[Building a Powerful Church to Thrive in a Time of Crisis] 13 – Is There Such a Thing as a Bad...

8/7/2019 [Building a Powerful Church to Thrive in a Time of Crisis] 13 Is There Such a Thing as a Bad Word from God? Part 1

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2011SCOTTWEBSTERMINISTRIES. Page 2 of 5

prayer and ministry. I approached the meeting with great anticipation Ieven had a handful of tissue because I was sure that God would tell me

many great things about myself and I would cry in gratitude andthankfulness. With my hands lifted up the prophet laid his hands on myhead and the first words out of his mouth were A double minded man isunstable in all of his ways. My hands came down as I listened and triedto digest the rebuke. Next I was told You are like a reed tossed back andforth in the wind. I felt like telling the prophet I got the message, pleasestop but he went on and on, explaining that my confusion was based inmy mind telling me one thing and my heart another. He elaborated on the process that God had me in of learning to trust God more deeply andliving authentically out of my heart. I was told that I would never be ableto figure it all out job, ministry, future wife and that I must walkforward in faith and trust the Lord. It was mildly embarrassing to receivesuch a direct rebuke in front of all those people, many of which were myfriends and family but that was nothing compared to what happenednext.

As I took my seat the prophet asked Kathy to come forward next toreceive ministry; he didnt know we were in a relationship and my earsperked right up. I have to confess I thought it might be nice for Kathy toreceive a little rebuke also (what can I say immaturity was the order ofthe day). Instead, God doubled up on me and gave me even worse blowsthrough His speaking to Kathy than I had gotten directly. The first wordsthis prophet said to Kathy are seared into my memory: Ive got a plan for you and Ive got a man for you, but you will have to be the stable oneright now while as he is wavering and flakey.

At that point the humiliation was total. I cant recall how I escaped fromthe meeting but I have a clear memory of my friends shooting me looksand smirks that expressed their agreement with the prophet that Websteris a flake. And the problem was that I had no defense when the HolySpirit declares you to be wavering and flakey there isnt much you cansay, except OUCH!!!

As I drove from the church I had some definite thoughts that I shouted atGod from my heart: What about my long prayers every night for months?Didnt God see my devotion? What about the bugs falling in my hair whileI diligently sought His will? Did you have to expose me in front of all my

1 Kings 22:8

e k i n g o f I s r a e l answered Jehoshaphat,"ere is still one man

through whom we caninquire of the LORD,but I hate him becausehe never prophesies

anything good about me,but always bad. He is

Micaiah son of Imlah.

ISSUE 403 FEBRUARY 2ND 2011

There is no such thing as a badword from God. Each time

He talks, no matter what He

says, it comes from His heart of

goodness, love and care. Therefore

I was alarmed when I recently

read a comment by a leader who

said I like this prophet because

he always has something good to

sa y abou t Ame r i ca . Th i s

statement reveals a standard ofassessment that separates what is

perceived as good vs. bad, but the

big problem is that this is NOT a

Biblical standard.

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All Rights Reserved.

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friends, and tell the girl I was soon to marry about my instability in suchstark terms? It aint fair God!!!

Are Hard Words Bad?

There is no such thing as a bad word from God. Each time He talks, nomatter what He says, it comes from His heart of goodness, love and care.

Therefore I was alarmed when I recently read a comment by a leader whosaid I like this prophet because he always has something good to sayabout America. This statement reveals a standard of assessment thatseparates what is perceived as good vs. bad, but the big problem is that thisis NOT a Biblical standard.

There are many false paradigms that exist in the church today that wouldmake a man make a statement like the one quoted above, including a) Godis only the God of beneficial outcomes b) God only wants to prosper youand make you happy c) when we follow the Lord life will never be difficult; or if it is difficult and challenging itsbecause we lack faith. People who bring words that dont reinforce these misperceptions are branded as: harsh,negative, unpatriotic, etc.

e Real Word of GodBut as we look at the Word of God we see a very different prophetic order in full operation, which I am listing inthe following table along with a contrast to the probable response of the compromised church today. The finalcolumn provides an analysis of what would result from a wrong response to the true words of these ancientprophets if given today:

Word of God Modern Church Result

MosesGod forbid him from goinginto the promised land forstriking the rock, and his

leadership thatmisrepresented the Lordto the people

Would promptly put Mosesback into leadershipbecause God loves,

forgives and alwaysrestores. Would continueto be followed even afterGod had removed him forleading

Leaders who are nolonger graced by the Lord,resulting in dependence

on good ideas and bestpolicy rather than thepower of the Holy Spirit

AmosTold the people that theirworship was nauseatingand they should stopplaying their music (Amos5:20-24)

Would tell Amos he didntunderstand propheticprotocol, and he had noright to speak to thechurch / worship team insuch stark terms

A church which limits thespeaking of God throughcarnal control, missingvast portions of Godscommunication to theearth today thuscontinuing in incorrectness


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Word of God Modern Church Result

JeremiahWarned of imminentinvasion by foreign militarypower, and told the peopleto accept their occupationas the will of God

Would denounceJeremiah as a liberal whosympathized with foreignnations and who didntappreciate the spiritualheritage of their nation.

They probably had abumper sticker: Israel:Love it or Leave it.

Believers who mix faithwith nationalism, andbecome unable to discernthe difference between theKingdom of God on theone hand, and domestic

and foreign policy on theother

HoseaDenounced business-people who used unethicalmeans and dishonestmethods to get more thantheir share of wealth, andfor the people generallywho trusted in riches tosave them (Hosea 12:17)

Hosea would becondemned as one whodidnt believe in prosperityand who was navebecause he didnt knowthat it took money to builda church

A church with beautifulfacilities and bankaccounts, but void ofGods approval and opento spiritual attack. Themeltdown was made forthis believer!

ElijahRebuked Ahab & Jezebelfor their family disorder,

national sin and self-indulgence, includingfostering same sex templeprostitutes as an act ofworship at the temple ofBaal

Builds an inclusive churchwhere everyone is

welcome in order to tapinto the ever increasinghomosexual marketdemographic, leavingpeople in a state ofunrepentant sin andwithout the power towithstand darkness

A church which has socompromised Gods divine

standards that God finallysends them into captivity

400 Good Word Prophets vs. Micaiah

1 Kings 22:6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophetsabout four hundred menand asked them,"Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? "Go, they answered, "for the Lord will giveit into the king's hand. 77 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can

inquire of?" 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we caninquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but

always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." 10 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and

Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate ofSamaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them19 Micaiah continued, I saw the LORD sitting onhis throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the LORDsaid, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? 20 "One suggestedthis, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will enticehim. 22 "'By what means' the LORD asked." 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all hisprophets' he said. 'You will succeed in enticing him, said the LORD. 'Go and do it.

This is a perfect example because Ahab, a self-indulgent and immature king, didnt like Micaiah because he

never prophesies anything good about me, only bad. We learn from this that a self-indulgent church has its ownprophetic order that says only the things it wants to hear, and it ignores or persecutes the true prophetic voice.There is a direct contrast between the 400 prophets and Micaiah:

The mass of assembled prophets stood before Ahabs throne, while Micaiah saw God sitting on Histhrone. The 400 prophets are always referred to in the context of relationship with Ahab, the king. Theprophets were prophesying before them (v 10), and the lying spirits strategy was to be a lying spirit in themouth of all his (Ahabs) prophets (v 22). The spirit realm knows very clearly who the Lords prophetsare, and who serve as the earthly kings prophets.

The 400 prophets had a bias that compelled them to say only good things for their nation. They begantheir prophetic inquiry from a place of political agreement with the king, and a desire to see their nationvictorious in war. They saw their nations political and military agenda before they saw the throne of God,



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and it made them false.

In contrast Micaiah was not set against Ahab nor was he aligned with any other political or partisaninterest. If Gods purposes had required Ahab to prevail in war, Micaiah would have spoken victory. Thelying spirit had no basis to influence Micaiah because he had no stake in the political and militarymovements in the nation. His objectivity also allowed him to assess the pronouncements of the 400 anddeclare them false, as well as see the true origin of their speaking Gods intention to kill Ahab.

Unfortunately little has changed since Israels failed attack on Ramoth Gilead. It seems that politicians and thematerialistic and nationalist church still desire prophets who will say what they want to hear. Likewise there is alarge pool of quasi-prophets who will prophesy from their firmly entrenched nationalistic worldview. We areliving in a time when there is a battle for insight, and false prophetic declarations are being authoritativelyreleased into the earth lying spirits are fully operational within a compromised prophetic order.

That has produced a church that is unable to hear what God is saying through the economic meltdown. Wrongperceptions of God disallow people from hearing that God can (and is) using crisis to produce His purposes in theearth. This wrong perception of only good has made people unable to interact with Gods strategic objectives,and they are therefore blind and unaware of what God is doing in the earth today.

Requirements for Prophets

Of course many hold a wrong view of hard words because they have never seen a correct prophetic operation the only hard words they might have heard came forth from hard prophets. So there is a responsibility for theprophetic to grow and develop and become more like Christ, who is always redemptive. A prophet can have nounresolved issues towards authority figures, otherwise he will be too happy to denounce a false shepherd.

Jonah had a true word about judgment, but his heart was not redemptive and he didnt realize that the hard wordGod gave him for Nineveh was for their redemption. He was more concerned about his rightness and his owncomfort than he was about the destiny of a city/state. His book concludes with God asking the prophet ButNineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, andmany cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"(Jonah 4:11). In the end, the heathen city of Nineveh was more aware of the grace and purpose of God than Jonah the prophet. Therefore until we areconcerned about those we speak to and carry the same compassion and pity that God does for them, we have noright to speak any word to them.

Jeremiah was given the difficult and painful task of calling Israel back to God, but was told when called by theLord to be a prophet that the nation would not listen to him. His book is filled with dire warnings and predictionsof slavery, genocide and military occupation which the people rejected. In their rejection of this hard word theymocked Jeremiah, asking him where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled! (Jer 17:15). Yet whenJeremiah was tempted to stop prophesying it was like fire shut up in his bones that would not allow him to bequiet. In the end his speaking was correct not only in the detail of his prophecies, but the heart of Jeremiah wascorrect also and he processed this before the Lord when he told God I have not run away from being yourshepherd; you know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before you (Jer 17:16). Sotodays prophets must engage in a correct and transparent process before the Lord to ensure that all they say isseen (divine scrutiny) and approved (divine validation) of by the Lord.

the Rest of the Story

It was only a few weeks after receiving that hard word that I asked Kathy to marry me I was absolutely clearthat she was the one for me and I was finally able to express the love that I had for her in my heart which had beencloaked by the confusion in my mind. The confusion and uncertainty I had struggled with for months wasdismantled by Gods speaking. I came to a place of internal peace and clarity that produced decisiveness. Godsvoice set me free!

The recession proved a blessing since it kept me from getting a job so that when I was invited to workvocationally within the church/prophetic ministry, I was immediately available and ready. Every single concernthat plagued me was resolved and even more importantly, I changed and became more like Christ as I learned tolive authentically from my heart. God is good and His purposes are perfect, even when He says hard things!


Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension Activating The Capacity To Build Obeying The Command To Finish

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