All or part of the material in this booklet
(depending on which "title" you are reading) is written
in the form of "prophecy" from the Lord. Lest there be
any misunderstanding, I want to make it clear that
"prophecy," as one of the "gifts" or manifestations of
the Spirit as listed in I Cor. 12:7-11, for the
edification of the New Testament Church, does not
operate in exactly the same way as the "prophecy" that
we read in the Old Testament, when God spoke through
certain chosen men called prophets. Under the law as
recorded in what we call the Old Testament, God was
formulating His absolute and infallible Word of
truth: that which was later gathered together in written
form in what we call "Scripture." Such scripture
also now includes the words of the greatest prophet
of all, the very Son of the Highest, while incarnated in
human flesh, Jesus of
Nazareth.
Neither can we consider this spiritual "gift" or
manifestation of the Spirit given to the church in the
same category as the spiritual "revelation" gifts
given to especially chosen apostles of the Lord, such as
Paul, whereby he declared that "by revelation"
certain truths were made known to him (see Gal.
1:12), according, as he declares, by a special
"stewardship of God's grace that was entrusted to me"
(Ephes. 3:2, Amplified
Version).
The
"gift" or manifestation of "prophecy" as explained by Paul
in I Cor. 12 & 14, is an operation of the Spirit whereby the Lord may use a
vessel in His spiritual Body to speak directly to His people. But Paul makes it
clear that what is spoken (and/or written) under such a "prophetic
anointing" is to be "judged" (I Cor. 14:29), which means that
this "gift," or any of the other "gifts" mentioned in I Cor. 12,
which the Holy Spirit might manifest through human vessels for the edification
of the Body are not infallible in their operation. This is because under
"grace" (in contrast to "law"), God allows more
"latitude" (for learning and growth of the vessels used). He
"imparts" by the Holy Spirit, through a vessel of His choosing, but
he does not "overwhelm" or "take control" of the vessel in such a
way that the individual's own faculties of mind, perception, yieldedness, will,
and emotions are "blotted out." Thus it is possible that some of the
fallibility of the vessel might get mixed in with the manifestation of the
gift. Thus the need for
"judgment" by others mature enough to "discern."
I believe
what has been channeled through me by the Lord has stood the test of many
years, attested to by thousands who have written and expressed their
confirmation, among whom have been a number of mature and known Ministers of
the Lord.
You may
disagree with some of what is written simply because of what you have been
taught in the past. That, however, may not be accurate "judgment,"
because you may have been wrongly taught. You must determine to read with an
"open heart," asking the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, to confirm what is
truth to you. This will, no doubt, take more than one reading. What I have
written is "meat" that must be "chewed on" (prayerful meditation)
over a period of time. I have had many who have written and testified that
when they first read some of the literature, they simply were not ready, or for
some other reason did not "fully grasp" what was written. Yet, at a
later time they picked up and read the same material and were absolutely
"thrilled" at what the Holy Spirit revealed to them.
So I would
encourage you to read more than once, over a period of time, to get the most
out of these writings, whatever error, if any, might have "filtered
in" because of this vessel's fallibility, I believe to be of minor
significance, and would not affect the over-all content of truth given in these
writings. However, you are responsible before God to study and prayerfully
meditate, along with the Word of God, that you might fulfill Jesus' admonition
in Luke 12:57: "yes, and why even of yourselves
do you not
judge what is right." (see also Acts 17:11). May HIS abundant grace be with
you!
Leland Earls
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