I believe the Lord is judging prophecy in His house. I believe He is assessing the hearts of those of us who would “presume” to speak on “Dad’s” behalf, to others within His household, and to the world on behalf of His household.

This isn’t a prophetic word about prophetic words. It’s simply my informed, prayerful observation of what I am seeing in the Church in America right now.

I earnestly believe in prophecy. 
I believe in the Church’s vital need for prophecy. 
I watch for it. 
I believe in the Holy Spirit’s power and compassionate zeal to release real “Words from the Father” for His children.

By His Spirit, the Lord has even occasionally used me to bring genuine prophetic words to various segments of our Household.
Some words have been for a specific fellowship.
Others have been for a specific region, and/or people group.
A few have even been for the whole church within our culture.
The Lord is my witness regarding the handful of these Words.

Of course, all of this is Holy ground. Who would honestly dare to speak on behalf of the Father, asserting that “my words” are indeed His Words? Who would be sufficient to say that what “I am saying” is how and what the eternal Lord of glory is saying?

I suspect this is a large part of what Isaiah was trying to express in Isaiah 6:5 when the Lord came to him and commissioned him to speak on His behalf to the nation of Israel. “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips” wasn’t about Isaiah having a salty vocabulary. It was the honest disclosure of a man who knew his propensity to speak impure words with an impure heart; words that fell far far short of the Words of the eternal God. In a sense, Isaiah’s response to the Lord was an expression of worship unto the Lord. In essence he was saying: “Lord. No one speaks like You do. You alone are pure, and speak with a pure heart.”

I’m saying all this in order to set up a confession. 

I have (even recently – this past December) issued “presumptuous” words as though they were “the pure words of the Father”. These words have had the entire Church in our culture as their intended audience, and I have presented them as something more than my own prayerful, educated conjecture. I presented them as “the sure Words of the Father” to our household when I should not have.

This is my public confession of my public “sin of presumption”.

I am not repenting of this because the “word” may be inaccurate, or because I believe the tone of my declarations were “unloving”, or I lacked sufficient prayer or confirmation. I’m confessing my “sin of presumption” because I am being sobered by the holiness of God and the holy manner in which He speaks His Words of judgment, consolation, wrath and restoration.

The truth of the matter is, I am far too cavalier about speaking authoritative words on the Father’s behalf. This is the root I am at pains to have crucified within myself.

I want the fear of the Lord burning in my soul more than I want the reputation of someone who hears prophetic Words for the Church in my generation.

“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with judgment.” (Proverbs 15:16)

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JSB • February 7, 2023