The Characteristics of a Prophet
By Editorial Staff
Published March 2008
from Last Days Newsletter – by Keith Green
Now with all this talk about misguided, young zealots going around blasting people with the truth minus love, I don’t want to give the impression that God has not called certain people to fulfill the ministry of a prophet. There are many references in the book of Acts concerning people anointed by God to preach with prophetic urgency, (Acts 2:16, 3:22, 8:28,30, 13:20, 21:10-11, 28:25).
These men were called “prophets” by the writer of Acts. And Paul, in his teaching about the Body of Christ, talks about the different offices and callings in the body to help build up, strengthen, and establish the Church (1 Cor. 12:27-30; Rom. 12:4-16; Eph. 4:11-16).
First of all, he would be a CHRISTIAN – he would be like Jesus. Yes, he would hate sin like Jesus, but more importantly, he would love sinners like Jesus! He would not be arrogant, but he would be a broken man who was softened by many nights alone in prayer. He would be loving, kind, and gentle, always seeking to get the truth across in the most direct way, and yet never offending anyone if he could help it.
The prophet, above all, would be a man of God. He would seek to display all the qualities of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. He would not be easily provoked or moody or unduly harsh – but patient, merciful, and slow to anger. He would not seek to be a prophet, nor glory in that position, but just like Gideon, Jeremiah, or Moses, he would ask God to make sure he was the man of His choice before he would speak out against sin and hypocrisy (Judges 6:36-40; Jer. 1:6; Ex. 3:11-12).
Lastly, he would be a broken man, well acquainted with grief and tears. He would have a broken heart over the sin in the world and the worldliness in the Church. Before Jesus made a scourge of cords to whip the moneychangers (when he turned over the merchandise tables in the temple), He first wept and prayed over the straying city of Jerusalem before He entered her gates (Luke 19:41-46).
The prophet, like his Master Jesus, would weep before he whipped, pray before he spoke out, and walk in dread of being in the wrong spirit. For unlike James and John, he would know what spirit he was of.
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