0:00 For those of us who are following us online, I specially welcome you. You are not here physically, but I want you to know that it's the same Lord and it's the same spirit, and you will be a due partaker of all that the Lord has in store for us in Jesus' name. And for all the on-site students, you're welcome. I like you to know that you are most privileged by the Lord, and I want you to maximize your time in this session, in this 12 weeks. Maximize the school and all that God will have you receive in Jesus' name. Amen. And so, um, we are starting with the course Introduction to the Prophetic.
0:47 And, um, I want to do a little bit introduction on Rama Institute, why Rama Institute, what's our vision, what's the burden the Lord has given to us. Um, the Lord has given us a mandate to to raise a prophetic generation who will reach the world with the love, the power, and the wisdom of God. Amen. And so, we are raising a prophetic generation, we are equipping a people for the Lord, and I must lay this foundation that not everybody in the church is called to be a prophet. The Bible say God gave gifts unto men. He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Not
1:33 everyone is called into the five-fold ministry, but every believer is called to be prophetic. I want that foundation to be established today. Not everyone is called to be a prophet, but every believer is called to be prophetic. Every believer is called to be apostolic. The Bible says the foundation of the church is built upon the apostles and the prophet, with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Um, to be apostolic means that we are a sent people, we are people sent by God. In John chapter 3 verse 34, Jesus said, "He that the Father has sent speaketh the words of God. For he that God has sent speaketh the
2:20 words of God, for God giveth him the spirit without measure." So, we are a people sent by God. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, so sent are you." Amen. That's John chapter 2. So, we are people sent by God. It means we are apostolic. And the scripture also say, "He that the Father has sent speaketh the words of God." So, we are sent, we are an apostolic people, and we are called to speak the words of God, we are a prophetic people. Amen. And so, I like you to understand that the prophetic is not just a calling for certain people who are chosen by God into function in the office
3:06 in the office of the prophet alone, but the prophetic is given to sons. The prophetic is the heritage of sons. You will see in the book of John chapter um, chapter 5 verse 19 and 20, Jesus will say, "I can The son can of himself do nothing. He said, "But as I hear, I speak. I can of myself do nothing. In verse 30, he said, "I can of myself do nothing, but as I hear, I judge." In verse 19 and 20, he said, "The son can do nothing but that which he sees the Father doing."
3:52 And the Father loves the son, and he shows him what he's doing, and he will yet show him greater things that you may marvel. So, the prophetic is the heritage of sons. And when we talk about sons of God, we are not talking about gender, whether male or female. The creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. There's no gender in the spirit. So, Jesus said, "I can of myself do nothing as a son except that which I see the Father doing. He said, "Only what I see the Father doing, what I hear from the Father is what I speak." So, the prophetic, the capacity to see what the Father is doing, the capacity to hear what the Father is doing, is given to sons of
4:39 God. For as many as have received him, to them gave he the power to become what? Sons of God. Verse 12. And Romans chapter 8 from verse 19 to 21, he said, "Creation are waiting for the manifestations of the sons of God." So, the prophetic is a calling for sons. It's a call for sons to come into intimacy with the Father, to be able to see what the Father is doing, to hear what the Father is doing, and to do the same on the earth. Amen. So, that's the basics for the prophetic, it's a calling to intimacy with the Father. You see throughout the life of Jesus, he was intimate with the Father. He spent prayer with the Father to see what the
5:26 Father was doing, to hear what the Father was doing, and everywhere Jesus went, he was doing the will of the Father because from the place of intimacy, he sensed the heart of the Father to see and to hear what the Father was up to. Amen. So, that gives us an understanding that in the New Testament, the prophetic is not just a calling for a few set of people, the prophetic is for every believer. As a son, you have a prophetic DNA. You have the ability to see, to hear, to know what the Father is doing. In John chapter 16,
6:12 um, from verse 12, Jesus said, "I have so much to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. But however, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatever he shall hear, that he shall speak." He shall show you things to come. He shall take from what is mine and make it known to you. All right. So, the Holy Spirit is given to us, the Holy Spirit is a prophetic spirit. It's given to us so that through intimacy, we can know the heart of the Father, we can know the mind of the Father, we can know the will of the Father, we can know the things to come. Amen. So, God gave us the Holy Spirit as a
6:59 prophetic spirit so that we can relate with the heart of the Father. You know, Jesus teaching the disciples to pray in Matthew chapter 6 from verse 9, he said, "In this manner you shall pray saying, 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be on earth as it is in heaven.'" So, the Holy Spirit as a prophetic spirit gives us access to access to know what is in the heart of the Father so that we can do his will. God wants the earth, God wants his will to be done on the earth. So, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that we can know the heart of the
7:45 Father, so that we can know the mind of God and partner with God to see his kingdom come into the earth. And so, if everyone of us is called by God to advance it means that every one of us is called to be prophetic. Do we get that? Amen. Um, so, if we are all called to be prophetic, it means we will need to be trained, we will need to be taught. In Ephesians chapter 4 from verse 11, when God gave gifts unto men, we see that is of the prophet. Why is my sound just tripping off? We see that the office of the prophet is
8:33 given as part of the five-fold. It means that each member of the five-fold is called to equip from the measure of grace that they have received in that office. It means the apostle is called to equip the church to bring the dimension of God's kingdom into the earth for the saints. The prophet is called to equip the saints with the measure of the prophetic grace that he has received through teaching and training and impartation so that we all collectively can become God's prophetic Follow me. Not just a prophet, the body of Christ is called to be God's prophetic voice to the world.
9:20 And so, the prophet is given so that the church can be equipped to know the voice of the Lord, to know the heart of the Lord, to know the will of the Lord, and to become God's prophetic conduit, God's prophetic channel in the earth. And that's why it's important that people be taught, people be trained. In the Old Testament, we see that the prophet is given to equip the saints prophetic reality to the body of Christ. Amen. But you see, I've heard people say, "Why do we have to, um, have a prophetic school. You have noticed that we didn't call what we are doing the school of prophets. It is called a prophetic school.
10:07 Because there's a difference. We are not raising people to be prophets. We are raising people to be prophetic. There's a difference. Nobody can make you a prophet. A prophet is a calling into an office. No man can make you a prophet. But you see, a prophet can be called by God and be untrained. And because he's not trained, there's a possibility of him not maximizing his calling. You know, Paul told Timothy, he said, "Make full proof of your ministry." And that's why training and equipping is important because when a man is not totally trained and equipped, there is a possibility of him not being able to fulfill his ministry.
10:55 So, we are not called to make any man a prophet. No man can make you a prophet. But we are called to teach, we are called to train, to equip, and to impart the prophetic to the believers. So, that whatever capacity God calls you to serve in the body of Christ, for those of you who are called by God to be prophets who function in the office of the prophet, at the end of the school, you'd have had some basic foundational training and equipping and impartation to maximize God's call on your life. And those of us who have um full-blown giftings or are called to function in prophetic giftings and ministry, we'll also be trained to give expression to God's call on our lives.
11:41 And for those of us who are not necessarily called into the prophetic office, uh but we want to be equipped as believers to function in the prophetic, you will be trained, you will be imparted as we go on. Amen. Because the prophetic can be desired. The prophetic is um a gifting and an anointing that God calls us to desire. First Corinthians chapter 14:1, it said, "Pursue love and desire earnestly the gift of the Spirit, especially that you may prophesy." So, God calls you to desire the gift of the Spirit, especially to prophesy, especially the gift of prophecy. And in verse 39, we hear the Bible says,
12:27 um "Forbid not to profess, forbid not to speak in tongues, and covet to prophesy." The only time we see the Bible using the word covet as a positive word is [clears throat] when it comes to the gift of the Spirit, especially with respect to prophecy. Every one of us know that the word covet is a negative word. What does it mean to covet? To covet means to have a strong desire for what somebody has because you are not satisfied with what you have. So, when it comes to our human relationship, covetousness is a negative word. It's not a good word. But when it comes to the things of the Spirit, God is asking you to covet the gift of the especially to prophesy.
13:13 Um that is to mean that God is saying, "Be dissatisfied with the manifestation and the measures of the Spirit that you have in your life." So, when it comes to material things, the Bible say we should not be covetous. But when it comes to the gift of the Spirit, the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the Bible calls us to covet to prophesy. It means no matter how much of the Holy Ghost you have seen in your life, God is saying, "Be dissatisfied and be hungry for more." You know, Jesus said, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." So, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, God wants you to be hungry for more. God wants you to desire more. God wants you to covet. Amen. So, we are laying
14:00 a foundation to make you understand what we are doing. And I want us to look from the context of the Old Testament. I want us to understand why the prophetic school. Because in the Old Testament, there were school of the prophets. So, why are we teaching and equipping? I've heard people say, "Do you mean um when people go through your your training, they will come out to be prophets?" If you are not called into the office of the prophet, no man can make you a prophet. But we assure you that after teaching and equipping and impartation, you can prophesy. The Bible say you all we all can can learn and some can be comforted. Amen. So, it means that the things of the Spirit can be taught.
14:46 Um many years ago, um one of the patriarchs in the body of Christ, um Papa Kenneth E. Hagin, he said, "There is a measure of the workings of God and the move of the Spirit that will be lost in the last days except the church is taught and trained how to move in the Spirit." Amen. He said, "Except the church is taught and trained on how to move in the Spirit." So, I believe that people can be taught the things of the Spirit. People can be trained. People can be imparted. Amen. So, I want us to look at the whole concept of training people or imparting
15:33 people to move in the prophetic, which is the reason why um the Lord would train the Lord would train us and instruct that we train others. Amen. Every one of us I am still in the school of the Spirit. But you see, the Lord has given us certain truth and training through the years, and he has called us to be able to raise others. Amen. I want you to turn with me to the book of 1 Samuel chapter 7. 1 Samuel chapter 7. And verse 15. The Bible say, "And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
16:19 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, to Gilgal, to Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house, and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar unto the Lord. There he judged Israel, there he built an altar unto the Lord. There he judged Israel, there he built an altar unto the Lord." So, we see where we got the word Ramah from. Ramah was the hometown of the prophet Samuel. Ramah was a place where Samuel built an altar unto the Lord. And the Bible say from Ramah, Samuel
17:04 went round Israel, um he would move to Bethel, to Gilgal, to Mizpah, round Israel judging Israel. But he would always return back to Ramah because there he had built an altar unto the Lord. So, we see where the word Ramah came from. Turn with me to chapter 19. 1 Samuel chapter 19. Let's look from verse 18. So, David fled and escaped and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." And Saul sent messengers to take David. And when
17:51 they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the message Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Secu. And he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And one said, "Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah." And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit [snorts] of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he
18:37 stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all night. Wherefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" So, you will see that Samuel built an altar for the Lord in Ramah, where his hometown was. And the Bible says, when Saul was after the life of David, David would always resort in Ramah to be with Samuel. And as a student of the Bible, you will know that it was in Ramah that David got the prophetic anointing. David did not start his ministry as a prophet. He was anointed to be a king. But when you read the book of Psalms, you will
19:24 see all the high-level prophetic utterances of David. Where did David receive that from? The Bible shows us that David would always resort with Samuel at Ramah. Every time he fled from Saul, he would go to Ramah. And in Ramah, the scripture shows us that there was a company of prophets there, and Samuel was standing as a leader over them. And we see that when Saul wanted to get David, he knew that David had gone to be with Samuel in Ramah. He sent his messengers three times to get David. And each time they got to Ramah, the moment they came into that environment, there was a prophetic force field that was over Ramah so that as they came to
20:11 Naioth in Ramah, the scripture will say that the spirit of God will come upon them and they will prophesy. It happened the first time, the second [snorts] time, the third time. And even Saul came himself, the moment he got to Ramah, there was a prophetic environment. A prophetic force field, just like you have an electromagnetic force field. There was a prophetic force field around Ramah that Saul collided with. And the Bible say he prophesied all day and stripped himself off. Amen. So, we see that Samuel built an altar unto the Lord in Ramah. And Samuel had a company of prophets. Samuel had um sons
20:57 of prophet, people that he was teaching. I I want to believe and true study that not all the people that were in Ramah were actually called into the office of the prophets. Some of them were Levite. Some of them were were minstrels. Some of them were psalmists. Some of them were scribes. They were all learning how to receive the oracle of the Lord and to document it. So, Saul was not um Samuel was not only teaching prophecy. Samuel was also teaching them the law of the Lord as handed down to the fathers through Moses. So, some of them were scribes. They could capture the prophetic utterances that were released and
21:43 documented. Some of them were minstrels. Some of them were psalmists. Somebody like David. David was both a minstrel and a psalmist. David will go into that company with his harp. And as the spirit of the Lord comes, David began to receive impartation. That was where the prophetic unction that David functioned in came upon him. You know, when you read Psalm 49 from verse 3 to 4, David will say, "My mouth will speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart will give understanding." He will say, "I will incline my heart upon a parable and with my harp, I will hear things that were hidden from the foundations of the earth." So, David picked the prophetic anointing in that community such that when he carries his
22:29 harp to play, his spirit opens up to a prophetic environment and he's able to download the secrets of God, the things that were hidden before the foundations of the earth. So, it was in Ramah that David caught the prophetic anointing. I want you to know that the anointing can be caught by association. David was not a prophet. He received the prophetic anointing by association. By always going to Ramah to fellowship with Samuel. That was where David received the prophetic anointing. So, the scripture shows us that the anointing can be caught by association. The anointing can be caught by teaching and by training. Amen. So, you see that it was Saul who started
23:16 the school of the prophets. You will see the Bible say Saul will move to Gilgal, he will go to Bethel, sorry, Samuel. Samuel will move to Gilgal, he will go to Bethel, some of the places around Israel because Samuel started the school of the prophets in those regions. Amen. And then you look at the life of Elijah. When you come to 2 Kings chapter 2, 2 Kings chapter 2 and and and from verse 1 to 15, you will see the Bible capture the story about Elijah and Elisha at the time of his departure. You will see from verse 1, the Bible mentioned that they journeyed to Gilgal, from Gilgal to where?
24:01 To Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, from Jericho to Jordan. All of those places had school of the prophets because if you read that chapter, you will see that there were company of prophets in all of those places that were trying to mock Elisha. Do you know that your master will be taken away? So, they all knew in the schools and the company of the prophet that Elijah was going to be taken. But it was only Elisha that had discernment to align himself with the mantle. So, we see that Samuel started the school of the prophets beginning from Ramah. There were school of the prophet in Gilgal because you see Samuel was going to Gilgal. There were school of the prophet in Bethel and in some other parts of Israel that began with Samuel.
24:46 You will see that when Elijah came, Elijah also began He continued the school of the prophet in Gilgal, in Bethel, Jericho and in Jordan. And you will see also after Elijah passed on the mantle to Elisha, Elisha also continued the school of the prophets. You will see in 2 Kings chapter 4, the Bible tells us of what of of of one of the wives of the sons of the prophet. In chapter 6, you will see the sons of the prophet, the company of prophet came to Elijah Elisha and said, "This place is too strait for us. Let us go on further to what? To Jordan." So, you will see that Elijah continued the school of the prophet that Samuel started generations apart and
25:33 Elisha took the mantle and continued. But it's after Elisha, the book did not so much tell us of the existence of school of the prophets, but I believe that they continued. Amen. So, I'm showing you biblical and historical um understanding and references of the school of the prophets. And then you will see in the life of Moses. Turn with me to the book of Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11, let's look from verse 24. You see, "And Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord and got
26:18 the 70 men to of the elders of the people and around about the And the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke unto him and took of the spirit that was upon him and gave it unto the 70 elders. And it came to pass that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and ceased not and did not cease. And there remained two of them in the camp. The name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the spirit rested upon them and they were of them that were written but went not out unto the tabernacle and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad do prophesy
27:05 in the camp." And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of the young men answered and said, "My Lord Moses, forbid them." Look at the response of Moses. And Moses said unto them, "Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets and the Lord would put his spirit upon them." The Bible shows us that at the point God saw that the burden of ministry was becoming too much for Moses. And the Lord asked Moses to set apart the 70 elders and let everyone of them meet with outside the camp. God was to take of the spirit, the mantle, the anointing that was upon Moses and impart it upon the 70 so that
27:54 they all would bear the burden with Moses because Moses was attending to over 2 million people. I mean, that's a lot to do. And while 68 people met with Moses outside the camp waiting for that encounter, there were two guys that were still left in the temple, Medad and Eldad. And the Bible say the Lord came to take the spirit that was upon Moses and poured it upon them. The two guys that were still in the camp prophesied with the 68. And when some young men saw it, they came and said, "Oh, these guys are rebels. These guys did not follow the protocol of catching the anointing." They were in the camp. They said, "Moses, forbid them from speaking." When Joshua saw that, Joshua
28:41 said, "Moses, forbid them from speaking." But Moses said, "Are you envious for my sake?" He said, "My desire is that all of God's people will be prophets and God will pour his spirit upon them." Can you see the desire of Moses? He said, "My desire is that all of God's people will be prophets and that God will pour his spirit upon them." I like you to know that Moses gave expression to the heart of God. And that desire of Moses was what Moses got from the heart of God. That God's desire is that all of his people will be prophets. Not prophet in terms of sitting in the office of the prophet, but that all of God's people will be able to build intimacy with God, know
29:27 the voice of God, know the heart of God and become vessels that will express his voice on the earth. Do you understand that? So, God desired that all of his people would be prophets. I want you to look something very important um um in in in verse in verse 27. No, verse 25. The Bible said when God poured his spirit, they prophesied and did not cease. That's a very interesting to note. It means that as God has brought you into this school that you will not only prophesy in Rama Institute, but after you leave, the prophetic will not cease in your life. The Bible said they prophesied and did
30:12 not cease. So, that's the desire of God that when you receive an impartation, you will be able to turn that impartation and grow that grace to another measure. So, that all through your days and your ministry in the body of Christ and in the world, the prophetic will not cease in your life. Somebody say amen. They prophesied and did not cease. That's the desire of God. You see that 70 people received an impartation. It didn't take God anything. God was not satisfied with one man running the show. That's not the desire of God. The desire of God is that many sons will be brought into glory. The desire of God is that God will find a church, a generation of people who will become his
30:57 prophetic voice to the world. Imagine if you stand in your family and you are able to pick into the heart of God and bring the counsel of God to your family when important decision needs to be done. Imagine if every one of us within our circle of friends, our families, and wherever we find ourselves, we can become God's prophetic voice. That's how the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. God does not take pleasure in a few people doing the kingdom work. God wants earth to be flooded with his sons. The Bible said the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So, God wants to equip people that in your evangelism, you'll be prophetic. In your teaching ministry, you'll be prophetic. In your music
31:44 worship ministry, you'll be prophetic. Whatever kind of ministry that you are fulfilling, you will carry out that ministry with a prophetic DNA. That's God's desire for you. Amen. So, that's the reason why the Lord will have us establish prophetic institute, Rama Institute, so that people can be taught. So, we have seen from the word of God that the prophetic can be taught and the prophetic can be caught. We have seen that people can truly catch the prophetic spirit when they are taught the word of God. So, teaching creates an atmosphere for impartation. Spirit travel through words. Ezekiel, in Ezekiel chapter 2, he said, "And the spirit entered me when he speak unto me and set me upon my feet." So,
32:32 you can receive an impartation by listening to words. You can receive prophetic impartation just by listening to me teach. In Acts chapter 10 of verse 44, the Bible said, "While Peter yet speak, the Holy Ghost fell upon all they that heard him." So, impartation is not only by laying on of hands. Impartation is through words. Spirits travel at the sound of words. Spirit travel through through through sound and through and and and and through sight. All right? Spirit is imparted through words, through sound, through sight. So, as you listen to teachings, as as we
33:17 meet as all the other lecturers come to teach, impartation is going on. It's not only when hands are laid. Yes, at the end of the school, when we are graduating you, there'll be laying on of hands. And as we come to the end of the lecture through the term through I mean through the session, there'll be impartations. We are going to have practical sessions. When I teach courses that I'm handling and the other ministers come to teach like my prophetic session, we'll have practical sessions. After we do doctrine, we do teaching, we'll have time to pray, release impartation and have you move in the prophetic. So, we have had several students whose ears have been tuned to the Holy Ghost and we have several people in the various
34:03 sessions that we've had move in the prophetic, delivering accurate word of knowledge for the first time, moving in the gift of God, and several of the people I have watched God increase them in the prophetic. Several of our alumni, some of them in this house, some of them across the nation, I've had them share prophetic words, insights that God gives them for their lives, for their families, for their nation. You know, and we judge these things and we encourage them to move in the power of the spirit. Amen. So, as we teach, there's a course called the science of prophecy. I'm going to take time to share deeply the things that the Lord has taught me through the years, through almost two decades of walking in the prophetic ministry. We're going to
34:50 teach on that. And we have a course on prophetic protocol and administration. We just want to teach you how to administer the prophetic gift and ministry. Because the prophetic ministry seem to be one ministry that can be chaotic and as much as many people have been blessed by accurate dispensing of the prophetic anointing, we have also seen the prophetic being abused, being bastardized. We have also seen people being wounded by false or pseudo prophetic expression. And there are pastors and there are churches, there are families who don't want anything to do with the prophetic because they were wounded by people either handle it immaturely or people that were false. Are you
35:36 getting me? So, you see that the prophetic is one of the most attacked ministry on earth. And that's why God wants his people to be taught and trained accurately to deliver his voice to our generation. Amen. So, let's go fully on our course, introduction to the prophetic. I I have about 12 modules of topics under this first course, introduction to the prophetic. So, I'm going to do my best to see how much we can cover today, tomorrow, and then we'll move on like that. Amen.
36:21 So, let's begin our course, introduction to the prophetic. Even though I've started already, have I not started the introduction? All right, so so that you can write, I want to do a little bit of definition of terms. Introduction. to Introduction to the prophetic. I know some of us online um following through Zoom. Sorry, you may not be able to see clearly the things that we are writing. Um but please just listen and then we usually will have the videos for each session um available for you online for at least 24 hours. I mean particularly for I don't know if it's for everyone or the students
37:07 online, so that for those of us who may not be able to catch up with each class because of difference in time zone. All right, you'll be able to have um the materials and listen to them, make your notes um before they are pulled down. All right? So, introduction to the prophetic. The first is what is a prophet? What is a prophet? I know somebody would have preferred the question is going this way, who is a prophet? All right? Um but what we are asking is what is a prophet? Okay. Okay, the black marker will be
37:52 better. So, the question is what is what is a prophet? What is a prophet? Now, I'm not I'm not saying who is a prophet. I'm not asking an office. So, what is a prophet? And so you can write, a prophet is a spokesman for God. Of course, other religion have their prophets, but we are speaking within the context of scripture. A prophet is is a spokesman for God. A messenger of God.
38:38 So, number one, the prophet is a spokesman for God. Number two, he's a messenger for God. A messenger of God. And thirdly, a prophet is one who speaks by divine inspiration. The prophet is one who speaks by divine inspiration. So, the prophet is a spokesman for God. So, spokesman for God. Number one. B, a prophet is a messenger of God.
39:26 A messenger of God. Number three, a prophet is one who speaks by divine inspiration. One who speaks by divine inspiration. Now, these are three major definition of who a prophet is that you will see in the scripture from the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and the New Testament text from the Greek. So, from the Old Testament Hebrew text, where you
40:12 see the word prophet is the word Nabi. In Arabic, they have the word An Nabi. You know, they are they are sister language. So, the word prophet in the Hebrew is the word Nabi. It means a spokesman for God, a messenger of God. That's why you see in the Hebrew Old Testament text. And then in the New Testament, because the New Testament was written in Greek, where you see the word prophet, this is definition of a prophet. One who speaks by divine interpretation, by divine inspiration. And then let me add the third one. In the New Testament, the prophet is also seen as one who is an interpreter of the divine oracle.
40:58 So, these are the two um definitions we get from the Hebrew text and from the Greek text. One who is a one who is an interpreter. Interpreter of the will of God. Of the will of God. Or the divine oracle. Amen. So, these are the definition prophet you see in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New. Amen. So, that be established,
41:43 I wanted to see the first time the word prophet was mentioned in the Bible. You see, in understanding and interpreting the scripture, um we have a course called biblical um doctrinal interpretation. We have a course on that. I'm not the one taking it. I'm focusing on all the courses on the prophetic. But you see, in understanding any text or any topic in the scripture, it is important to make reference to the first time that word was used in the Bible. In theology, it's called the law of first mention. If you are going to understand any subject throughout the scripture, you
42:29 must be able to make reference to the first time the word is mentioned in the scripture, because that first meaning is going to give you the subsequent understanding on the usage of that word. So, if you want to understand what a prophet is, the expression of the office of the prophet, the function of the prophet as seen in the scripture, you must make a reference to the first time the word prophet is used. I can't find my duster. It's behind. I can't find it.
43:15 So, it's important to understand the first time the word prophet was used. And that's in the book of Genesis chapter 20 verse 7. Genesis chapter 20 verse 7. This is going to give us um clear understanding of the word prophet as we journey through the scripture. He said, "Now therefore, restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. And if thou restore her not, know that right? thou and all that are thine." Then let's go to verse 17. And if Abraham prayed to God,
44:00 and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, and their bare children. Now, I want you to look at the context of this. Abraham had gone into into Gerar. The Bible say he sojourned into Gerar. And there Abraham took his wife Sarah, because he was afraid of the people. He said she was his sister. And now Abimelech had taken Sarah. And the Bible say God came to Abimelech in his dream one night and said, "Return restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet." Now, God was referring to Abraham, asking Abimelech to restore Abraham's wife. He said, "For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for
44:46 thee, and thou and thy house shall be healed." Because Abimelech took the wife of Abraham the prophet, the Bible says Abimelech's wives, his entire household had become barren. God closed their womb because of that. He said, "Restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou and thy household shall be healed." He said, "If you don't do that, let it be known to you that you are a dead man." And the Bible say and Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and all his housemaidens, and their bare children. I want you to look. He said, "Restore the man's wife, and he's a prophet, and he shall pray for thee." What is a prophet supposed to do?
45:33 If it were me, I would have said, "Restore the man's wife, he's a prophet, for he shall prophesy to you." Because a prophet is called to prophesy. But he say, "Restore the man's wife, he's a prophet, he shall pray for thee." He didn't say he shall prophesy to you. And listen to me carefully, this is the guiding scripture to understand the ministry of the prophet. He didn't say the prophet should prophesy to him. He said the prophet should pray for him. It therefore tells us that the foundation of the ministry of the prophet is not built on prophecy, but on prayer. If there's anything you need to understand this today, if you are truly going to be a prophetic person, you must understand that the foundation of the ministry of the prophet is not built on
46:20 prophecy, but on prayer. He said, "Restore his wife, he's a prophet, he will pray for you and you'll be healed." And the Bible say Abraham prayed to God, and God healed the household of Abimelech. Abraham did not prophesy to Abimelech. Abraham prayed to God. So, you must understand that the scripture is giving us insight to understand the nature and the operations of the office of the prophet, to let you see that the office and the ministry of the prophet is built on the foundation of prayer. And intercessory prayer at that. Because he said, "He shall pray for thee,
47:06 and thou and thy household shall live." So, that's intercession. It shows us that the foundation of the ministry of the prophet is intercession. The first call of a prophet is prayer, not to prophesy. He's called to build a life of prayer with God, to grow his intimacy with God through prayer. And to bear the burden of the people of God in prayer. That's what we call intercession. So, he builds his intimacy with God through prayer, and then he stands with God on behalf of the people to pray for them, which is intercession. That is the foundation of the ministry of the prophet. It is out of that life and
47:53 culture of prayer that God begins to speak to him. So, the first calling of a prophet is not to prophesy. The first calling of a prophet is to build intimacy with God through prayer. It is out of that intimacy that he begins to hear the voice of God. It is out of that intimacy that God can now trust him to become his spokesman. Are you following me? You cannot be a spokesman to a person that you are not talking to. A person that you don't have intimacy with. So, the life of the prophet is supposed to be built on prayer, on intimacy. It is out of that fellowship, that intimacy that he builds with God, that he is able to receive the oracles of God, that God
48:38 is able to trust him to become his spokesman. But we see, we have many people who want the prophetic gifts, but they don't like prayer. We want many people who don't want to build the discipline of prayer in their life, but all they want is gifts. If If you are going to be a strong prophetic voice, you must understand that the foundation of your life and ministry must be built on prayer. If you are going to be talking to people on behalf of God, you must learn to first talk to God on behalf of people. That's where intercession come. So, a minister, whether a prophet or does not have the right to preach or prophesy to people that you have not
49:23 prayed to God for. You don't have a right to preach [clears throat] to a people about God that you have not spoken to God about them. Do you understand? You don't have a right to prophesy to people that you have not been praying for. Now, understand the context I'm saying. I'm not saying that you cannot be somewhere and God will stare you to give a prophetic word to somebody you have not known, you have not interceded for. I'm talking about a culture that the prophet and the prophetic people must build. There must be the culture of prayer that allows you to be able to know God and to discern his voice. Because it is out of that fellowship and intimacy that you have with God that you can discern the voice of God. Jesus said, "My sheep know me. I know my sheep. They hear my voice and the voice
50:11 of the stranger they will not hear." So, a man that has not been in the presence of God to discern and to know the voice of God cannot accurately speak to men on behalf of God. In Jeremiah chapter um chapter 23, can you put Jeremiah chapter 23? And verse 18, Jeremiah 23 verse 18. It said, "For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord and hath perceived and heard his word? Who hath marked his word and heard it?" Some translation use the word If you check the word in Hebrew, it's the word sold, s o d. It's not just counseling, also means
50:56 counsel, c o u n c i l, counsel. So, the scripture is saying, "Who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord and hath perceived and heard his word?" It means if you are going to be a spokesman for God, you must first of all be seated in the counsel of God. It means there must be a ground for discussion and deliberation before you go to be his spokesman. So, we we have spokesman. We can have the For instance, we have a spokesman, the president's spokesman on media or several area. He cannot just wake up and begin to speak on behalf of the president until there is a closed-door council meeting and deliberation and based on that council meeting that has
51:42 taken place, he's now authorized and to go out and tell um um um the masses what the president wants him to say. He cannot just wake up and become creative and cook up an agenda to tell the people on behalf of the president. Number one, he can lose his job. Number two, he can also serve a jail term. If what he says is indicting, all right? So, he must first of all have a closed-door meeting with the president before he goes out to be a spokesman. So, in ancient time kings have spokesmen. Kings have heralds who go to prepare the way. Um as we go through the class um through the school, you will see different functions of the prophet. One of the function of the prophet is that
52:28 the prophet is a herald. The prophet is a forerunner. He goes to prepare the way of the Lord, just like you see John the Baptist is doing. So, a prophet must first of all stand in the counsel of the Lord, having fellowship with God, knowing the heart of God, discerning the mind of God, hearing the instructions of God, then he can now go out to speak as God's spokesman. So, a man that has not been in a closed-door meeting, in a council meeting with God, he's not qualified to speak for God. He can end up speaking his own agenda. So, the calling of the prophet is not first to prophesy. That's why I always make reference to the book of of
53:14 Genesis, the account of Abraham. God show us a an underlining principle about the operations of the prophet, that the ministry of the prophet does not begin by prophesying. The ministry of the prophet begins by having an encounter with God, begins by a council meeting, a fellowship of intimacy between he and God, and out of that place God will speak to him. All right? So, the you must establish that, that the foundation of the ministry of the prophet is not prophecy, it is prayer and intercession. And it is out of that place that God sends the prophet to speak to him. Let me give you another reference scripture, Jeremiah chapter 27 verse 18. In the day that there were false
54:00 prophets telling the king Zedekiah that he would not go into captivity because Nebuchadnezzar was demanding um you know, was coming to take Israel captive. But you see, there were many prophets that were speaking contrary to the heart of God. It was only Jeremiah at that time that had the word of the Lord. Jeremiah will come to the king and say, "Give yourself to go into captivity. It is God that is sending you into captivity. If you go into captivity in the fullness of time, God will judge the adversary and God will release you and restore you." But you see, the other prophet were saying, "Don't go." They were political men. No, God will deliver you from the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. So, it looked like Jeremiah was a lone ranger. And let me tell you, in every generation God will have his true
54:47 prophetic voice to be like lone lone ranger. True prophetic voice don't say what everybody is saying. Prophetic ministry is not about parroting what you read online or what everybody will say. When you begin, God will begin to give you or because you spent time with him, many times you will say things that are contrary to what people want to hear. The Bible say when they are saying peace, peace, then there will come sudden destruction. So, prophet don't speak their thing, they speak what God wants them to do. And when prophet receive the oracles of God, they labor with the word of the Lord in intercession. A prophet intercede to secure the voice of God to speak to the people. And when he receives the voice of God, he goes back to God in intercession, especially when
55:33 God is showing something that will bring judgment and destruction. And intercession will always stand for mercy. An intercession will always pray for the justice of God to be served in a situation. So, look at what Jeremiah said. When the other prophets were claiming to have the voice of the Lord contrary to the speakings that Jeremiah was bringing, Jeremiah said, "But if they be prophets and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem go to Babylon." What is Jeremiah saying? Look at the inside. Look at the lesson. Look at the wisdom. Jeremiah said, "If they are truly prophets as they claim to be, let them
56:18 make intercession to the Lord of hosts." He said, "If they are truly prophets and the word of the Lord is with them, let them make intercession." So, when a prophet receive the word of the Lord, his first assignment is not to come and shout on Facebook. His first assignment is to labor with those words in intercession. So, Jeremiah said, "If they are prophets and if the word of the Lord is with them." It means the prophet is supposed to receive the word of the Lord. But the proof that they are prophets and they have received the heartbeat of God, he said, "is that they are supposed to make intercession to the Lord of hosts." Can you see the first reference, Genesis chapter 20, that the calling of the prophet is first intercession before prophesying. So, it is a consistent truth throughout the
57:04 scripture from the Old Testament to the New. The prophets are expected to make intercession to the people having received the word of the Lord. So, he said, "Let them make intercession." I want you to look at the next the next part. He said, "Let them make intercession to the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in where? Number one, the house of the Lord. Number two, in the house of the king of Judah and Jerusalem do not go to Babylon." Babylon was the adversary. Babylon was the superpower of their days. Babylon was a nation, the kingdom that go to oppress other people. You know the story of Daniel and his brethren being taken to Babylon. And so, Jeremiah is giving us very deep insight about the ministry of the prophet. He said, "The prophet who has the word of the Lord is supposed
57:50 to make intercession to the Lord of hosts." And the intercessory ministry of the prophet is going to cover two sphere. Number one, is going to make intercession as regarding the house of the Lord. He said that the vessels of where? The house of the Lord do not go to Babylon. And then he said, "The vessels that is in the house of the king of Judah and Jerusalem do not go to Babylon." It therefore shows us that the intercession ministry of the prophet majorly is going to cover the church and the nation. Are you getting that? The prophetic intercessory ministry of the prophet is going to cover the church and the nation.
58:36 So, a prophet is supposed to seek the Lord of the Lord for the church. And then he's supposed to labor in intercession for the church. That's why we pray for Nigeria the way we do as a ministry. That's why we spend time praying for Plateau State, for our region. Why? Because we know that the prophetic people are supposed to make intercession first for the church. That's why we are always praying that God will stir up the church, that the spirit of prayer will come upon the church, that the church will come into oneness with the emphasis of God in this season and because the prophet has an intercessory ministry towards the church, number one. Number two, the prophet has an intercessory ministry towards the nation or the land or the territory.
59:21 So, if you are a prophetic person, you have a major responsibility to intercede for the church, beginning with the local church that you are part of, the territorial church that you are part of and then the global church. Are you following me? And then you also have a responsibility not only to pray for the church, but also to pray for the land. God told Jeremiah to tell the children of Israel in captivity. He said, "Pray for the prosperity of the land wherein you have been carried captive. For in the prosperity of that land shall be your own prosperity." So, a prophet is supposed to move beyond the selfish kind of prayer that many people pray in church. You know, the prayer of many people in church is not a ministry. If you are praying for
1:00:06 yourself every day, that's not a ministry. You cannot say you have a prayer ministry. If the prayer is all about yourself, it's not a ministry because you are not discharging a service towards another. It becomes a ministry when the prayer goes beyond personal supplication to become intercessory. That means your prayer captures the burdens and the purposes of God for other people. Then that prayer becomes a ministry. He's supposed to capture the church, the local church that you are part of, the territorial church that you are part of, and then the global universal church of Christ. That's number one. Number two, the prophetic the the intercessory ministry of the prophet is supposed to also focus on the
1:00:52 world. So, you focus on the community where you are, the city where you are, the nation where you are, and by extension the nations of the world. So, we see these scriptures giving us insight that the foundation of ministry of faith is intercession. But now God is giving us further that the prophet is supposed to have his intercession focus on both the church and the nation. When you read the book of um Corinthians, you'll hear Paul make a statement. He said, "Give no offense to the church, to the Jews, and to the nations." So, when God looks upon the earth, there are three categories of people. All the human beings on earth are categorized into three categories. The church, the Jews, and the nations.
1:01:39 So, every accurate prophetic person knows. You see, unfortunately, there are people who are focusing and they are trying to teach replacement theology to make it look like the church has replaced Israel. It's not true. If you are a student of biblical prophecy, there are people who function in the gift of prophecy, but they don't know Bible prophecy because they don't read the Bible. You think it's only about can I prophesy? That's not prophetic ministry. Read the Bible. Are you following what I'm saying? That's why we are teaching doctrine to set a foundation. So, you don't just go up, receive gift and impartation, and go and about doing what you want. No. You must build your prophetic ministry on the foundation of the scripture.
1:02:25 So, when you read the prophecy of Jesus in the book of Matthew chapter 24 25, you read the Bible prophecy, even the book of Revelation, you will see that God is dealing with the church, God is dealing with the Jews, that's Israel, then God is dealing with the nation. The church can never replace Israel. Israel is part of the last day prophecy. If you are a student of the Bible, you will know that there's a peculiar um assignment or agenda that God has concerning Israel as a nation. So, as a student of Bible prophecy, you must understand that. You cannot use the church to replace Israel. It's not accurate theology. It's Pentecostals that know how to do that.
1:03:11 That's why you see the people who support Israel in the body of Christ, most of them they are the American churches. Follow John Hagee, follow Rick Joyner, follow many of those people who support Israel. There is something they understand about the last day moves of God and the place of Israel in preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. The program of God for humanity cannot round up without Israel fulfilling our prophetic destiny. So, don't be a Christian and push Israel aside. It's not even about Netanyahu. No matter what he's doing, it's not about him. We are talking about Israel, not a man. So, Paul said, you should not neglect what? The church, Israel, and the nations. Well, that's just by the side, okay? So,
1:03:56 you will see that the prophets understood that your prophetic intercession is supposed to cover the church and what? The nations. That's how you're going to be an accurate prophetic person. So, let's move. I I'm just only trying to set the foundation for you to understand that the foundation of the prophetic ministry is on intercession. So, you see the first time a prophet is mentioned in the men is with respect to what? Intercession. And can I show you interestingly that the first time a person is also called a prophet New Testament is with respect to intercession. You know her? Go to Luke chapter two from verse 36 to 39. You will see a woman called Anna the prophetess. She was the first person they mentioned
1:04:43 as a even before John the Baptist showed up in the scene. The Bible say, "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. She was only married for seven years. And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day." Can you see her ministry? And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of him to all them that look for redemption in Israel. So, we see that her prophetic ministry was built on the foundation of what? Prayer and fasting. She did not depart from the temple. She
1:05:30 was serving the Lord in fasting and prayer. When I studied these two references, the Lord makes me understand that the first ministry gift that is mentioned in the Old Testament is prophets. The first ministry gift mentioned in the New Testament is not apostle. It's prophet. Do you get that? There is something about the prophetic because the prophetic always comes before the apostolic. The apostle is a builder. He is a wise master builder. The prophet is the architect. He brings the architectural design. That's how the church is built. The prophet brings the architectural design, then the apostle is the builder. Are you following me? So, you see even in the beginning of the Old Testament, the New Testament, it is the ministry of the prophet that
1:06:17 You see Anna the prophetess. And then you see John the Baptist before Jesus came into the scene. It was a prophet that prepared the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus before the ministry of the apostles. And you will also see that the apostles were also prophets in their right because they were carriers of the secrets of God. of God from Jesus. They built the church according to the pattern that was shown them. So, they were not only apostles, they were also prophets, they were also evangelists, they were also pastors and teachers. I'm speaking particularly about the 12 that walked with Jesus. They were not just apostles, they were also prophets
1:07:03 because they heard from the Lord directly. They ran with the blueprints that the Lord gave them. That's how they built the church. So, the prophetic always prepares the way for the purposes of God. The prophetic always bring the building um um the blueprints, the architectural design for the building of the house of God. Amen. So, you see about the office of the prophet that the prophet has a primary call of prayer and intercession if he's going to accurately fulfill his prophetic ministry. So, let us move on. I want to show you another scripture. The prophet is an intercessor. He stands before God
1:07:48 to bring intercession for the people, intercedes for the church and the nation as I've shown you in that scripture. One thing I want to show you prophetically in the scripture in Jeremiah chapter 27:18 when he said, "So that the vessels of the house of the Lord and of the palace of the king do not go to Babylon." Now, when we look at this scripture in retrospect as a prophetic people in the New Testament, what is Babylon? When you go to Revelation 17:19, you see that Babylon is an expression of the kingdom of darkness on earth. All right? So, you will see as you journey that the ministry of the prophet will have a lot to do with contending with the kingdom of darkness. Because he will receive the secrets of God and he will stand in intercession so
1:08:35 that the agenda of hell against the church and the nations do not come to the light of day. So, Jeremiah say he's supposed to make intercession so that the vessels of the house of the Lord do not go to Babylon. That means so that the agenda of hell of the kingdom of darkness against the church is not realized. So, the prophet by the insight that he receives will stand in his intercessory ministry to contend with the agenda of the kingdom of darkness against the church and against the nation. I hope you know Satan does not only have an agenda against the church, he also have an agenda against the nation. He doesn't want the nations to be saved. He doesn't want the purposes of God for the nation to be established because God
1:09:20 does not only have a calling on individuals, God also have callings on families. God has callings on cities. God has callings on nations. So, as we go further, I'll show you. The The nation called Nigeria has a calling. The church in Nigeria has a calling. One of the foremost calling of the church in Nigeria right now is to become God's epicenter for revival. It's to be the place where God nurses men, raises graces and mantles and export them. So, what God is doing with the body of Christ right now is to fulfill reverse missions. Once upon a time, they came from America, they came from Europe to bring the gospel here. Now, God is raising us
1:10:07 from here to take the gospel. And that's part of the reason why Satan is fighting our nation. Because we have a place to fulfill in the prophecy of God for revival and global missions in this hour. Are you getting that? So, I want to show you the prophet stands as an intercessor before God. In the prophetic ministry of the prophets, the prophet is called We said the prophet is what? A spokesman for God. I want to show you from the scripture that the prophet is called to speak for God onto his people. The prophet is also called to speak
1:10:53 to Satan and the gates of hell. So, the prophetic ministry Many people, what they know about the assignment of a prophet is that he prophesies to people. He speaks the voice of God to people. I want to show you from the Bible that that's just part of the ministry of a prophet. A prophet is also called to speak to principalities and powers. A prophet is called to address the hand of the enemy. And I'll show you from the prophetic ministry of Moses. Turn with to the book of Exodus chapter 4. Exodus chapter 4. Let's look from verse 14. It said, "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, 'Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also,
1:11:39 behold, he cometh to meet thee. And when he seeth thee, he will be glad. And what? When he meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.' So, let's look at verse 15 to 16. And thou shalt speak onto him, and put words in his mouth. And I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and we teach you what ye shall do." I want you to see we established that the prophet is called to be a spokesman for God, right? So, God is telling Moses. He said, "Because you think it's a difficult task for you to do, I'm bringing Aaron, your brother, as you have suggested. But you will put the word It is you I will speak
1:12:24 to. But because you think that you are a stutterer, you cannot speak, you are going to put the words that I put in your mouth in the mouth of Aaron, and then Aaron is going to be your spokesman." Can you see that? Look at verse 16. "And he shall be thy spokesman onto the people. And he shall be even an Even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shall be to him instead of God." One of the definition of a prophet I wanted to add that should have is that a prophet is also a mouthpiece of God. Can you add that definition? A prophet is also what? A mouthpiece of God. Sorry. He's a mouthpiece of God. So, God So, you see the scripture
1:13:10 captured the two definition. God was saying to Moses that Aaron will be your spokesman onto the people, and he shall be onto thee instead of what? A mouth. The word that is used here is that he will be your mouthpiece. So, the prophet is both a spokesman for God and a mouthpiece of God. Is that well understood? So, you will see in this scripture, he's saying that Aaron's assignment as Moses' prophet or Moses' spokesman and mouthpiece is that he will do what? He will speak onto the people. Look at verse 15. No, verse 16. "As thy spokesman, he shall speak onto the people." So, the first
1:13:58 people or or or audience that the prophet is sent to is the people. And now, the prophet will receive a word from the Lord to speak to the people. So, he said, "He shall be thy spokesman onto the people." So, Aaron will go with Moses, and Moses will stand instead of God, put his word in the mouth of Aaron, and Aaron, as his mouthpiece and his spokesman, he will speak onto the people. So, that's that's part of the responsibility of a prophet. He speaks the word of the Lord to the people. He speaks onto the people. But unfortunately, that's what many people know about the prophetic ministry. He speaks onto the people. Now, let me show you the second assignment of a prophet. Aaron um um
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