Seize Your Prophetic Destiny!
by James Goll
Seizing Your Prophetic Destiny – God Has a Plan For You!
Key "Vision" Scriptures to Meditate On:
1. Proverbs 29:18
2. Hosea 4:6
3. Colossians 1:9-11
4. Ephesians 1:15-19a
5. Jeremiah 29:11
Why a Vision?
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained...—Proverbs 29:18
The word "vision" can be translated: revelation, mental sight, or revealed word from God. Without a revealed word the people will be unrestrained. This indicates the absence of guidance or direction. We are not to be aimless.
A "restraint" is like a bit in a horse's mouth. This is not used to bind the horse, but give it direction. If you do not have vision – a revelation of God's destiny for your life – you will be without direction, having no meaning of His guidance in your life. You will be perishing! On the other hand, if you do have vision, you will be guided into your purpose, direction and destiny!
Lessons from Jacob
Read Genesis 30:25-43 and Genesis 31:1-13. Jacob has a clear word from the Lord to leave Laban and to have a place of his own. He also has a plan for accomplishing that word. Jacob heeds these instructions and proceeds toward his ultimate goal and formulates a plan.
1. Jacob had a vision and practical goals to accomplish it.
2. His major goal was to acquire the abundance necessary to meet his vision.
3. The resources available to him were flocks of Laban that he had shepherded for twenty years.
4. His goal was to acquire all of the spotted and speckled animals.
5. A minor goal was to separate the pure colors from the spotted and speckled.
6. Another sub-goal was to take the pure colors and make them produce spotted and speckled.
7. He wrote his vision in the branches and trees by carving spots and speckles in the bark.
8. He placed his vision before those who would run with it (the flock).
9. He made it a point to give special attention to the strongest producers.
10. Over a period of years, each goal was met, and his vision came to pass.
God wants us to delight in Him and He will put His desires, dreams, and determination for His destiny within us.
The Ten D's To Follow
Step One - Delight:
Delight yourself in the Lord...—Psalm 37:4a
This is a major pre-requisite that opens your heart and soul to receive the knowledge of God's will.
Step Two - Desire:
...and He will give you the desires of your heart.—Psalm 37:4b
Desire means to long for, crave, yearn or covet. We are to be a people who are passionate – those with a motivational force within to pursue God's purposes for our generation. As we make Him our delight, He puts His passionate yearnings in our heart. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." God will give us the will, the want to and the ability to perform His good pleasure.
Step Three - Dream:
Where there is no vision...—Proverbs 29:18
People who have no dream have no direction. Webster's Dictionary explains that a dream is "a fond hope or a vision."
Step Four - Destiny:
Your dream will guide you into your destiny. Webster's defines "destiny" as "an inevitable series of events or that which determines those events, that is a supernatural thing." But we must plan the dream to turn it into destiny.
Step Five - Decision:
Deuteronomy 30:19 explains that God has given us the choice of "life and death, the blessing and the curse." When you choose to follow the dream that the Lord places in your heart, you will be choosing life. Make a quality decision of the heart!
Step Six - Determination:
Having made the decision to run with the dream and vision that God placed in your heart, you will then be forced to exercise determination. You must determine nothing will stop you!
Step Seven - Dedication:
This means to devote to a sacred purpose or to set apart for the worship of Deity. After you have determined in your heart that you will act on the vision God has given you, you must dedicate yourself to it.
Step Eight - Discipline
In 1 Timothy 4:7, Paul explains that Timothy should discipline himself for the purposes of godliness. Once you have dedicated yourself you must then exercise discipline. It will take discipline to devote yourself to your dream. Disciple is the training that develops self-control, character, orderliness, and efficiency. (Read Matthew 25:23 and Luke 19:17 on the related subject of faithfulness.)
Step Nine - Diligence
"...a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again..."—Proverbs 24:16.
That is diligence. Don't quit. Quitters never win and winners never quit! Diligence means to be constant, to make careful and continual effort. Romans 12:11 tells us not to lag behind in diligence but to be fervent in our spirit serving God.
Step Ten - Death and Life Cycle
...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.—John 12:24
At some point your dream and vision might die. God has a divine reason for this. This is the pattern of life, leading to multiplication. Sometimes it is not the vision that needs to die – it is greater death to self that normally the Lord is requiring.
Lessons from Joseph
1. Read Genesis 37:5-11, 18-20. At the age of 17, Joseph, the favored son of Israel, begins to have dreams from the Lord! He zealously and ignorantly responded to the revelation thinking his brothers would be as thrilled about this as he was. He prophesies (tells publicly) what God has whispered in private. This releases jealousy from his brothers, which manifests in "trouble" for young Joseph.
2. Read Genesis 37:23-24, 28; 39:1-6, 7-18, 19-23. These passages tell of Joseph's predicament of being sold into slavery, brought into the service of Potiphar, falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and imprisoned. But, the Lord was with Joseph and made him to prosper.
3. Read Genesis 41:25-41. Joseph is put in prison only to have the Lord give him interpretation to Pharaoh's dreams. Thus he is promoted to a high position of authority as his words carry great wisdom and release needed provision.
4. Read Genesis 45:1-8; 50:15-21. After times of prosperity and great famine in the land and alienation from his family, eventually Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. Joseph states, "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance" (Genesis 45:7). This wisdom revelation is summed up in Genesis 50:20, where it states, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."
Lessons to Learn From Joseph:
1. Joseph did not know the proper ways of responding to revelation. Proverbs suggests we must first ask permission to tell our revelation. Others might not have the wisdom and maturity to handle the repercussions of the word(s) you bring.
2. Joseph learned wisdom, though, from his failures. He learned from his mistakes. Genesis 40:8 shows that Joseph learned to inquire wisdom of God to properly interpret his revelations.
3. A right attitude will keep you going in the right direction in spite of your failures. Joseph held a respectful posture toward the Pharaoh, though he was a difficult, hard taskmaster. This attitude was visible to all and released favor from those in authority.
4. Ultimately, Joseph did not let go of his dreams. He saw them come into fruition. Do not harden yourself against your gift and calling. Do not curse your sensitivity, rather embrace it and let it make you also into one who, with intercession, weeps over his brothers.
5. His character was molded to carry the gift and all succeeded. Today, God is looking for those who will embrace the cross of the prophetic lifestyle and be vessels who carry the prophetic message instead of being crushed by it.
Lessons From Amos
1. Read Amos 1:1; 7:14-15. Here we are given some background of the prophet Amos. He was not from the "school of the prophets" but rather a keeper of flocks and a grower of figs. Yet God put a seer anointing upon a common man and commissioned him to prophesy to his own people before judgments and great trials were released.
2. Read Amos 3:7-8. In this pivotal passage, we are shown principles which govern the prophetic: "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets." Why?
3. Read Amos 5:4-6, 14-15. Now we are given the antidote for times of crisis. "Seek the Lord that you may live...!" Revelation comes concerning pending judgment, yet the Lord grants an opportunity for change "...if My people..."
4. Read Amos 7:1-9. God shows Amos that devastation on the farmland was imminent. In a vision, Amos is shown a swarm of locusts coming to destroy the vegetation. Amos cries out to the Lord though, in response to the prophetic word of judgment. "Lord God, please pardon!" The Lord relented.
This was followed by another round of visions of fire destroying the land. Once again, Amos responds to "revelation" with prayer. He doesn't just fold his arms and say, "What will be, will be." But rather he cries out, "Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?" The Lord changed His mind about this, too!
Lessons to Learn From Amos:
1. God can put His prophetic graces on common people, not just the "specially trained."
2. The Lord will always "cue His people in" before a major event transpires. He is looking for co-laborers – not puppets.
3. Remedies to problems are generally simple, but often overlooked. "Seek the Lord and live!"
4. Amos reveals the secret of proper Biblical response to revelation. Pray before you act! Prayer is your first and primary act in response to revelation.
5. Your prayers can hold back God's judgment, evil from the enemy, and unlock the prophetic promise into being.
Contrast of Ways
Frankly, though Joseph learned great wisdom, and grew in character to carry the gift, it makes me wonder what would have happened if he had prayed before he spoke when he first received his dreams. Undoubtedly, his end result would have been humility, brokenness, and the fear of the Lord.
But, in the life of Amos, we are shown the principle that prayer is the primary response to revelation. Judgments were averted. Mercy was purchased for the people.
Applications to Take
1. Removing Negative Hindrances.
Negative influences must be removed through confession of current and generational sin, identificational repentance, acts of spiritual warfare, and deeds ultimately leading to retribution. The prophetic promises then can be released as the obstacles are removed and the conditions met (whether spoken or unspoken).
2. Kneeling on the Promises.
Now, let's take those confirmed, authentic promises and kneel on them! Let us now remind God of His word (Isaiah 62:6-7) and pray those precious promises into being. Let us humbly, yet boldly, lay hold of God and not let go until we see His Kingdom come, His will be done – on earth and in our lives – as it is in Heaven. Follow the examples of the revivalists of old and don't just stand on the promises, kneel on them!
3. Proclaim the Promise.
We are not just called to discern darkness. We are called to turn on the light. One of the powerful ways of doing this is through the power of proclamation. We now join praise with prayer and pronounce that the power of the blessing is greater than the power of the curse. We release individual and corporate declarations of the will of God. Watch faith ignite and destinies unfold.
4. Acting in the Opposite Spirit.
Another important tool to seize your destiny is that of "acting in the opposite spirit." What does this mean? If a curse or demonic presence is discerned, then begin to teach, act and look for proper Biblical expressions of the love of God that you and others can model. If the demonic power is greed and materialism, then look for opportunities to give and minister to the poor. If the resistance says hate, then sow deeds of love, forgiveness and kindness. Turn the table on the enemy of doing the servanthood works of Christ.
5. Writing it Down.
Habakkuk 2:1-3 gives us the details and reasons for this activity. "Inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run." This insures the promise will ever be before your eyes and allows it to be properly passed on to the next generation.
6. Stepping Out.
Nothing takes the place of stepping out of your comfort zone and out on the limb. Remember, faith is always spelled R-I-S-K! We must get practical plans of implementation, wait on God, get His mind and timing on the matter, but then you must get up – go, obey, step out. Some people need to hear words, "Wait, listen, pray, slow down." Others need to hear, "Get up, get going, rise up and do something." Eventually, we must add works (corresponding actions) to our faith! In order to seize your prophetic destiny – step out, God's not only good, He will catch you if you fall and help you to get up and try again!
These are just a few thoughts of regarding responding to prophetic words. I have thought these concepts were common knowledge, but I am now growing in my awareness that much is yet to be learned in the wisdom ways of properly stewarding and responding to prophetic revelation in its many forms. In fact, there is a good deal of confusion and fear permeating many Believers right now!
So I am going to step to the plate and give you some of what the Lord has given to me over the years.
May we all learn in these crucial hours!
James W. Goll
