.  It’s God’s power.  It’s not your anointing, it’s God’s anointing.  It’s not your provision, it’s His provision.  You’re not dreaming with your resources. You’re dreaming with His. You can’t get it done with your bank account, but His bank account can get it done.  You can’t get it done with your relationships, but He’s got the relationships to connect you to bigger things.  

Acts 7:2-4

Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

The Bible says the glory of the Lord appeared to Abraham. If you want God to appear in your life, I dare you to go a direction no one else has gone. I dare you to step all the way in. I dare you to dream bigger because it provokes God for visitations. You get a visitation when there’s a big assignment.

Provoking the Supernatural  

When I first moved to New York City trying to plant our church, I got arrested on the George Washington Bridge. I was driving our box truck and was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction.  When the police ran my license, they found that there was an unpaid ticket on my record from New Jersey five years before for not having my headlights on during dusk.

So they arrested me and then when they found out what it was for, they laughed and I paid $90 and they let me out. However, as a result of this, my box truck got impounded.  I had to go through a bureaucratic process to get it out with all kinds of red tape to get through, and it was looking hopeless.  We were getting ready to have our first church service, and our entire church’s stuff was in this box truck, but, in addition to that, all of my family’s items were in it because I had sold my home.

I had given away a third of everything I owned to launch this church in New York City.  And so here I am like, “Lord, what did I do? I left normalcy. I’ve given I cashed out my retirement. I did everything I could to get to this one moment. And I have hundreds of people that are coming for this first service in New York City, one of the most godless places in the nation.”

I finally got all the paperwork in order and showed up to pick up the box truck the day before our church launch, and I arrived after hours because of traffic. The man says, “Listen, we’re supposed to be closed but I happen to be here doing other stuff. I’ll let you go in to get the box truck out.” 

In New York, it is required to have license plates on the front and back of your vehicle, so I showed up with my screw gun and the plates.  I went to screw the plate into the bumper and realized I forgot the screws.  This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  My thinking immediately spiraled.  “Now we can’t have church tomorrow.  I’m so frustrated.  I got arrested on the way here, I finally got all the issues squared away, and now I forgot the screws.  I gave you my life to start this church.  I moved all the way to New York to do what you called me to do.”  I was so frustrated.  

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me say, “Hey, is this what you need?”  I turned around and this man had his hand open with two self-tapping screws in his palm. It was exactly what I needed!  

I turned to screw in the license plate and thought, “Wait, that was rude of me.  I’m going to thank him.”  I turned around, and he was gone.  Then I was scared.  I was in New York City, alone, in a huge gated parking lot.  I went to the front desk and said, “Hey, where’s the guy who gave me these screws?” The person at the desk said, “Bro, are you out of your mind? No one else is here.”  It was then I realized that God sent an angel on assignment to give me the screws that I needed.  

When you go to great lengths to do something for God, you will begin to provoke the supernatural, angelic visitation, and the glory of God. And so I screwed that plate in, and I drove away. That same weekend, I started V1 Church.  And as a result, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, and Jews have accepted Christ as Messiah.  

Overcoming Generational Curses

Exodus 20:5

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. 

Romans 5:18

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Just by your one decision right now, how many people in your bloodline could be changed?  If you would stop being lukewarm and say, God, I want to be on fire for you, your family and friends would begin to get free from drugs, opiates, pornography, lust, and a poverty mindset.

Prayer

If you want to be like Abraham and Sarah, you want to dream bigger and be one of those people who goes all the way, pray this prayer:

Heavenly Father. I commit to your will and your ways. I will go where you tell me to go.  I will do what you tell me to do. I break all false idols now: every bit of vanity, every last bit of sin.  I confess and repent.  I break every band of wickedness, every remaining chain, and every generational curse.  It stops with me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.


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7 Do’s and 7 Dont’s of Prophetic Ministry (Breakers Challenge)

By | Gifts of the Spirit, The Breakers Challenge, The Holy Spirit, The Prophetic | No Comments

Many Christians have been hurt by bad prophetic words.  Many have even left the faith altogether as a result of being in toxic, charismatic churches. Alternately, many other people have also been tremendously helped and even guided by powerful prophetic words. So how do you ensure that the prophetic words you give are helpful and not hurtful?  

Here are 7 do’s and 7 dont’s of prophetic ministry that can help you as you move in prophetic ministry.  

7 Do’s of Prophetic Ministry 

1. Do encourage, edify, exhort, and comfort others through your prophetic word.

1 Corinthians 14:2-4 (ESV)

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.  On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

This sounds basic but so many people do the opposite of this.  New Testment prophecy is to encourage.  

2. Do read your Bible.

Read your bibleI have heard countless prophetic people say, “I’m waiting on a word from the Lord.”  Open your Bible. You’ll get one immediately. Many people want the rhema  word of God to the detriment of the logos word of God. So, read your Bible.  

When you read Genesis through Revelation, you get an insight into the character of God.  

I spend so much time with my wife that if someone told me my wife said something, I could judge it and say either, “Well, I know her character.  She didn’t say that,” or, “Yeah, that sounds just like her.”  When you read the Bible, you know what God sounds like.  

3. Do allow a senior pastor to cover you.

Those who are in authority must be under authority.  Just because you were hurt by a covering doesn’t mean you can’t now be protected by a covering.  Just because a covering misunderstood, ostracized, and gossiped about you doesn’t mean God can’t give you a covering

that will lift you up, encourage you, and give you direction.  Your covering can give you a platform, influence, greater insights, and care for you.  But you have to be under authority if you are to be in authority.  That’s God’s plan. If you’re wondering what’s your next level, but covering is missing from your life because you’re a rogue prophet, your next level is coming under a covering.  

4. Do speak the truth in love.

Prophecy should be rooted in love. Because I have two daughters, I often ask myself,  am I disciplining them out of anger in response to what they’ve done? Or am I trying to increase their wisdom and raise them up? Is this discipline I’m giving bringing them to a place of maturity?

God does not give you discernment to increase your criticism, He gives it to increase your accuracy. Prophets see much in the spiritual realm that it can create anger.  So make sure your prophecy is rooted in love and not anger or criticism.  

5. Do exactly what the Holy Spirit instructs you to do.

Prophecy is delivered to your spirit and mind before it goes out of your mouth.  There can be a temptation to change the words or deliver it differently than your receive it.  Do exactly what the Holy Spirit instructs you to do.

6. Do use prophecy to guide others into the Lord’s will.  

Boy reading mapJesus constantly revealed the will of His Father. When you prophesy, don’t try to help people fulfill their will. Use prophecy to fulfill God’s will.  You’re going to feel a temptation, especially when God uses you to prophesy to renowned famous, or well-know people.  You’ll feel the pull to ask, “Okay God, how do I help them fulfill their will?”  But no! Prophesy so that you can help people concerning the Lord’s will.

7. Do prophesy to point others to Jesus Christ, not yourself.  

I know it sounds basic, but if you’re operating in supernatural ministry, there can be a temptation to absorb glory instead of deflect it to the Lord.  But the secret to elevating it to higher dimensions of influence is deflecting more and more to the Lord.  Glory should come through you, not to you.  Be a conduit for glory that deflects back to Jesus, not an absorber of glory.   I’ve seen people start so well, but then money starts flowing into their cash app, Venmo, and PayPal.  Then they start getting invited into green rooms and it perverts the prophetic in their life. 

7 Dont’s of Prophetic Ministry 

1. Don’t say “Thus sayeth the Lord” just because they did it in your storefront Pentecostal church.

I was raised in that same kind of church. But it doesn’t mean that we need to put “Thus saith the Lord”  Why? Because sometimes, you’re going to miss it.  You won’t always be 100% accurate.  

That phrase was used in Old Testament times for the prophets to identify whose god they were speaking on behalf of. New Testament prophets don’t have to do that anymore  (Jeremiah Johnson talks about the difference in Old Testament and New Testament prophecy at length in my interview with him, which you can check out here.) 

2. Don’t always prophesy doom and gloom.

God may use you to do a future foretelling prophecy.  And many significant prophetic voices have warned of economic downturns or war, and have been accurate. But if your prophecy is primarily doom and gloom, you don’t have a revelation that whenever there is a Goliath, there’s going to be a prophetic David. Whenever there’s a famine, there’s going to be a prophetic Joseph sitting on the pile of grain to distribute to a nation.  God always fights a spirit with an opposite spirit. Don’t constantly prophesy doom and gloom.  

3. Don’t spend a lot of time in dialogue before and during prophetic ministry. 

It poisons the well.  Let me explain.  You don’t want to prophesy 30% from the things you’ve learned from your conversation and 70% from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the more information you take in in the natural realm, the harder it is to enter to the spiritual realm.  Oftentimes I will limit my conversations with people before and during prophetic ministry to help keep the ministry pure.

4. Don’t ever use prophecy to control other people.

Puppet on a stringFeel free to send the link to this blog to anyone you know who is doing that! Even if you think that what you’re saying is right and they need it, just call it a teaching, not prophecy.

If what you’re saying is beneficial and going to bring correction, call it a pastoral counseling session. Call it a teaching, call it advice, but don’t call it prophecy.

5. Don’t release a word if you are a people pleaser.

If you want people to like you, don’t become a prophet.  At one point my life, I prophesied a word and was ostracized by an entire church. Nobody agreed with me. Nobody believed me. They all thought I lost my mind. They all thought I was lying. And it wasn’t until about two years later when the word came to pass that then I was elevated into a higher level of respect. But there was a duration of time where the people closest to me thought I was crazy.

So if you struggle with people pleasing, go before God and say, “Lord, I want to learn the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, but the fear of man is the beginning of foolishness.”

6.  Don’t prophesy when you’re very tired.  

This is important, because when you’re exhausted, you will have a tendency to speak out of emotion.  Elijah was chased in a brutal attack by Jezebel (Jezebel will always attack prophets) and then had ministering angels that fed him as he prepared to sleep.  You have to learn how to rest and recharge because if you minister out of that exhaustion, you will speak out of emotion, which is your soul, instead of speaking out of your spirit in conjunction with the Holy Spirit,

7.  Don’t give directive words about marriage, pregnancy, or moving across the country. 

Pregnant woman 

You have a 50% chance of knowing what gender the child is going to be.  And if you guessed the last three times correctly, you still had a 50% chance. Medical science will give us the true answer.  We don’t need you to prophesy.  

Here’s the thing about prophecies about who to marry.  People don’t need you to prophesy about whether or not they should marry that person – they need premarital counseling.  I counsel marriages, and even if you are a perfect match with someone, you’re going to need a lot of Christian counseling, healthy relationship skills, and wisdom to survive marriage.  It’s not about choosing the right person, it’s about becoming the right person. So stop with this foolishness. Stop giving people directive words and give them biblical wisdom that teaches them how to be the right person.  Because becoming the right person God’s called them to be will actually help them for the rest of their life.

Here’s a little caveat: If you are very confident that the Lord has released you to do so, then you can give a directive word.  I have given directive words that have been accurate and helped people.  But do this with extreme caution.

 

By following these 7 Dos and 7 Dont’s of Prophetic Ministry, I pray you can grow in confidence as you move in prophetic ministry.  

Further Resources

📝 How to Operate in Prophecy: My Interview with Jeremiah Johnson

📝 Supernatural Healing as Evangelism

📺 Does God Still Perform Miracles?


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider becoming a part of the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

Urgent Warning: Prophetic Events Unfolding in Israel and Beyond

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
As a pastor and apostolic voice, I feel compelled to share an urgent message about the events unfolding in Israel and around the world. We are witnessing prophecy come to…
spiritual lethargy

Prophetic Word: Overcoming Spiritual Lethargy

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
Lately, I've noticed a concerning trend sweeping across our communities. Many people are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, lethargy, and what social media has dubbed "couch rot." This phenomenon goes…
Soul Ties

The Truth About Soul Ties: What They Are and How to Break Them

| Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Tough Questions | No Comments
I've encountered many spiritual phenomena over the years, but few are as misunderstood and potentially harmful as soul ties. In this post, I want to share with you my experiences…

A Call for Unity and Reflection in the Body of Christ

| Spiritual Warfare | No Comments
I feel compelled to address a deeply troubling incident that has shaken many of us to our core. Recently, there was an attack on Pastor Greg Locke's family home, where…

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

How to Operate In Prophecy: My Interview with Jeremiah Johnson (Breakers Challenge)

By | Gifts of the Spirit, The Breakers Challenge, The Holy Spirit, The Prophetic | No Comments

Are there people today who have the ability to prophesy?  Many Christians claim to hear from the Holy Spirit concerning future events, even being able to know intimate details of people’s lives that they’ve never met.  Many other Christians claim that the scriptures are all we need and the gift of prophecy has ceased in our time. They point to the inaccuracy of prophecies from people who prophesy, or even worse, the use of prophecy for profit. But what do we do with all of these accurate, modern prophecies? And how do we deny the fact that if it’s administered properly, the gift of prophecy is a powerful gift that could even confirm to unbelievers the reality of Christ?

Today, I’m interviewing world-renowned prophetic voice and apostolic builder, Jeremiah Johnson.  We’re talking about the essentials of the prophetic today.

Mike:   Jeremiah, you’ve been operating in the prophetic for some time now, but people are reading who come from all backgrounds.  Maybe they attend churches where they don’t believe that the gifts of the spirit are even currently in operation, or maybe they were told by the pastor we have one designated person that prophesies, and it’s not you. For the people who want more and are being raised in this hour, I want you to share the essentials as somebody who I trust.  What would you say are the essentials?

The Essentials for Prophetic People

Jeremiah:  A couple of things come to mind. I think it’s really important as we begin a conversation to recognize that there’s a difference between old covenant prophecy and new covenant prophecy. I don’t think that a lot of people understand that. So when you talk about the Old Testament underneath an old covenant, you had prophets who were the singular voice of God to a nation. In other words, the Holy Spirit didn’t dwell within man, He dwelled upon man.

And so, to get a direct word from God most of the time, unless God himself just showed up as he did with Abraham or others, the kings would seek out prophets for a word from the Lord. So, in other words, they were a mediator between God and man. So that’s Old Testament prophetic.

New Testament Prophets

Jeremiah: In the New Testament, Jesus Christ has become the mediator between God and man.  Prophets are prophetic people. In the new covenant, prophets no longer hold the kind of authority that they did in the Old Covenant. The blood of Jesus has banned feeding tube Christianity. In other words, we have to make sure as New Testament prophetic people that we recognize that we have a role to encourage and comfort people and bring strength. If God has called you to the prophetic ministry, you’re a New Testament prophet, even there you have you offer direction, correction, and prediction, primarily those three. But you have to recognize the role that you have is different than that of an old covenant prophet.

So when you hear people make statements like, “Where are the Jeremiahs, the Isaiahs, the Ezekiels?” I’m like, “They’re dead.” I understand what they’re saying but that kind of authority and role in the New Testament church is no longer necessary. Jesus is the mediator between God and man. And if someone is functioning as a New Testament prophet, their number one role is not just to give you a word, it’s to teach you how to hear a word. 

And so again, there’s a heavy dependence upon prophets in the old covenant, but now in the new covenant we prophesy but we teach people how to hear and obey God themselves.

Secondly, in the old covenant (and I’m still going back to this issue because so much of the confusion that’s available in the current prophetic movement is centered on the misunderstanding of the old covenant and new covenant) there’s a primary role of voice to the nation. In the new covenant, we’ve got Jesus, and the Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth.  I would say that in the Old Testament, prophets were, for the most part, unaccountable.

Invited Into a Family

Jeremiah: They wandered around in caves, they weren’t well connected, and they just kind of dropped the word of the Lord in and then dropped out.  Again, in the new covenant, we have now been established and invited into the family of God.  So what I tell people is prophets and prophetic people in the old covenant were cave dwellers, but now in the new covenant, we’ve been invited to a family, to a dining room table where we no longer have permission to isolate.

A lot of the problem in the current prophetic movement is that prophetic people think, “I’m just a prophetic person, no one understands me, I operate in rejection and all church leadership are Pharisees and of the devil.”   All of that kind of rhetoric and mindset is rooted in old covenant concepts. I very much believe that one of the primary issues in modern-day prophetic ministry is we are operating out of an old covenant mindset concerning the prophetic and we don’t understand New Testament reality.

So, if you are a prophet or prophetic person, you are called to equip the body for the work of ministry.  How can you equip a body if you’re disconnected from them So when I talk to prophets or where do you attend church? What are you building or who is the person you’re helping to build?  They just kind of look at you crazy. And again, kind of that crazy that comes on them is they have a crazy mindset rooted in a covenant that is now fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

ChurchSo these two things are essential.  Understanding your role as a prophet or prophetic person in the body is to point people to Jesus, to teach people how to hear and obey the voice of God for themselves.  We’re not supposed to be raising a codependent, “You gotta sow a seed, you gotta fund my ministry or I’m not prophesying to you.”  That’s bogus. And then we’ve gotta get over “lone ranger” mentalities in people that don’t believe in the local church and don’t believe in being part of a team. We need to get healthy in the prophetic.

 

Mike: I would like to unpack this a bit with you.  What do you think happens in a prophetic person’s heart for them to say, “I’m wounded and not going to try the local church again.” Is it that we’re living in an era where there aren’t that many local churches that can incubate the prophetic and help it grow?  

As a lead pastor myself, I’ll be honest with you, sometimes I do feel that is rare to find a pastor and church that appreciates the prophetic in other people. So I know there is a lot of woundedness there. You probably triggered a lot of people with what you just said.  How can we turn this into a healing moment for someone who is wounded, knows what you said is true, but needs to take the next step?  What does that look like?  

The Cup of Rejection

Jeremiah:   People get set free with the truth. Mike, I have ministered in over 500 churches and probably trained at least 10,000 prophetic people. I’ve If you got us all in a room, we’re all going to say the same thing because the profile of prophetic people is you have to accept that you will drink the cup of rejection on your way to prophetic maturity. Many prophetic people don’t want to receive that. 

When you start talking to many of us, you find we were rejected by your family.  Sometimes there are supernatural birth experiences, you were certainly thrown away by the local church. But we have to keep our eyes on Jesus, who was without sin. I oftentimes say we have no right to judge and criticize the church unless we’re willing to die for her. 

We’ve all been rejected, we’ve all been wounded, and we’ve all served our Saul.  But remember, you served Saul to get Saul out of you.  In other words, we’re on a journey as prophetic people. You are going to get rejected, you are going to be misunderstood. But this is part of your training for love. Jesus Christ died for love.  There was nothing he did wrong,  There was no dirt on him, but he still chose to love.

So, Mike, I hear it, I’ve trained them, I’ve walked with them. Every true prophetic called person is going to go to the wilderness as part of their calling but not everybody gets out. In other words, many are called, and few are chosen.  Many are called to the prophetic ministry where you’re going to drink that cup of rejection. But very few walk in forgiveness. Very few learn how to heal.

All for Love

Jeremiah: And again, who’s our example? Jesus Christ, King of kings, Lord of lords.  He walked this out as the greatest prophet who ever lived. And he invites prophets and prophetic people today to drink that cup of rejection. And again, I would love to tell people listening today, “Hey, God’s going to send you to a great church. They’re gonna love the prophetic.”  That’s not true. Actually, God is going to send a lot of people. He is going to send you to Sauls. He is gonna send you to assemblies and places that are going to crush you.  They’re going to hurt you, they’re going to persecute you.  And it’s in those trials and tribulations you have an opportunity to bear with the sufferings of Christ and learn how to walk in a pure prophetic flow.

Is Accuracy of Primary Importance?

Mike:   Jeremiah, I’ve been studying the prophetic for over 30 years now. That stretch of an answer was the most profound answer I have ever heard.  The whole time I was thinking, you just saved some people decades.  You just saved some people years if they’ll let that get in their spirit.

I think the biggest emphasis with the prophetic is always accuracy, right?  How can I be accurate?  I think what I hear you saying is that new covenant prophecy is more about being integrated into the body and it’s more about your position than it is about your accuracy if that makes sense. Because trying to migrate somebody into integration where you are a part of something, you’re building something, there’s a legacy connected to it in the body of Christ. And so what would you say to those who are like, okay, I get it,  I want to learn how to become more accurate. What would you say about accuracy?

 

Jeremiah: I think it’s going back to that misunderstanding of covenants. In the old covenant when people would prophesy and it wasn’t 100% accurate, they would stone them. And if you go and look at that Deuteronomy passage that most people quote about stoning false prophets when it’s talking about false, it’s talking about prophets who have a motivation in their heart that is trying to lead people away from Jesus. 

Let the Others Judge

Jeremiah: In a new covenant, I quote 1 Corinthians 14, which says, “Let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge.”  So, the old covenant prophecy was infallible because it was the very words of God. But in the new covenant prophecy is fallible. Prove it. Why do two or three prophets have to judge another prophet’s words if the word’s 100% accurate?  It’s not.

Or in 1 Thessalonians 5, when it talks about prophecy, it says let everybody go, but then hold on to that which is good. In other words, not every prophecy that is prophesied is good. So I would say the goal is not accuracy, although we should have a high standard.

My thing is, I don’t look at somebody as a true prophet necessarily because they’ve prophesied 100% accurately.  I look at true prophets as people that prophesy accurately, but if they miss it, they repent.  They own it.  They walk in humility.  I contrast this with the perspective of, “Oh, they prophesied and it didn’t come to pass, they’re a false prophet.”  I think they’re more false if they operate in pride and arrogance and refuse to own it,  versus walking in humility and dying to their reputation and saying, “I missed it.” 

And again, it’s all about Jesus. Half the time I’m like, thank God, I don’t know any prophets that are 100% accurate. And you know what? I thank God for that because it aligns me with Jesus. Only he is 100% accurate.  So, I don’t think the goal is accuracy, although it’s very, very important. I think the goal is humility.  It’s being connected to family and serving the body of Christ like Jesus.

 

Mike:  This has been a great conversation, and I want to encourage everyone to get ahold of the resources that Jeremiah Johnson has that help to equip the saints.  There is one book in particular that will help you go deeper on this journey to continue learning about the prophetic called “Cleansing and Igniting the Prophetic: An Urgent Wake-Up Call” by Jeremiah Johnson if you’d like to continue learning.  

Cleansing Prophetic

The Current Prophetic Purging

Jeremiah:  I could talk hours and hours and hours on these subjects but if you’re wanting to dive deeper, there is a cleansing, there is a purging, there is almost a reset happening in the prophetic movement. And that’s why people are on today. You’re asking questions, you want knowledge. God is highlighting prophetic ministry because he wants to call forth a generation of fire-brand messengers who are going to prophesy out of humility and character and hit the mark. So check out that book.

Essential Do’s and Dont’s of The Prophetic

Mike:  If you could give me a very fast 60-second rundown, what are some essential dos and donts?

 

Jeremiah: If you’re called as a prophet or a prophetic person, do not isolate yourself. You have to understand that you’re going to be rejected but you do not have to operate out of a spirit of rejection. 

You need to know that the enemy of the prophetic is Jezebel. There is a great war concerning hearing and obeying God and the spirit of Jezebel will target you and try to keep you from hearing and obeying God. 

I would also say to be aware of your tendencies. Do not ignore what you feel, the burden that you’re carrying. And then I would say, do not operate in bitterness. Do not operate in unforgiveness. Do walk in humility, love, and forgiveness.

And, lastly, you need mentoring. You have to have fathering and mothering in the prophetic to make it through the wilderness. I would say at all costs if you’re a prophet or a prophetic person, seek wisdom, seek mentoring, seek mothering and fathering. It saves my life and I believe it will save yours.

Further Resources

📖  Get Jeremiah’s book, Cleansing and Igniting the Prophetic: An Urgent Wake-Up Call

💻 Find out more about his ministry at thealtarglobal.com

📝 Does God Still Perform Miracles?

📝 Supernatural Healing as Evangelism

📺 Does God Still Perform Miracles?


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider becoming a part of the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

Urgent Warning: Prophetic Events Unfolding in Israel and Beyond

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
As a pastor and apostolic voice, I feel compelled to share an urgent message about the events unfolding in Israel and around the world. We are witnessing prophecy come to…
spiritual lethargy

Prophetic Word: Overcoming Spiritual Lethargy

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
Lately, I've noticed a concerning trend sweeping across our communities. Many people are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, lethargy, and what social media has dubbed "couch rot." This phenomenon goes…
Soul Ties

The Truth About Soul Ties: What They Are and How to Break Them

| Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Tough Questions | No Comments
I've encountered many spiritual phenomena over the years, but few are as misunderstood and potentially harmful as soul ties. In this post, I want to share with you my experiences…

A Call for Unity and Reflection in the Body of Christ

| Spiritual Warfare | No Comments
I feel compelled to address a deeply troubling incident that has shaken many of us to our core. Recently, there was an attack on Pastor Greg Locke's family home, where…

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

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He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
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Does God Still Perform Miracles? (The Breakers Challenge)

By | Deliverance, Miracles, The Breakers Challenge, The Prophetic | No Comments

OBJECTION 1: God performed more miracles in Bible times to establish Christ as the Messiah, but that’s not needed today.

Some would say that miracles were just proof that Jesus was the Messiah and that we don’t need to go around praying for people to get healed and delivered from demons. And since he already finished his ministry, we don’t need that.  Well, let me tell you why that objection is a terrible objection.  

Mark 16:17-18

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Jesus, through discipleship, multiplied the number of miracles. So to say that miracles have decreased since the time of Jesus is foolish because Jesus himself did the work of increasing miracles in his own lifetime. And then it continued to happen, after the death and resurrection of Christ.

OBJECTION 2: People who are into miracles, prophecy, and deliverance are emotional and not biblical.

This is a problematic objection.  1 Corinthians 14:39, says, “So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.”

The true response to emotionalism is training, not stopping prophecy, miracles, and deliverance.  Back in the first-century church, there was emotionalism.  There were people who only wanted prophetic words.  There were people seeking miracles and deliverance, but the response was not, “Let’s stop doing it because a few people got it wrong.” Actually, the biblical response was, “Be eager to prophesy.”

And so when people say we should just stop doing it because there’s emotionalism, or because people gave a wrong prophetic word, no! The apostles had the wisdom to actually say, “That’s not a reason why we stop doing it.  It’s a reason why we put structure and training to it.”

OBJECTION 3:   Most healings and miracles are the power of placebo, not the power of prayer.  

Coworkers, family members who are atheists, agnostics, and people who are deconstructing and left the church will say, “Well, you know most healings and miracles are the power of placebo, not the power of prayer.”  And people will attribute it to the power of positive thinking.  But just because some healings and deliverances have been faked doesn’t mean that they all aren’t real. So there were charlatans and false people in Jesus’ time, but that didn’t stop Jesus from healing or the work of deliverance. So just because some people do it the wrong way doesn’t mean that the ones who have the true living God on the inside of them shouldn’t do it at all.

A lot of people have messed up marriages but that doesn’t mean that we cancel the covenant of marriage. A lot of people have messed up churches, but that doesn’t cancel the body of Christ and covenant through the local church. Just because somebody did it wrong doesn’t mean we stop doing it.  

As a matter of fact, I would say the best argument against the false is the real. Don’t try to fight their false actions with words. Fight their false actions with true healing, true deliverance, and true salvation. When people say, “Well, it’s just the power of placebo,” you tell them it’s not mind over matter. There are medically verifiable miracles. There are things that God does that only he can do.

OBJECTION 4:  People who seek healing and deliverance don’t want Jesus, they just want freedom.

People will say, “Oh, I see all those deliverance and prophecy fanatics.  They don’t want Jesus,  they just want freedom.  They just want a word.”  People will say things like,”Don’t seek God’s hand and what he can do for you, seek his face.” But I’ll tell you, even if you selfishly come seeking his hand, you are so much closer to his face. I don’t have a problem with people getting healed who don’t even want Jesus. I don’t have a problem with people getting delivered who may not even want Jesus.  Why?  Because wanting freedom is the first step to coming closer to Jesus.

In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus heals ten men with leprosy. Accepting Christ as Savior was not a pre-condition for their healing. One of the ten got a revelation of Christ as Messiah because of the healing. Only one of them came back and literally bowed down to him. He cried out with a loud voice, “My Savior, my Messiah.” Accepting Him as Savior was not a precondition for healing.  If you get around enough deliverance, you’re going to find the Deliverer. If you get around enough healing, you’re going to find the Healer. 

People seek prophetic words through psychic mediums. Why not find it through the prophetic people of God? They’re seeking healing through reiki and stones and crystals. Why not find healing through the people of God?

OBJECTION FIVE: They just need discipline, it’s not a demon.  

People say, “You think everything’s a demon.”  The term for the spirit of infirmity occurs in Luke 13:11, specifically in the King James version. Here you have a woman who had been crippled for 18 years. She’s healed by Jesus on the Sabbath day, and Luke says that she has a spirit of infirmity. Another translation calls it a disabling spirit. She didn’t need discipline, she needed deliverance from the spirit of infirmity. Sometimes there is a need for discipline, but if you are not equipped to do deliverance you’ll have people like the woman in Luke 13:11, that never get healed because you’re trying to tell them to go to the chiropractor. You’re trying to tell them to go do physical therapy. You’re trying to tell them to take pills. You’re trying to tell them to get surgery but they need deliverance, not discipline. 

Now, deliverance doesn’t replace discipline.  We know this. They go hand in hand.  In John 5:8, Jesus heals a man, then He says,  “Pick up your mat and walk.” So clearly Jesus understood the value of discipline because he knew that this man couldn’t be a beggar anymore. 

It’s about wisdom.  Of course, everything’s not a demon.  But if you are going to be powerful in the spiritual realm, a true believer and disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have to know when to tell somebody to pick up their mat and walk. And you have to know when to say, “Spirit of infirmity, come out of them.”

OBJECTION 6: Christians who do deliverance, healing, and prophecy are just doing it for fame/clout/finances.

As I teach the scriptures, I encounter modern-day Sadducees that get so upset that God is healing people.  Did you know there is still a spirit of the Pharisee, with pride and arrogance?  How arrogant do you have to be to assume the motive of every healing and deliverance minister on the internet? Those same people would have assumed the same thing about Jesus, as Jesus had large crowds surrounding him. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,  but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

It doesn’t say stop doing prophecy. If somebody prophesies wrong, it says, just test it, hold on to what is good, and reject what is evil. It says, don’t quench it. And there are a lot of Pharisees on Facebook. There are a lot of Sadducees on YouTube that are quenching the Spirit. They’re letting their preferences get in the way of their progress.  They’re letting their church background get in the way of their Holy Ghost future. And the Lord’s trying to call them to go to something deeper, but they’re being held back by doctrines of demons. 

Do not quench the Spirit. I’d rather lose friends than quench the Spirit. I’d rather shrink my circles than quench the Spirit. I’d rather them talk about me or gossip about me. There’s a high price to pay for the anointing. Jesus paid for the resurrection power so that you can operate in it freely, but the level of authority you operate in will always increase on the other side of passing your test.  Jesus himself was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. After He came out of the wilderness he spoke with a new authority. If Jesus’ authority can increase after passing a test, your authority increases after passing a test. 

So as you go through the next several weeks and are praying for people to be healed and delivered, and as you’re prophesying over people, you are going to be persecuted. But persecution is the first step of promotion. Persecution comes first and promotion comes after.  First, they start talking about you, and then, they cannot deny you. Why? Because God started you. No man can stop you, He called you. He separated you and designated you. It doesn’t matter if they see you’re calling.

OBJECTION 7: I believe it’s possible, but I’ve never seen it.  I’ve prayed but I’ve never seen it in my own life.

Matthew 13:57-58, says, “They took offense at Jesus. And Jesus said to them, only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor. And he did not do miracles there because of their lack of faith.” 

Just believe.  This is the phrase that Smith Wigglesworth used as he traveled all around, he would say the phrase “Just believe, only believe, only believe.” Here’s the thing, you might have to pray for 10,000 people before you see the first miracle. Don’t stop praying for miracles.

I can’t tell you how many generals of old, how many people that we come from in a lineage of faith y’all, we come from a lineage of God’s generals. I can’t tell you how many of them had prayed for hundreds and hundreds of people. No miracles happened, but all of a sudden one happened, and then they happened all the time. I don’t know why God moves that way, but I do believe it’s his will.  Biblically, you never see miracles cease.  You just see people stop believing.

Biblically, you never see prophecy cease.  You just see people who stop prophesying.  It’s still happening, but you’ve got to just believe. 

I wanna encourage your faith right now as we get ready to come to a close.  I started my preaching ministry at the age of 15.  There was a woman at the very first church that I preached at, a small church on the South Side of Chicago.  She brought her four-year-old daughter to me who was born with a decrepit hand. I laid hands on that woman’s child, and all of a sudden her hand begin to stretch forth and she was completely healed.  

One woman I prayed for worked at a Baptist church on staff.  She had multiple sclerosis and had asked for prayer from many different people and she still believed. And she was watching my broadcast and as she watched, she was completely healed. She went back to the doctors and they said every lesion in her brain and any remnant of MS is completely gone. She emailed me all of the medical verification. At V1 Conference, we had a creative miracle happen, where a woman with a deformed ear received healing in her ear. She still attends our church. Somebody else who was there went from nearly deaf to having better hearing than even average hearing. God has exceeded. 

And so, why do I say that?  Because God is raising Breakers. He’s raising up those who will push past every objection, who say, “No, I know the word.” I want to pray over you that you would receive an impartation of faith to become a Breaker, that you would be the generation that rises up in your family and sees every single chain broken, and that you would rise up and see God do it.

Father, I pray for a supernatural impartation from the top of their head down to the soles of their feet that they would receive your anointing.  That burden-removing yoke-destroying power of the Holy Spirit that signs, miracles, wonders, healings, and deliverance would come through their hands. God, that they would activate now, Lord that you would just use them to release the fire of the Holy Spirit. God, I’m not talking about Pentecostalism. I’m not talking about the charismatic movement. This is not a denomination. This is not a stream. This is the identity of sons and daughters rising up and saying, “I am a biblical Christian and I will do all that God’s called me to do.” And Father, I thank you, from this day forth we say “Yes,” to do everything that you’ve called us to do. We’ll pray the prayer of faith in Jesus’ name.

Further Resources

To learn more about The Breakers Challenge

📝The Breakers Challenge


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider becoming a part of the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

Urgent Warning: Prophetic Events Unfolding in Israel and Beyond

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
As a pastor and apostolic voice, I feel compelled to share an urgent message about the events unfolding in Israel and around the world. We are witnessing prophecy come to…
spiritual lethargy

Prophetic Word: Overcoming Spiritual Lethargy

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
Lately, I've noticed a concerning trend sweeping across our communities. Many people are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, lethargy, and what social media has dubbed "couch rot." This phenomenon goes…
Soul Ties

The Truth About Soul Ties: What They Are and How to Break Them

| Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Tough Questions | No Comments
I've encountered many spiritual phenomena over the years, but few are as misunderstood and potentially harmful as soul ties. In this post, I want to share with you my experiences…

A Call for Unity and Reflection in the Body of Christ

| Spiritual Warfare | No Comments
I feel compelled to address a deeply troubling incident that has shaken many of us to our core. Recently, there was an attack on Pastor Greg Locke's family home, where…

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How Can I Prophesy?

By | The Prophetic | No Comments
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We laid the groundwork in Part I of this series that every believer can prophesy.  Once you understand that and are willing to activate that gift, the question is: How can I prophesy?  Here are four ways you can practice the prophetic.  

1.  We practice prophecy in an atmosphere of love.  

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (ESV)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 

If you want to prophesy so you can bring bad news, judgement, destruction, and correction, then you are prophesying out of a wrong motive.  God is love, and He loved the world so much that He gave His son Jesus so that we could be saved, not so that we could be destroyed.  

You may be familiar with the story of Jonah.  God gave him a message to share with the people of Ninevah. Jonah resisted going to Ninevah because he was racist against the people who lived there. After being swallowed by a fish, he relented to do what God asked and brought the message.  It was a hard message of warning that if they didn’t change their hearts, God would destroy them.  When Jonah showed up to deliver the message, he wanted to see the people of Ninevah destroyed. But when they responded with a change of heart instead, he was furious.  He had the wrong motive and wanted to see the destruction of the people.  

God may use you to bring a hard or corrective word, but are you doing it in love because you want the person to divert tragedy?  Or do you want them to go down?  Our prophecy must be rooted and grounded in love, or we are nothing, as 1 Corinthians 13 says.  

How do you prophesy from the place of love?  You have to forgive.  Forgive those who have hurt you and abandoned you.  Forgive your family members, spouse, and church leaders.  Pure prophecy comes from pure hearts.  A filthy heart full of unforgiveness and bitterness can’t prophesy purely.

Microphone for prophecy2.  We practice prophecy under spiritual authority.

Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Spiritual authority provides a safe umbrella under which you can practice the gift of prophecy. Get involved in your local church!  Be under the authority of its leaders. Be open to the correction, rebuke and encouragement of your leaders as you practice the prophetic.  That is hard to hear if you’ve been hurt, manipulated, or abused by the church or its leaders.  But hear this: Jesus died for the church.  It is close to His heart.  

If you’re in a church that doesn’t believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are alive and active today, it may not be the right church for you.  And it’s probably not a place where you can practice the gift of prophecy and still remain submitted to authority.  If you desire to grow in the prophetic, you’ll want to find a church body that believes that the gifts are alive and active today.  If you cannot find a good local church, attend V1 Church online.

the risk of prophecy3. We practice prophecy beyond our comfort zones.

Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.  If you’re going to prophesy, you’re going to have to exceed your comfort zones. People may judge you, they may make rude comments, they may say hurtful things.  That’s a risk you take.  But weigh that risk against the blessing that you could bring to someone’s life by bringing a word of encouragement or edification from heaven.  It is worth the risk!  

There is a set of people who prophesy who say, “Thus saith the Lord,” when they bring a word.  That is definitely one way to do it, but it doesn’t leave a lot of room for growth for the person prophesying.  If a person tests the word, and the word is wrong, does that mean God was wrong?  Absolutely not.  It means the prophet was wrong.  That is why, when I prophesy, whether it’s to encourage, build up, or tell the future, I usually say, “Hey I’m getting ready to take a risk. Can I do that?”  Or I say, “Hey I might be wrong here but…”  I believe it honors the Holy Spirit when we leave room for the fact that what we say could perhaps not be accurate.  

When you receive a prophecy from someone, test it!  Write it down, date it, and compare it to scripture.  Then let time tell.  Time is a test for prophecy and time is the friend of the prophet.  Time will confirm and legitimize prophecy. 

4. We practice prophecy by practicing.

1 Timothy 4:14-15
Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them! So that your progress will be evident to all.

The way not to neglect a gift is by using it.  You practice!  

Prophesy when you wake up.

Prophesy throughout your day.

Practice words of knowledge.

Team up with another person.

Expect words of knowledge for healing.

Prophesy as a group.

Prophetically intercede in prayer.

1 Samuel 10:5-6
The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

Activation

Prayer: I want communication from Heaven in my life. I ask you that you would open the unseen realm to me. Lord, please remove all fear from my heart – fear of the unseen and fear of spiritual encounters. Lord, I want to receive all of your spiritual blessings that you have provided for me. I make myself available to your many forms of communication.  In Jesus name, Amen.


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for the prophetic.  If you are interested in practicing the prophetic, consider joining the Breakthrough Community and join the prophecy subgroup!

To dig in even deeper, I encourage you to download my free 35-day Prophetic Activation devotional.  

Request prayer here.

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What is Prophecy?

By | The Prophetic | One Comment

What is prophecy?  Prophecy is simply the mind of God migrating into the mind of humanity.  Prophecy is one way that God’s thoughts and ways are communicated to us today.  It can sometimes look like encouragement and sometimes it can look like foretelling of the future.    

There is a common sentiment among some believers that prophecy ceased with the first century church.  This is incorrect.  Prophecy is active, it is alive, and it is your right and privilege as a child of God.  The prophet Joel said, 

“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29 ESV)

What Prophecy Is

Prophecy is simply hearing and then doing what God says.  It is hearing what your natural ears cannot hear and then doing what you hear.  

What Prophecy is Not

If you ever meet a “prophet for profit,” whether they’re prophesying to make money or using prophecy out of bad motives to manipulate for their own gain, watch out.  Prophecy is not communicating your own human desires.  That’s when it becomes Christian witchcraft. Biblical prophecy is not the power of positive thinking, manifestation, or new age practices.  

1 Corinthians 13:9 (ESV)
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  

In the new covenant, prophecy is not on the same level as scripture.  It does not carry the same weight. If someone puts their prophetic words at the same level as scripture, they are a cult leader or false prophet. Scripture will always confirm prophecy, but prophecy is not on the same level as scripture.  

I’m going to share about the three levels of prophesy.  

Level One: The Faith Level 

First, we have the most elementary level of the prophetic: the faith level.  Any believer can access this level of the prophetic.  

1 Corinthians 14:31 (ESV)
For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

All means all.  Some of us have heard that only special people can operate in the prophetic.  This is false.  Every believer can operate in the prophetic from the level of faith to bring prophetic edification, prophetic building up, and prophetic encouragement to others.  

How to Prophesy

If you’d like to be used prophetically by God, I encourage you to step out in faith and pray a bold prayer.  Say, “Holy Spirit, you’re the Comforter. I’m asking you to give me access to information to encourage and comfort someone else.”  He will do it if you ask in faith.  I have countless stories where I have been in the grocery store or somewhere public and the Lord has told me information about someone present who I didn’t know.  I have approached people and said, “Hey, I know I don’t know you, and I might be totally off, but I believe that God wants you to know that you’ve been going through this situation [and I described the situation] but you are heading into a season that looks like [and I tell them what the Holy Spirit gives me about the situation that is to come].”  Every single time I take the risk, the Holy Spirit meets me at that place of risk.  Faith is spelled R-I-S-K in the kingdom.

Should I Use Prophecy to Correct?

When operating in the faith level of the prophetic,  use the prophetic mainly to build up, encourage, and edify.  Many of us want to jump straight to correcting others through prophecy.  I caution you here.  There is a difference between old covenant prophecy and new covenant prophecy.  

The old covenant is the sacrificial system that Israel employed for absolution of their sins.  Then Jesus died for both Jews and Gentiles so that all would be saved, and he established a new covenant.   In the new covenant, prophecy did not cease, it simply changed in its application.  Prophecy in the New Testament is primarily redemptive, not corrective.  It can sometimes be corrective, but it isn’t that way all the time.  

Start on the Ground Floor

If you are starting out in the prophetic at the faith level, the best thing you can do is start by edifying, building up and encouraging others through your prophetic gift.  Scripture says Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but rather came to save (John 3:17).  Is your prophecy reflective of Jesus’ mission?  Is it correcting and condemning people, or is it a conduit for salvation? Sometimes hard, corrective words are necessary and appropriate. Nonetheless, I urge you to start on the ground floor with encouragement and edification, and then graduate to more corrective prophetic words as you gain maturity in the gift.  

Level Two: The Gift Level

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Second, we have the gift level.  Gifts from God cannot be earned.  They are freely given.  You can’t read your Bible or fast and pray hard enough to receive the gift of prophecy.  The Holy Spirit gives the gift as He wills.  Therefore, you might be able to operate at the faith level of prophecy, which is available to all believers, but the Holy Spirit may not give you the gift of prophecy.  

If you find yourself desiring the gift of prophecy, first examine your motives.  Do you want the gift itself, or are you searching for the significance that comes with operating in the gift?  Your life doesn’t carry more value just because you possess a certain gift.  Perhaps the reason the Holy Spirit has not given you the gift of prophecy is because He first wants to give you the gift of relationship with Himself so that you find your significance in Him.   Seek the Giver first, and then the gift.  

The Cost of Operating in the Gift

Operating in the gift of prophecy comes at great cost.  It comes with the price of sorrow, hard times, and weighty responsibility.  This gift may cost you friendships, relationships, and finances.   It is free to receive, but it may cost everything to operate in it.  Furthermore, you will need character to sustain the gift.  If your gift exceeds your level of character, you’ll be like Lucifer, cast out of heaven.  There are some who prophesy with extreme accuracy while simultaneously living in sin.  The gift is free, but you need character to sustain the words that you’re giving to the Body of Christ.  

Level Three: The Office Level

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Finally, we have the office level.  This verse says Jesus himself put the prophets in position.  You might be overlooked by men, but Jesus himself has not overlooked you.  He put you in position before you were even in your mother’s womb. Some of you have been placed in the office of a prophet by Jesus.  

The Bible says the gift of God will make room for you and bring you before great men (Proverbs 18:16).  The office of a prophet carries with it a mantle that holds prestige, honor and respect.  When you function at the office level of a prophet, you will prophesy to the nations and bring presidents, dignitaries, princes, and kings to their knees.  You will speak into multinational church organizations.  You will bring correction and you may even bring division.  A person operating in the office of a prophet joins people together and separates them as well.  When a person operating in this office enters a room, he or she ushers in the fear of the Lord.  

This is part 1 of a three part series on prophecy.  I hope after reading it you understand what prophecy is and how it works in believers today.  To dig in even deeper, I encourage you to download my free 35-day Prophetic Activation devotional.  


I pray this blog helps you in your walk with God. Please share it and let me know what you think in the comments below!

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