We respond to prophecy in the same way that we would to promise. We must become doers of the word, whether it is written or spoken. We live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God-Matthew 4: 4.
Jesus came to elevate the prophetic word back to its rightful place in the relationship between God and man. He came saying, you have heard it said, but now I say-Matthew 5: 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43. The spoken word became the written word. The law began as prophecy Exodus 20-23! It was given as a direct word of God.
The commandments of Jesus are prophetic; They are spoken as a direct word of God. John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets bowing the knee to Jesus, who is the first of a new line of New Testament prophets. Jesus came as a prophet, priest and king.
Israel severed the law from its prophetic origin and roots, and it became a system of rules and regulations as men tried to establish their own righteousness. Instead of a prophetic word, they created a ritualistic, sacramental word that they used to establish their own performance as a means of righteousness. That is why in the same chapter, Jesus makes this statement.
Matthew 5: 20-for I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
The same thing that happened to Moses also happened to Jesus. His prophetic words have now been evangelized into the system. The sermon on the mount, instead of being prophetic, is now a code of conduct.
All prophets in the Old Testament continuously call people back to their prophetic origin: to obey prophetic commands and return to a loving God and walking in his ways.
We see the same in Paul’s teachings. Galatians 3: 24-the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ. The law is not an end in itself; It is given to prophetically restore us to Christ. The foolish Galatians got off track-Galatians 3: 1-. The law speaks of righteousness embedded in Jesus, not in us. The law is therefore dynamic because it leads us to the sufficiency of God.
The prophet’s task is to establish relationship with God in us through a living response to a living word. The law began as a specific (now) word to that generation. The tragedy is that it was downgraded to a general word of God for every succeeding generation.
Separated from its prophetic source, it became highlighted and elevated to become a conservative word when it was a defining and distinguishing (now) word to that generation. It so blinded the generation around Christ that it prevented them from hearing the now words spoken by Jesus.
We see the same today when scripture is elevated in some circles to the point where prophecy is outlawed and deemed satanic. A conservative approach to scripture has robbed it of its prophetic power to renew, refresh and restore people to God’s ongoing Kingdom and power and purpose.
Scripture must be read prophetically as a now word. We must recapture the true essence of scripture. It is not a conventional word spoken to a conservative people to help them maintain a standard on earth that does not exist in heaven.
It is not present to provide endless material for self-help teachings. Four steps to a happy marriage. Six steps to a better prayer life. How to walk with integrity in four easy steps. How to witness to people at work.
The standard in heaven is glory. People are measured by how much of God’s glory is present in their life. When Moses prophetically spoke the law into being, his face shown from being in the presence of the Lord. When the Pharisees interrogated Peter and John (Acts 3) they observed their confidence; They knew they were uneducated and untrained men, but they took note that they had been with Jesus-Acts 3: 13. What did they see?
Jesus restores us to glory, and wonder. We must distinguish the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We need to observe the context of the word, who it was spoken to and when it was fulfilled. Then we must be able to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us specifically as he uses the word prophetically. When we read scripture prophetically, as the now word, our sense of majesty increases. In scripture we must hear the voice of God speaking now to his people. We must respond to God’s voice and live by every preceding word out of his mouth.
Prophecy is much more than inspired preaching. It is a dynamic thing that creates breakthroughs, transformation, and the restoration of majesty that overcomes all obstacles and adversaries.
Our response to the now word is crucial. Do we let the word live or do we allow it to die? Our response to the prophetic word is so vitally important that the apostle James gives us this injunction.
James 1: 22-but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
Those who hear without doing are prone to delusion because they continually forget what God has said. It is very easy to forfeit some sense of the power and glory, the marvel and the miracle of hearing God speak into our life and situations.
Almighty God, the creator, has a heart so huge that he can be personally acquainted with hundreds of millions of people. He finds time to hear, speak, and respond to countless millions of prayers daily. He speaks countless messages of love, peace, truth and blessing on an hourly basis.
When God speaks, he does so with purpose, to create life, faith, and an awareness of himself in the lives of his people. He wants to bring change, correction, direction, renewal, restoration, redemption, and encouragement. His words are always strategic and contain real purpose. They reveal his heart and plans for us. All he asks in return is for us to respond to him.
Scripture should lead us to the place of encounter and experience. In the same way, our response to prophecy creates opportunities for us to receive God’s promise and to become what he intends.