Three Crucial Matters Concerning Prophesying


	Three Crucial Matters Concerning Prophesying And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know - 1 John 2:20. And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him - 1 John 2:27. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching - 1 Timothy 4:16a. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth - 2 Timothy 2:15. But a slave of the Lord ought not to contend but be gentle toward all, apt to teach, bearing with wrong - 2 Timothy 2:24. But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord; and there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all - 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. In the previous chapter, five exercises necessary for prophesying were presented. First, our person must be proper. Second, our spirit must be exercised. Third, our speaking must be rich with content. Fourth, our speaking must be with burden. Fifth, our speaking must be presented with adequate utterance. In this chapter we will address three further matters that must be taken into account if we wish to prophesy for the Lord in the church. First, we should pay attention to the Lord's anointing more than what we plan to say. Second, we should seek that our sharing be in a five-fold harmony as we speak. Third, we should take as our goal that our speaking would produce the operation of the Spirit in others and bring them into their spiritual function. 1. Paying Attention to Anointing More Than Content When a prophet prophesies, he should pay more attention to the Lord's anointing than to the message he has prepared. This means that he should be sensitive to the Lord's speaking within him as he speaks. It may be that the Lord will lead him to speak something beyond the content he has prepared. Therefore the one who ministers must be sensitive to the Lord moment by moment as he is speaking. A ministering one should never have the feeling that he must "save" his message. Do not feel that you must share every point you have prepared. If you feel that you must share everything you have prepared and "finish" your message, you may lose the anointing. You have to pay attention to the anointing, for the anointing is the living operation of the Triune God. It is the operation of the divine life. As you prepare to minister, you must have the anointing. If you do not sense that you have the Lord's anointing before you share, you must confess, call upon the Lord, sing, pray, and pray-read until you sense you have it. Such spiritual exercises can help you enter into the Lord's anointing. As you speak, you must remain one with the anointing. If you lose the anointing while you are speaking, you must find it again. The words you minister must be consistent with the Lord's anointing within you. Content, Burden, and Utterance Paying attention to the anointing while you minister is most important, but you still need to be prepared with content, carried by burden, and struggling for utterance. Your ministering must have rich content, clear burden, and appropriate utterance. Content of Sharing Consistent with the Anointing When you minister for the Lord, your spirit and your speech must be anointed. When you minister, the content of your speaking must be consistent with the anointing. Ministering is a matter of spirit, not a matter of formal preparation. You should be prepared with regard to your sharing, but you should be even more concerned about having the Lord's anointing as you share. Perhaps I have a burden to speak about loving the Lord. I may quote the verse in 2 Corinthians 5 where it says, "For the love of Christ constrains us…that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised" (vv. 14-15). When I talk about the Lord's love, my words have to be consistent with the anointing within. It is the Spirit who gives life, and the anointing is the operation of the Spirit. Therefore if I want people to be made alive and to touch the love of the Lord through my speaking, I must have the Spirit's anointing. Without the anointing, my speaking will not be effective, even though I may be speaking on the "high peak" truths. When my speaking corresponds to what the Spirit is speaking, my words will be anointed. If, on the other hand, my words are "dry," it indicates that the anointing is not upon me as I speak, nor upon my words. Exercising the Spirit and Using God's Word to Bring Out the Anointing It often seems that many brothers only have about three minutes' worth of anointing when they speak. In the beginning, their words are full of supply and impact. Gradually, however, the more they speak, the drier they become. Sometimes you even wish they would stop their speaking, for it is clear that they have lost the anointing. Why do such brothers lack the anointing? There are three possibilities. First of all, the one speaking may be limited in his capacity to contain life, so therefore he can only contain three minutes' worth of life supply. A second reason he may lose the anointing after a short while is because he is not disciplined in his mind, and therefore his wild thinking and speaking soon offend the anointing. The third possibility is simply that the Spirit wants him to stop speaking. What should you do if you lose the anointing as you are speaking? If you feel the Spirit wants you to stop, then you should stop. If, however, you feel that your burden is still not discharged, and that the Lord wants you to continue, then you should exercise your spirit and use God's word to bring the anointing forth again. Don't just stand there and call on the Lord's name trying to find the anointing. That will cause you to become farther off from the anointing rather than bringing the anointing back. You have to learn to exercise your spirit for the flow of the anointing. From your preparation, you should have some verses to use. Repeating God's word will often bring out the anointing. If, however, there is still no anointing after exercising your spirit and utilizing the word, you should realize that the Lord does not want you to continue, and you should end your speaking. About forty years ago I remember an instance when a full-timer who was not very gifted in ministering had to preach in a gospel meeting. Many of the saints were a little nervous, because they knew of his difficulty in speaking. When the time came, however, he gave a very good message, using the words from Hymns #1027: "Come home! Come home! / All ye who are weary come home!" He did not speak for long, and ended his message with the call "Come home!" Rarely have I heard such a good gospel message. Although he was not eloquent, he used the word of God effectively, and brought in the Spirit. The word of God produced the anointing. If you sense you have lost the anointing, the first thing you should realize is that you cannot speak beyond your measure of life. You should speak what is within your measure to speak. Secondly, if the Lord is withdrawing His anointing from you, you should not try to continue plowing ahead without the Lord's blessing. Just finish your speaking right at that point. Third, if your mind is not suitably trained to locate the anointing, although the Lord still desires that you continue, you can exercise your spirit and use the word to find the anointing. Don't merely stand there and call on the Lord. You may sigh from deep within, for a sigh will often bring you back to the Spirit. But also learn to use a verse from the Bible to bring yourself back to the Lord's anointing as you are speaking. The Process of Speaking for the Lord Being the Process of the Sealing of the Anointing Your ministering should be a function and expression of the anointing. Brothers, you must understand that the process of speaking for the Lord is the process of anointing. If the anointing stops, then speaking should stop. Although Brother Lee doesn't often shout, when he opens his mouth there is anointing, and as he shares, the anointing becomes increasingly richer right up to the conclusion of his message. When he is finished, you do not feel as though it has been a long message. Instead, you feel as though it is over too soon. This is because the process of his speaking matches the process of the anointing. Therefore, when you listen to him, you receive the life supply that comes from the sealing work of the anointing. Stopping Yourself If Unable to Speak With Anointing This is a hard lesson. If you have already tried to exercise your spirit and have tried to use verses to bring forth the Spirit, and you are still unable to find the anointing, then you had better stop your speaking. You should only speak anointed words. 2. Mainting a Five-Fold Harmony in Speaking A minister must be sensitive to maintain a harmonious situation, or agreement, in five areas while he speaks. These aspects of harmony are between himself and God, between his mind and his spirit, between his utterance and the truth and burden with which he speaks, between the truth he speaks and his own experience, and between himself and those who hear. a. Harmony between the Prophet and God First of all, you yourself should be in harmony with God. Before you speak, you should learn to confess and pray. You should tell the Lord, "I will not allow anything between us. If there is any matter of sin, or offense, or disobedience, please forgive me." If there is a weakness you are not yet able to overcome, you should tell the Lord, "Lord, I do not seem able to overcome this matter, but I hide under Your precious blood." You must keep yourself in a harmonious relationship with God. As you minister, you must also maintain a harmonious relationship with God during your speaking. Do not allow anything or anyone to offend you. Particularly when you are speaking on some sober matter, some brothers may have different kinds of reactions. At such a time you must remain in harmony with God. I once gave a conference in Taipei. When I stood up, I realized at once there was a spirit of criticism. Not many were supportive of my speaking. I simply spoke what I was burdened to speak. A brother even stood up to oppose me, but still I maintained my harmony with God. I did not react to him, but rather sought to stay one with the anointing. By the Lord's mercy, he was led away. Later I was told he planned to attack me as I was speaking. I was not troubled. As Paul said, to some our ministry is a savor of death unto death, and to others it is a savor of life unto life. Before you stand up to speak, you must already be in harmony with the Lord if you wish to experience such harmony while you are speaking. b. Harmony of Mind and Spirit Your mind and spirit should also be in harmony as you minister. If your spirit is prompting you to say a certain thing, and your mind is somewhere else, your spirit and mind will not be in harmony, and your words will lose their anointing. Your spirit is released through your mind. You must use your mind to find the appropriate utterance and then release these words with your spirit. Therefore if you want to see that your burden is released, your spirit and your mind must work together. c. Harmony between the Utterance, and the Truth and Content of Sharing Your speaking should also be in harmony with the truth and the content of what you minister. A brother may use a low example to express a high truth, and in so doing cheapen his message. The value of that message will be lost. Another brother might have a lofty burden, but may not have the utterance to match his burden. His utterance will turn out to be either weak or inaccurate with regard to his burden. As a result, his prophesying will not be effective. For example, a brother may give a message about confessing sin, saying that everyone has sin, that we are in bondage to sin, that no one can overcome sin, and that the law of sin operates in everyone. If while speaking on this serious topic, he utters a joke and causes everyone to laugh as a means of "comic relief," it will hurt his ministering. This is an example of someone's utterance not being in harmony with the burden of his message. d. Harmony between the Truth Spoken and Personal Experience Your words should also be in harmony with your own experience. You should not merely repeat some terms or give a message another person has given if you have no experience of what was spoken. What you share should be something in harmony with your own experience. However, what we speak is typically higher than what we ourselves have experienced. This is particularly true for those who are just beginning to minister. We cannot limit ourselves just to the things we ourselves have experienced, for we do need to stretch ourselves. We still should have some understanding of what we are speaking about, even though it may be beyond our present experience. For example, when we talk about God's economy, we ourselves need to appreciate it and enter into it. The truth we release should not be something separate from our experience. What we share should be according to the principle of incarnation in the New Testament. e. Harmony between the Prophet and the Listeners The local churches are like hot stoves; no matter who speaks, someone will get burned! The saints always seem to be ready to "cook" the speaker. Wherever you go, many different kinds of people are in the congregation. When you stand up to minister, you will encounter many different feelings and reactions. An experienced brother will begin his speaking with something simple and then gradually bring the saints into his burden. If you simply put on airs and say, "Today my burden is…," the saints may not receive you. In another situation, the saints may not be critical, but they may be rather dead and indifferent. In many places the saints have heard message after message, and have become religious. Since they no longer know spirit and life, it is very difficult to speak to them. It is hard to enter into harmony with such an audience, for you and they are in separate worlds. In such a case it is very difficult to minister anything meaningful. I ministered once in such a place, and on the second day I felt I had nothing more to say, so I simply asked if anyone had any questions. One sister was moved to tears and said, "No one else has cared enough to ask us that. All the other brothers who have come just come to give messages. That is all they seem to care about. Only you have shown you cared about us." At that time I realized that even just a question and answer meeting can really open up the saints and grant them help, for they then feel you care more about them than your message. Most co-workers like to give messages, and many feel excited when they are invited somewhere to give a conference. They prepare a few messages and put on a good show, yet don't seem too concerned as to whether it is really helpful to the saints or not. This kind of speaker is not in harmony with his listeners. When you minister, you have to pay attention to the reaction and feeling of those who listen to you. As much as possible, there should be harmony between the prophet and those who hear him. 3. Speaking That Produces the Operation of the Spirit The final point we wish to make in this chapter is that the utterance of a prophet should produce the operation of the Spirit and bring others into the operation of the Spirit. The Word Equals the Spirit, the Spirit Equals the Word; the Spirit Produces the Word, the Word Produces the Spirit It is the Spirit that produces the word, and the word that produces the Spirit. In Genesis, we can see that the operation of the Spirit accompanies God's speaking (Gen. 1:1-2). In the Gospel of John, the word is also one with the Spirit (John 1:1; 6:63). The Spirit and God's speaking cannot be separated. When you minister, you should have the assurance that what you speak is the Lord's speaking. If the Lord doesn't speak, you shouldn't speak. When you speak, it must be the Spirit's speaking. As you minister, learn not to speak anything apart from the Spirit. Then your words will produce the Spirit when you minister. As the Spirit gives you your words as you minister, your words should produce the Spirit's operation in those who hear you. If you allow the Spirit to speak through you, you will see something of the Spirit produced in those who receive your words. Who receives the most in a meeting? Usually it is the speaker who receives the most. Outwardly it appears he is feeding many, but in reality, all those who hear him are feeding him! But remember that the word equals the Spirit, and that the Spirit equals the word, and that the word produces the Spirit, and that the Spirit produces the word. When you speak, you must allow the Spirit to operate through your speaking so that your words (the Spirit's words) call unto the spirits of the saints who hear you. Healthy Words Carrying Out the Spirit's Operation and Producing the Fruit of the Spirit In your ministering, you must speak what the Bible calls the healthy words. Healthy words are the words that carry out the operation of the Spirit and produce the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is what issues from our being attached to God and is a constitution of the divine attributes. When the divine attributes are constituted into us, they produce the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit leads us to blend with God, and this mingling bears the fruit of God's attributes. When we speak the healthy words, our words will carry forth the Spirit's operation and bear the fruit of the Spirit. Our ministering will bring people to God and eventually produce in them the Spirit's fruit. A healthy meeting gives people healthy feelings. Because of the healthy words, the saints should go home with feelings of joy, peace, satisfaction, enlightenment, encouragement, and the feeling of being strengthened. All these are the fruit of the Spirit issuing out of the Holy Spirit's operation. Words of Burden and Revelation out of the Spirit's Operation Bringing Out the Operation of the Spirit in Others Your words must be with burden and revelation. According to the operation of the Spirit, the words of burden and revelation will produce the operation of the Spirit in others. Such words will not only supply the saints, but also enlighten them. As a result, they will experience renewed consecration, revival, a deeper experience and appreciation of Christ and the church, and give themselves to Christ for the church. Suppose I am burdened to preach the gospel. When I speak about how people need Jesus, I sow something into those who hear me and the Spirit begins to operate through my words. When my burden is released, it should produce the Spirit's operation in others. Your words should be not only healthy words, but even dynamic words, words of burden that become words of revelation to those who hear you. What burdens you of the Spirit and drives you within should be expressed in words of revelation. Such words of burden and revelation produce joy, peace, and a supply of life in those who hear. This is the operation of the Spirit. The words of burden and revelation also enlighten and encourage the saints. Through your speaking, they should experience a further consecration, reviving, a deeper experience of Christ, and a deeper appreciation and devotion in the church life. These are all functions of the Spirit. In actuality, most of our meetings seem unable to move beyond the operation of the Spirit to have such an effect in the saints. We often experience an enjoyable message, and feel satisfied, joyful, and supplied, but for some reason we do not see people brought to repentance or experiencing much in the way of revival, nor do we see many experiencing an increased love for the Lord or a pursuing after Him, nor a further appreciation and devotion to the church so that their lives are changed. In summary, proper prophesying must be with healthy words, words of burden, words that are out of the Spirit's operation, and words which produce the Spirit's operation in others. We should particularly pay attention to the matters we have covered in this chapter: the anointing, the five-fold harmony, and the operation of the Spirit that can bring others into this operation.