Prophets Without Burden
-by Lars Widerberg.
Prophets are sent, holding a heavenly mandate, to protect people. The
prophet is sent to correct the people. The properly conducted
prophetic ministry provokes those who are strong and who live
securely to cover and to serve the weak.
A prophet, a real prophet is brought up and then brought forth into
the arena of man's struggle to be concerned, to be bothered. A man,
even worse, a prophet who does not care about the pain of the poor
and needy causes the heaviest burden to be machinated and prepared
for the Father's heart to carry.
A Samuel's attitude is spelled out thus: "As for me, far be it from
me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I
will instruct you in the good and right way." 1 Sam 12:23. Jeremiah
reaches out for more tears: "Oh, that my head were waters, and my
eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the
slain of the daughter of my people." Jer 9:1.
A prophet is a prophet if he is willing to give himself away to the
cause and ways of Heaven. Having a diploma from a "school of
prophets" or a business card carrying the title "Prophet" does never
turn a man into something that the presence of the Lord alone
prepares for and produces. The bigger the advertisement machinery
grows to promote a ministry, the farther from truth, the farther from
the reality and presence of Heaven. The increase of Christ is not to
be ordered by man's hand or to become nurtured and propagated by the
man's natural capacities. The Spirit grieves beyond measure in
displeasure as to what is to be seen among what should be the
leadership of the modern Church. Those prophets without burden are
never interested in men, in the little people. They are but
proclaimers of events. Those prophets without burden are not really
interested in God, only in what God might have for them in categories
of blessings and a prosperous future. They do not care for dry and
meagre reality - they live a fantasy. Their messages are wind and
vain imagination.
A messenger who has not been willing to move into close combat with
reality, with the pain of the downtrodden, will not be able to bring
a message of relief and healing. A painless message cannot ease the
pain. A painless message cannot carry a burden. A true messenger of
the Lord begins every voyage at the Cross. Each and every piece
brought forth from his mouth is marked by the Cross. In his heart you
will find a Cross as in the Father's. Thou dost desire truth in the
inward parts, in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou
wilt make me know wisdom, Ps 51:6.
The prophet without a burden is a perplexing reflection of the ruling
forces of the world of this day. He is indeed a sign of the times.
There is a good word for these men: Return, O faithless sons, I will
heal your faithlessness. Jer 3:22. If they only would respond
properly: Surely, the hills are a deception, a tumult on the
mountains. Surely, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
Jer 3:23.
There is no end to the worthless and unsubstantiated words flowing
from the pens and mouths of these figures. These wordy explorations
of the spiritual realm projects a rather mysterious development of
the things of the Lord. This to be compared to the functional
response to the need s of the people required by the real prophets of
old. The formula according to which a prophetic message is molded is
rather simple. Pray and read. Compare what is with what should be and
cry. Speak up according to the measure of the Cross.
The modern prophetic message is a quite comfortable one. God is going
to act mightily on behalf of his people. Allow yourself to adjust to
what God is doing today. It never pushes people into action. It
describes the future in bright terms. It predicts the near future in
generalisations and vagueness to be interpreted and applied in any
situation with greatest liberty - one size fits all.
If the prophet misses the mark, he is easily and carelessly excused
and continues to be endorsed and recognised as a true prophet among
the rest of the band who dismisses the issue of standards. No
correction, don't touch the prophet. We will certainly touch any of
these men for the sake of vindication of the poor and needy, who
always pay the bill. Prophecy is indeed an issue of standards, of
truth in the inward parts.
A prophet and his message is born before the Lord. Prophets are men
of prayer. Men who has learnt to sit in quietness before the Lord
cannot but be contaminated by his pain regarding the situation of the
oppressed. Prophets and priests administrates salvation, solid and
substantial ability to cope. Prophets feed the hungry. They provoke
the rich to pay the bills of the poor. Their aim is to free the
captives. Prophets tell the truth. Those who come out from the
presence of the Lord without these imperatives melted into their
character has done a poor job in the closet.
If you find a man praying for imprisoned and tortured friends in the
Lord, you have found a man moving in the prophetic realm. If you see
men and women engaged in feeding and sheltering refugees, you have
found a prophetically productive fellowship. If you are among those
who cannot but give yourself to prayer for the many who struggle in
poor conditions, you have entered the prophetic dimension. The rest,
those who talk about "what God does today" and explains "present-day-
truths" prophesy wind. And wind they will reap in plenty.
The mission of the prophets expresses itself in a call to veracity, a
call to return to reality. The prophetic assignment defines itself as
healing the people from faithlessness, Jer 3:22. A Jeremiah "roams to
and fro through the streets to look and take note, to seek in the
open squares to find a man." He "roams to and fro to see if there is
one who does justice, who seeks truth." Jer 5:1. All he sees are
those "who are fat, those who are sleek. They also excel in deeds of
wickedness. They do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan that
they may prosper. And they do not defend the rights of the poor." Jer
5:28. He sees prophets who prophesy falsely, and priests who rule on
their own authority - and the people love it so. Jer 5:28.
An example from recent days: The ladder of social climbing in India
is known as the caste system. Below the bottom rung of this ladder we
find the Dalits, people one may not touch to avoid to be defiled.
Thirty percent of the population in India are not even permitted to
try to enter the system of gathering religious merits. Their only way
to gain recognition and reclaim at least a minimum of human dignity
is to change religion. And so they do in mass gatherings.
When The Prophets hear about these possible mass conversions they
begin to dream and to prophesy. The upcoming event where some Dalits
were to turn from Hinduism to Buddhism suddenly became a great
Christian opportunity. So far so good; said to take it from the
positive side. Numbers began to be twisted. After a couple of twists
with eager help from journalists and revivalists, God were about to
perform the greatest miracle ever - 300 million Dalits were to choose
Christianity in one day, according to the most brave and well
informed Prophets. The enthusiasts where as usual ready to swallow
the bait, glorifying the Lord - as they call it. But Jeremiah cried.
And the Psalmist picked up a truly prophetic tune: "Because of the
devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
now I will rise says the Lord. I will set him in the safety in which
he longs. The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a
furnace on the earth, refined seven times." Ps 12:5-6.
One hardly ever find a word in the mouth of a false prophet
encouraging the people to come to the side of the poor and oppressed.
There is very seldom anything written in their bulletins about those
who are imprisoned for their faith. That part of the real world does
not fit into their worldview, in which pain is banned. Instead they
move with Jabes, who asked the Lord to remove pain from his life.
Jabes left the pages of prophetic history without any testimony of
service of the Kingdom. God allowed him to reject inner sensitivity
and the ministry of the interior was lost.
There is a fundamental difference between service which is acceptable
before God and the ministry of faithlessness: Only the fool presents
a gift which does not hold first class, which must be rated as
substandard to a leader of the people. Yet you dare come into my
courts bringing sacrifices and performing service before my altars,
service and sacrifice which are detestable. Your ministry does not
glorify my name. You take the matter of ministry lightly. You show no
respect. You do not care. You are not willing to carry the burden of
the afflicted people as true priests and prophets. You do whatever
you like in the name of Faith, never ready for, never expecting
correction and judgment. Mal
1:6-8.
There is more, hear this you who trample the needy, to do away with
the humble in the land - Am 8:7. "The LORD said to me, The prophets
are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor
commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a
false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own
minds. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are
prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them - yet
they keep saying, 'There will be no sword or famine in this land' -
by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! Jeremiah
14:14-15.
There is a spiritual power operating in the unseen behind a vanity
prophet, giving him strength and boosting his self-esteem. There are
spiritual forces ready to alley themselves with flesh, promoting its
ambition to the realm of spirituality. Jezebel twists things out of
proportion. This miserable lady drives the ambitious careless and
faithless to move far beyond what can be expected by and trusted to
the saints. And she does in the name of Faith.
She keeps on distributing visions and dreams with such a pace that no
man is able to check for veracity. She conspires to shut the mouth of
every true prophet who dares to speak up against her. Her first
comment is a haughty "We do not recognise you as a prophet, you do
not belong to us, therefore we do not have to bear with your words of
judgment." Truth itself testifies. Truth itself will not back off.
The Spirit of truth will take her to court.
"I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those
who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in
his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the
alien and do not fear me" says the Lord of hosts. Mal 3:5.
True spiritual service has its beginning in the interior, "Behold,
you desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part you
will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalms 51:6-7.
Ministry before the Lord begins and is at a all times a ministry at
the altar. The ministry of the interior sides with Jesus Christ in
his service as high priest in the heavenlies praying always for the
perfecting of the saints. Ministry is testimony, an inner witness of
the reality of Christ present and ruling. The altar prepares room for
this testimony in the applying of the Cross to the natural man. True
spiritual service, the ministry of inner court rules out mixture. The
testimony of Christ is prepared and planted in our inward parts by
the prophetic Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ. Our spirit is God's
realm. This inner court belongs to him. An altar firmly established
there rules out and brings down fleshly ambition and interference.
Prophets are made at the altar. True prophets stay at the altar.
Prophetic ministry carries the mark of the inner court which is
ability and willingness to carry the burden of the Lord.
Prophets move along paths of the Spirit in which they will be brought
in solid contact with reality. In that realm they find themselves at
a loss as to prophecy and preaching unless an altar is built and a
proper sacrifices are prepared. Under such conditions, facing poor an
meagre reality, no aspect of the fantastic and extraordinary will
suffice. Proper and sound judgment is and will for ever be the
product of time spent in the inner court. Proper and sound judgment
will always stand up and serve the poor and needy.
Prophets are sent to protect people. The prophetic Church will become
a refuge, a hiding place where the oppresses will find rest. The
prophetic service provokes the rich to pay the bills of the poor and
needy. A prophet cares and is ready to carry the burden of the
brokenhearted. A praying prophet stirs the Church to prayer. A
prophet who tarries at the altar brings proper judgment and will be
able to repel the onslaught. The LORD of hosts will become a
beautiful crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of his people; A
spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, a strength to those
who repel the onslaught at the gate. Isaiah 28:5-6.
-Lars Widerberg
Intercessors Network.
