With Pentecostalism being the fastest-growing "brand" of Christianity going these days, many denominational groups find themselves faced with the question of what to do about this heretofore untraditional expression as it springs up more and more often throughout their congregations. Within the House Church movement, the same situation applies.

How does your House Church handle the prophetic utterance as it comes forth? How WILL these manifestations be handled as they occur (and they WILL) in the future?

Where New Testament Prophecy is concerned, Edification, Exhortation and Comfort are the main ingredients in accordance with 1 Corinthians 14:3, "But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, exhortation and comfort." Because we have a personal God who speaks to each of us individually...because Jesus is the King who guides and leads His kingdom...each of us can be certain that He will use prophecy to CONFIRM that which He is already speaking to us. In other words, He won't speak prophetically through anybody else to tell you it's time to be a missionary in Africa UNLESS he has already spoken the same thing to you PERSONALLY.

Dr. Bill Hamon teaches about the 3 W's of Decision Making, i.e., the Word, the Will and the Way. Hamon says, "The most accurate method of making sure you do everything in harmony with Heaven is to follow the "Three W's": "Determine God's Word on the matter, His specific Will about it, and His Way to fulfill it. These are like three traffic lights which must all be "green" before we can proceed on our way." This is good instruction that is quite applicable to one's handling of the prophetic "word" as well. Another way of putting it is (A) Is it Scriptural? (B) Does the word witness with your spirit? (John 16:13; I John 2:20) and (C) Have all the circumstances lined up? In other words, not everything that seems good is of God. In my own life, when I felt it was time to leave the town I'd lived in for 14 years, after receiving a prophetic word, I can recall my heart nearly beating out of my chest as I awaited one last confirmation - an important phone call - before making my move. When the answer came, with it came a peace that passed all understanding, meaning, it made sense to very few others except me and the Lord. I moved, and in so doing, made the best decision I'd made in decades. I've never once doubted that choice.

Today, many people are taking an apparent word of prophecy that is spoken by well-meaning, living room "prophets" and, because they aren't sure what to do next, too often, take the "word' they received and run with it, only to find themselves trainwrecked later. They may relocate, marry unequally, leave a job...all at the altar of so-called "Prophecy." On one hand, we have to admire the zeal of the one who believes he/she is prophetically-gifted (though improperly trained) for their willingness to step-out in faith and share what they believe God had placed upon their heart. On the other hand, we cannot fault the improperly-trained recipient of the prophetic word for not knowing what to do with what they were told.

TESTING PROPHECY

According to 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, we want to be careful not to put out the Spirit's fire by disallowing everything prophetic from occurring when we gather. Leaders, trust me, you can't do it. God WILL have His way. I have been with Church of Christ, Baptist, Nazarene and Catholic individuals who received prophetically from the Lord and excitedly shared the experience with anything with a pulse. Don't be deceived into thinking that everyone who attends your church is towing the party line. They're not! If the kids are hungry, they'll eat from the hand of whoever is willing to feed them. So, feed them!

In accordance with this verse, when we receive anything prophetic, or hear about someone who has, do not treat prophecies with contempt, as if they are something that is not from God for The Church today. In these instances, a person, or congregation, may be treating a precious gift of God, sent to edify The Church (1 Corinthians 14:4) as if it were a contemptible thing - at best, coming from man and, at worst, coming from Satan.

In addition, we are instructed to test everything and hold on to the good (Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1, 1 Tim 5:19). First Corinthians 14:29 supports this verse by telling us, "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said." Such testing should be part of the normal New Testament ministry process. We should encourage people to run the prophecies in question past those they know best (Deut 19:15). There's wisdom in a multitude of counselors. So, if anyone speaks a prophetic word over you, ask the people who love you and care about you the most. Parents, friends, spouses, ministers, anyone who will have a concerned, objective opinion.

Finally, avoid every kind of evil. The devil is a master counterfeiter. Teach the people to beware; while we're testing the prophecies, don't forget to test the one who prophesied. What's their reputation (Matt 7:15-17; Gal 5:22-23)? "Relationship before function" is generally a very good rule o' thumb to follow. Even when you, personally, may not know the one through whom a word is spoken, does that individual know anybody you know? An itinerant minister, for example, will generally know the one who invited him/her to speak.

Once you are sure that you've received a word from the Lord, stand in faith, patiently, for that word to be fulfilled. This is called "doing warfare with your word" in accordance with 1 Timothy 1:18. Before I moved to town in January of 2001, I had received some life-changing prophetic utterances from a group of people associated with a Christian friend. These encouraging words were recorded at that time. I have listened to that cassette many times over the years since, checking off each encouraging prophecy that was spoken as it was fulfilled. God "read my mail" that night, with complete strangers speaking about situations they never could have known about had it NOT been God who was filling them in.

We often quote Acts 17:11, a verse that has to do with the Jews at Berea, to show the wisdom of filtering all things spiritual through the Word of God. "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they RECEIVED THE MESSAGE WITH GREAT EAGERNESS and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

This proves the importance of examining Scriptures, since the Bereans were regarded as having a more noble character than the Thessalonians for doing so. It also shows - with my emphasis - the importance of actually WANTING whatever the Lord may have for us. In other words, if we have a heart that is closed to new revelation and reluctant to acknowledge that something radical and different from what we've known may be the truth, we could be short-changing ourselves. It is probable that no amount of examining Scripture (however commendable that is) will ever change our minds. We need both the eagerness to hear from God and the willingness to check things out by examining Scripture.

2 Tim 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

The Bible is either the inspired Word of God or it isn't. It stands to reason that, when we receive anything prophetic, we must ask ourselves, "Does it line-up with Scripture?" Even if it DOES, we must STILL be careful because sometimes a prophecy may go against our own understanding of Scripture. For example, if we've been taught that God does not heal today (by the way, there are no Biblical references to support this), then a prophecy about healing might be rejected even though God has actually spoken.

JESUS...OR SOMEONE ELSE?

Rev 19:10 says, "...For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

In other words, if a prophecy exalts anybody other than Jesus (especially if it flatters the prophet's reputation), raise the red flag. One of the most difficult moments to apply this test is when the prophecy is exalting you, as the recipient, or your church. Be especially careful in such cases, as the temptation to get puffed-up is real. Remember: the prophetic should center around Christ Himself and His Kingdom purposes.

The main concept of the New Testament is that Jesus is Lord. The word "Lord" is from the Greek "kyrios" meaning "Owner." When a person prophecies correctly, their core testimony is focused on Jesus. I John 4:1-3 reads, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

This is the litmus test for every religious group in the world: what do they say about Jesus and who He is? If there is any wavering on this central point, beware.

POINT TO PONDER

Not every House Church will include individuals who are gifted to assist in planting and growing a Church. In some cases, an apostlic church-planter may never come, having insisted on going to Asia rather than to Macedonia as he was led. In such cases, the Lord is well able to raise up a spiritually hungry individual who will start planting churches simply because they feel led and because they don't know that "they aren't supposed to." Throughout the ages, God has been faithful to send forth ITINERANT MINISTERS who are gifted prophetically as well. For example, Titus was sent by Paul to the churches in Corinth and Crete. This was a common practice as it was obviously impossible for the original apostles to "go into all the world" all by themselves. To reject these ambassadors of Christ would mean directly rejecting Christ Himself.

Sadly, because so many modern Christians have been "snake bit" by false prophets while others have wrongly embraced the House Church concept as a way - they believe - of freeing themselves from any financial expectations or obligations, while an itinerant minister may be willing to go as the Lord leads, The Church too often neglects their basic needs once they arrive. In some instances, The Church puts God's people out-of-business, just as Satan planned it. In other cases, The Church will not invite these ministries at all out of their failure to understand their valid New Testament role or their failure to see the need for these gifts within their own group.

It was also the practice of the early church to provide assistance and comfort to the itinerant ministers, because they cannot possibly survive on their own without the support of other Christians. Personally, I have been on both ends - obeying the Word of God to lend support as well as receiving gifts from those who were obeying God themselves. Loving one another, especially by supporting fellow believers in their ministry, is the most basic practice of every born-again believer. Therefore, believers who refuse to provide hospitality to itinerant ministers who are in need of food and shelter are clearly not abiding in love.

Author/Speaker FRANK VIOLA has this to say about the prophetic ministry in the House Church setting. He gives us much to consider. What kind of New Testament-style House Church are WE a part of or are we going to be? He writes:

[Regarding what Viola refers to as the First Wave of House Church]

Tragically, many "house church" folk reject THE MINISTRY OF THE ITINERANT MINISTER. The reason for this is partly historical. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the United States saw its first move of God outside the religious system. Countless converts were made during this time period. Many of them began to meet in the primitive simplicity of homes without a clergy. Most of these budding "house churches" were populated with young people. Consequently, many clerical leaders felt it was their task to bring stability to the growing movement. A good number of these men left their clerical positions on Sunday and instantly rose to become leaders of the new movement on Monday.

In a very short period of time, these men introduced to these simple groups a form of discipleship that eventually squeezed from them all semblance of life. While their motives were noble, they did untold damage to a genuine move of God. The young converts who once knew no human headship were used to spawn international movements (which eventually became full-fledged denominations) built on legalism and authoritarianism. The scores of living, breathing house churches and Christian communities that thrived were swallowed up by these movements. Christian lives were shipwrecked on the rock of a perverted doctrine of authority. The work of God was choked by the hands of men.

[Regarding what he calls the Second Wave of House Church]

...The peril of the first "house church movement" was the fact that God's people did not exercise discernment in WELCOMING ITINERANT MINISTERS. They embraced a group of spiritual leaders who were untested. None of them spent any time being trained within the context of an existing house church. Instead, these ministers retained their clerical statuses. They simply switched their sphere of ministry from the basilica to the home. Interestingly, the letter of 2 John speaks to this very problem. There we discover John warning a local assembly not to receive untested workers (2 John 10-11). Regrettably, the second "house church movement" has been plagued by the opposite problem. It has failed to receive those whom God has genuinely sent. Interestingly enough, the message of 3 John addresses this very issue. John makes mention of Diotrephes who would not receive the TRAVELING WORKERS John sent to minister to the churches (3 John 1-11).

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

A servant of God

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