Purpose of Prophetic Ministry

What is the prophetic? It is hearing the heart of God and 

speaking it to His people. Not only speaking His heart but 

displaying His love. Love always includes discipline, correction and guidance. 

But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. (1 Corinthians 14:3) 

Exhortation: Means to advise strongly.
Edification: Is to instruct morally or spiritually.
Comfort: To cause someone to feel less worried and fearful; to cheer up. 

The prophetic ministry provides a blue print for destiny. It is not meant  to give step by step instructions for everyday life. That's the job of the Holy Spirit.  God does not want us to become dependent on the direction or guidance of a prophet or teacher. The Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Learn to hear his voice and you will not be led astray.

The prophetic ministry is one of the five-fold ministry gifts therefore:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
(Ephesians 4:11-16)

The job of the prophet is to equip the saints for ministry. That means that they are to give you the tools to do the ministry of Jesus Christ. Not to set themselves into a ministry where they are served and put on a pedestal. Their job is to instruct the church morally and spiritually. They are to lay the foundations or the basic building blocks of godly living. They should be instruments of unity and biblical teaching. Prophets should teach you to hear the voice of God for yourself so you won't be deceived by every wind of doctrine. Like all the other five-fold ministry gifts their main mission is for the whole body to work together effectively, causing growth and maturity in every believer.

I've heard people make excuses for themselves by saying that prophets are loners and often misunderstood. This is error. Jesus operated in all the five-fold ministry offices and he walked in love. He didn't come under a persecution complex and acted like the whole world was against him. I agree that God has given prophets a certain type of disposition but it is no excuse to go around from church to church picking fights then saying everyone is persecuting you. The prophetic office is not the ministry of fault finding. You will not find this in the bible. Prophets did bring correction but it was to bring people to repentance and reconciliation with God. Remember God was not happy with Jonah because he would have rather seen his enemies at Nineveh judged by God rather than turn to God. There are many people with a Jonah heart. They delight in the judgment of God rather than in His mercy. 

Another kind of prophet to stay away from is the Balaam prophet. They are prophets for profit. Stay away from prophets that act like they are God's gift to mankind, or merchandise the anointing on their lives. This makes them false prophets. They may prophesy accurately but in their hearts they are driven by lust and greed. The bible says, "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." Jude 1:11 Balaam was an Old Testament prophet who was approached by a King to curse the people of God. Balaam finally gave in to the temptation to make money and caused the people of God to be cursed by stumbling them into sin. Now or days we have prophets who stumble God's people into sin by teaching them lawless behavior. Sometimes it is difficult to discern a false prophet because they prophesy accurately but check their fruit. 

Watch for prophets who are imbalanced. They will either come off extremely judgmental, always criticizing, proclaiming doom and gloom or...they will flatter you with words, giving you directional words that influence you to follow them, filling your head with their own vision so they can fill up their pocket books. Both camps will prophesy to impress you so you will put them on a pedestal. False prophets aren't necessarily false because their words are incorrect. They are false prophets because their motives are wrong and their attitudes don't reflect Christ. They use God's gift to manipulate others or gain control over people's lives. They will use their gift to make money off of you or for popularity. They are not interested in lifting you up so you can grow in God. They want you to lift themselves up so they can grow their personal kingdom. A prophet who seeks to control and manipulate others by using intimidating words or by cursing them with destruction is not from God. The Holy Spirit persuades but intimidation is not from God. Conviction causes people to repent unto salvation. This is different from intimidation because it causes people to blindly obey the prophet instead of God. 

If you feel beaten up after you hear the prophet speak then they are not using all three aspects of their ministry: Edification, Exhortation and Comfort. Spend some time and study the prophets in the Bible. Yes, they told people to repent but they also provided comfort to people. Look at this beautiful statement by the prophet Isaiah and Joel.

“Come now, and let us reason together,
Says the Lord,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 1:1-20)

"So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm." (Joel 2:13)

As you can see all aspects of God's heart are present in their prophecies. A call to repentance, God's willingness to reconcile, reward or consequence depending on the response. These prophetic words are balanced. They are not flattering people. They are giving God's people an opportunity to change their hearts. Please read the book of Jonah. It is not just about a man who got swallowed by a fish. It is about a God who is always willing to relent from His anger. Jonah knew this and that's why he fled from the call to preach repentance to his enemies in Nineveh. 

So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm." (Jonah 4:2)

Lastly, beware of those who make a point of making sure that everyone knows their title or position in the body. They will hand you their card with their title and make sure to let everyone know that they are a prophet or apostle. That is an indicator that they either desire the accolades of men or they are not secure in who they are. If you are a prophet everyone will know it. God's anointing and fruit will make evident who they are. The fruit of a prophet's life will be evident by love, power and a consecrated life. This was the life of Jesus and it will be the fruit of all who follow Him.