I remember the day so vividly. I was cleaning the carpets of a gorgeous house in Southern California. Recently married, my wife and I were Associate Pastors at a new church. To supplement my income, I started a part-time job.
Several days before this I had begun to meditate on the words of Jesus from John 16: 13 that the Holy Spirit would “show you things to come.”
As I was cleaning those carpets, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me about the people that lived there. To my amazement, He began to show me things to come for them. I was literally trembling because I knew I had to speak to these people who had not hired me to prophesy to them but just to clean their carpets!
As I was packing up my gear, the man of the house came to thank me and pay me. I could no longer contain these things but began to share with him what God was saying to him. They were a Jewish household, and I realized the potential for the offense was there as I shared.
To my surprise, he received and rejoiced at what God spoke to him. Soon after this, I ran into him at a large charismatic conference. He was now a believer, hungry for more of God!
I learned that day that God wants to speak to us and through us. We see this in the Early Church when the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit showed up.
And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:6)
When the Apostle Peter preached the first sermon of the Church, his original text was one that declared what the ministry and manifestation of the Holy Spirit would be to mankind.
“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.’” (Acts 2: 16-18)
The big three–prophecy, visions, and dreams—are the Holy Spirit’s tools to reveal God’s will and purpose for your life. The entire church family around the world qualifies to flow in these blessings through the direction of the Holy Spirit.
The desire to bring the revelation of God’s will to us is at the very core of the character of the Holy Spirit. He is the REVEALER. He goes to great lengths to connect us to God’s will and purpose.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are launched into God’s thoughts and purposes, breaking free from the gravitational restrictions of the natural man.
The voice of God—that which is spoken from His word—is the key to receiving the prophetic anointing. As a pastor and minister God’s Word several times a week, every time I minister, I ask God for a FRESH TODAY WORD FOR HIS PEOPLE. I don’t just flip open my old notebooks or listen to someone else’s tape and reteach it.
I ask, seek, and knock until I feel God has given me HIS VOICE FOR HIS PEOPLE. Now, I don’t believe I always succeed, but I am always trying to hit the bulls-eye of the RIGHT WORD for the RIGHT PEOPLE at the RIGHT TIME.
I know what you’re thinking, “That’s good for you, Mr. Preacher, but I’m out here in the real world with a real job and real problems.”
Okay, let’s talk about you for a minute. There are thousands of jobs you could do, or you could take, BUT ONE OF THEM IS GOD’S GIFT AND PERFECT WILL FOR YOU.
There are a lot of beautiful cities to live in, but YOU ARE NOT CALLED EXCEPT TO ONE.
Being prophetic means letting God speak to you regarding every area of your life and then being available to be used by Him to speak into the lives of other people.