The prophet's handbook

spiritually, and supernaturally in the project. Ezra 5:1–3 is one example of this. Prophet involvement guarded the work and backed it supernaturally to see that the vision of God did not veer off His designated course. So effective was the prophets’ involvement that one wonders, considering Ezra and Nehemiah’s conflicts during this work, if the task could ever have been done at all without them. A study of Ezra 6:14 shows how the passage strongly supports the exhortation in 2 Chronicles 20:20 concerning the ministry of the prophets. Nehemiah 6:7 enhances this phenomenon by underscoring God’s use of His prophets to spiritually achieve anything significant He wants done. A brief warning is needed at this point. Do not forget that these abilities are available to all prophets. Satanic prophets of the world do the same thing: they rely on their powerful prophet’s spirit (see Nehemiah 9:30) and divine covenants to achieve their diabolical ends. Nehemiah 6:14 alluded to this when he spoke of the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets sent against his effort to make him afraid and quit the task the Lord had assigned him. A name for the tactic is mercenary prophetics. Because they were paid to do so, Nehemiah’s contemporaries repeated Balaam’s error. They sold their gifts to the highest bidder and sought to exercise their authority to destroy a new work of the Lord. Considering this, a most logical question is: How can these extensive duties and functions of the church prophet be settled and employed by the pastor? The answer is: They can when prophets are thoroughly oriented to what the church needs and diligent in their spiritual watch. However, it must not be overlooked that great responsibilities carry with them corresponding privileges and consequences. To ensure both are balanced, pastors and church leaders must set limits on their church prophets’ service and conduct regular evaluations and brainstorming sessions to make sure the ministry remains viable in the church. Here is another place where the mutuality of the two, the prophet and the pastor, can suffer. The pastor’s interests in sparing the flock must not erode the prophet’s value to the Lord and the church. Restraints placed on the prophets should not silence the Lord’s voice to His people or tie His hands. Healthy restraints should favor God’s wholesome use of His most reliable prophets, while safeguarding the church overall from the most ill-equipped or unreliable ones. As with any good team, the pastor and the chief prophet should confer on the guidelines to set for the church’s prophetic institutions. These should spring from wisdom and knowledge, not just sentiment. Church Prophet Limits