It’s time for the fear of the Lord to land on the prophetic movement as we enter the new year.

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? ¹⁷ For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. Psalm 50:16-17 (ESV)

“Financial breakthrough is coming in 2017!”

“This is the year of fulfilled promises!”

“No more delay! Prosperity is yours in the new year!”

“This is the year of promotion!”

Sound familiar?

Prophecies like these or any variety of variants are shouted from rooftops online and in other venues about this time of the year, every year. Many of these such words are being given by those God is addressing in Psalm 50. What right do they have to recite God’s statutes? They are undisciplined and God’s true words are cast off.

It’s time for the fear of the Lord to hit the prophetic movement in full force.

⁷ “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. ⁸ The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:7-8 (ESV)

Lest you misunderstand my intention, I’ll make it clear: prophecy is critical in this late season. We must see an increase in clear, true prophetic revelation now more than ever. I believe God is hand picking key voices who will not shrink back and who refuse to carelessly play with this supernatural gift as if they were some Disney-level wizard.

It’s time for the Lion to roar with such force that these prophetic messengers are blown back as if standing behind a jet engine at full thrust.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary notes: As when “the lion roars” none can help but “fear,” so when Jehovah communicates His awful message, the prophet cannot but prophesy. Find not fault with me for prophesying; I must obey God.

What a striking contrast to so much of today’s fortune-telling promises of wealth, health and happiness.

I read a “prophetic” word for the new year earlier today that promised miraculous wealth in the early part of 2017. My initial question was, “Is this word true for literally every Christian in the world?” Of course that is absurd, but that prophecy follows the pattern of so many that we hear at the first of the year. Big promises, freedom from anything negative and extreme satisfaction for all who hear. Yes, the fear of the Lord must return to the prophetic movement. The Lion must roar.

I propose we embrace a prophetic protocol that has Jesus as the central figure. It’s found in Isaiah chapter eleven:

¹ There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. ² And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. ³ And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, Isaiah 11:1-3 (ESV)

The shoot from the stump of Jesse and the roaring Lion are Jesus, and the prophetic role that he plays is worthy of aligning with. As we endeavor to reveal accurate prophetic words it would do us well to pray according to this passage in Isaiah:

ONE—The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (and us): There is too much divination in today’s prophetic culture. The spirit of Balaam is strong. Instead of the Spirit of the Lord we are experiencing too much revelation from the realm of the soul or from the realm of the demonic.

Another problem that arose was the spirit of Balaam. To give you some history of this, Balak, the pagan king, literally bought the prophet Balaam’s ministry. Balak eventually sent women to seduce the men of Israel, thus bringing judgment upon them. It was Balaam that sold out the people of God. In keeping the spirit of Balaam, too often today, money has become the goal and prize of many in the church. Popular preaching has replaced prophetic preaching. Image has replaced anointing and the church is reduced to no more than a place where pop psychology tickles the ears of its parishioners on Sundays. The image-makers and the politically correct have dulled the sword of the churches and its men of God. ~Ron Phillips, Charisma Magazine article, “7 Demons that Attack the Church”

TWO—The Spirit of wisdom and understanding: Godly prophecy is the result of revelation received in the place of prayer. Why is this? Human wisdom and human understanding are all too eager to share their soulish revelation. It’s only when we pray and live in the Spirit that we can truly adopt supernatural wisdom. The mysteries of God will be revealed and human logic will be confounded. It’s sadly rare to hear prophetic words today that shock our senses instead of satiating them.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7 (ESV)

THREE—The Spirit of counsel and might: The Hebrew translation of the word “might” is power or force. When the Lion roars you can be sure that immeasurable power and force will be felt. Instead of turning our stomachs like too many softball prophetic words do today, God’s prophetic force will knock us to our knees. There will be clear direction, counsel, as to how we are to respond to the revelation. Cover to cover in Scripture we read prophetic directives that are intense and dependent on the right response of the hearer.

¹ “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴ Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3:1-6 (ESV)

You can be sure John felt the force of those words, and the counsel was clear and urgent. I yearn for prophetic unction like this today.

FOUR—His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord: Words that don’t contain enough weight to cause the fear of the Lord to strike us are suspect. Even true, positive messages that would cause us to rejoice should still bear the marks of the fear of a most holy God. Instead of avoiding such sharp messages the next generation of prophetic warriors will delight in the safety, the plumb line, that the fear of the Lord is.

¹ “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1 (ESV)

¹⁵ “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Deuteronomy 28:15 (ESV)

God is ready to bless us beyond measure, and that blessing is even brighter in contrast to what will come to the disobedient. This is the delight that the fear of the Lord produces–the realization that God is full of love and mercy and we can be free from his wrath.

FIVE—He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear: It’s all too easy to gaze upon the landscape of our world and produce supposed prophetic revelation that will capture people’s attention. We can’t have anymore tabloid style prophecies that capitalize on the current events of our day. Proclaimers are much different than reporters. We need those who will hear God’s voice in secret and proclaim it to the people much more than we need to hear opinion on what is going on in society.

² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ ³ Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Ezekiel 13:2-3 (ESV)

MY PROPHETIC WORD FOR 2017

I don’t mean this to be a snarky or creative way to end this article. I feel something burning very strongly in my spirit; something extremely simple.

While timely Rhema revelation must be received, the church must return to confidence in the Logos. The infallible written Truth. The Bible.

When timely prophetic words are given to me, I value them highly. However, I don’t seek after them. I don’t crave them. I only need them when God knows I do. What I do long for is the Word of God, the Bible. I deeply desire for it to explode in my Spirit in fresh new ways. I want God’s eternal Word to capture me!

⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 (ESV)

⁸⁹ Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Psalm 119:89 (ESV)

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35 (ESV)

I exhort you to dive into the Word of God. The wealth it contains will transform your new year much more powerfully than a low level prophetic word ever will.

Consider some of the following and begin your quest to encountering God through his Word. Take note of the promises and also of the conditions associated with them. Let the Lion roar. May the fear of the Lord delight you. May your new year be marked by the force of the very breath of our mighty God!

²² “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! ²³ The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” Psalm 50:22-23 (ESV)

⁷ “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. Deuteronomy 28:7 (ESV)

²² “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! ²³ The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” Psalm 50:22-23 (ESV)

¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, ¹⁵ and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Psalm 50:14-15 (ESV)

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36 (ESV)

¹ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (ESV)

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (ESV)

That’s a start. Now go ahead and receive the remaining promises in the Bible that are waiting for you in the new year. There are thousands.