The Prophet

The prophet sees the Lord’s vision for humanity. Because they feel fiercely, tears flow from their eyes because many aren’t even conscious that the word of God is disregarded. The prophetic message that is spoken isn’t to be shunned because the Lord has concern for all of His creation. Prophets aren’t worried about if their the minority because they have learned to maintain their loyalty to the Lord over popular opinion. They seem to live out of a much different kind of value system.

Because their testimony didn’t originate from themselves they don’t just burn for a season, their words burn for eternity. They have been touched by the eternal word of God which has extinguished the self centered ego that plagues humanity. Any need to prove themselves, has been replaced by a tenderness for the heart of the Father. The decree they speak isn’t necessarily a message of comfort, but a message that challenges. When the rights of others are forsaken they scream, and when human obligations are neglected, they weep. Their hatred towards sin doesn’t produce hostility towards others, it exhibits a desire for reconciliation. Their wholeheartedness for the honor of God is at times misinterpreted as an anger towards men and women who don’t share their beliefs.

For the prophet, to refuse to worship God is scandalous. The prophet doesn’t ask who men and women owe their ultimate allegiance to, for the prophet this is never a question but a demand. In other words, the prophet understands that ultimately autonomy that is fueled by human ambition leads to social confusion. The prophet of God may be misunderstood, however they are really pleading for the well being and prosperity of the nations. They passionately forgive and serve those who have rejected their words. With certainty, they preach not only the sense of indebtedness to God but a sense of indebtedness to every son and daughter of Adam.

Greatness isn’t something prophets attempt to obtain through their own ambition, it’s a gift. Because they’ve chosen to adhere to the relational expectations the Lord has laid out. In other words, to cultivate indifference for a prophet is the result of a conscience that is silenced by a culture that is unaware of the divine presence. Prophets champion the oppressed that are to broken to speak. The appeal for justice isn’t something the prophet can shake off, because the need for justices burns in their hearts. For anything that threatens the very source of life must be confronted.

Those who automatically have a prophetic voice never lose sight and never lose drive towards what matters to God. How God thinks, how God feels, how God acts, never leaves the prophets conscience. The prophet isn’t shaped by impulse, the prophet is shaped by the inner conviction that God is ever present in everything we do. Without an ambition for what is vain, without an infatuation with success, the prophet is entirely content being a friend of God.

Sincerely,

John Harke Team

The Nature of Deception

How do we react when our influence begins to diminish? Simon the sorcerer was baptized, followed Phillip around but still operated like a sorcerer.

• Is that the fruit of salvation?

• Is that behavior the evidence of a transformed heart?

• Do I long to marvel at people with the gifts of the Spirit?

• Or do I live to love God with genuine faith and a passion to walk in a relationship with Christ?

When we look at the book of Acts chapter eight, Simon’s demonic activity has desensitized the masses in Samaria. His influence and control promoted an agenda of deception and an awareness of manipulation which the culture embraced. This led to untold unhappiness, misery and fear. Something evil was behind all the brokenness, the pain, the confusion. Sickness and diseases were running rapid through the city. People suffering wasn’t just a governmental problem, or an educational problem, it was an intellectual problem because evil was ruling over the hearts and minds of an entire region. There is no order when a society has been affected by witchcraft.

In an atmosphere like that, people are looking to be fascinated by anyone or anything. However because of heightened persecution, Phillip the Evangelist came preaching Christ along with the evidence of miracles and deliverance. Yet evidence of supernatural power isn’t enough to save by itself, as we see in the case of Simon. Phillip’s preaching and authentic power wasn’t a distorted gospel, however when we look Simon we witness a distorted heart. In other words Simon believes but is never taken out of the world’s system. And as we study Acts eight I believe there can be what we call a “false conversion”. People can be delusional and come under deep deception. Like Simon, there was a certain intellectual belief, as well as an outward baptism, but with no change of heart.

What is so self evident is that Simon is completely attentive to the miracles that are operating through Philip, but never attentive to the source of those miracles. There was this sense of assumed ownership that Simon thought he could possibly possess. Simply because of the long standing influence that he had over the hearts and minds of the people in Samaria. When that influence began to diminish he reveals his true heart condition.

Beloved, to be saved is to be under the control of the Spirit of God. Unfortunately Simon’s speech betrays him when he requested to buy the Holy Spirit from Peter. True repentance and humility were not evident in Simon’s soul, only bitterness and iniquity. Sure he gave up the practice of sorcery but sorcery was still lodged in his heart. When reading Peter’s words of correction we see that Simon feared punishment more that he feared God. This attitude left him in the state of deception. He wanted power more than he wanted authentic salvation, he got neither. So what are the takeaways from this narrative? I believe at this hour the prophetic has to be at times confrontational especially when we are dealing with spiritual warfare. Because through out the book of Acts the occult was consistently attempting to undermine the message of the gospel. This takes courage and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that the Lord will anoint the church so they can break the demonic influence over individuals and over territories.

Sincerely,

John Harke Team

God is still reaching out His hand to you

The moment we become overwhelmed by what the someone thinks, is when we can easily neglect the reality of the situation. In other words, our concern should be for truth even when the truth isn’t welcomed.

Ahab’s prophet’s were just echoes, to be an echo isn’t difficult since it requires no life of prayer nor connection with the Lord. Therefore, we must understand that echoes don’t have the word of the Lord. Partly because they were under the spell of Jezebel and had lost all sensitivity to the reality of the Lord’s presence. The lesson we must learn from this narrative in 1 Kings 22 is, we can’t counsel anyone who can seduce us and that political alliances can sometimes run deeper than obeying the voice of the Lord.

It’s easy to pretend to be a prophet before a king, but it’s absolutely impossible to pretend to be a prophet before the Lord. All of us to need to be flexible in situations that happen in our lives, however, when it comes to truth there isn’t any room for flexibility.

Echoes are always culturally flexible towards current trends, while authentic prophetic voices are stern without being cruel. As we grow in humility we discern when we are to be flexible and when we are to be steadfast. When leaders, who are absolutely unwavering towards the truth, they become the type of leaders who are the most transformative. They seem to passionately delight in the Lord’s voice even if His voice doesn’t agree with their personal vision. They adjust their roles and dreams to be in perfect alignment with God’s will.

When we glance upon King Ahab we see him clinging to his own affections for personal ambition over the clear word of the Lord through one prophet. He loses focus of what truly is important which inevitably leads to his demise. Because real vision doesn’t ignore the brutal facts. All of us are in a battle, but this narrative conveys so emphatically that there are certain battles that we are not supposed to be in. When we look at the decline of Ahab, it certainly wasn’t because there was an absence of God’s voice, it was because in his pride he felt a false sense of invulnerability.

And like King Ahab, who didn’t invite the prophetic word into his chariot, when a denomination or organization doesn’t welcome the word of Lord, they begin to corporately bleed to death. I believe that what’s really being conveyed here isn’t just judgement, but the obvious evidence of the sovereignty of God in the lives of Kings, individuals, and nations. Even though it seems that people are failing to cooperate with the Lord’s loving rule, He is still reaching out His hand towards His people. Prophets still confront to transform, Evangelists still make calls to salvation, Pastors still patiently shepherd the sheep, Teachers still unveil the truth of scripture, and Apostles still create movements. One day, authenticity will drown out the echo.

Sincerely,

John Harke Team

It's Time to Partner with Your Prophetic Words

This post is for you if you have experienced any of the following: 

• You have received promises from God that have yet to be fulfilled

• You keep receiving prophetic words but have yet to see them come to pass 

• You feel stuck and unsure if you are missing something when it comes to your destiny and purpose 

If any of the above sounds familiar, keep reading because this may be a key to help you. 

We see throughout the Bible where God has chosen to do nothing on earth unless He partners with man to help Him bring it forth. All the way back from Adam till the present day, God is constantly calling men and women to partner with Him in His purposes and plans.

You are God’s delegated authority here on Earth to do mighty things. 

If you are a Christian and love God, you have the same opportunity to be able to partner with God today as all of the mighty heroes throughout scripture. What an amazing honor and privilege! What some people forget is that not only does God want to work through you to do the big things but He also wants to do the same when it comes to the personal destiny and call on your life. 

God wants to partner with you for your prophetic destiny! This is where many people fall prey to a common pitfall when it comes to seeing their prophetic words come to pass. They think it’s all just going to happen without any participation on their part. They sit looking out the windows of their lives looking for the prophetic destiny delivery truck to roll up to their door and unload it into their waiting arms. It’s a beautiful, wonderful, picture but it runs contrary to how we see people operating when they receive a word from God in the Bible. In fact, more destinies have been lost from this approach to God’s voice and promises than almost any other tactic of the enemy. 

An example is Moses when He heard God’s voice. He had to leave what he knew to confront Pharaoh and bring deliverance to the Israelites. Every time God came to Him, there were instructions that he needed to follow and carry out in order to partner with God for their deliverance. Now imagine if Moses didn’t respond but instead stayed home. If he heard that God wanted to bring deliverance to the nation of Israel but did nothing to partner with God on it? 

In this season, God is calling His children that hear His voice to shake off this lie and step into a position where instead of asking the question “When will my prophetic word come to pass?” Will change it to a much better question of “How can I partner with God’s prophetic word over my life?” The first question positions you as simply an observer and “taker”. The second question positions you into a place of action and also inviting God to speak to you further and in greater detail about how YOU can move forward in your destiny.

The takeaway from this post is the following:

1. You are God’s delegated authority on Earth!

2. God wants to partner with YOU 

3. Ask God “How can I respond and partner with your Word?"

4. Be Prepared to Listen and Be Obedient to What You Hear No Matter How Small or Seemingly Insignificant/ 

Sincerely,

John Harke Team

Reigning as Kings

Romans 5:17 (NKJV) 

For if by the one man's offense, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

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It seems that we can so easily forget what Christ has purchased for us, so we end up living with a much lower standard than what Jesus has called us to live. To reign as Kings or Queens means much more than monetary success, public recognition, and thousands of likes on Facebook.

To reign as Kings is to not come up short from the image of God. It is finding victory on the inside where our emotions are, to have control over our own spirit, this is what it means to reign in life.

It doesn't mean that we are completely free from crisis, it means we are seated above our own minds. We tap into divine wisdom and we prophesy to the situations that don't represent the beauty of God. You see, God has a goal for us individually and corporately, to make us a prophetic voice to the earth, prophesying liberty from bondage and decay. Creation is yearning for sons and daughters to speak what the Lord is speaking.

When there is repentance, respect, honor and love, our identities flourish and our roles get clearly defined.

When this is properly modeled the Kingdom of God is authentically demonstrated. By prophesying His heart we come into agreement with what God sees, for He sees beauty in the midst of our deformity. The prophet Ezekiel found himself in a valley and wasn't told to pray about the spiritual conditions, he was told by the Lord to prophesy to it. His words transformed the people, will we do the same in our time? Will we prophesy the wonderful grace upon the slain that are on the battlefield of life? For without the wealth of grace there isn't any true wealth in the soul. For the wealth of grace allows us to rule with the knowledge of the Kingdom and not rule as those who haven't been regenerated do. We reign from a place intimacy not just in the place legality.

Life becomes more of a joy because we witness supernatural interventions in our spiritual lives, relationships and financial breakthroughs. We live the way Jesus lived when he lived upon the earth. Reigning over sickness, demonic attacks, and over economic lack. We become yoked to His peace, free from the yoke of anxiety and fear.

The body of believers that reign as Kings repair the wrongs in society and restore human dignity by bringing the knowledge of the truth in every sphere of society.

Living like King's means thinking like King's, speaking like a King, weighing over our words before we say them because they declare who we really are. The words we speak build the kind of Kingdom we choose to live in. Through the gift of righteousness we can rule with same heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,

John 

Correct Convictions

What shapes a leaders belief system is arguably the most valuable necessity. How he or she thinks about God, others, and themselves is formed by what they allow in their hearts. Correct convictions can positively form a people who believe that they will be able to obtain the promises of God. With the right knowledge, leaders will not just form others in their own image, but transform others in God's image. When a leader intentionally sits under the word of God, the authority of what our Lord taught surpasses the leaders own experience. Armed with a sense of responsibility these leaders will not just control but inspire.

To bless is to empower and genuine leaders filled with compassion release communities into their inheritance.

This ability to influence isn't because they have conformed to educational theories or to political ideologies, their influence originates from relationship first with God, and then with their colleagues. The way they look at life and the way they see problems are unique. Instead of fear, they have learned to tap into a well of endurance. This attracts others to them. While some in leadership roles are just digging out some new principles to become more popular,

real leaders are passionately willing to become better servants.

We can't take on the responsibility of Godly leadership without becoming a servant. We all want a place among the powerful and the strong, the Lord put that desire in all of us. To get there we have to serve. Servanthood is the true representation of the leaders nature. By putting ourself aside we amplify who He is. Knowing that the majority of disputes happen because we want to rule rather than care for the body of Christ. Many times we perceive major character flaws in gifted people and begin to downgrade their significance, and instead of looking for ways to empower them, we assassinate their reputation. This doesn't solve the issue it only creates a sense of hopelessness.

However, there are corrective ways to fixing what may seem overwhelming. It's really about living a life of prayer. The heart of a true leader doesn't go to God to obtain judgment, but to obtain forgiveness for the Lord's people. We can clearly see this in Moses's leadership approach.

While we appreciate professionalism in the presentation of sermons and worship, professionalism should never be elevated above loving God and loving one another. In other words, let's take the quality of sound, we all like when something sounds good to our hearing, but is that sound the sound of Heaven? Because when love abounds, the sound of God's heart is clearly heard. A sincere leader understands that godliness needs to be elevated much more than talent. People are rewarded amazingly for their accomplishments and talent, but how many have been rewarded for their godliness?

Any person that is in a place of influence whether you're a parent, a CEO, or a pastor, we need to protect those who are around us, by not reinforcing wounded feelings in relational conflicts with one another, Because this doesn't bring the solution that is needed, it only produces more validity to the irritation. In order to have genuine success, rather than contributing to each other's conflicts, we have to work hard on improving our relationships with one another, all while asking the Lord for the keys of the Kingdom to unlock breakthrough for them.

 

Sincerely, 

John