Why do ... ?

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Permalink Reply by JB on October 26, 2016 at 8:20am

In light of this passage,

Why Do we need prophets today??

Wouldn't you rather hear from the source, than second hand? When we read the bible,  it is as if God was speaking to you directly. John 1:1.

Hebrews 1:1-3 (KJV)
¹  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
²  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
³  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on October 27, 2016 at 11:29am

I want to look into the Scripture you used about the prophet's reward. Matthew 10:40-41 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 

Jesus was a prophet & He was passing this same gift on to His apostles. When these apostles shared the message of Christ, anyone who welcomed the message & received this message received the prophet's reward - eternal salvation. Because those who received them, received Him & those who received Him received the One who sent Him.

Reward used here in the Greek is μισθός misthós. Here, it means in the sense of reward to be received hereafter. The same word is used in Matthew 5:12 and Mark 9:41.

John had the final visions of the end times so no more can be added to this. So, we know the end of the story. We also know what leads up to that end. I'm not saying God doesn't still reveal Himself to His people through visions & dreams because my husband has had many. It never took away or added to the Scripture. It did become a huge deciding factor in a church decision which was quite humbling. 

There are those times that God may be trying to tell someone something & they just can't hear it for all of the noise in their lives. It sometimes takes another person to speak these things to them. That doesn't necessarily mean they are a prophet. It could just mean they are in the Word a little deeper at the time & in deep prayer & see something in that person's life. It could mean they have the gift of discernment. To most, prophecy means a foretelling of future events & we already know those - for the most part. Of course, there are the fillers - such as financial ruin, etc. 

The Scripture you used about the pure in heart applies to anyone who has come to Christ.  

The word used here for 'pure' in the Greek is katharós. The term is used literally of the “clean” cloth in which Jesus’ body was wrapped after His death. The word is also used in the ceremonial sense of the purification from leprosy. It's also applied to the release of “unclean spirits,” where the people become “clean.” 

As far as using prophets because not everyone will listen, prophets won't matter either. It won't make any difference to them. John 12:37 says Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him. So, a mere man isn't going to change their minds.

He who has ears, let him hear - I have 6 kids which creates the gift of selective hearing. I choose what I want to hear & what I tune out. The same goes here. Many hear the word but most won't listen. It's just background noise & the world around them distracts them from what the truth is trying to tell them.

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Permalink Reply by JB on October 27, 2016 at 4:53pm

Sorry my friend, but what does any of these scriptures have anything to do with a prophet?

Matthew 5:7-9 (KJV)
⁷  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
⁸  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
⁹  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The ears you have on your head has nothing to do with hearing God. The bible does not speak with an audible voice. You hear the Word of God with your heart, or spiritual ears. 

1 Cor. 3:16-17 
  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So why do we need a prophet?

Col. 1:27  
  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

So why do we need a prophet?

Revelation 1:5-6 (KJV)
⁵  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
⁶  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

So again, why do we need a prophet?

Matthew 13:9 (KJV)
⁹  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:14-15 (KJV)
¹⁴  And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
¹⁵  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

He is saying if you can understand what was previously said about John the Baptist.

But whereunto shall we liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets and calling to their fellows and saying, we have piped unto you but ye did not dance, we have mourned unto you, but ye have not lamented, for John came neither eating or drinking, and they say he has a devil, but the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold a man gluttonous and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified of her children. 

This also takes spiritual ears to hear, or to comprehend.

But I still can’t see what this has to do with prophets.

Please tell me, or explain how you see this as having anything to do with prophets.

JB

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Permalink Reply by Carla on October 26, 2016 at 1:35pm

Hi Jess,

2 Corinthians 8 is a call to us to live with great generosity.  It's not about us getting anything... but it's about us giving to others'.  Jesus lived the example by becoming poor, and giving us what we needed even before we needed it... This verse calls us to live in radical generosity...  Not that we would live in prosperity.

In context, this is the entire scripture;

8 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, ² that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the favor ^[a]of participation in the ^[b]support of the ^[c]saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had ^[d]expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. ⁶ So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the ^[e]love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. ⁸ I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ But now finish ^[f]doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. ¹² For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— ¹⁴ at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; ¹⁵ as it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

1 Timothy speaks to godliness in contentment with what we have and the dangers of the love of money:

"6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Just to be clear..  There are wealthy Christians, being wealthy is not evil.  Money is not the root of all evil... The love of money  is the root of all evil. 

Do I believe in modern day prophets?   Test all things the prophet says against what you are told in the scriptures.

Acts 17:11

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Blessings, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on October 26, 2016 at 7:19pm

I didn't realize anyone opposed the prophetic ministry. There are many Scriptures in the Bible about prophets but there are also many things you have to look out for. First off, you just don't take a man's word for something because he claims he's speaking for the Lord. The end times have been prophesied & nothing else needs to be added to it. We can go to the Word & get the prophecies for ourself. We're told to test the spirits. 

When you speak of prosperity, what exactly are you referring to? Are you talking about Godly prosperity as far as the riches in Christ or are you talking about the Million dollar mansions & Mercedes Benz type riches? I'm not sure I'm clear about what you're saying is why I can't give a clear cut reply as far as what I believe.

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