Return to the Newsletter Archives

---

God Has Appointed These to the Church

[cvm_video id=”4382″]

 

“…God has appointed these in the church: first Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28).

 
Where does it say in the Bible that these ministries and spiritual gifts were removed from the church?
 
One of the most difficult things to deal with when you are called to the office of a prophet is the rejection you receive from your brothers and sisters in Christ. When you are branded by God with the gift and calling, you not only struggle to be as accurate as possible delivering His Word but also struggle with others standing around judging you. This makes it double tough. There will be those who listen to your words to find something that, in their doctrine or opinion, is not of God so they can then tag you as a false prophet.
 
It’s difficult enough to be a Christian in a world that is rapidly turning into heathens without having your own kind wanting to stone you. However, things have loosened up a bit in a few Churches, and there are a few people who are curious enough to secretly cross their denominational boundaries and ask for a word from one of the many prophetic people in the world today.
 
When I started in 1989, I felt all alone and there were a few pastors and lay ministers who wanted me punished for even thinking I was called to the office of a prophet. I admit in the earlier times it did sound very self-serving to call yourself a prophet of God. And let’s face it; those who were known to call themselves a prophet of God were people like David Koresh, the Wacko prophet from Waco, Texas or Jim Jones, the Kool-Aid prophet, whom both led their followers to their ultimate death. Back then you could not help but feel as though God was playing some sick joke, placing the mantle of a prophet around your neck only to have good Christian folks wanting to hang you with it.
 
So, you want to be a prophet?
 
No wonder I became known as the Mail-Order Prophet; it was what God was calling me to do and still maintain some quality of life expectancy. It was brutal enough trying to break into the Churches and ministerial alliances around the country during those earlier years. For the first 3 years in this ministry, not once was I received in a local church; although, God had me ministering 6 days a week somewhere. We had a live Radio Program, and I prophesied live over radio as the lines were open for callers. People would set up meetings in their homes, bank buildings, hotel ballrooms and many other unorthodox places. I wondered how long it would be before I could minister in a church building.
 

“So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house’” (Matthew 13:57).

 
When I read this verse, I realized this is one of the promises of God. Not many would want to claim this verse for themselves. However, if you are called of God to the office of a prophet, then it helps you understand why these things are happening to you. With this verse of scripture in mind, I began to ask God to send me outside of the area- which He did. The first place God opened up to me was Hawaii, and there I was received with open arms.
 
The very first week I was on the Island of Oahu (population then was over 850,000); I was prophesying live over television. On the first day calls flooded the station, and the owners called the phone company to get a count of how many calls they missed in the 30 minutes I was on the air. There were 11 telephones in the television station and all were being answered, but according to the phone company we still missed 258 calls as the lines were all busy.
 
From there God sent me to Norway with the same overwhelming acceptance that I had in Hawaii the month before. Then on to Sweden, England, Thailand, Denmark and many other countries all with open arms starving for the prophetic encounter, believing God could speak through a simple broken vessel such as me. For the next 2 ½ years, I was out of the country for three weeks of every month.
 
It just proves that the promises of God are real; however, you do not have the choice just to pick one and claim it for yourself. It might not be the one He has for you.
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

For more prophetic media groups click here

---