fighting for your prophetic promises

8/4/2019 Fighting for Your Prophetic Promises

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1Fighting to hear

the Voice oF the Lord

At the en the speakers message that ay, she aske r all

us in the auience t clse ur eyes. I ha been enriche by

her teaching, and was glad to enter into a time o prayer. At that

pint in my lie I was hungry r spiritual grwth; I wante t

grw in the Lr. Tus, when riens invite me t jin them

or a Christian gathering at a large civic auditorium I gladly ac-cepte. It was a wnerul time sensing the Lrs presence,

but as the large crowd sat quietly, I was certainly not expecting

anything supernatural to happen. I had no idea what was going

to happen to me that day.

Te speaker began t talk in a way that I ha never hear

bere. She began t speak wrs knwlege an prphetic

words to the people. I was new to the supernatural operations o

the Holy Spirit, and did not know about His gis. I certainly did

not understand the purpose o prophetic words. Proptic word


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are merely the expression o the mind and heart o God in a situ-

atin. G wants us t knw His g plans r ur lives, an

wants to help us obtain them.Tis is why prophecies generallyreveal smething abut the uture. Tis ministry is given t us

to help us reach the destiny that God has or us.

Te speaker in the meeting did not address anyone specically

with the words she gave. She simply spoke the words aloud, releas-

ing them into the atmosphere. I had never been in a meeting like

that beore. Nothing anywhere close to this had ever happened

in my church!

As I sat quietly, I ound mysel being pulled in two directions.

On the one hand, I had no experiences to relate this to, no way to

judge what was happening. On the other hand, I knew somehow

that the Lord was at work. Tus, while my mind was ghting to

cmprehen this unusual scenari, my spirit was als ghting

to receive rom the Lord. I was truly in a struggle between mindand spirit.

Ten it happene. Te speaker gave a wr knwlege

inrmatin reveale t her by the Hly Spirit that she cul

not otherwise have knownand then a prophetic word, both o

which pierced my thoughts.

Someone is here today, the woman proclaimed, who, whenyou were a little girl, said to the Lord, Lord, I will be a missionary

or You. I barely dared to breathe as she continued. You will be

a missinary r the Lr, she sai, but yu will nt it the

way that you thought.

I elt as i arrows were plunging into my heart.

Ten, as i a word o knowledge and prophetic guidance were

nt enugh r me t try t athm, I saw a visin. A visin is

another part o the prophetic gi that gives a view into the un-

seen world. Te Lord opens your eyes to see beyond the natural


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and into the supernatural. Trough visions, God communicates

specic messages.

At the time, I did not even know what to call that experience.I only knew that my spiritual eyes were open, and I was seeing a

Sunday school classroom rom years past. I seemed to be posi-

tioned over the classroom looking down. Inside the room was a

little girl who looked as i she was about eight years old. I heard

the child, speaking in prayer to the Lord, say these words: Lord,

I will be a missionary or You. Ten I knew! Tat little girl was

me. Until that mment, I ha ttally rgtten abut my cm-

mitment to the Lord so long ago.

As I drove home rom the meeting that day, questions fooded my

mind. How did t pkr know wt ppnd to m wn I w

young? How did I orget my promise to the Lord? Why did we not have

this type o ministry in my church?I ha never receive prphetic

ministry or words beore that day. I certainly had never had visions.But here I was, experiencing all o that within just a ew minutes.

But there was an even bigger questin: How could I ever do

wt t Lord id I would do?

Fulllment thse prphetic wrs He place in my heart

seemed unlikely. Many years had already passed since I had spoken

that prayer in Sunday school. I was now an adult. I had a husbandand three small children. My idea o a missionary was someone

who sold everything he owned and moved to the jungles o Arica.

I knew my husband, Dale, would never do that. And he certainly

would not allow me to move our children to the jungles o Arica.

How could I ever do what I promised the Lord I would do? And

what about her words that I would do it ina way that was dierent

rom wt I tout. What did that mean?Smehw I knew that I wul never be the same rm that

moment on. I also knew that I had much to learn. I had to learn,


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or instance, to wait or the timing o the Lord. His time and my

time are oen diferent. o be in Gods will, I also had to prepare

through Bible study, prayer and circumstances that would helpme shi int Gs prmise. Withut that maturing prcess, I

would not have been properly equipped to receive that promise

or my lie or unction in the Lords assignment.

Tat prophetic word changed my lie, as I spent years ghting

or the ulllment o His promise to me. It was not always easy. I

ought to understand how God could ulll His word in my lie. I

ought earul emotions. I ought unbelie. I ought to learn more

concerning Gods call on my lie. Te ght continued until, nally,

the prophecy was ullled.

oday, I consider mysel a missionary or the Lord. I am privi-

leged to minister in many nations o the world. I did not move to

the jungles o Arica. In act, I have made only one trip to Arica,

and stayed in a airly nice hotel. God has ullled that propheticpromise in my lie, and He did it in a way that was diferent rom

the way that I thought He would do it.

What You Will Learn

I meet people regularly who do not understand that ulllment o

a prophetic word rom God is not automatic. I it i tru wordrom the Lord, they ask, wont it simply happen?Other peple

receive what they believe is a prophetic word, but wonder: How

do I jud i it i rlly rom t Lord or i it i l word? And

others ask: Wt i I rciv word tt m to b or omon

l? Sould I r tt init?And, perhaps most o all, I am

asked: Wt i I m wron?

Tis bk will iscuss these an many ther questins. Te

principles taught here will help you step into a new level or-

in, tin trou nd in t ulllmnt oGods prophetic


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promises. It has been written or the purpose o equipping you

to receive and to release prophetic promises rom the Lord. You

will learn how to do battle to bring orth the promises given youthrough prophetic prayer, dreams and visions. You will learn to

distinguish Gods voice rom other voices trying to sway you. You

will discover how people o all ages today are being trained or

prophetic ministry.

Te latter hal o the book will help you to release your pro-

phetic gi. You will be empowered to develop prophetic sensitivity.

Prophesying over territories and nations should be part o your

prophetic package rom the Lord. Some individuals will mature

rom the gi o prophecy to the oce o prophet. Igniting your

ghting spirit will propel you into your prophetic destiny.

G change my lie. I grew up as a traitinal evangelical

Christian. Trugh encunters with the Lr, Bible stuy an

several divine appointments, I came to a new understanding oGods blessings. Trough the years, as I moved orward in Gods

plan, I had many obstacles to overcome. I had to work my way

through ears, intimidation and insecurity.

But my lie became exciting as I saw the lives o people changed

by Gods prophetic words to them. I began to experience super-

natural visions, prophetic dreams and miraculous healings. You

will learn just as I i. An as yu see the ways that G has

changed my lie, you will see that He is changing yours as well.

What Is Prophecy, Anyway?

Looking back on that lie-changing experience, I realize that I did

not even know what the wordpropcy meant. Some years later

I iscvere a grup peple wh thught prphecy nly

in terms o end-time pronouncements. Tey were ocused on

biblical events that they believed would lead up to the end o the


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world. Tat is not our ocus in this book. We will be addressing

the tpic mern-ay prphecy in the cntext ghting t

hear the vice the Lr an als ghting t release what Heis saying.

Part o the work that the Lord is doing today involves restoring

prophets and prophetic ministry to the Church. Aer centuries

o various belies regarding prophecy, believers now are seeking

truth based upon Gods plan or His Church and realizing that a

restoration o these truths is needed or the ull expression o Gods

word in our lives. Biblical denitions o the wordpropcythe

Greek wr ispropheteiasuggest a spken wr that reveals

the will o God. Te wordpropcy can also reer to the oce o

the prophet, as we will see in chapter 9.

One o the places in the Bible where we nd the wordprophecy

mentine is 1 Crinthians 12:10: anther the efecting

miracles, an t anther prphecy, an t anther the istin-guishing spirits, t anther varius kins tngues, an t

another the interpretation o tongues. Te apostle Paul is listing

gis that are given to believers not only during his time but also

throughout the centuries, including today.

Prphets canoretellr they canorthtell. Foretellingspeaks

to us about the uture. Te Bible says that God sometimes usesprphets t tell us what He plans t : Surely the Lr God

does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants

the prophets (Amos 3:7).

Forthtellingmeans that prphecy tells rth the min an

heart o God. Many people believe that God uses prophecy only

in this manner. Tey nt believe that G als retells the

uture through modern-day prophets.Hw we nee prphetic revelatin in the Church tay! A

glrius estiny is planne r Gs Church. Prphets have the


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responsibility o hearing rom the Lord and speaking to Gods people

concerning His plans. Without this prophetic ministry, we can nd

ourselves in the same situation as the Israelites in the wilderness.Moses was a prophetand was recognized as such. Yet when

the peple realize that Mses was cmmunicating with G,

they did not want to hear what God would speak to them. Tey

asked Moses to be their go-between, to hear rom God or them.

Tey said to Moses, Speak to us yoursel and we will listen; but

let not God speak to us, or we will die (Exodus 20:19).

S Mses went up the muntain t hear Gs wr r His

people, and during his absence, those people ailed to remember

their destiny. Tey lost the vision o where God was taking them.

Since they i nt have a prphet in their mist, they mve

backward. Tey behaved the way they saw people acting in Egypt.

Scripture records that they engaged in idolatry and all sorts o sin

(see Exus 32). Tey neee a prphet in their mist t keepthem ocused on the uture God had planned or them.

Prphecy helps keep the Church cuse n her estiny. It

warns o dangers in times o restoration. Without it, the Church

today, likewise, can go backward rather than orward toward her

destiny. When He, the Spirit o truth, comes, He will guide you

into all the truth; or He will not speak on His own initiative, but

whatever He hears, He will speak; an He will isclse t yu

what is to come (John 16:13).

Are All Prophecies from the Lord?

I oen say that God gets blamed or saying a lot o things that He

never said. An example o this is a story I read recently.

During the historic Latter Rain Movement rom 1948 to the

1960s, a mve the Hly Spirit that swept acrss the wrl, a

spiritually gied man by the name o William Branham rose to


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ame. His ministry included the ability to call out descriptions o

circumstances and illnesses in people he had never met, which

was en llwe by miraculus healings. When I say that hecould call out words, I am reerring to prophesying. Te minister

publicly spoke aloud, or prophesied, what he elt he was hearing

rom the Lord. Speaking words in this manner is like breathing

the lie o the Holy Spirit into situations that need His touch.

A minister who attended one o the spectacular services ob-

serve rsthan the supernatural peratin thrugh Branham.

Ten, at one point, Branham identied a young lady in the con-

gregation, and described her illness with great accuracy. Branham

prophesied that she was healed.

Te girls parents believed that this was a true prophetic word

and stopped her medications because o it. Te problem was that

the girl was not healed. As a result, the girl, no longer taking her

meicatins, sufere rm her illness. When they iscverethat she was nt heale, her parents were greatly embarrasse

beore their amily and riends to whom they had testied about

her healing. Te minister wrote o his own disappointment and

disillusion rom the situation.

Now, some 40 years later, I am still numb telling the story.

Te accuracy with which Branham described the situa-tion had been uncanny, yet his aith or the healingor

the manner in which the public announcement about the

healing had been madewas certainly aulty. . . .

I am an advocate o spiritual gis and prophecy. Why,

then, talk o ailure, especially since thousands testied o

miraculous signs and miracles during Branhams ministry,

and multitudes were converted to Christ? Te simple act

is, prophets and prophecies can ail or be wrong. . . . In spite

o stories like the above, I nd mysel an even stronger (al-

though wiser) advocate o God speaking in our day.1


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Branham obviously had a true prophetic word in identiying

the medical issuesa word o knowledge about the girls condi-

tin. Apparently, hwever, as smetimes happens in prpheticministry, the minister did not truly hear the word about healing.

It is pssible that wr abut healing was true, an that the

girl and her parents did not know how to ght or it. Tey may

have thought that the ulllment o the word was automatic. It is

also possible that the enemy was placing a trap or the amily due

to their lack o knowledge in receiving prophecy. Tey may not

have known about the wisdom needed when receiving a prophetic

word about healing. Tey should have had a doctor conrm the

healing beore discontinuing the medication.

We will probably never know what happened in this situation. We

do know that prophetic ministry is a gi rom the Lord. We do not

want to throw away the baby with the bathwater. We want to learn

and grow so we are able to receive Gods wonderul gi or our lives.I rea abut anther situatin where prphecy was use in

a wrong way. Several years ago a minister was asked to speak at

a reputable venue. Te minister was well-known or releasing a

healing anointing. Te meeting was advertised and about een

hunre peple attene. He preache a g message base

upn the Wr G, an then starte t call ut wrs knowledge, prophecies and words about healings.

At ne pint, he lke at a grup speech an hearing-

impaired people. An interpreter was signing or the group. Sud-

enly the minister pinte twar them an calle ut, All

you are healed! Te interpreter signed the message or them, but

no one responded to the call.

Aerward, the group was in conusion, so the leaders o themeeting started to counsel the group. How sad or them to have

their hopes raised to a high level but see no maniestation!


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What happened? Te minister was probably caught up in the

emotion o the moment but not owing in the Holy Spirit.

Tese stories help us understand a critically important point:We must learn how to judge a true word i we are going to walk

into the promises God has or us and see our inheritances come

to pass. When you consider urther that there are many abuses

in the prphetic ministry, an that the enemy lays traps with

alse prophecies or alse prophets, the need or training becomes

paramount.

Some people believe that all alse prophecy comes rom a alse

prophet, but I disagree. I believe that sometimes a true prophet

can give a alse prophecy.

I once heard the story o an older man in a congregation who

stood and prophesied. Yeah, the man exhorted, hath God not

written, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?

Te rganist in the service respne ver his micrphne.Nay, God hath not written!

Obviously, the word released by the older man was not a word

rom God. Tat did not make the man who delivered the word a

alse prophet. He was merely a man who was emotionally inspired

and credited something to the Bible that is not in the Bible. He

gave a alse prophecy but that did not make him a alse prophet.Te people in that church had been trained in judging prophecy.

Tey were able to cast aside the prophecy, but not reject the man

wh gave the wr. Tey realize that he just neee a better

oundation in the Bible.

We have entered a new day in which prophets and prophetic

ministers are training the Body o Christ or true prophetic min-

istry. A Christian does not need to reject all prophecy out o earthat sme it might be alse. Rather, there are guielines r

judging prophecy, which we will explore ully.


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Te diference between distinguishing a true prophecy rom a

alse oneallowing us to move orward with condencebegins

with knowing Gods voice. Te ability to hear and know His voiceis part o our inheritance.

True Prophecy Starts with Hearing Gods Voice

I remember when the Lord spoke to my heart about the need or

hearing His voice. My husband and I were driving to a conerence

in another state, and we decided to spend a ew minutes listeningor any instructions or words rom the Lord. As loudly as I have

ever heard the Lord speak to my spirit, I heard Him speak that

day: Brbr, tc My popl to r My voic. I knew that I had

a mandate rom the Lord or my lie.

From that day more than twenty years ago, I have taught the

Body o Christ to hear the voice o the Lord. It is rom that mandate

that I eel compelled to write this book. Listening to the voice o

the Lord has brought me into a richer and more satisying way

o lie. Although I do not always hear perectly what the Lord is

saying, His voice oen helps me avoid many o the traps o the

enemy. His vice encurages me when my circumstances are

discouraging. His voice gives guidance or my lie.

I want yu t experience the same jy that I have un inhearing and speaking orth the mind and will o God. I want you

to experience victory as you discern a true promise rom the Lord

and ght or it to come orth.

I am so thankul that the Lord still speaks to His people today.

I love what my riend Chuck Pierce says about hearing the voice

o the Lord:

Hearing the voice o God is not as dicult as some might

think. I have ound that many o Gods people are hearing


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Him, but have not perceived that it is His voice. o per-

ceive means to take hold o, eel, comprehend, grasp men-

tally, recognize, observe, or become aware o something bydiscerning. We must learn to perceive Gods voice, which

will help us understand His will or our lives. Acting upon

what we have discerned as His voice until it becomes a re-

ality is the key to a successul Christian lie.2

God desires or us to know His will or our lives, and we know

His will when we hear His voice. Every believer is able to hear the

voice o the Lord. Scripture tells us: My sheep hear My voice, andI know them, and they ollow Me (John 10:27).

It ollows that, since we can hear the voice o the Lord, we can

also be used by the Lord to prophesyin act, we should earnestly

desire it. Paul wrote: Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual

gis, but especially that you may prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1).

As God reveals His will to us, we must then ght to see His willbecome a reality.

Questions and Doubts

Te Body o Christ has moved orward in this area since I heard

my rst prphetic wr. N lnger we wait r well-knwn

prophets to speak to us. No longer do we limit prophetic ministryto those who are leaders. Prophecy is not bound by geographic lo-

cation, income, education or age. People in every walk o lie have

been awakened to a desire to be equipped or prophetic ministry.

My riend Karmen Fierro is an equipper. She is helping a young

generation learn how to ght or their prophetic promises. She is

equipping them to hear the voice o the Lord and live the abundant

lie that Jesus promised or His ollowers. Tese teens are eager to

learn how to hear the voice o the Lord. In most classes she can

barely begin teaching beore they are asking questions.


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Am I old enough to prophesy?

How can I be sure that it is the Lord speaking, and not just

me?Im pretty sure I have a diferent gi, so can I still prophesy?

What do I do i a prophecy doesnt seem to be coming true?

What i I get it wrong?

Tese teens are not the only ones asking questions. Churches

are lled with people who want answers about modern-day proph-

ecy. Some are not even sure that prophecy is still operational in

todays Church. Others do not know what they are supposed to

do with their prophecies that have not maniested.

Tese are normal questions and doubts.

My prphetic jurney has mae me aware hw much we

need to hear the Lords voice. I grew up not knowing that the Lord

speaks to His people today. Te only promise I was aware o wasthat i you knew Jesus as Savior, you would someday experience

heaven. Tat is a good promise! But now that I have experienced

a eeper walk with the Lr, I have iscvere many prmises

in His Word. I have also received many more promises through

prophetic ministry or through hearing His voice.

Sme these prmises have been ullle; many have nt.

Just like you, I am on a journey. Not only are we moving toward

ulllment, we are also in a ght today, a spiritual encounter to see

the maniestation o everything the Lord has promised His people.

A Multifaceted Struggle

In this battle, we have many skirmishes. As we have seen, we must

rst o all ght to hear the voice o the Lord. In the next chapter

we will lk at ur ght against the thelgy cessatinism.

Tat ctrine prmtes the belie that prphecy was nly r


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the early Church. It teaches that prophecy has ceased, and is no

longer valid or today.

We will als lk at the ght r the restratin that G isbringing to the Church. He is helping us understand why we need

prophecy in the Body o Christ. We will then learn to anticipate

some o the dangers that rise when God restores truth.

Te apostle Paul recognized that you and I would experience

a ght against the promises that God has or our generation. He

penned words that have encouraged believers through the ages

to continue to ght until we win the conict. I love the wayT

M translates the meaning o Pauls encouragement to us.

Tat about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you

strong. So take everything the Master has set out or you,

well-made weapons o the best materials. And put them to

use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil

throws your way. Tis is no aernoon athletic contest

that well walk away rom and orget about in a couple o

hours. Tis is or keeps, a lie-or-death ght to the nish

against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. Youre up against ar more than you can

handle on your own. ake all the help you can get, every

weapon God has issued, so that when its all over but the

shouting youll still be on your eet.Epin 6:1013, he Message

We are living in a time when God is revealing His heart and

plans throughout the earth. He has made a way or His children

to ght through every dicult place and be victorious. Allow the

Lord to make you a victorious warrior. May He use you in ways

you never dreamed possible.My prayer or you is that you will walk in all that the Lord has

prmise yu. I als pray that the Lr will use yu t release


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His prphetic prmises t thse whm He sens yu t. Wh

knows whether you have come to the Kingdom or such a time

as this? (see Esther 4:14).

Pryr

Hvnly Ftr, I tnk You or llowin m to b liv t ti

tim. Tnk You tt I liv wn You r rtorin propcy nd

prophetic people to Your Church. My desire is to hear Your voice

nd mbrc t promi You v or my li. Hlp m not to b

distracted or discouraged by unulflled prophecies. I set my ace

like fint to ght against any tactic o the enemy that seeks to hinder

m rom rin nd obyin Your voic. I coo ti dy to t

by dtroyin pcultion nd vry lofy tin rid up int

t knowld o God, nd I will tk vry tout cptiv to t

obdinc o Crit (2 Corintin 10:5). Tnk You, Lord, tt

wit Your lp I will win ti t! In Ju nm I pry, Amn.

For Furtr Rction

1. What was the rst prophetic word you remember receiving

regarding your lie?

2. Has the prophetic word been ullled?

3. I not, why do you think it has not happened?

4. What are some o the prophetic promises that you are cur-

rently ghting or in your lie?

5. What meth yu use t take thughts captive in the

midst o your ght?

fighting for your prophetic promises

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