Have the Prophets Gone Crazy?

The prophetic movement is under construction. Error has crept into the prophetic movement. We have many people prophesying. Some of the things people are prophesying are just plain foolish. I remember a story of a woman who had a tremendous heart for God but was angry with the state of her church so she decided to "prophesy". She prophesied that God had written the name, Michelob, over the entrance of the church she attended. In reality, she meant to say, Ichabod. I Sam. 4:21.

That story, beyond being hilarious, teaches us some good lessons about prophecy. First, her prophecy was factually inaccurate. God didn't, and doesn't, want to write Michelob over any church. Jesus's church is not meant to be a beer hall. Second, she prophesied when she shouldn't have. She was angry with her church and tried to use "prophecy" to get the church to change. She was trying to manipulate the church through prophecy. Third, her prophecy lacked God's heart and nature. That one is probably the most evident.

Many people are prophesying. But few are checking to see if the prophecies being spoken are coming to pass. Fewer still are checking their own hearts over their prophecies. I find this especially true when it comes to "The Trump Prophecies". Many wanted President Trump to win the 2020 election. I did. Many prophesied he would, will, or did. I didn't. Irrespective, few have checked their own hearts concerning the prophecies they've spoken. Fewer still have checked their prophecies against God's character. All prophecy must match God's character. And prophets must carry God's character.

Just like the woman who prophesied Michelob to her church, prophets have spoken things that did not pass the 3-fold test I have just outlined. As a result, prophets have looked foolish, even crazy, for what they said God said. In reality, what prophets said was no more true than what the woman prophesied to her church - Michelob. No, God didn't say he was writing Michelob over her church. And her anger with the church, even if justified, did not make her prophecy any more true. It wasn't God.

I love prophecy. I love hearing from prophets. I remember attending a conference in 1989 with some friends in San Antonio, TX. That meeting was historic. Stephen Strang has written several articles on that meeting. I was there. I sat in one of his sessions on Christians in the media. I learned a great deal. What really impressed me at that meeting wasn't the pinpoint prophecies given by Paul Cain (Strang interviewed a number of people who received the prophecies but found out they didn't happen). I was touched by the raw presence of God in the prophetic rooms where people were receiving prophecies.

God was present at that meeting. I know. I was there. My friends and I waited near the place where prophecies were being given because the presence of God was overwhelming, enthralling. I learned a great deal from that event. Often, people miss the most important part of the prophetic - God's presence. God was present. I was touched. My life was changed. I was drawn into a prophetic life that leaned into and yearned for true prophecy.

Was I crazy after such an encounter with God? You bet. My spiritual eyes were opened. My heart was touched by the living God. How anyone can walk away from such an encounter and not be touched by it? As a prophet, I experienced numerous touches like that in my early walk as a believer. I had an open vision where I saw God's glory. I heard the audible voice of God. I was sovereignly and supernaturally baptized in the Spirit. I had dreams regularly. I had numerous supernatural encounters.

Yes, I acted crazy. I did so because of what God was doing in my life. I was being touched by the raw supernatural power of God. I was being jolted with supernatural energy from another realm. I was hard-wired to the supernatural realm. God was changing me so that His power could flow through me. I had to be adjusted to operate from that realm. Being able to operate from that realm regularly doesn't happen by accident. No, it required a decision on my part to remain in the center of what God was doing in my life.

I am communicating to you what takes place in the life of a prophet and why prophets can seem so weird: they are being touched by Heaven to carry Heaven's touch into this world. Yes, operating from that place regularly will make you seem different, even crazy. But prophets are not crazy. No, we are dealing with high energy from the God of the universe in a sin-soaked world among sin-crazy people. Our human bodies in this sin-saturated condition are not designed to handle what we need to carry from the Heavenly dimension.

Does that describe your life? You may be called to be a prophet. You may be having a hard time adjusting to the calling on your life. No, you're not crazy. You are adjusting to and being adjusted by God to carry Heaven into this world. That is a high calling. Value it. Don't allow the opinions others have of you stop you from functioning in your high calling. I had to learn that others did not define what God called me to do or who He called me to be - a prophet.

I passed the tests. I went through the trials. I went through the hardships necessary to carry that high calling. Yes, high calling. Not everyone, including other ministry-gifted leaders, is willing to endure what is necessary to carry Heaven's power in a sin-soaked frame of flesh. Prophets are masterpieces; they are God's handiwork. That is why prophets look strange, act strange and carry themselves as if they are strange. Prophets have been changed by God's presence to function as God's mouthpiece.

That is why true prophets are so valuable; prophets have endured Heaven's powerful touch to become Heaven's powerful voice in the earth. When a man or woman has been touched by God in this fashion, it marks them for life. They have been designate to be God's voice. Do we truly understand what an honor that is? Being God's voice is better than winning thousands of "The Voice" competitions. God ordains those He calls to speak for Him.

God trains those He calls to speak for Him. To speak for God, prophets must be willing to be trained. Even the most talented singing voices require training. Yes, a gifted singer can learn. So too, a gifted prophetic person can be trained. No one called as a prophet is exempt from God's training processes. Normally, those training processes require a senior prophet. Senior prophets keep prophets from "the twisties" (Thanks, Simone Biles.).

Prophets can get caught up into a place where things aren't functioning like they should. Their hearts don't match what is in their heads. If this happens, prophets can become dangerous to themselves and others. Elijah had this happen. In 1 Kgs. 19:1-3, we see Elijah running from Jezebel. Why would the great prophet run from Jezebel? Surely, he knew God was more powerful than her. Remember, Elijah called fire down from Heaven. 1 Kgs. 18:38. What went wrong? Elijah had a case of "the twisties". Elijah became mixed up in his mind. And God had to re-educate Elijah.

A re-education process is taking place amongst God's present truth prophets. Like Elijah, prophets have been taken to Horeb. We are being re-instructed in the basics of God's word. We are re-learning how we hear God's voice. God is delivering His prophets from "the twisties". God didn't call His prophets to be crazies. Rather, God calls His prophets to be spokespersons. We must recover that high calling in the church today.

No prophets have not gone crazy. Prophets can miss it. Prophets can make mistakes. And prophets might not know they have missed it. That's when the prophetic becomes dangerous. Prophets can enter a place where they "lose it". No, you are not crazy for believing in prophecy. No, you are not crazy for desiring prophecy. No, you are not crazy for believing in God's prophets. Yes, prophecy is a good thing. We need it. See my blog post, The Necessity of Prophetic Ministry. Prophets bring something no other ministry gift can bring into our lives: clear instructions from Heaven. That is the high calling prophets are called to by God. That some have fallen short shouldn't shock us. After all, it is a high calling.

Yes, God is speaking to His prophets. Yes, God is speaking through His prophets. Let God help His prophets get through "the twisties" so they can be restored to their position of prominence in Christ's body. I believe that the restoration process will take less time than we think. A repositioning is taking place. God is repositioning His prophets for His purpose in this time and season. Prophets are being conditioned to stand in the face of the rising tide of evil in this world. And we need them.

Is it possible God allowed national hero, Simone Biles, to go through an international incident, withdrawing from the Olympics, to teach us about what is currently taking place in the prophetic movement? The answer is, yes. God allows natural events to shape the conversation to what He is speaking. Are we listening? I am.