A PROPHET'S REWARD

1. Introduction

a) Jesus said to his 12 disciples, 40"He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42 NKJV)

b) Let's take a look at "What is a righteous (good and godly) man's reward?

i) Powerful and effective prayer

@1. 13Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (James 5:13-18 NIV)

ii) Wisdom, knowledge, happiness and wealth

@1. 26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26 NIV)

c) Today, we want to look at prophet's reward.

2. What is a prophet?

a) There are 2 prophetic gifting:

i) When a person is in the midst of a gathering and the anointing of God is so strong, the person and everyone around them has the ability to prophesy (to utter inspired word).

@1. 9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 11When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" 12A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 13After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place. (1 Samuel 10:9-13 NIV)

@1.1 This was the expression of surprise concerning worldly Saul becoming religious: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

@1.2 1Earlier Samuel has just anointed Saul to be king of Israel in 1 Samuel 10:1.

@1.3 1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance? (1 Samuel 10:1 NIV)

@2. 16The Lord said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Numbers 11:16, 17 NIV)

#1) 25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again. 26However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." 28Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" 29But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" (Numbers 11:25-29 NIV)

@3. 28"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28, 29 NIV)

ii) The other is the station (office) of a prophet described as part of the five-fold ministry.

@1. 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)

@2. 28And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31 NIV)

@2.1 This person has been chosen or called out by God and has been consecrated to carry the heart of God to the body of Christ.

@2.2 God is so incredibly loving allows someone to share and assist him in pouring out his sweeping love, direction, and word, of encouragement. He establishes a person to come and minister word from him to us.

@2.3 The assignment of the prophet is edification (to build up - to instruct or improve morally or spiritually), exhortation (to urge earnestly by advice or warning, etc - to do what is proper or required), and comfort (to encourage - to make feel less sad or disappointed).

3. What are the rewards a prophet receives?

a) One-to-one encounter with God.

b) Explanation about what is happening in the past, present and future.

c) Secrets from God.

i) 7Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7 NKJV)

d) Dream.

e) Revelation.

f) Divine visitation.

g) Visitation of angels.

h) Extreme times of joy.

i) Word of knowledge.

j) Word of wisdom.

k) Peace.

l) Direction.

m) Understanding God's plan as the Holy Spirit speaks it or shows it. God's prophets will express what is to experience the heart of God and to share that with the receiver.

4. What is the prophet's reward?

a) Reward is something given or received in return of recompense (compensate) for service, merit, hardship, etc. In other words, we get something a benefit for doing something. The key in this passage is receiving. Simply put, the prophet's reward is the benefit of the prophet's ministry.

b) When we receive the prophet in the name of a prophet, we will receive the benefit of the prophet's ministry.

i) 1After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 20:1 NLT)

#1) 13As all the men of Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, wives, and children, 14the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. 15He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!” (2 Chronicles 20:13-17 NLT)

#2) 20Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever!” 22At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. (2 Chronicles 20:20-24 NLT)

c) On the contrarily, when we don't receive the prophet, we get the reward of doubt and unbelief and the end result is we get little or nothing!

i) Saul disobeyed the word of the Lord through Samuel. He led the sacrifices instead of Samuel and it cost his kingdom

@1. 8Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.” (1 Samuel 10:8 NLT)

@2. 8Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. 9So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. (1 Samuel 13:8, 9 NLT)

ii) Saul got new orders from Samuel but Saul disobeyed by not killing all that the Lord asked him to.

@1. 1One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the LORD who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the LORD! 2This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. 3Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” (1 Samuel 15:1-3 NLT)

#1) 7Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. 8He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. 9Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. 10Then the LORD said to Samuel, 11“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the LORD all night. (1 Samuel 15:7-11 NLT)

iii) When we receive the prophet's ministry, we receive the reward for having walked in faith trusting God in what he has prophetically spoken.

5. How do we get the prophet's reward?

a) 4 steps to getting reward.

i) Recognize the prophetic gift. When people start telling us the secret of our heart we have to take notice.

ii) Assess the man and his ministry. Don't just jump a ministry because we got word from him. That would not be wise. There are 10 ways of evaluating a person's ministry: manhood, ministry, message, maturity, marriage, methods, manners, money, morality and motive.

iii) Receive by faith. Look at the following process:

@1. We recognize the prophetic gift before us. This allows faith to begin to rise.

@2. We do an honest assessment of his ministry.

@3. We believe and we do we put a demand on the anointing that he carries.

iv) Retain the word by diligence and faith.

@1. Record the word and write it down if possible. Keep a book or record of the word given.

@2. Review them periodically. Keep them alive and in front of us.

@3. Do not do this is as good as saying "that really was not God." It screams doubt and unbelief and the Bible is quite clear on what that produces in our lives.

6. What is the price of reward?

a) The price of responsibility

i) The more we are trusted with, the more we are responsible for.

ii) Prophetic words come with a price tag.

@1. Jesus said, 48"But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48 NIV)

b) The price of obedience

i) Some people do not want any prophetic words because they already know that they will be required to obey.

ii) Some already have the words of the Lord but they refused to obey.

iii) Some are willing to pay the price because they know the benefit far out weight for not obeying!

c) The price of testing

i) 19Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character. (Psalm 105:19 NLT)

ii) Some have been in church long enough to know the cost of prophetic words in reaching their destiny.

d) The price in Matthew 10:34

i) Jesus said, 34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34 NIV)

ii) Sword disrupts the peace and the word of the Lord disrupts peace because it requires that we break away from the normal pattern of life. We are forced to hear what God is saying, to look at what God is doing and to act on how he is guiding.

e) Other prices

i) To act on a prophet's word require love of God that is above all else.

ii) If we want what the prophet carries we have to receive what he is carrying.

iii) If we want the prophet to release a word for us, we have to receive what he carries to be released.

iv) We have to receive the word of the Lord in fear and trembling.

7. Prayer focus

a) Pray for the release of prophetic gifting to us.