Hundredfold Ministries, Int'l

It is one thing to have a prophetic call. It is quite another to be a mature prophet. It takes years to make a mature prophet. Indeed, it takes decades. God goes to great lengths to mature and sanctify His prophets. He does this by what I call the breaking and molding process.

My Servants the Prophets

The most common term God uses in Scripture to describe a prophet is, “my servants the prophets.” This phrase is used in the Bible as spoken by the Lord 19 times beginning with 2 Kings 9:7. Here is what God said of “my servants the prophets” through Jeremiah:

But did the Old Testament prophets start out as God's servants? No, no one does. They ended up as God's servants because they were willing to undergo the grueling breaking and molding process necessary for every prophet to endure if he or she is to reach maturity in that call.

I have already said that prophets have a strong will. Such a will is a powerful force when it comes to accomplishing God's purpose or carrying out His instructions. The sheer force of that strong will overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles that would sink a person with a lesser will.

Why Does God Break the Prophet?

But prophets are human. In the human, social sense, the strong will of prophets often makes them opinionated, vocal, difficult to deal with, and sometimes unteachable. Such limitations invariably get in the way of their usefulness to God.

In order for the prophet to become a true servant of God, two things must occur. First, he or she must embrace the cross and die to his flesh and to the world. In other words, his human will must learn to yield to God. Second, he must be formed or molded into the image of Christ.

I grew up in a remote part of the southern United States where proper medical care was often unavailable for weeks at a time. Occasionally someone's arm would be broken in an accident. Often the arm would simply be placed in a splint awaiting the arrival of the doctor on his monthly tour. Bones begin the natural process of healing quickly. But for the arm to be fully useful, it must be straight and properly healed. When the doctor came, he often had to break the arm again in order to properly set it. That breaking was very painful and traumatic.

In God's molding process, He is looking for strong, straight, God-centered growth in the person of the prophet. When a prophet has grown for years without proper godly discipline, from God's viewpoint, he or she is much like the broken arm in a splint. In order for God to fully use that person, He must “rebreak” him from time to time and reform his growth in God's image. That breaking process can be devastating. Often the process deals not only with the person's will, it touches every area of one's life that is not fully submitted to God. These areas can include financial, emotional, relational, professional, and so on.

And the breaking and molding not only includes “big breaks.” It is a daily process whereby the Holy Spirit continually tries to draw the prophet into a closer communion with the Father and His beloved Son, Jesus. God doesn't just want a broken prophet. He wants to be able to transform him into His image and His servant. He uses the Holy Spirit daily to try to get him to listen more and submit more. You see, God must be able to have such a relationship with His prophets that He can direct them and they instantly obey.

Scriptural Examples of Gods Breaking and Molding.

This breaking or molding principle is clearly shown in the lives of many biblical prophets.

1. The Apostle Paul

Yes, I know we all view Paul as an apostle, which he was. But remember, he also took on the role of prophet whenever he needed to. Paul was a bright young Jewish leader zealous to do what he thought was God's will. But on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians he met the Lord in a dramatic way. Paul lost his eyesight as a result of that meeting with Jesus. Of course, he didn't know it would only last for three days. All he knew was that he was blind! Can you imagine what went through his mind for those three days? It must have been utter horror. Here he was, Saul of Tarsus, the star student of Gamaliel, excelling above his peers, the Hebrew of Hebrews, the Pharisee of Pharisees--blind. What was he to do? How was life going to treat a blind Paul?

Yes, God restored his eyesight. But God also promptly sent him into the far side of the desert for years! (See Galatians 1 and 2). Yesterday he was somebody; today he is nobody and is nowhere! He is no longer esteemed by the religious community. No one even asked for his opinion on religious matters as they once did.

What a mighty fall for one who was among the most promising leaders of Judaism. This continued for years. I believe that during that time the Lord stripped Paul of his pride, ego, arrogance, material assets, and anything else that was displeasing to the Lord or that hindered his ministry. But during this time, as the Lord broke Paul, so also was the remolding process going on.

The Apostle Paul was so important to God's plan for His church that the Lord Jesus began to personally teach Paul. For even though Paul's conversion occurred after Jesus' resurrection, he tells us in Galatians 1:11-12 that he taught his doctrine based on revelation from Jesus Himself. Yes, the remolding process seems to blend with the breaking. They seem to occur simultaneously. By the time Paul emerged from the years of obscurity he was a totally different man. He no longer portrayed the ugliness of man--he radiated the loveliness and graciousness of Jesus. Here was a man whom the Lord transformed by the process of breaking and remolding. Of course, this remolding never really ends. Just as it was a life-long process for Paul, so will it be for the prophet.

2. Moses

Moses also provides an excellent example of this breaking and molding. During the first forty years of his life, Moses was raised in the home of Pharaoh's daughter. No doubt he had everything that rich society could offer: education, military training, the best of luxury living. It appears that even the throne of Egypt was available to him. But God had a plan for Moses. He needed a deliverer for His people.

To the human eye, Moses was an excellent choice. He was educated, a skilled soldier, experienced in politics, influential, and in the prime of his life at age forty. No doubt Moses was the picture of self-confidence. God, you made an excellent choice.

But from God's perspective, the very skills you and I view as essential, God saw as an obstruction! Before God used Moses as His deliverer, He stripped him of his youth, power, influence, and self-confidence--in short, God stripped Moses of everything! At age eighty, Moses, in his own eyes, must have been a mere shadow of himself at age forty.

It is quite likely that Moses' private thoughts must have been something like this, “Look at me, I'm eighty years old, stuck out here in this desert, and I'm a weak old man. My life is over. Once I thought God actually wanted to use me. I even tried to do His will. I failed. I guess I was wrong about God having a call on my life . . . look at me today, I am a nothing.”

Hearing Moses' admission of “I am nothing”, God probably said, “Hallelujah! Moses is ready. I can now trust him to be my faithful servant. Now he can deliver my people. No longer will he rely on his own mind, his own strength, his own influence, or his own abilities. Now he must rely completely on me. He was sure stubborn. It took me forty years to break him!”

What circumstances broke Moses? I believe it was a combination of many things. To name the ones we can see from Scripture, it was the loss of his position in Egypt, having to flee for his life, his failure to deliver Israel in the manner he thought he would, his rejection by Israel, his falling from high favor to becoming a fugitive . . . and having forty years tending animals, to think about all of these things.

3. Hosea

It doesn't take much imagination to see how Hosea was broken by the Lord. Yes, certainly God used Hosea's life to illustrate to Israel the fact that He viewed their idol worship as spiritual harlotry and adultery. That's why God instructed Hosea, as a living prophecy, to marry a harlot. But Hosea was a human being. He had feelings and emotions just like we do. This woman was his wife and the mother of his children. He hurt each time his wife left him seeking out other men. He must have certainly felt humiliated when he was instructed by the Lord to go to the slave market where prostitutes were sold and buy his wife back. What breaking Hosea went through. But look at the powerful message his very life was as God delivered His words through Hosea to the nation of Israel.

4. Jeremiah

Of all the prophets in the Bible, Jeremiah was the most transparent when it came to his personal feelings. As one reads the book of Jeremiah, one can almost feel the personal pain, heartaches, and disappointments Jeremiah felt. At times he was even angry with God. On one occasion he accused God of deceiving him!

On another occasion Jeremiah seemed to be fully fed up with stubborn, sinful Judah and God's never ending, stern words. In the passage below it appears as if Jeremiah just wanted to get away from it all.

Then there was the time when God instructed Jeremiah to purchase a piece of property from his cousin. He was told to buy the land just when the Babylonian army was literally building siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. Needless to say the real estate market was at an all-time low, yet God told him to pay the full, pre-siege price! Those of us who know the book of Jeremiah well, and love Jeremiah, may even feel slightly amused at this incident. But just think of how Jeremiah must have felt following this instruction from God. He certainly must have felt and looked the fool.

And we certainly cannot examine Jeremiah's life and trials without remembering that he was imprisoned, thrown into a well, and had all his writings burned by King Jehoiakim after God had instructed him to put everything he had been saying in to writing.

I have already used the incident between Jeremiah and Hananiah as an example of an incomplete or evolving prophecy. (See chapters one and three). But let us reexamine that incident in the context of the breaking and molding of Jeremiah. (Jer 28). Remember Jeremiah had been prophesying that God was using King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as His instrument and that the people of Judah should submit to captivity. God was saying through Jeremiah that, after a period of time, He would free them from captivity and they would return to their land. And God had specifically instructed the people to not listen to “your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, `You will not serve the king of Babylon.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands;” (Jer 27:9-10 NIV). It was during this episode of prophecy that God instructed Jeremiah to make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and to wear it around his neck as a symbol of captivity.

Then along came Hananiah who told the people that God was saying, “I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.” and that within two years all the captives would be returned. (Jer 28:2-4 NIV). Then Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah and broke it in the presence of the people. As he did this he stated, “This is what the Lord says: `In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'” (Jer 28:11 NIV). This must have angered and humiliated Jeremiah very much.

Yet look at the last sentence of that verse. It says, “At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.” That is amazing to me! Jeremiah had by that time in his life been so broken and molded by God that he could experience that humiliation and yet just turn away and not say another word. Why didn't he speak? Because the Lord had not given him anything more to say at that moment. How do we know this? Let's look at the next few verses.

What control the Lord had over Jeremiah! What would most of us have done in Jeremiah's place when Hananiah broke the yoke off our necks? We would have blasted him, wouldn't we? After all, Jeremiah knew he was speaking the word of the Lord and he had followed God's instruction in building and wearing the yoke. Yet he said nothing. He simply walked away. It was only when the Lord spoke to him a short time later that he sought out Hananiah to deliver God's word to him.

Yes, God does break and mould His prophets. But once the task is complete--if indeed, it ever is--God had great control over his servants, the prophets. It is difficult for the truly broken and remolded prophet to know where his own feelings end and God's begin as he views the pains, hurts, and injustices of society and of the church.

There Are Degrees of Breaking

I believe the depth or degree of breaking depends on the degree of self-will the prophet has. Some are willing, even eager, to do the Lord's will. Others seem set on self-pursuit. Those who are compliant will experience much less trauma in the breaking and remolding process. But rest assured, all who have the call of God as a prophet will need to have the sin purged in the breaking process. The question is not, “Will the prophet go through breaking?” but, “To what degree will the breaking be and how long will it take?”

The Prophets Sins: Pride and Judgmentalism

As we have already noted, the prophet is not particularly drawn to most outward sins. Outward sins are usually not a trap for the maturing prophet. However, the prophet is far from being sin free. In fact, there are two major sins that plague the prophet: pride and judgmentalism.

The prophet, by nature, is very judgmental. Remember, the prophet sees mostly black and white. There is very little gray in the prophet's world. This is a natural trait in the prophet's makeup. This trait flows into his call as well. The problem is, the immature prophet will judge everyone by his standards, and reject most others because he has judged them and they have fallen short.

Pride is a willing companion to this judging. They go hand in hand. The immature prophet will be sure God speaks to him and not to most others. So he is “special”. He must therefore be more worthy.

The most horrible aspect of this inherent pride and judgmentalism in an immature prophet is that it makes that prophet unteachable. Have you ever tried to correct a person with a prophetic call who is full of these two sins? The response is usually, “Thank you very much, brother Jones, but when God tells me thus and so, then I'll listen. In the meantime, let me tell you about all the things you are doing wrong in your church!”

I have seen this deadly combination of pride and judgmentalism drive many from their rightful place as called prophets in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, before they leave, they usually cause a lot of damage.

Let me tell you of one example we encountered several years ago. My wife and I were teaching a seminar in an Asian country and we had taught several sessions on the call and office of the prophet. After it was over, one young man came up to my wife, Carolyn, and was literally jumping from one foot to the other he was so excited. He said, “Sister Carolyn, Sister Carolyn, now I know. Now I know that I have a prophetic call. I never understood before. No one ever explained these things to me before but I am just like what you have described!”

Carolyn spent some time with this young man and he told her that he had been saved at age nineteen. (He was twenty five at the time of the seminar.) He said he had not been inside a church for a year but that he saw a poster for our seminar and the Holy Spirit made him come. He didn't want to. He told Carolyn that he had been in three different churches in five years and had left each one in disgust because the people were all “hypocrites” and the pastor just didn't do things right. He had gone to each pastor and told him what he was doing wrong but the pastors refused to take his counsel so he quit the church! All this before age 24!

Here is a classic example of a young man with a true prophetic call on his life, but, through pride and judging others too harshly, he had turned aside from the call. To me the biggest tragedy was that this young man had never been taught how to mature into his call! Carolyn spent a long time showing him his errors and encouraging him to rejoin the church and submit to authority, and to understand that it would take years to mature into his call. (We explore this incident further in our chapter on the prophet/pastor relationship, chapter 19).

Another sin prophets are subject to is bitterness. The bitterness in the life of a called prophet usually comes as a result of rejection of his word and his person. People have difficulty separating the word of the prophet from the person of the prophet so often they reject both. My wife and I could see some bitterness in the young man I described above. He had bitterly rejected the Church because those pastors rejected his word to them.

Let me say a word about anger. Prophets often appear angry. Indeed, they often are angry. The reason a mature prophet is angry is that he sees sin as God sees sin. God is also angry with sin. The prophet, as God's spokesman, will see the sin and speak with God's righteous anger about it.

We must not confuse this type of righteous anger with the kind of anger of the flesh. This anger of the flesh leads to sin. “In your anger do not sin.” (Eph 4:26 NIV). If a prophet is manifesting this kind of sinful anger, it is his or her humanity. He has not yet learned the difference between God's anger and his own. Unchecked human anger usually leads to sin. Godly anger is because of sin.

Breaking Human Expectations

For the prophet, as for all of us, when God speaks to us, we immediately create certain expectations in our imagination. This is not sin, it is just our own human mind at work. I call this the “expectation syndrome.” Most often that expectation is wrong. For example, if God came to you and said,

What would you think? I would say, “Hallelujah! The blessing of God has finally come! My troubles are all over. I'll be rich. I'll be famous. I'll be powerful. God is going to give me everything I want! Hallelujah!”

But look what happened when Abram obeyed God. Verse ten says,

That certainly wouldn't measure up to my “expectations,” does it yours? Did God really lead Abram to a land of famine? Yes, He did. Could it be that Abram's “expectations” died there in the famine? Could this be the beginning of Abram's breaking and molding process? I think so. Could Abram have been bitterly disappointed and wanted to quit? Of course, Abram was human, wasn't he? Such thoughts are based on false expectations and must die before one can become a true servant of God whom He can use.

How God Breaks and Molds Today

God is still accomplishing His breaking and molding of prophets in much the same way He did ages ago, starting with Abram. After salvation comes the prophetic call of the Lord. Then in order for the Lord to turn that person into a mature prophet, one who is set aside as a servant of God, all false expectations must be put to death. (Let me say here that this principle is universal and applies to all truly committed Christians. Regardless of one's ministry call, God breaks and molds all of us as we allow. However, for purposes of this book, I am confining my analysis to prophets).

There are endless ways God can accomplish this breaking and molding. They are as varied as the person whom He called. I will mention a few. God may:

- Place a person under overbearing superiors.

- Place a person in extreme economic hardship.

- Place a person in situations of social embarrassment.

- Allow a person to bear some physical or relational handicap.

- Allow a person to endure failures, be they professional, parenting, in church work, and so forth.

Remember, in all these very difficult circumstances, God is breaking and molding His prophet.

Dangers Along the Way

Let us not forget that prophets are human just like the rest of us. Thus, the prophet must be alert to the enemy's strategy during these difficult times.

Often, when the emotions are raw and all hope seems to evaporate, the enemy comes and says, “If God really loves you, why is this happening to you? If God called you, why . . . ?” and so on. Perhaps Jeremiah heard, “God doesn't care about you, otherwise you wouldn't be down in this well.” (See Jeremiah 38:6-7).

Remember that mature prophets are set aside for mighty works. They are “high visibility” Christians in the spirit realm and they are targeted by the enemy for discouragement and destruction. They are at the top of the enemy's hit list.

Do All Called Prophets Go Through Breaking and Molding?

Based on my observations over the years, I believe the answer to this question is, “No.” Only those who are willing to “purge themselves” go through this process. Only those who want above all else to be vessels of honor for the Master's use will allow themselves to go all the way through to the end of this process. I am reminded of the parable of the sower. (See Mark 4). Here Jesus tells us of the four human responses to the Word (seed): 1) some fell along the path, 2) some fell in rocky places, 3) some fell among the thorns, and 4) some fell on good soil.

The first two Jesus mentioned fell away, but the third group, the ones who fell among thorns, clearly represent prophets (and all Christians) who are genuinely born again and called to move with a prophetic mantle, but who are more concerned with the things of this world than the things of God. Jesus described them as those who have, “ . . . the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things . . .” He went on to say that these desires “come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Only the fourth group sent roots down and bore fruit . . . some thirty, some sixty and some a hundredfold!

The Purpose of Molding

The Lord takes no pleasure in breaking the prophet, but He does take great pleasure in molding him into a vessel He can use. Let us review the attributes of those who have allowed themselves to be molded as Paul described them in II Timothy 2:21:

1. Instrument for Noble Purposes

God reserves His purged, chosen prophets for noble use. I don't necessarily mean “nobility” in man's eyes, but in God's eyes. Such noble purposes have to do with God's invisible kingdom. God has great plans and purposes that He reserves for these instruments. He can take such people and send them into very difficult situations and know that they will do His will every time.

2. Made Holy

To be made holy means one who is not only separated from sin, but one who is dedicated to God and His holiness.

Holiness is both a prerequisite and a byproduct of being one in spirit with the Lord. In this light, God's breaking and molding of the prophet in imperative.

3. Useful to the Master

It is interesting to watch a master craftsman using tools. He uses each tool for specific purposes. He is very careful to keep his tools clean, sharp, and in order. Certain tools are used only for one thing. He never touches them until that particular need arises . . . then he reaches for that special tool. When that tool is needed it is useful to him as no other tool could be. He easily accomplishes his task with the right tool in good working order.

As a good craftsman enjoys using tools that are well designed and sharp, so the Lord takes pleasure in using His prophets. Such men and women are so useful to Him. He may at any time reach for that person, that tool, and it stands always ready to be used.

4. Prepared To Do Any Good Work

I know of one such vessel whom the Lord awakened very early in the morning and instructed to be on a plane to a foreign country that day. He readily obeyed. Enroute he asked the Lord why He had given him such short notice. The Lord told him that the person He first spoke to was not responsive. Sadly, that other person was entangled with other “things.” He was not willing or prepared to go. The prophet needs to be willing and prepared to do anything at anytime for the Lord.

As the breaking and molding is completed, there is a new Christ-centeredness evident. The prophet moves in a new power and authority. Jesus now has a vessel of honor fit for use in His kingdom. Such mighty servants of the living God are a joy to behold.