This follows on the heels of my last post 'Judge Nothing Prematurely'.
The Bible is clear on what a prophet's ministry is in the overall aspect. Very clear. I can only say this because when the Spirit reveals a thing, He makes it clear: "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple" (Ps. 119:130).
On this forum, I've seen that many seem to have been negatively affected, traumatized, embittered by bad experiences in the churches where they or/and the Spirit of Jesus Christ was rejected and they witnessed and disapproved of it. Some are called to the prophetic ministry and some to the teaching ministry, but a great deal of their time is spent on warning people on false/bad ministers/ministries. Again, this always grieved me, but I thought, 'I guess I don't understand the prophet's office too well.' Now I know that it grieved me because it's all wrong. Prophets are to minister Life. Fingering the guilty or errant is a ministry of Death (condemnation).
Here's some wisdom: in the OT, prophets were to bring God's words; in the NT, prophets are to bring God's words. Whether the words are mercy or judgment, encouragement or foretelling the future, the words were all God's words. God's Word is ANYTHING God gives a person to speak, because those who speak are to speak as voices for God (1Pet. 4:11).
Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets. To prophesy is to speak for another; therefore, we can see that He is really saying we should beware of those who claim to speak for God but don't. This now includes all ministries as well as non-believers who claim to speak for God. The Bible tells us to watch out, be wary, be watchful of the false and the evil; it does not tell us to watch, follow, or obsess after the false and the evil as so many are doing. We are to be watchmen (who watch out to report or act), not watchdogs (who watch and then follow what they find).
1Cor. 14:23-25, among other passages, shows that the prophet's words or the prophetic word is supposed to be the words of God Himself, because the prophetic word judges the heart, and this is what God's Word also does (Heb. 4:12-13).
A prophet's ministry is speaking the words God gives that person. Not in the OT nor in the NT did God ever set prophets in the Body to focus on warning others about who is false, but every prophet was to bring Life, not minister Death through condemnation. The truth is that so many who focus on all the wrong and the false are really avoiding their own responsibility to live in obedience to God by taking up their own cross and loving and forgiving their fellows as they want others to love and forgive their own sins and shortcomings.
A person truly walking in the prophet's ministry speaks just what God gives him, whether it is judgment or mercy. However, even if his word is judgment, Redemption (a sense of hope, Love, forgiveness) will always follow behind him, because he is not moved/motivated by his love for people nor by his love for God nor by God's Love for him but is carried along and motivated solely and only by God's Faithful (redeeming, restorative) Love for His Creation as it works through him (Heb. 'chesed'; faithful/unfailing Love); because God's motivation (Love) is the only motivation (activity, work) that is perfect (trustworthy, righteous). Everything short of this is imperfect, and anything that is not this is not from and does not originate in God.
