How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:1-2.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
In the songs of praise (the psalms) you hear a constant refrain of longing to live in My house with Me as a place of beauty, abundance, protection, and delight – a spontaneous exaltation of My dwelling places as lovely wherein your heart, soul, and flesh unite together as one in songs of joy to Me for I live and am with you as your strength, your sun, and your shield giving grace and glory and withholding no good thing from those who seek Me. A place of peace in you, spirit, soul, and body complete in love.
And what brings this into manifestation in your life and in the entire body of Christ, the great edifice of the church, the household of faith, hope, and love, My dwelling place in the entire body and each individually? The spiritual gift of prophecy.
Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and encouragement and consolation. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5.
Prophesy to yourself and one another and watch My Spirit go to work to build a spiritual house of glory filled with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit as the heartbeat and flow of every member individually and corporately.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:14-16.
Why do I emphasize that prophecy above the other gifts? Because it contains all the other gifts nested within it. For if you control your tongue and are perfect in speech you control your entire body, the direction of your life, and the manifestation of all the power gifts by being skillful with My Word of power. Everything hinges on what you say. All creation is groaning for My children to again take dominion authority to get it back in line with My Word and set it free. That is the dominion authority we spoke of in the prior Life Lesson. Death and life are in the power of your tongue. Speak life then that you and your seed may live, for in this is eternal life.
Moses expressed the desire that everyone would prophesy. Joel foretold that in the latter days, the days of the church, you would. And Peter quoted this on Pentecost Sunday when the Spirit fell as fulfilment of the prophecy of the prophet Joel.
“It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28-29.
When you get filled with My Spirit with open heart, you will prophesy. Acts 19:6.
What is prophecy? When you know how I define it, you will see that all the gifts fit into one or more of its qualities.
But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and encouragement and consolation. 1 Corinthians 14:3.
Let us break that down and go to the language in which it was first written, that is, Greek.
When you prophesy you edify those who hear. The word translated edification is the noun “oikodomé (οἰκοδομή),” which means a building (edifice) serving as a home; figuratively constructive criticism and instruction that builds a person up to be the suitable dwelling place of Mine. It is a combination of two words: “oikos (οἶκος),” which means a house, a dwelling and also means a household, family, lineage, and nation; and “dóma (δῶμα),” which means the housetop of a house. Oikodomé is the noun of the verb, oikodomeó (οἰκοδομέω), which means to build a house (home).
Oikodomé in the Old Testament Hebrew has three meanings: a house (בית) (home), a palace (היכל), and a tent (אֹהֶל).
Edification would also include a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, tongues (which edifies the speaker), interpretation of tongues (which with tongues is the equivalent of the gift of prophecy), discernment of spirits, effecting of miracles, faith, and gifts of healing. All of these build you up and build up the church.
Next consider the second quality of true prophecy. It is encouragement, which is often also translated as exhortation. This is the translation of the Greek word “paraklésis (παράκλησις),” which means a calling to one’s aid, i.e. encouragement, comfort. It is a call (urging) done by someone “close beside,” i.e. a personal exhortation that delivers the evidence that stands up in My court. It is a cognate with paráklētos which is what Jesus calls the Holy Spirit by definition and it has legal overtones, as one who is beside you as your advocate.
Paráklēsis is an “intimate call” that I entrust to a member of the body of Christ to personally deliver to another or to the body as a whole, that speaks to the heart and reveals how I am weighing the relevant facts (evidence) but in a way that directly motivates and inspires the one to whom it is addressed to carry out My plan. It can refer to exhortation and warning, but all given in the sweet context of encouragement and comfort that urges upward and onward to the high calling I give each one individually and all collectively in Jesus Christ, your Head and Lord. A bruised reed I will not crush and a smoldering wick I will not quench, instead the prophetic Word becomes strength and light in a dark place that you can focus on until the morning star rises in your heart and brings you out of your darkness to full, dazzling, radian day.
We have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19.
Again, all of the gifts of the Spirit can be defined as encouragement. Are not you encouraged and instructed when you hear of miracles? healings? a word of wisdom? a word of knowledge? And I could go on through all the gifts.
Now, let us consider the third quality in the definition of prophecy, it is consolation. The word translated “consolation,” and often as “comfort,” or “encouragement,” is the Greek word “paramuthia (παραμυθία),” which means encouragement, exhortation, comfort and consolation. Paramuthia is is from para, meaning “near,” and mythos, meaning “speech,” hence it denotes consolation and comfort, with a greater degree of tenderness than paráklēsis. It is only used once in the New Testament and it is in the definition of prophecy. Prophecy is My unique way of tenderly reaching out to you to build you back up, exhort you in love, and comfort you tenderly. How? By My Word spoken at just the right moment so you can receive mercy and find grace just when you need it.
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. Proverbs 25:11.
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, because I am lovesick. Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me.” Song of Songs 2:3-6.
When you prophesy you become like Me because that is the way I speak to you in your own heart. Not harsh, not hard, not judgmental, not cruel. You are My masterpiece. I build you up anew for you are all the work of My hands and I do it as I did in the beginning, by My Words of power, and that power is love, lovingkindness and absolute goodness in righteousness and truth.
And that is My nature so when I speak it edifies, encourages (exhorts with grace) and consoles to encourage you forward and upward. That is the way I spoke through My servants the prophets under the Old Covenant and that is the way I speak through My children the prophets today.
That is why above all I tell you to prophesy. Be like Me to one another.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are all making you just like Me in the world. Remember, I gave you Jesus so you could live your life through Him. As He is so are you in this world. And He prophesied and still does as the High Priest of your confession! Homologia, which means speaking the same word in agreement, and how can two walk together unless they agree?
By the gifts, the fruit and the seven virtues of the Holy Spirit produces in your spirit you become partakers in My Divine nature. When others see you they should have a revelation of who I am, the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory.
In Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, you and I join as one in partnership, purpose and power. And in this new and everlasting covenant of love I raise you up to live as I live in authority and dominion over what I have entrusted to you.
Sin dumbed you down to the flesh level and took away the dominion authority that I gave you as you were taken captive by the lies of the devil to do his will upon the earth. But the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace in Christ Jesus rises you up to the spirit level and gives you back the gift of dominion authority I gave you in the beginning by walking in the spirit and not giving place to the flesh to rule you. The difference is which input you are receiving—flesh input or Spirit input.
You determine the flow of your life and often also of those close to you.
If you consistently walk in the Spirit by exercising your authority over the devil and your dominion as a lifestyle you will move into the flow of the Spirit and bear much fruit. I gave you dominion authority and I expect you to exercise it when things contrary to My Word show up.
You must realize that what you consistently turn will be the way you operate your life and determine your flow. If you turn your attention to symptoms, feelings and limit yourself to human reasoning these things will gain expression in your life to the exclusion of the spiritual and that is the flow you will walk in. This will cause you to fear, doubt, and worry which then, the more you do this, will take on greater and greater momentum until it is hard to slow it down and reverse it abruptly. Just like if a child is on a swing that will go high. When they first sit on the swing it is at rest and remains that away, but if you begin pushing the child upward on that swing consistently after a few minutes it will catch the momentum until it is so high it almost goes over the beam at the top holding the swing. Then if you try to stop it abruptly, you cannot, if you get in its way it will knock you over and if the child tries to put his foot down or jump out it will not stop and the child will suffer injury. But if you grab it bit by bit at the side it will lose momentum and eventually be back at rest.
So examine your life. If you are consistently responding to things by worry and fear, it will take some work of exercising your dominion authority before that momentum is stopped and changed, so do not become discouraged but keep edifying yourself with My Word until you are built up and encouraged to take your dominion back in control by the Spirit over your flesh.
Begin to turn to My Word and draw on My Word for your authority and dominion that My Words believed in your heart and spoken in faith give you.
Daily, consistent exercise of your authority and dominion will change the flow of your life so that you walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
What you consistently turn to is what will consistently operate in your life.
Do you see why I tell you to prophesy and to speak in tongues? Edify.
In this life, due to the effects of sin and of Satan’s use of Adam’s leasehold interest, you will have various trials, but you determine the flow you live in and you determine the outcome of the trials that Satan shoots your way. Exercise your authority and your dominion that Jesus won back and gave to you consistently and you will just tread over the devil and every one of his attacks. Get the treading momentum going and he will no longer be a problem. You will be up on the highway of holiness where he cannot walk singing songs of joy as you enter Zion, the heavenly Zion, the mountain of grace and the church of the firstborn. Isaiah 35:8-10.
I love you. When prophecy flows among the members, a household of faith, hope and love is built. The body of Christ should be building itself up in love, a spiritual house, where all the members prophesy to one another. And prophecy teaches you to walk in forgiveness of yourself and others. Now go and prophesy in My Name. Only say My Words and do My works and great will be your peace and that of all your household.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:16-17.
And that is prophecy in action, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10.