A PROPHET'S WORD (2)

1. What is a righteous (good and godly) man's reward?

a) Powerful and effective prayer

i) 13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:13-18 NKJV)

b) Wisdom, knowledge and wealth

i) 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)

2. Why should we put our whole trust in the Prophet's word?

a) Because God reveals his secrets (plans) to his Prophet's

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

b) God's word will come to pass

i) 10“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it
without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10, 11 NIV)

c) God will act when he speaks, he will fulfill when he promises

i) 19God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19 NIV)

3. How do we know the prophet is from God?

a) Whatever words he says will come to pass

i) 21You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?" 22If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. (Deuteronomy 18:21, 22 NIV)

b) Recognize the prophet by his fruit

i) 15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20 NIV)

ii) False prophets were Common in the Old Testament times. They prophesied only what the king and the people want to hear, claiming it was God's message. False teachers are just as common today. Jesus says to beware of those whose words sound religious but who are motivated by money, fame, or power. We can tell who they are because in their teaching they minimize Christ and glorify themselves.

4. What are the main distinguishing characteristics of a prophet?

a) Forth-telling about the past events (the past)

i) 7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?" 13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17"I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." 19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. (John 4:7-19 NIV)

b) Prophesying the word for us to act now (the present)

i) 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.'" 32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34They replied, "The Lord needs it." 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. (Luke 19:29-35 NIV)

c) Fore-telling about the future events (the future)

i) 1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1, 2 NIV)

ii) The temple was indeed destroyed only 40 years later when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

5. What should we do when we receive the prophet's word?

a) Write the word down if possible and keep record of all the word for us.

b) Review the word periodically and keep the word alive and in front of us.

c) Not to do this is as good as saying "that really was not God" and it leaves doubt and unbelief.

d) If having doubt, put it aside and allow the word to become a reality in its season.

e) Try not to make the word happened but allow God to bring it to pass.

6. Prayer focus

a) Pray that the people of God will be wise to receive a prophet's word.