Dealing With Modern Prophets For Hire

I just finished reading yet another Pollyanna prophecy over the internet from a famous name on the prophets-for-hire conference circuit that travel about our country (you won’t find them traveling about too many other countries, probably because it doesn’t generate enough income. I even know the stock broker of one of the most famous of them). I had to ask myself why the particular prophecy in question failed to bear witness with my inner witness of the Spirit of God. So I sent this famous person’s prophecy to a man whose spiritual wisdom, discernment, and maturity I value. I asked him what he thought about it. The witness in His spirit was the same as mine. There was none.

I went on to comment that prophetic word peddlers (and I must tell you that I believe strongly in prophecy as well as all nine of the manifestation gifts of the Spirit and the effective operation of all of the apostolic ministries) are highlighted in lots of conferences these days. The author of the particular prophecy that triggered my spirit at the moment just ran a prophetic instruction class at a church located a couple of hours away from me. The admission was $125 a head for a three or four day class, and it is not uncommon for such folks to require a thousand or more dollars before they will come to your church to minister. One of the most famous of divine healing ministers is said to charge $200 or more before consenting to pray for you for healing over the telephone. Excuse me? Is Jesus anywhere near this kind of ministry?

So let’s stop a moment and ask a basic question. Would Jesus make a head charge for His teachings? Mind you, this was conducted at a church, not a hotel or conference center. In my wildest imagination I can not think that Jesus would ever do this, nor the Apostle Paul. I hope I am never tempted to do this. I believe a more honest way to minister is to live by the love offerings of the saints as they are led to give by the Holy Spirit). Am I being too severe? I’m not trying to be. I am trying to point out how deceptively the spirit of Balaam tries to compromise the Spirit of God in even genuine prophets.

So what are Balaam prophets selling in churches today? Usually it is a positive word which believers like to hear. Such prophecies often give no specifics, but they do a lot of emotional casting, fishing with emotions, hoping to hook many souls. The bigger the name behind it, the better it sells in goat churches where soul is revered more than the Spirit of God. In these kinds of gatherings, such prophetic sounding words are welcome to the ears of souls who hear little in their own prayer closets. Often these kind of prophets name their ministries after themselves. So think about this: would the One who made Himself of no reputation ever do such a thing? The Bible uses the term prophets for hire, and Jesus taught in Matthew 7 that by their fruits you shall know them.

Let’s take a moment and ask a vitally important question. What is the fruit of true ministry? According to John 10, sheep are defined as those who hear and obey the voice of the Master Shepherd.

John 10:16

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

True ministry therefore helps sheep connect with The Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to the degree that they not only hear His voice, but they follow the voice of no other. False ministry will never do this. It can never propagate the fruit of intimacy with Jesus Christ. Instead, it merely purports to represent it.

We must always judge ministry by its fruit. Unfortunately, when one chases false prophets for a word from the Lord, he or she not only fails to learn to hear and obey the voice of the Lord for him or herself. They also eat spiritual poison. In time, the absence of spiritual nutrition from the Fountain of Living Water kills them unless they repent of their chasing anointings instead of the One Who is anointed.

*Let’s learn to have eyes that see, and let those who tickle ears be ashamed. Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers. Today, instead of halt and maimed animals for sale, we have halt and maimed prophetic words for sale, and halt (but glitzy) and maimed (but entertaining) praise and worship for sale.

When we smell rottenness in a prophetic word, and when we see un-Scriptural behavior among high profile ministers, we are often told that we “must not touch the Lord’s anointed.” This knee-jerk response from the soul pre-supposes that speaking up about Biblical error and naming a name in the process is somehow violating a Biblical principle (perhaps from Matthew 18 where it says we are to confront privately, then with two or three witnesses before exposing publicly).

But failing to speak up in public when sheep are being ravaged, allowing Biblical error to slide by because it came from a famous name, is cowardly and quite anti-Biblical. Consider that the Apostle Paul didn’t let the Apostle Peter get away with such error in Acts 15 when his behavior regarding religious observance of eating meat caused major strife within the Body.

“Don’t touch the Lord’s anointed” is actually the phrase David used regarding not killing evil-spirit inspired Saul when he had the chance to do so on two occasions. Not touching the Lord’s anointed has to do with not causing physical injury, and has nothing to do with publicly exposing Biblical error. However, if it falls upon you as a true prophet to expose such error, you had better be right in the Spirit, and right with the Truth, and be coming from a loving, kind heart when you do it. Otherwise a subtle critical spirit would be at work, whose fruit would be more division and strife, not healing, cleansing, and strengthening of the Body. David actually mocked Saul and waved his underwear at hi from across the valley. And King Saul repented.

Godly prophecy will always have a redemptive heart. Modern feel-good prophecies of the soul tend to be vague and in-specific, but they make the soul feel good. Modern prophecies which emanate from an evil spirit tend to condemn and make one feel worthless and depressed. They have no redemptive hope, no lifting up of the head. But the nature of true prophesy, if is not obviously the edification, exhortation, or comfort of I Corinthians 14:3 will be redemptive in nature according to God’s heart to turn the hearts of His people back towards Him. It’s ok to have a prophesy with a bite, but if it doesn’t have a redemptive heart behind it, it isn’t from the True God.

My heart aches for the deceiving of the very elect that is happening daily in the Body. If it be possible to deceive the very elect, as described in Matthew 24, be aware that this process will come through people who operate a genuine anointing of the Holy Spirit, but they will do so with a corrupt heart.

How can this be? One need only remember the story of Balaam, the prophet for hire, to recall how this can happen.

The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God does not take away spiritual gifts and callings simply because an anointed leader’s heart becomes carried away with the love of money, or sexual temptation. Jesus declared that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet, yet John’s faith while in prison wilted with doubt concerning Jesus’ whole ministry.

We must pray that ministries with private midnight sin issues will recover and rejoin the Body of Christ, rather than operate with seeming genuineness and spiritual power on the outside, but with no obvious spiritual fruit – the kind that breeds and propagates intimacy with the Master Shepherd. Jeremiah 23, Ezekiel 13, and Matthew 7:13-29 speak decisively to these issues. Narrow indeed is the way to leaning on the Lord’s breast, and few there be that find it.

Love in seeking Him, from Whom all blessings flow,

–Paul Norcross

Kingdom Faith Ministries