Passion for Jesus

I first heard Jack Deere speak in Kansas City many years ago. His anointed gift as a teacher was very much in evidence. I appreciate the fact that he allies himself with prophets. He doesn’t "go it alone." When someone addresses foundational issues, they should not be independent. Teachers have a special gift to explain the Word of God and yet at the same time, should not originate new doctrine. The Bible says the church is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. These ministries are the kitchen where doctrine comes from — teachers are the waiters who serve it on the table for the benefit of the Church. (Ephesians 2:20) When we need to be grounded in God’s word, no one can do the job like an anointed teacher!

This article was sent to me by Alison Papenfus of South Africa, a friend to Lana and myself. She hosts a list serving intercessors for Africa. (www.africaprophecy.co.za) That’s how I first became acquainted with her even before Lana and I lived in Johannesburg. We shared at the Bible School where Alison is a respected teacher regarding prophetic ministry.

Foreword by Alison Papenfus

Jack Deere was a reformed evangelical theologian teaching in a distinguished seminary (Dallas Theological Seminary, Professor of Old Testament) in the US. God gloriously filled him with the Holy Spirit and knit his heart with John Wimber, with whom he ministered for years. He is the Author of "Surprised by the Power of the Spirit" and "Surprised by the Voice of God" - both of which are excellent reads for prophetic people. This article picks up a theme which is vital if the church is to move into the next phase of God's purposes at this time.
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PASSION FOR JESUS

Almost any Christian can tell you what the greatest commandment of all is - to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matt 22 36-40). We all know this is the greatest commandment. But are we really taking it seriously? It is so easy to think that we are loving Jesus when in reality we are loving something else.

Getting sidetracked

When I was converted at 17 years of age, I had no religious or church background of any kind. Immediately, I fell in love with the Lord Jesus. I began to devour His word. I talked to Him constantly. I witnessed to every one of my non-Christian friends again and again. I was so overzealous that I lost all but two of my friends. This loss didn't affect me that much because I was so in love with Jesus that nothing else really mattered to me. I also loved my new church. In fact, every time the doors were open I was present.

After about a year, the original passion I had for the Lord Jesus began to fade somewhat. I couldn't point to the day or hour when it happened nor could I give you a reason for it, but something was definitely different. The passion that I had had for Jesus had subtly but surely been transferred to my denomination.

In our church we talked a lot about our denomination and how proud we were of it. It became difficult for me to understand why all true Christians wouldn't want to be a part of my denomination. I also remember thinking that my church was perhaps the best church in the whole denomination. I don't think that I ever loved my denomination too much nor my church too much. The problem was that I loved Jesus too little in comparison with my church. Deception like this occurs so slowly and is so subtle that it is almost impossible to see while you're trapped by it. Eventually I repented of putting my church ahead of Jesus. The cold self-righteousness left me and I fell in love with Christ afresh.

Later I got sidetracked again in my quest to cultivate passion for the Lord Jesus. In the process of getting theologically trained and becoming a seminary professor, I developed an intense passion for the precise study of the Word of God. Before I knew it, it happened to me again. I found myself loving the Bible more that I loved the Author of the Bible. I was caught in this trap for more years than I like to remember. Again, the problem was not that I loved the Bible too much. It was that I loved Jesus too little in comparison with the Bible. I had put the Bible over the Lord Jesus, much like the Pharisees had put the law and their traditions above God. It is possible to make this mistake with almost anything. We can put other people or even various forms of ministry - witnessing, caring for the poor, praying for the sick, etc. - above the Lord Jesus Christ. I have often seen people confuse loving Jesus with doing ministry. It's even possible to love the Christian life more than Jesus. There is a sense of security and purpose that comes from being surrounded by Christians and having a lifestyle that our friends approve of. Christian fellowship is wonderful but some have more affection for that than for Jesus himself.

Cultivating passion

More than anything else, passion for the Son of God has to be guarded and cultivated or we will lose it. I find that almost every good thing in my life is all too ready to compete for my time and intimacy with the Son of God.

I have begun praying a prayer that has done more to generate passion in my heart for the Lord Jesus than anything I have ever done before. This prayer is found within what is perhaps the greatest prayer in all of the Bible. I am referring to the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus in John chapter 17. I have turned the last verse of that prayer into my own personalized prayer. "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26 NKJV)

Jesus said that He had declared the name of the Father to His disciples, that is, He showed them what the Father was like. He did this for one overriding purpose. Jesus wanted His disciples to love Him like His heavenly Father loved Him. He wants the love that His Father has for Him to be in His disciples. I read this verse many times before I really saw it. The first time I actually understood what Jesus was saying I found it difficult to believe. How could I love Jesus like God the Father loves His very own Son?

Of course no one can love anyone to the same degree or quality that God loves them. But on the other hand, neither can we be as holy as God, yet God says to us, "You shall be holy for I am holy." It is through the power of His Spirit in us that we can walk in holiness. By that same power, we can live our lives with a consuming passion for our Lord. The Father loves the Son more than anyone or anything else. He is devoted to the Son. His eyes never leave the Son. All that the Father does He does for the Son. Jesus
prayed that we would be driven by that same single-eyed passion.

Is obedience enough?

Some people minimize our need for passion for Jesus. They tell us that our feelings aren't really important as long as we walk in obedience. Obedience is wonderful, but the problem with this definition is that you can do the right thing without loving the Son of God very much at all. A son can obey his father for reward or for fear of punishment, and actually neither like nor love his father much at all. A husband can be a faithful and kind provider to his wife without having much love or passion for his wife. What wife would settle for a relationship like that? Why do we think God would be willing to settle for an obedience that is not accompanied by a consuming passion for His Son? After all, isn't the greatest commandment to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

If you look at the heroes of our faith, you'll find that they are men and women who were not only full of good works but were consumed by passion for God. The apostle Paul was so consumed by his affection for the Lord Jesus Christ that he came to the point in his life where living simply meant Christ to him - "For me, to live is Christ." (Philippians 1:21 NIV) This kind of complete devotion is meant not only for the apostles.

Martha's sister Mary had this kind of passion for Jesus. She wasn't an apostle or leader; but the Son of God had great prominence in her heart. When Jesus was around she couldn't bear to think of food or any other necessities in life. All she wanted to do was sit at His feet and listen to Him (Luke 10:38 ff.). Moreover, Jesus loved being around Mary. When the time for His last Passover drew near and He knew that He only had six days before the cross, where do you think He chose to spend those six days? He went to
Mary's house (John 12:1 ff.).

It's not at all difficult to see what drew Him to Mary's house. While He was there, in the presence of all the disciples, Mary brought out a jar of costly perfume. This perfume probably represented her life savings or her wedding dowry. She broke it and poured it on Jesus. She wasted the most precious possession she had on the Lord Jesus. She did this out of her extravagant affection for Him. She was going to pour out her whole life on the Lord. There was no mediocrity in her feelings for the Him. She was a woman consumed by a holy passion for the Son of God.

Passion moves Jesus

That passion, however, is a sword that cuts both ways. Jesus also had great affection for Mary. When Mary's brother Lazarus died, Jesus came to their home four days later. Martha was the first to greet the Lord Jesus. She said to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus responded to Martha by giving gone of the greatest theological teachings in all the Word of God: "I am the resurrection and the life." When Mary met the Lord Jesus just a few moments later; she said exactly the same words that Martha said, "Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died." (John 11:17-38) However; when Mary said these words, Jesus wept and then He walked to the tomb and raised Mary's brother from the dead. A person like Martha could get a great theological teaching out of Jesus. A person like Mary could break His heart and move Him to raise someone from the dead. People who have Mary's passion for the Lord Jesus can move Him in a way that others can't. How do you get that kind of passionate love for Jesus?

Time to know Him

There are three simple but indispensable things we must do. First, we can't love a person whom we don't know. Therefore, we must set aside time to get to know the Lord Christ. If we do not spend time meditating in His Word, talking with Him, and listening to Him, we will never progress very far in acquiring passion for Him.

We must set aside a regular time for personal meditation in the scriptures and prayer. We must never allow this time to become mechanical or ritualistic. We must remember that it is possible to read the Bible like a Pharisee and never hear the voice of God (John 5:37). It is possible to let our prayer time degenerate into nothing more than taking a shopping list to God.

In our regular times of personal meditation and prayer we must remind ourselves that the purpose is to meet with a real Person. This Person speaks, guides, encourages, reveals, convicts, rebukes, discloses himself, hides himself, gets angry, can be grieved, and can rejoice. In that meeting we are capable of making Him angry or making Him rejoice. These are the things that scripture teaches us about the God with whom we relate.

We are taught from the beginning of our conversion about the importance of spending time with Him. The problem isn't that we don't know it, the problem is that we don't do it.

Remove barriers

The second thing that is absolutely essential is the removal of barriers between us and the Lord Jesus. Our sins create a barrier between us and Jesus so that we cannot come into His presence and grow in our love and knowledge of Him. These barriers are removed when we confess our sins and God forgives us. One of the most important teachings on forgiveness is found in I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We all know this, but all too often we don't really believe it. It is sinful to live under condemnation and guilt. Too many of us confess sins and never feel forgiven because we are really not trusting in the power of His blood to forgive us of those sins. We will never be holy enough, disciplined enough, or anything else enough to get into His presence apart from the blood of His Son. Our good works, reformed lives, and best intentions will never take away the guilt of sin. The only thing that the Father has given us to take away sin and guilt is the blood of His Son.

Ask for passion

The third thing that we must do to acquire passion for the Son of God is to consistently ask for it, to labor for it in prayer. This is where John 17:26 comes in. As I said earlier, I have paraphrased John 17:26 and turned it into my own personal prayer. I pray it like this: "Father, grant me an impartation of the Holy Spirit to love the Son of God like You love Him." I pray this in the morning when I get up; I pray it during the day when my mind slips into neutral; and I pray it when I fall asleep at night. My heart has been captured by this prayer. When I pray it, I am confessing to God that if He does not grant to me a work of the Holy Spirit in my life, I will never acquire passion for the Son of God. I am confessing to Him that my godliness, my discipline, my knowledge of the Word, though all good, are alone insufficient to produce passion for the Son of God. I can change my mind but only the Holy Spirit can change my heart. It is the task of the Holy Spirit to "shed abroad the love of God in our hearts" (Romans 5:5). Divine love can only be divinely imparted.

Most of my Christian life I've been making the same mistake over and over and over. I keep putting my confidence in my discipline, in my good intentions, in my knowledge of the Bible, in order to produce love for God. I always end up in legalism and self-righteousness when I do this. One day the Lord interrupted all of this. He said to me, "If you ever hear me say to you, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant,' it won't be because you were a good follower, it will be because my Son is a good leader. Put your confidence in His ability to lead, not in your ability to follow."

That divine revelation pierced my heart. I realized why passion-robbing legalism and self-righteousness were able to consistently get such strongholds in my life. I'm not saying that we don't need discipline, or knowledge of the Bible, or godly behavior - we do. Nor am I saying that we're to be passive and simply let God do it all. I'm talking about our attitude and our confidence. We must do the right things but never put our confidence in our ability to do those things. Our hearts are incredibly prone to deception (Jeremiah 17:9) and our feet are equally prone to wander off the path of righteousness (Romans 3:10 ff.). In light of this, how could we trust in our ability to follow Jesus?

I've come to realize that passion for the Son of God can't be earned. It comes because He gives it as His greatest and most gracious gift. And after all, isn't that how the greatest things come to us, as gifts? James says, "You have not because you ask not." (James 4:2) The greatest gifts that God has to give us are ours for the asking. I encourage you, from this day forward, to spend more time in your prayer life asking God to grant you passion for the Son of God than you do asking Him for anything else. Our confidence must always be in His willingness and ability to impart to us passion for his Son.

If you begin to pray this prayer on a regular basis, passion for the Son of God will begin to permeate your heart. It may take you months, even years, before you notice a significant difference. In fact, you will probably never be able to point to the day or the hour when you began to be consumed with passion for the Son of God, but others will notice. They'll say you've changed; you seem different. They'll say there's a kindness, a gentleness in you they hadn't noticed before. There's an infectious quality in your love for the Son of God that didn't seem to be there before, and they'll want to know what you've been doing.

Don't be passive about acquiring passion for the Son of God. Make it the focus of your life. Put your eyes on the Son of God and leave them there (Hebrews 12:1 ff.), and you will find yourself becoming like Him. You'll find yourself falling in love with Him as you ask God day after day to consume you with passion for His glorious Son. And that passion, as it begins to occupy your heart, will conquer a thousand sins in your life. You will begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates.

The best friends of Jesus

Among the women in the Bible, I think that Mary is the one who most exemplifies this passion for the Son of God. Among the men, it would have to be the apostle John. John is called "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The Living Bible refers to John as "Jesus' closest friend." (John 13:23). That's a great translation. I love it. John was always the one of the three disciples that was permitted to be on the "inside," but of the three, he was the closest to Jesus and everyone knew it.

As Jesus was hanging on the cross, He looked out on a universe from which every visible trace of God seemed to have disappeared. All but one of His disciples had deserted him. Only John and four women were standing at the foot of the cross. Jesus looked down and saw His mother. Who would take care of her now? His brothers? The apostles? No, they had all deserted Him. It's as though He looked at John and said in His spirit, "John, no one else will do for my mother" Then out loud for all to hear He said, "Woman, behold our son." And then to John, "Behold your mother." (John 19:26,27). John really was the best friend of the Lord Jesus. But John doesn't have to be the only one who is his best friend.

We all have only one brief hour on the earth and then we will stand before the Lord Jesus to give an account of our lives. Why not be like Mary and choose the best part, the one necessary thing, so that we can stand before Him in confidence on that day? The heart of the Lord Jesus is big enough to accommodate many, many more best friends and many, many more Marys. Why would you want to settle for any less?

Dr. Jack Deere taught at Dallas Theological Seminary for 11 years, then served as associate pastor at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Anaheim, California. While based in California he traveled with John Wimber and Paul Cain in a conference ministry. Jack, his wife Leesa, and three children are presently living in Fort Worth, Texas. He devotes his time to writing and a national and international conference ministry with Paul Cain.

This article may be duplicated free of charge for distribution to your friends. Please include this byline and also the introduction and foreword. For helpful articles relating to Christian growth, visit our web site at www.touchedbygrace.org.

Address all correspondence to: P. O. Box 12749, Wilmington, NC 28405 USA. Touched by Grace Inc. is a 501-c-3 U.S. non-profit missionary organization devoted to expanding Christ’s kingdom through the gospel by equipping emerging apostles in developing nations and by providing humanitarian aid to the poor. Your tax-deductible donations are welcome and appreciated. We are touched by grace to touch the world!

Prophets and Seers

I am blessed to know John Paul Jackson personally. I have been around him for several special events. Several years ago when I was still pastoring we had the privilege of hosting him in a special conference on prophecy. After serving as a pastor for thirty years, and being used of God in a small measure of prophetic grace, I have seen the flaky, the counterfeit, and the genuine.

I appreciate John Paul’s balanced teaching, his mature perspective on the prophetic ministry, and his gracious operation of his gift. I consider him to be a true prophet of God. As we see more such ministry by men and women, we will also see more of two things: candidates for this ministry and this office going through severe trials and fiery ordeals to refine their character; and the foundation of the church shifting toward its original base. If you happen to be around a prophet (or an apostle) being groomed by God, you may think you have never seen such a wilderness trail in all your life! God spares no expense, takes no shortcuts, and ignores cries of pain as He trains foundation ministries in His ways. They are a challenge to pastor and they need seasoned fathers in the faith to help equip them. Of course, in the end, it is only Jesus who can fully disciple and send forth His own prophets to His people.

Prophets are on the increase. They are one aspect of the ministry of Jesus that belongs in the church. They have a vital place in the world and an important role in the Church alongside the other five-fold Ascension gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11) The Lord once told me to bear witness to three things: Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of the church, the Scriptures are the word which the Holy Spirit confirms with signs and wonders, and the restoration of contemporary apostles and prophets. Revelatory gifting is on the rise.

This particular article touches on one aspect of revelatory gifting, that is, "words of knowledge." This grace-gift from the Holy Spirit enables a believer to know information or details about someone that could only be revealed to them by God, something supernaturally known only by the Spirit. Getting insight from the Spirit is not all that strange. In the Bible, God speaks in dreams, visions, and by an inner "knowing" to His people all the time (and often to sinners as well). But we don’t usually recognize the source of information as being of the Lord.

What is new today is for leaders in the Body of Christ and members of the Church to begin learning how to handle prophetic gifting and the insight that God gives them in a mature and humble manner. Perhaps I should say "revelatory gifting," because the essence of being prophetic is hearing from God, not speaking for God. Everyone who knows Jesus can hear from God. Wisdom says don’t tell all you hear all the time. Sometimes God shows us things so we can intercede, or so we can continue loving someone without being surprised or offended at their sin, or so we can confidentially share our heavenly news-flash with leaders who are in position of responsibility and thus have the authority to do something about it.

Perhaps the greatest manifestation of revelatory gifting is yet to come to the Body of Christ. I believe it will reveal Christ in the Church and also outside the church walls to lost souls, for "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10 NASB)

For example, when Jesus met the woman at the well in John 4, He knew by this gift in operation that she had been married five times. (It is interesting to note that Jesus had to first get His Twelve out of the way so He could evangelize this woman, since their prejudice against women and other ethnic groups had not yet fallen to the wayside like it did after Pentecost.) This divine knowledge about her life revealed by the Holy Spirit to Jesus uncovered her sin. Yet Jesus spoke the truth to her without condemnation in such a way that it broke down her resistance to knowing God and resulted in the salvation of her whole village.

When the gift of prophecy gets out of the church and into the streets, sinners won’t stand a chance! God’s truth ministered in love and humble wisdom will uncover the stumbling blocks that hinder peoples’ repentance and faith.

I believe the day will come when ordinary believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit and living in union with Jesus will manifest the word of knowledge in remarkable ways. It will become common in church for sin to be uncovered, not by ministers, but by ordinary disciples. In fact, the day will come when we will think that prophets who impress us with their words of knowledge today were mere children in the faith!

I am asking for this little gift to operate more in my life, the snippets of divine information that enable us to show people that God knows the details of their lives and truly cares for them. Twice, the Lord has given me peoples’ names. Once, it was to witness to a young waitress. Another time, it was to encourage me in a time of ministry overseas when I felt like I wasn’t hearing anything from God in my meetings. This little gift is needed more in the lives of Christians today.

Why doesn’t the Lord give more words of knowledge to more believers today? One reason is that as soon as we start getting revelation, we tend to get an exalted opinion of ourselves. We start to feel entitled to a title, and we think just because we heard some small secret revelation from God, we must be in the office of a prophet. Wrong! Hearing God is normal for all believers, a learned skill that can be cultivated, and is intended (at least to some measure or degree) for all of God’s children as we grow in faith and love and in the knowledge of the Lord.

Here are John Paul Jackson’s comments on revelatory gifting….

PROPHETS AND SEERS
By John Paul Jackson

Years ago, I considered anyone who had a revelatory gift to be a "prophet". I no longer believe this. Over the years, I have come into contact with many revelatory styles. I define these styles by the manner in which someone ministers, combined with their own God-given personalities.

During my 20-year tenure, I have observed many gifted revelatory people. I was delighted to discover how radically different they are from one another. Their differences are more than just a broad array of personalities or the way revelation is delivered. How a person receives revelation from God and the type of revelation they receive may vary from person to person. This makes for quite a potpourri of visual differences when watching how someone ministers or delivers a word from the Lord.

After reflecting on these various types and styles, I have come to understand that there are unique personalities as well as variations in the respective gifts of prophets and seers. Notice that I have not made a value statement, making one gift more valuable than another. Rather, they are two of many expressions within the revelatory arena.

Differences between prophets and seers seem to be more clearly distinguished in the Old Testament. However, the lack of distinction in the New Testament does not necessarily indicate they are the same. Instead, it may simply indicate the writers did not distinguish between prophets and seers, which may reflect a difference between the Hebrew and Greek mind-sets. The Greek language does not seem to recognize a difference between the two titles.

Since the Early Church, many believers in the West have failed to make a distinction between prophets and seers. At some point, the Church also stopped recognizing the title of a seer. In a similar way, they diminished the role of a prophet and failed to note the distinction between prophets and pastors, or even prophets and evangelists. Today, however, these perceptions are rapidly changing in many places around the world.

A STARTING POINT

As a starting point, I would like to suggest using the following three approaches. These steps will lay a biblical foundation for understanding these gifts. First, we need to approach the differences between prophets and seers through translating the original Hebrew words. Second, we need to approach the differences between prophets and seers by looking at the manner in which the titles are used. Third, we need to approach the differences between prophets and seers by looking at those who were given the titles and by trying to ascertain, whether or not their titles indicated differences in their respective functions.

WORD ORIGINS

Perhaps we should begin by looking at some of the Hebrew words translated in Scripture as "prophet" and "seer." The Strong's Concordance translates these as follows:

"SEER" Hebrew (7200, 7203, 2374, 2372)

-- Hebrew 7200: ra'ah, raw-aw'; to see, look, view; to realize, know, consider; to be selected; to become visible, appear, show oneself; to be seen; to cause to see, show; to be shown; to look at each other, meet with; a general word for visual perception.

-- Hebrew 7203: ro'eh, ro-eh'; a seer; vision.

-- Hebrew 2374: Chozeh, kho-zeh'; seer, one who receives a communication from God, with a possible focus that the message had a visual component; agreement.

-- Hebrew 2372: Chazah, khaw-zaw'; to see, to look, observe, gaze, by extension: to choose (one thing or another); to have visions, to prophesy.

"PROPHET" Hebrew (5030, 5012, 5197)

-- Hebrew 5030: nabiy', naw-bee'; a prophet (true or false).

-- Hebrew 5012: naba', naw-baw'; to prophesy, speak as a prophet; prophesy has its focus on encouraging or restoring covenant faithfulness, the telling of future events encourages obedience or warns against disobedience.

-- Hebrew 5197: nataph, naw-taf'; to pour down; gently fall, drip; to (drip words) preach, prophesy.

WORD USAGE

We also need to look at how the words are used. Many use the terms "seer" and "prophet" interchangeably. Furthermore, some believe that seers have not existed since the time of the Prophet Samuel (1150 B.C. - 1010 B.C.). They quote 1 Samuel 9:9: "(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: 'Come, let us go to the seer' for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer)".

However, this is a shortsighted point of view and creates a dilemma: Why does Scripture continue to make a distinction between prophets and seers after the era of Samuel?

I believe that seers and prophets continue to "co-exist" throughout Scripture. Both Gad, the seer, and Nathan, the prophet, served in King David's court (2 Samuel 24:4; 1 Chronicles 29:29). Asaph, the seer, and Isaiah, the prophet, were also contemporaries during King Hezekiah's reign (2 Chronicles 29:30; 2 Kings 20:1).

Therefore, I believe that 1 Samuel 9:9 implies that Samuel moved from functioning as a seer to functioning as a prophet. Or, more likely that Samuel fulfilled both the functions of a seer and a prophet!

In addition, there seems to be a difference even between those who functioned as "seers". In 1 Chronicles 29:29, the word "seer" is used twice, but it is not the same Hebrew word. "Now the acts of Kind David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer (7200), in the book of Nathan the prophet (5030), and in the book of Gad the seer (2374)" (1 Chronicles 29:29). Perhaps this indicates a difference in how Samuel and Gad received revelation from God.

Samuel had a wide variety of revelatory experiences, perhaps broader than Gad's. Samuel was gifted in visions, knowings, and dreams. He transcended time and geographic locality to watch events that were occurring simultaneously outside of his immediate geographic location. He knew who was coming to his door before the person arrived. He even predicted weather patterns (1 Samuel 12:17).

In contrast, Gad's revelatory gift was not as well documented. It is possible that he walked in the same level of prophetic gifting as Samuel, but there is no record of this. Scripture indicates that he carried the Lord's rebuke to David for numbering Israel (2 Samuel 24:11-13). He also helped arrange Levitical music (2 Chronicles 9:25), and apparently wrote a history book about David's reign (1 Chronicles 29:29).

Did people go to a seer more than to a prophet? It seemed to be common practice for the people of Israel to look to the seers for direction (1 Samuel 9:6-9). It was also common for them to bring the seer an offering for his livelihood (1 Samuel 9:7). There are also several instances where people went to the prophet for wisdom and direction from God.

In conclusion, prophets and seers still function today, as they did in biblical times. In fact we are seeing a worldwide renaissance in these types of revelatory gifts. Next month, I will offer deeper insights on these dynamic, re-emerging, and mysterious revelatory gifts.

To learn more about prophets and seers, please see John Paul Jackson's 6-tape series, PROPHETIC REFORMATION. You can order it online at http://www.streamsministries.com. Or, by calling our office toll-free (U.S. and Canada): 1-888-441-8080.

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13. QUESTIONS FOR JOHN PAUL JACKSON

QUESTION: Is humility and meekness the same thing?

JOHN PAUL JACKSON: Humility and meekness go hand in hand. Meekness is often overlooked because our focus is more often on trying to be humble. Meekness involves how you respond to others when they think that you are wrong. Meekness is how you lead others when they are totally dependent on you. But the best example of meekness is giving up the right to rule and the right to be right. Daily, the Lord is taking me to a place where I am learning that I don't have a right to be right. This is an attribute that I hope to see the Church grow in. The secret to growing in meekness involves giving up your need to be right. We don't have to be right. We do have to be broken.

QUESTION: I have been facing difficult trials lately. My friends have told me to be encouraged these difficulties are a good sign. Can you explain this to me?

JOHN PAUL JACKSON: Your friends are telling you the truth. This principle is one that is discussed in The Art of Hearing God classes. The depth of your battle is proportionate to the coming anointing you will receive from God. Anointing is basically spiritual influence in a natural world. Therefore, the battle we face actually predicts the coming influence we will walk in after the battle has concluded. What we tend to focus on, however, is the difficulty of the battle. The battle that we overcome creates stronger character that allows us to become better leaders. Therefore, if you don't quit, you win.

This article may be duplicated free of charge for distribution to your friends. Please include this byline and also the introduction by Ron Wood. For helpful articles relating to Christian growth, visit our web site at www.touchedbygrace.org.

Address all correspondence to: P. O. Box 12749, Wilmington, NC 28405 USA. Touched by Grace Inc. is a 501-c-3 U.S. non-profit missionary organization devoted to expanding Christ’s kingdom through the gospel by equipping emerging apostles and prophets in developing nations and by providing humanitarian aid to the poor. Your tax-deductible donations are welcome and appreciated.

We are touched by grace to touch the world!