We see sometimes in charismatic Christian meetings, people acting vigorously yelling and rushing to the stage and trying to touch the preacher, hoping to get some prophetic anointing for themselves. It is true that the bible teaches every one of us to earnestly desire to prophesy. But being prophetic is much more than being charismatic. There is something more than dreams and visions and even the proclaiming of revelation. There are some meaning and functions for the Church of Christ to be prophetic which we should understand while earnestly desiring to participate in its prophetic ministry.
One of the most important dimensions of being prophetic is to reveal the heart of God. In the book of revelation 19:10, an angel told John the Apostle that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In other words, the purpose of prophesying is to testify the work and the heart of Jesus. The heart of Jesus is the most important foundation of a prophetic ministry. And no one could reveal His passionate heart without experiencing it. Therefore, being prophetic is about feeling or encountering the heart of God and revealing it.
As the body of Christ, it is our privilege as well as our responsibility to know the heart of God and reveal it to the rest of the world. We experience many dimensions of God’s burning heart. We feel His grief for the lost souls, His love for every human being, His compassion for His people, His zeal for His bride, His joy for His sons and even His wrath for His enemies!
So the essence of prophecy is to make known God’s heart. Each time we prophesy we speak the heart of God. Every time He reveals His characters and attributes, we know Him more and are imparted with His life in us. When we know His affection for us, we are empowered to love Him in return.
All the prophets mentioned in the Bible are specially anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the representative of God to speak His heart and will. Obviously not every believer is a prophet, but every one of us is called to participate in the prophetic ministry of the body of Christ.
One of the prophets who demonstrated this function of prophetic ministry of revealing God’s heart clearly is John the Baptist. Jesus called him the greatest man born of a woman. And John himself described himself as a ‘friend of the bridegroom’. John the Baptist was one of the forerunners who prepared the way of the Jesus’ first coming. As a friend of the bridegroom, he prepared people’s heart to accept Jesus and love this heavenly Bridegroom. In the end time, God is also raising up a company of people who are called to be forerunners, the friends of the bridegroom, who remind the Church of Christ of the truth that they are the bride of Jesus that we must love Him with all heart, soul, strength and mind. We do this by revealing Jesus burning affection for His bride.
