“But you are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim
the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…..” I Peter 2:9 NKJV
A soldier trains for battle, a doctor
trains for healing, but what does a disciple train for?
He trains for many things but they all
focus around two main expressions: he bears the image of God and he speaks the
message of God.
In order to speak the message of God the
disciple must become a prophet. A prophet
is not a foreteller primarily, but a “forth teller,” one who hears God
speak and delivers the message to God’s people.
Moses is an example. The
Israelites said to him, “Go near and ….tell us whatever the Lord our God tells
you.” (Deut. 5:27) Moses was intimate with God and out of that
intimacy he learned God’s will for the nation; his prophet ship was simply
telling his people what God wanted them to do and to hear.
Jesus was the perfect Prophet. “This is My beloved Son [that
is the intimacy]: hear him [that is the prophet ship].” (Luke 9:35 KJV)
I cannot expect to speak for God unless I know Him in an
intimate way. I cannot speak for God
merely by being a theologian; I must speak for God by being His “friend” who
speaks to Him “face to face.” (Deut
34:10)
A person can be a Sunday school teacher, a salesman, and
housewife and speak for God more authoritatively than a theologian, a pastor,
or a missionary.
No one can presume to be a prophet; he must be called to it
by God Himself.
Yet, I can “desire” the gift of prophecy and prepare myself
as fully as possible for the function by an avid pursuit of God. (I Cor. 14:1)
A God hungry person soon becomes a God-filled person, and
then he becomes a God-explaining person.
What a job to be a God-explaining person, one who invitingly
says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Psalm 34:8
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