FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

receives. 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten ?”

Children with a Godly spirit learn to love the input from a loving father. Whether it is instruction, reproof or correction. The prophetic ministry, as part of the foundational ministries given to the Church, is needed and appreciated by those wise children of God who want the discipline of the Lord which creates disciplined ones, also known as disciples. There is a process for judging prophetic ministry. In the New Testament Church those with a prophetic calling must be given an opportunity to speak what the Lord is giving to them. All prophecy must be judged, but it cannot be judged before it is given. It may come in a dream, a vision, a trance, through utterance or other avenues of communication, but we must make room for the prophet if we want the rewards of the ministry. However, once a word is given, it must be judged, accurately discerned, and often interpreted and applied if benefit is to come from the ministry. One stumbling block that can occur with receiving a prophetic word is to have it judged or discerned by someone who is not in the least prophetic or who does not have prophetic insight. (See Appendix C). How would one go about judging a word such as the one Isaiah gave concerning the Messiah? “ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel .” (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy was given over 600 years before it came to pass, so how would someone judge it for accuracy? Of course the credibility of the minister himself would come into play, and it must be judged against scripture. Any word which contradicts scripture should be rejected, but there are many things that can be prophesied that will not contradict scripture and yet must be discerned to be true or false. One failsafe that scripture gives us is for the prophetic to be judged by others who are called to the prophetic ministry or have a mature gift. 1 Corinthians 14:29 “ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

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