God has a new heart for us that cannot be offended, an “unoffendable” heart. Beloved, possessing an unoffendable heart is not an option or a luxury; it's not a little thing. Consider: Jesus warns that, as we near the end of the age, a majority of people will be offended to such a degree that they fall away from the faith.

I have been casting a very costly vision for revival in Detroit. I have a great friend in Ireland who was with me in Colorado Springs when Secret Prayer was functioning. Like we are beginning to do now in Detroit, we prayed in a different church every Friday night in Colorado Springs from 10pm to midnight. It was a powerful movement. Strangely, after dealing with the topic of offense the last few days here, my friend just so happened to mention it as he was encouraging me in this new city prayer strategy:

Expect a good offended carnal Christian sorcerer's curse to fly your way, but just cancel it and move on. If they're really seeking God's power, they'll eventually repent and come back. If they don't then they're not seeing themselves properly within the context of the Body at large, and won't be able to support the necessary ministry to the whole body that the Spirit's going to stir up.

Offense is one of the primary issues that pulls people out of position. It’s a very serious issue. When the challenge increases, when the prophetic message strikes a nerve, a soft heart will respond in joy while an offended heart will often respond quite differently. A prophetic call is actually holy communication, it’s a message that has attached to it the expectation of response.

What often happens first when a heart is offended is that the enemy will fight this call to action, this holy communication, with silence. Dialogue, discussion, prophetic response, revelation, etc. will cease as it gives way to an underground movement of murmuring. The Absalom spirit is often awakened right at this point.

Of course, silence isn’t always indicative of offense taking root. Some people are simply wired differently, or are slower to respond, or need additional time to process the call. However, I do believe you can look at the broader picture and if the large scale communication drops at the point of prophetic communication, it would do you well to gather the intercessors and to pray against that spirit.

There is a desperate cry from a remnant for the bar to be raised, for the prophets to step up and unapologetically call the body to the cross and into a culture crashing reality. Just today, someone said to me (slight paraphrase), “John, you just have to go! Lead in the fullness of your mandate, you have to be released and not held back.”

I want to exhort you to move with great passion, from a place of extreme challenge and full of the Spirit of God. To continue doing what we have been doing while expecting a different result is insanity. We must have reformation in the structure of the church—and the cost will rock us to our very core.

Note that this is a prophetic call, a prophetic ministry, a prophetic movement and it’s led by prophetic people. To run a race like this one requires that you understand the characteristics of prophetic people. This will help with understanding the call and what the focus and flavor of the mission is.

Definition of a prophetic movement: People who are uniquely called as spokesmen for a cause; advocates; a vehicle to advance a movement

Characteristics of Prophets/prophetic people:

l. Strong Personality  

        Innately the prophet has a strong personality. I have never

met a true prophet who didn't have, in secular terms, a type A

personality. Prophets are usually intense about most things and

are always intense about their walk with God. That is why

prophets often have difficulty understanding those who are less

than 100% committed to the Lord.

2. Direct - Issue Oriented 

        A prophet is very issue oriented and sees things in black or

white. For him there is very little gray and most things are

either right or wrong.  Hence, a prophet will not easily

compromise on an issue. Nor does a prophet have a lot of mercy

for those who can't or won't measure up to the austere standards

of God as he sees them. Again, the mature prophet has love and

cares about God's people. But does he have mercy? Not much! I

always visualize Amos holding the plumb line as God's

stereotypical prophet. (Amos 7:7-9). The plumb line is

representative of God's righteousness on any given issue and, to

the prophet, all things relating to that issue are to be measured

against that plumb line. 

3. Strong in Prayer 

        The prophet is given to much prayer. The true prophet has a

real burden, not only for God's will, but for His people as well,

both those saved and those not yet saved. This inevitably leads

to a strong intercessor's prayer burden for people and issues.

Remember, the prophet is intense and this intensity flows over

into his or her prayer life.

4. Outward Life in Order 

        The prophet generally has his outward life in order. Since

the prophet sees matters in black or white, he is much less

likely to become ensnared in outward sins such as adultery,

cheating on his taxes, etc. However, there are two big, covert

sins with which a prophet must continually battle. They are pride

and judgementalism. As God matures His prophets, this pride and

judgementalism gradually diminishes, but they are always a

potential snare for the prophet. These two sins are Satan's most

effective weapons against the prophet.

5. Authority and Power 

        A prophet, when moving in the prophetic call, will move with

great authority and power. When God delivers His word through a prophet,

it is God's power and authority that is manifested, not the

prophet's. Those who have a discerning spirit will know when the Lord

is delivering His word through someone be it spoken forcefully or given

in a whisper.

6. Prophets are Poor Long-Term Counselors

        Prophets generally do not make good long-term counselors.

They lack the patience and mercy necessary for this kind of

counseling. A prophet is much more inclined to spend some time

with a counselee, give that person the word of the Lord, then

become impatient if the counselee continues to drift in his sin

or shows a lack of commitment to correct a failing.

7. Spiritual Gifts Accompany a Prophetic Call 

        The mature, called prophet will exercise many of the

spiritual gifts enumerated in I Corinthians, chapter twelve.

Though the prophet may operate all of these gifts at some time in

his or her ministry, the gifts most often manifested are the

prophetic word, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and the

discerning of spirits. The prophet often is the first to spot a

demonic presence in a person or circumstance. Further, signs and

wonders such as healing, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and

the breaking down of demonic strongholds are often seen in the

prophetic ministry.

From: http://www.hundredfold.org/articles/91mar.htm

Let’s discuss this tonight on theLab. www.revivallab.com.