School of the Prophets

Right wing of frieze [of the prophets] “CREATOR”. Sargent, John Singer: 1856-1925, artist. PUBLISHED: Boston : Curtis & Cameron, [1902] LOT 9637 Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A key part of our discipleship program is two hours, from 9 to 11 in the morning, when we praise the Lord and train the young people to develop the prophetic gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s kind of a school for prophets (and other kinds of ministry), drawing on a pattern from Samuel’s ministry team.

And you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them will be drum and flute and stringed instrument, and they will be prophesying. And the Spirit of YHWH will spread upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into another man (1 Samuel 10:5-6).

Samuel was leading a group of prophets who were under his leadership and tutelage. When Samuel was young, he had no one to disciple him, except for the aging Eli, who hardly knew about prophesying himself (see I Samuel 3).  Now he not only prophesied himself, he trained other younger men to become prophets, offering them a discipleship that he was not given.  Apparently he knew how much it was needed.

When Samuel reached the end of his ministry, he called the people together and asked if anyone could bear witness to a single breach of integrity in his years of public service (I Samuel 12). The people unanimously replied that his integrity was impeccable. Even God responded to this witness with a miraculous burst of thunder and lightning (verse 17). What a testimony that is! (And what a beautiful proof of the connection between the supernatural power of God and the corresponding life of moral accountability and integrity on the part of the man of God!)

I know a group of five pastors in Korea, who have been friends for thirty years, since seminary days. They each lead their own church with each church numbering approximately 30,000 members. They meet once or twice a year to renew their fellowship. I asked one of them what they talk about when they are together. He told me that the most common topic was: how to “finish the race well” that is, to finish out their life of ministry with a testimony of integrity.

Samuel’s life gives us a three-stage pattern:

1. a young man sensitive to learning about the Holy Spirit,

2. a mature man who is training others, and

3. an older man who has a life-long testimony of integrity and results.

The training of the younger prophets was not only how to get the gifts, but how to grow the fruit. We want to impart to the young people the prophetic integrity along with the prophetic anointing. Our first five teacher-imparter-trainers were Simcha Davidov, Dan Juster, Ari Sorkoram, Shimon Nahum and myself. We don’t want to teach about the ministry, but to train them into the ministry.

One might question whether it is possible to teach someone to prophesy. In Ephesians 4:11-12, we are told that God gave us “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers” in order to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” In other words, the five types of ministers train the younger believers to do the ministry that they themselves have already been doing. And what ministry is that? Apostling, prophesying, evangelizing and pastoring.

In both the Tenach (Hebrew Bible) and the New Covenant, we find teams of ministers prophesying. If we are not equipping them to do these ministry functions, then what are we equipping them for? Apostles and prophets do exist. This is the work of the ministry. We have a mandate to train younger “saints” to operate in those ministries.

You can’t train someone to make up a prophecy. That is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit. But you can train someone to be sensitive to listen and speak out the prophecies that the Holy Spirit gives. We can’t make God speak, but we can train ourselves to listen.

One of the ways we listen is by providing an environment with music and praise, which enhances hearing from God (see II Kings 3:15). In I Samuel 10:6 (above), the musical instruments were “before” the prophets. That means the music is a servant to the prophecy. Our goal is not to sing and strum, but to invite the presence of the Holy Spirit, who will then lead us into His own purposes. The music is a tool; the goal is the presence; the outcome is the prophecy. In a two hour meeting we usually get to about four songs.

The presence of the Holy Spirit should be so strong that an unbeliever or an untrained believer can walk into the midst of a prophesying “session” and be instantly and radically transformed even to becoming a “different” person, “another man.” We desperately need the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to bring salvation and deliverance to our people. We are committed to seeking that presence and being available for that power.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit today, including tongues and visions, are a continuation of the anointing of the prophets of ancient Israel (Acts 2:14-16). The prophetic anointing on Samuel led to the coming of the Messianic King David. The prophetic ministry of John led to the first coming of Yeshua the Messiah. God is raising up a generation of new Israeli believers, who in the same Spirit, will lead up to the second coming of Yeshua.

The eyes in the physical body represent the gift of prophecy in the body of Messiah. There is a prophetic perspective of the international church, and there will be a prophetic perspective of the restored end-time Messianic remnant of Israel. We need both.

Yeshua started His discipleship program with 12 chosen staff interns (Luke 6:12). Paul started his discipleship school at Tiranus with 12 Spirit-filled students (Acts 19:6-7). We are starting our program with a dozen young trainees. Our daily program features: two hours of praise and prophecy, two and a half hours of teaching, and required reading lists in Hebrew and English. The students also have a weekly evangelism project, a weekly congregational service, and a weekly accountability interview.

Please keep us in your prayers. We continue to pioneer new ground here, and we are trusting the Holy Spirit to continue to lead us as we develop the program along the way.