Hope and The Prophetically Gifted

Have you felt like God is moving the furniture around in your heart?

Do you long for change?

Has life seemingly been throwing you curves?

Do you want to be a voice crying in the wilderness of today, “Prepare the way, of the Lord?”

The letter of 1 Peter was written to people whose hearts resonated with these questions. In Peter’s day, Christians throughout the world suffered under the persecution of Nero. Peter took the time in the first part of his letter to impart hope to the people, a hope bubbling with expectancy for a kingdom that is already but not yet here.  A hope that was grateful to live in the days God had given them. This hope was the Hope of there salvation, a truth the old testament prophets has searched for, yet only found in part. In this study we will look at the hope peter wished to cultivate in the people making particular application for those flowing in the prophetic.

1 Peter 1:10-12 (MsgB) 

    The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. [11] The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. [12] All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

Peter understood how the first century Christians identified with the prophets of the old covenant. In verses 10-11 he writes of the prophet’s intensive search for a full understanding of God’s redemptive plan. The prophets did not get a complete answer but peter reminded the people that we did. We too can see how fortunate we are and that truth should impart hope to the core of our being.

I Peter 1:13 (NIV)

Therefore, prepare your minds for actions; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The Holy Spirit highlighted this verse in my study time and showed me how it relates to people of the prophetic. It tells us of the three arenas of life that are most in need of preparation, the mind, the flesh, and the encounter. I would also include this is for any Christian that wishes to live from the hope of their salvation.

 For prophetic people hope is a key element. It empowers in many ways. It is the currency of encouragement, the foundation of prophetic flow. All and all it is important for prophetic people to remain high in hope. Like the verse above speaks we will always take about things we do not fully understand. We will always prophecy in part, imperfectly if you will, therefore hope is like a shield. Look at Elijah after Carmel first fire from heaven the he runs to the deserts. Why? He let down his hope then fear and depression filled the void. 

Two preparations for prophetic people

1. Prepare your minds for action.  – The prophets in verses 10-12 had to do this. This seeking after God is not a passive thing. We are to love God with our minds. Most of the prophets where from the priestly rank implying that they had been in the Hebrew Scriptures more than the jiggle is in jello. The principle her is simple – what you put in you will come out. Feed on the written word of God like a sugar deprived child eats on a Snickers and out of you will come fresh words from God. Why? For when a revelation comes into the mind it will be properly understood by the person who has trained his mind in the truth of God’s word. Also, It is the bible that gives a sure hope to build on and it is the bible that gives us a boundary in which we prophecy from. Those that prophecy full of the written word will bring no compromise or contradiction to it in there words. If you are prophetic I challenge you!  Know the word, deeply, lovingly, truly, honestly, spiritually, systematically, exegetically, hermeneutically, grammatically, historically, and if you don’t know those words look them up and learn!

2. Prepare your flesh for taming. – The Greek word for self-control can be better translated as self-discipline. If hope is growing in you then you desire change to start in you. The prophets of old where the same way as we will see later. Self- discipline begins with self- analysis.  We need to judge ourselves so we will not be judged (1 Cor11:31). I would much rather spank myself rather than have God do it. The hand that made the moon hurts when it hits my rump. This self-discipline is nothing more than learning balance and timing. We should not become unrestrained, thinking every unction is of God or become legalistic where no unction moves you at all. Balance is finding the middle ground between the two being abandoned but controlled in one movement. Timing is understanding what is needed at the moment for the greater good of all. Sometime we need to learn to put a power break or pad lock on our tongue just to recalibrate our hearts to God’s timing. Learning and giving new room for prayer and cultivate dependence on God.  In the prophetic, I desire a Samuel life. He had sure timing for his word never failed. His tongue was set to God's clock.

This taming of the flesh is for one central point; People encountering God in your gift.  The misrepresentation of God is tied to not taming our flesh. If  our highest honor is to speak  what God gives then it is our greatest obligation is to not misrepresent God. Nothing should be more painful to the heart of a prophetically gifted person. personally, I want God to be glorified through me not embarrassed. Bottle line tame the flesh or run the risk of misrepresenting GOD!

The objects of Hope

Hope must be set by the mind. we should set our hope in the Lord. He is our object of hope. He alone is the hope we are to trust in. Peter adds an interesting perspective on this focus. He reminds us that such hope, while focused on the person of God also waits for the power of God’s manifest presence that alone can change us. We are to hope for His transforming presence. Peter writes “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” First peter is not talking about the second coming of Christ but of a personal revelation of Christ in the life of a believer that will change the believer forever. A moment in the transforming presence of God is worth more than 10 years in therapy. It is the grace for change that we are to set our hope on and not the encounter itself. Hope for the grace of transformation, which will make your life brighter, your vision clearer and your words purer. This kind of encounter happened to a prophet of the old covenant. This is his encounter.

Isaiah 6:1-8 (KJV) 

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. [2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. [3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. [4] And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

[5] Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. [6] Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: [7] And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. [8] Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Isaiah had been a prophet for some time before he had this encounter. In Isaiah 1:1 it reads, “during uzziah’s reign” implying he started his ministry during his reign. Then in 6:1 it reads “when king uzziah died,” implying a time after Isaiah had started his prophetic ministry. He had known God’s voice but had not encountered God’s holy presence. It was not until after this encounter did his ministry skyrocket. It changed him and his ministry.

The First Affect on Isaiah is in verse 5 “woe is me.” God’s holiness dives deep into Isaiah’s consciousness making him scream, “ woe is me!” In Yiddish (a type of slang Hebrew) The phrase “Oh, woe is me” is “oy vey iz mir”  “Oy Vey” is used often to explain a deep dread or shock one experiences. Think of the old man after getting bad news slapping his head and saying “Oy Vey!” So we see that the first effect of God’s holiness is in a forced self-evaluation and consequent sense of judgment. It is forced self- evaluation, a full inventory of the soul. Isaiah experienced the fullness of God’s holy presence and it fell on him in judgment as it turned his eyes inward. He knew his sinfulness for he experienced God’s holiness. In God’s holiness Isaiah knows the severity of his imperfect lips. Lips that had prophesied the word of the Lord, now wanted pure words to pour past them. He relived time when he misrepresented God. Time when his words where not the Lord’s but were called the Lord’s. He hurt and cried woe is me. The up side of Isaiah’s experience is his eyes did not say on himself for long for they turned back to the one that would cleanse him.

The second affect: disintegration and discontinuity.  Isaiah states, “I am undone.”  In Isaiah’s woe we see Isaiah acknowledging this bad news of his state in comparison to a holy (different from him) God. In his “I am undone,”  Isaiah is saying, “Compared to God I just don’t have it together!” Baker's Evangelical Dictionary states “When Yahweh appears to his own there is the requisite reminder of the essential difference between Creator and created. This discontinuity results in awesome wonder at his majesty and power.”  When we see the holiness of God our integrity is undone. We experience disintegration: the knowledge that we don’t have it all together, the knowledge of our true neediness. This is the experience of extreme humility. It is the only path to a heart of respect and reverence for God for we know our great neediness but drawn to focus on God’s sufficiency and the beauty of his holiness (v7-8).

The third affect: fascinated and forgiven.  Fascination begins when we look to him and see in him the supply for all we lack. He is the source of our supply. This fascination is a path to ecstatic praise and wonder, when our eyes look up from ourselves and gaze of the great majesty of a holy God! You’re fascinated by God’s beautiful holiness.  Also he realized the level of purity he was called to talk in. The prophet gained clean lips and even cleaner words from God. It is in his presence we are cleaned and called to a purpose (v7). Isaiah had the raw honesty needed to realize how much he really needed God. In this place of raw honesty God is ready to forgive, restore and commission all that come (v8). This is the greatest need of prophetic people to encounter the holiness of God in Christ. In the end, it was up to Elijah to take what he had been given and cultivate the experience.  He had to make it his own, “I will GO!” and live it out. And he did for 60 more chapters! This is way, Isaiah is often known as the Prophet of Hope.

Playing with Pictures - Growing in Scripture

Good Bible study is far from ho-hum. The power of God's spirit and excitement of God’s word meet in the  rich language of “word pictures” or metaphors placed throughout scripture. And until we take a good look at those pictures, we might miss out on the real message God wants to give us.

A good example of "Word Pictures" and there power is found in Paul’s prayer in chapter 3 of Ephesians, you can spent a whole study exploring the metaphors in the passage. Take verses 16 through 19.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:16-19, NIV).

That’s a lot to say in two sentences! But don’t let the density of those sentences get in the way. The word pictures are terrific! There are six of them suggested here: 1.) God’s glorious riches, 2.) Christ dwelling in believers’ hearts, 3.) believers being rooted in love 4.) established in love, 5.) grasping how wide and long and high and deep is Christ’s love, 6.)  being filled with the fullness of God.

As studying word pictures go, one thing I like to do is draw the picture or write out a flowery description of how I see it. Letting the image rest in my mind and flow on to the paper in a new form. I'm no artist yet drawing the word pictures I find opens me to more insights from the Spirit. Take how I visualized God’s “glorious riches.” I visualized a room full of treasure overflowing and sparkling with gold, valuable gems and priceless jewelry, then my mind flashed to a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end. The images built on each other until I had developed a fabulous picture of God’s riches stored up in inexhaustible piles. The pictures connected with me intellectually and emotionally making a transcendent ineffable truth concrete. Biblical imagery will come alive in a powerful way. The method is an avenue to get the word deep in the human heart. The basic steps are simple:

1. Pray before Reading claiming the promise of the Holy Spirit's ministry of illumination.
   
2. Read the passage aloud and listen carefully to discover the word pictures used in it.
3. Give yourself time to visualize and develop the word pictures. Draw or write your personal take on each picture. [Optional study tool - Some may like to get at a deeper meaning to the writers use of a particular word picture, two good tools are the Key Word Study Bible (similar online tool here) also  Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament. I have used both to inspire my imagination when a picture was still just words and to clarify a tricky picture when I wanted to understand the cultural ideas behind the picture]
   
4. Read scripture again with the picture in mind. You might even try reading the passage aloud again, this time inserting your picture and flowery description for the word picture.

Such a method can surely be taken to far and pervert a text as much as it can enlighten one. The only caution i would give is to talk with others about your insights. From within a community of believers, the studier gains clarity, accountability and is encouraged to act on the insights they have gained. Truth is like water, it is a life giving substance if left to stagnate it can poison as well as clean. Truth put in action is like a running mountain stream. It is fresh and clean and full of such life that given time it can cut through the hardest rock. 

When using this approach, it’s important to take all the pictures seriously, even the ones that seem far-fetched or funny. One time in response to the phrase “that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19), I visualized a water balloon. After I laughed at my own way of thinking, I gave it real consideration. I began to unfold the image and found that it provided helpful insights. Our lives are as limp and shapeless as empty balloons if we don’t have God’s Spirit filling us. When God begins to pour his nature into us, we will be surprised how we can be stretched far beyond the capacities we thought we had. And we will feel ourselves “fit to burst” with a sense of joy and fulfillment when we find that God is beginning to give us his own character and to include us as partners in his own purposes.

Though visualizing scriptural word pictures may seemed like playing and not study. The approach produces serious benefits for the believer. It jarred us out of our traditional ruts of interpretation, forces us to avoid pious platitudes and allows us to hear God speaking afresh.