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Workshop Notes By Stan Smith

Restoring Prophetic Purity
Unprecedented Walking With God

1. It’s a season of maturing into new prophetic purity. To describe it, I’ll tell how my wife and I met, because our story is an allegory of what God is doing in the church.

My wife and I met online. I read her description on a Christian singles page and sent her an email. Soon we were writing every day and conversing with instant messages. We exchanged pictures.

Sometimes we had misunderstandings; one would read what the other had written and would take it wrong. I reasoned, If we could just talk on the phone and I could hear her voice, I would better understand her emails. So we met by phone.

I loved the sound of her voice, and in addition to emails we found various reasons to call each other back. But even then we sometimes misunderstood each other. Again I reasoned, If we could just meet face to face and I could see her when she talks, I would understand her better when we talk on the phone.

Okay, maybe I had other reasons for wanting to meet her face to face. But we met — we were married within six months — and it was true; meeting in person made it easier to communicate by email or phone.

It was only as I looked back on our story that I realized God had walked us through a parable, pointing out three ways we hear from God: by the gramma or the written word of God, by the rhema or spoken word of God, and by the logos or the face-to-face encounter with Jesus, the Word who speaks.

God has given prophetic ministry to help walk the church through these three phases of communing. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus – it’s all about Him. Though God will speak to us about many things, the ultimate purpose of prophetic ministry is to reveal Jesus.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Take inventory of the most personal encounters you have had with Him. Revisit those moments, and fall in love with Him again.

2. We will never outgrow our need for the gramma or written word of God. Our personal experiences must always line up with the scripture. The scripture alone can protect us from deception in the last days.

During His forty days of temptation, Jesus overcame by saying, “It is written.” This strategy is so simple it is easy to overlook, but it will be powerful and practical in today’s challenging times.

Further, the gospel writers and especially Matthew show us that Jesus came not just to speak new prophecies but to fulfill those that were already written. “This was done that it might be fulfilled…” Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and He is still at work to bring prophecy to fruition.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Catch the vision of Jesus who acts to fulfill prophecy, whether it is written in scripture or spoken into your life. Meditate on Him, and on prophecies He has already brought to pass in your life.

3. The Holy Spirit brings us the rhema word of God, the spoken word that takes the things of scripture and makes them specific for us. These prophetic experiences are the inheritance of every child of God.

Sometimes the rhema word brings revelation in the scripture, and we find the Bible to be more literal and more potent than we had ever imagined.
Sometimes the rhema word takes generalities from scripture and makes them specific to us. Scripture tells us to share the gospel; the voice of God led Philip the evangelist to “join this chariot.” (Acts 8:29)

Sometimes the rhema word comes not in words, but in pictures. Acts 9:12 says Paul saw in a vision that Ananias would lay hands on him to restore his sight.

These prophetic experiences result from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:16-21:

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’”

In Acts 2:39, God made it plain that this isn’t just for prophets only, but “the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Even if you think you are far away from God, He is extending this promise to you.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Meditate on the things God has spoken to you with words or shown you with pictures. Rehearse the promises He has extended to you. Rest in the awareness that He is watching over His word to perform it — not in your timing or in your ways, but in His.

4. The last days will bring a fresh revelation of the Logos of God. Revelation 19:11-16 shows Jesus seated on a white horse and leading an army into the final conflict. He has a “name written that no one knew except Himself … His name is called the Word of God.”

John tells us the name, but adds that nobody really knows this name but Jesus Himself. In other words, there is a mystery in the name “Word of God” and it is a key to the spiritual conflict in the last days.

The writers of the New Testament sometimes used the word gramma and sometimes logos when to refer to the written word of God. But whenever they wrote of a personal encounter with Jesus, the Word, they always called Him the Logos.

To commune with the Logos of God, we must relate to Him as a person. Following Him very personally is a key to victory in the pressures and conflicts of the last days.

More people are seeing Jesus face-to-face than ever before. Some see Him in visions, like a photo in an album. Some see Him in open visions, like a movie. Some are caught up to heaven and see Him there. Some see Him in tangible appearings, as Thomas did when he felt the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side.

These revelations of the Logos of God rarely give information we can’t find in the written word. Often Jesus simply quotes scripture when He appears to people. But the warmth of His voice and the purity and love in His eye are life changing.

When we see Him, something in us dies, and something else comes alive.

Visions aren‘t the only way to encounter the Logos. When His invisible presence embraces us, without a word our questions are answered — or we drop them because we realize they are irrelevant.

In John 14:21 and 23, Jesus said,

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word [logos]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Choose a scripture that tells about someone’s encounter with God, and meditate on it. From Jesus’ promise in John 14:21-23, reach for God’s manifest presence.

Hearing God’s Voice
Unprecedented Hearing From God

5. What does it take for God to get us to start or stop doing something? Whenever we move into a new season, we need to start doing some things and stop doing others. If we cultivate a hearing ear, we will stay in tune with His seasons.

Psalm 32:8-9 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.”

God wants to direct us gently: sometimes with a word, sometimes with the look in His eye. He contrasts His gentleness with the process of breaking a horse or a mule. Mules love to stand still; they have to be broken so they will get going. Horses love to gallop; they have to be broken so they will be still. We all have a bit of the horse and the mule in us, but God has something better for us.

If God will guide us with His eye, it means He will sometimes communicate with non-verbals. His rhema words don’t have to be a sentence we can quote. His non-verbals are just as much a word from God as something that sounds like a spoken voice.

His voice is all-important in this challenging season, as it is for anyone who is in transition.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: How easy is it for God to get you to start something new, or to stop something old? Ask Him to show you how to simplify the process. Think back to times when you’ve gotten it right and times when you‘ve missed it — what lessons can you glean from those experiences?

6. Be led by the peace of God. In John 14:26-27, Jesus said He would leave the Holy Spirit with us to continue His work. Then He added that He would leave His peace with us. His peace is a manifestation of God’s presence, and one way to be led by the Spirit is to follow the peace of God.

Peace is one of God’s non-verbals.

Colossians 3:15 says, “let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Many people have found this to be a good way to identify God’s will. Peace helps us discern what is right and what is wrong for our lives.

Peace can lead to hearing God’s voice — more about this in #9 — but it can also be His voice without words. He wants to guide us with His eye; peace is one way He does it.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Ask God to lead you deeply into His peace. Think of peace as a manifestation of His presence. Thank Him for His presence. Love Him and let Him love you.

7. Be led by the language of conviction. Sometimes the Holy Spirit simply impresses upon us what is right or wrong, without speaking a word. We can’t explain how, but we know what we ought to do. Pay attention; this is God guiding you with His eye.

Sometimes people have a dream, rich with detail, and they’re looking for an interpretation that will explain every bit of it. I’ve learned to ask: did you wake up with a conviction? Often the message is in the conviction, not in the details of the dream. The dream was just the package God used to deliver the message.

In John 16:8-11, Jesus said the Holy Spirit will convict us about three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. Sin is what’s wrong; righteousness is what’s right; judgment is what’s done — Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit would convict us about judgment “because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Conviction is a knowing that drops into us, often without words. Don’t brush conviction aside just because you haven’t “heard a word from God.” Conviction is one of God’s non-verbals.

Think of conviction as a form of the fear of God. It is the beginning of wisdom; it was one of the seven Spirits of God that anointed Jesus. Many of God’s promises are available to those who fear Him, and a good way to fear Him is to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Take inventory of times when God has convicted you. Have you responded yet? Clear wrong things out of your life; commit yourself to right things; anchor your faith in what Jesus has already done for you at the cross. When you respond to conviction, you are letting God guide you with His eye.

8. Be led by the presence of Jesus. Follow the anointing. Wherever you sense you can find more of God, go there.

Jesus is the master language of the Holy Spirit. Scripture after scripture shows that the Holy Spirit comes to talk about Jesus.

As you study the scripture, look for Jesus on every page — one way or another, He’s there. Then whenever you listen for His voice, look for where Jesus is right now and what He’s doing.

As you look for Him, often you will suddenly “know” a scripture or Bible story that depicts Him. This is the Holy Spirit’s work, using the language of conviction to put a timely thought about Jesus in your heart.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you, not just in a theological sense, but in a timely manner. Where is Jesus right now? What is He doing? You may see Him in a vision; you may find Him in scripture; you may simply know because the Holy Spirit imparts the knowledge. But Jesus Himself is a word from God.

9. Listen for the spontaneous flow of God’s words. The Hebrew word for prophet, nabi, refers to one whose words bubble up and flow out. For a word picture, think of a bottle of Coca Cola, well shaken and then opened. This is the flow of a prophetic word from a nabi.

Let all these principles work together when you listen for the voice of God. Quiet your heart; focus your attention on Jesus, allowing the conviction of the Holy Spirit to reveal Him; then listen for a spontaneous flow of words.

The prophetic word is a rhema word, not a gramma word. The gramma word is text the mind can grapple with. It’s good to study the scripture in depth, digging into Greek and Hebrew words, studying historical context, and so on. But the best teachers then lay their studies on the altar and ask the Holy Spirit to speak a rhema word into what they have found in the Bible. These are the teachers who minister Spirit and life.

The rhema word comes from intelligence other than your own. Your thoughts are moving along a certain line, but the thoughts of God come from another angle.

The rhema word of God flows like a river. Jesus told the woman at the well she could have the water of life bubbling up like a fountain. In John 7:37-38, He cried out that those who believe in Him will have rivers of living water — rivers of the Holy Spirit — flowing from the deepest part of their being.

The rhema word doesn’t come off the top of your head. The Holy Spirit is deep, and He works and flows in your deep places. “Deep calls to deep.”

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Quiet your heart, focus on Jesus, and look for a spontaneous flow of words bubbling up inside. Write down what you hear, and when you’ve finished soaking, take appropriate action on what God is telling you.

Prophetic Inspiration In The Real World
Unprecedented Exploits

10. Daniel 11:32 says “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” We grow in the knowledge of God as we draw from His written word, His spoken words, and personal encounters with Him. This is how He is sending us everything we need to do exploits.

Ephesians 1:3 says God has already stored up every heavenly blessing we will ever need in heavenly places in Christ. Sometimes we look at this provision and sigh, because heaven seems so far away.

But God is moving resources from heaven to earth; scripture mentions several things He is sending toward us. We can liken it to satellite signals beamed to earth from outer space. It takes a receiver to pick up the signals, and the receiver has to be tuned in.

Can we become receivers of what the Spirit of God is sending to earth from heaven? Can we learn to tune in? The New Testament sounds a resounding yes. I Corinthians 2:12 says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

The Spirit of God is busy leading us into the things that have been given us when we received Christ. We will look at three things God is sending towards us: grace, power, and thoughts. But first, take inventory of the things God has already given you.

Often, miracles began when God asked, “What is that in your hand?” In Moses’ case, it was a shepherd’s rod. For Elisha’s widow, it was a pot of oil. For Jesus and a little boy, it was five loaves and two fish. What is it for you?

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Take inventory of what God has given you to work with. This includes your tools, your money, your real estate; it includes friends and family; it includes your gift mix; it includes your responsibilities and your free time. Ask God if you have more to work with than you realize.

11. God is sending grace towards us. Grace is unmerited favor, kindness we don’t deserve. It is also the strength to fulfill all His will.

Ephesians 1:7-8 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence…”

It’s always available, because He’s always transmitting it towards us and towards everyone we will ever meet. Redemption and forgiveness are incredibly powerful to transform us and to empower us to minister to others.

Redemption is a ransom. Sin and death have kidnapped humanity, and the blood of Jesus is the redemption money paid to set the hostages free. If this were merely a bank account in the heavens, we might be unsure how to access it. But it is also part of the grace God has already made to abound toward us — long ago, He decided to start sending freedom to us, and He’s been sending it ever since.

We all know what forgiveness is, but take a moment to think about what it can do for you. When you die, you can stand before God the judge and expect Him to declare you “not guilty” because of the blood of Jesus. That will be a great day, but you can enjoy its power even now.

Whenever you pray, you stand before God the judge and wonder if your life is one He can bless with answered prayer. Because you have already received forgiveness in Christ, you can dare to believe He declares you “not guilty” even now, and can pray boldly.

Note that grace abounds toward us “in all wisdom and prudence.” God wants to make a very practical impact in our lives with grace. Sometimes He will package redemption or forgiveness in a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Let God’s grace flow into you. Ponder what Ephesians 1:7-8 can mean in your own life, conforming you to the image of Jesus. And ponder what it can mean in the lives of those you minister to. Your faith will grow as you receive God’s grace.

12. God is sending power towards us, and it is a package of three kinds of strength. It is (1) the strength to start working, and to keep at it until the job is done. It is (2) the resources to do what you are called to do. And it is (3) the power-grid of kingdom alignment that will multiply your impact.

Ephesians 1:19-20 talks about “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places …”

God is sending power toward us; we tune in and receive His power by believing Him. This is the power He used when He raised Jesus from the dead, and He wants to supply it to us. It takes three forms.

First, it is the power to work. It starts with a determination to do what He has called us to do, then it empowers us to follow through until the task is done. In the natural, we are unlikely to have the resolve and the energy to do what God has called us to; this is why He supplies supernatural strength.

Second, it is the resources or might to do what He has called us to. This includes everything from inner resources to money, connections, and opportunities. Often we will not know where to find the resources we need unless we listen to Him.

Third, it is the governmental power — the Greek word is kratos — of His kingdom to subdue all things to Himself. It begins with our coming into kingdom alignment with right relationships at home, at work, and in the church. It includes an increase of divine connections, linking us to those we can partner with in kingdom activity.

God is sending these three kinds of power from heaven to earth. It is good to soak in His presence, purposing to receive His power. But it is also good to cultivate a lifestyle of drawing power from Him wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Let God’s power flow into you. Ask Him, “What is the next ingredient You want to pour into my life, to equip me for all Your will?” Jot down any instructions or promises He gives you.

13. God is sending thoughts toward us. He communicates these with words, visions, and a variety of non-verbals. Sometimes they are promises that take years to receive; these provide direction for our lives. Sometimes they are practical thoughts that show us what to do today to move towards our God-given goals.

Many scriptures talk about God’s thoughts toward us, but here are two. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

And Psalm 40:5 says, “Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”

From the foundation of the world, God knew all the works He would do in our lives. Only as we spend time listening to Him can we learn what those thoughts are. Then we can let go of our ambitions and embrace His plans.

This is why it’s so important to cultivate a listening lifestyle. The only way to receive God’s thoughts toward us is to listen.

But bear in mind that He is sending His thoughts toward you. They aren’t just packages, lying in the heavens and waiting for you to find them. They are signals He is sending from heaven toward you in the earth.

SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE: Let God’s thoughts fill you as you listen for His voice. If you realize you have been chasing a dream that is your idea and not His, drop it. Make room for His dreams to fill your life.

Conclusion:
“The people who know their God shall be strong,
and carry out great exploits.”

The key is surrender. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we learn to embrace His word day by day, however He chooses to reveal Himself. His word and His presence empower us to do exploits.

What are the exploits? They will be different for each of us, but Matthew 25 gives three key end-time parables that let us know what to expect.

The parable of the ten virgins teaches us that relatively small investments in the kingdom — buying enough oil to keep a lamp burning all night — will prepare us for kingdom opportunities. The parable of the talents tells us to use what we have, investing it and bringing increase. And the parable of the sheep and the goats tells us where to invest: in needy people. Whatever we do for the least of His people, we have done for Him.

Your destiny has already begun. You’re in it. Make the most of whatever God has given you right now. Fill your current sphere with fruitfulness. What is in your hand? It is the beginning of your miracle.


 

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