Ed Dufresne - The prophet : friend of God

Contents

Foreword

The foundation of God's Church was and is laid by the apostles and prophets, as Ephesians 2:19-21 so aptly states. This principle is further demonstrated in Ephesians 4:11, where the apostles and the prophets are listed before the other fivefold ministries .

The apostle governs, the prophet guides, the evangelist gathers, the pastor guards, and the teacher grounds. All of them are "gifts" from God to the Body of our Lord. However, a gift is not a gift until it is received and utilized by the recipient. Thus, the Church must recognize and receive the fivefold ministries .

One can also liken the ministries, or the energy of God, as a man's hand. The apostle is the balance, which is the thumb. The prophet is the forefinger, which points to or helps to guide. The evangelist, the longest finger on the hand, shows the good news far-reaching into the earth. The pastor represents the ring finger, being the shepherd who constantly guards the sheep. The teacher, being the smallest finger, is able to reach into ears with truths. All are vital. All function together.

In the Body of Christ, all of us are equal in God; however, all are not equal in functions. Although our functions are different, all of us are needed to equip the saints.

First Corinthians 12:18 states, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." Verse 28 says, "And God hath set some in the church..." referring to the fivefold ministries . The Greek word for "set" means to place brick upon brick, stone upon stoneor ministry overlapping ministry.

In Matthew 7:15, Jesus spoke of false prophets. If there were false prophets, there were certainly real prophets. They functioned in New Testament days, and they are functioning today. Jesus came to give grace, love, and resurrection power to the New Testament ministries. Because they were added to and fulfilled, not done away with, let us not exclude any of them.

I prophesy that you will see the fivefold ministries as governing boards in assemblies before Jesus returns. This is biblical. It's part of God's plan. God moves in "waves" that edify His Church. He is still building on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone.

I have known Ed Dufresne for many years. He is a gift and an asset to the Body of Christ. I have watched him go from glory to glory and grace to grace. May God continue to allow him to operate and work in the supernatural.

I have read this book and personally urge you to open your hearts to its truths. Allow God's Holy Spirit, the greatest Teacher and Guide, to enlighten you to deeper revelation truths.

Dr. J. R. Roper Sr.

Portland, Oregon

Chapter 1

Characteristics of a True Prophet

There is so much misunderstanding about the prophet's ministry, or office, that I want to examine it in this book. Also, the Lord has released me to do more teaching on the prophet's ministry because of things that will be happening in that ministry in the 1990s.

I want to obey God to the fullest so the Body of Christ will not be ignorant concerning the prophet's ministry, and so those who have the prophet's mantle will be helped to flow into their ministry.

When we preachers taught on the fivefold ministry gifts in the past, we touched on them lightly, saying, "Well, these are the types of ministry gifts, and this is how they operate..." That was adequate then, but now a greater depth of understanding, more light and illumination, is coming espedally on the prophet's ministry.

During the next two years, which are crucial, the prophets must get before God and listen to what the Spirit of God is saying in this hour. The prophets must speak by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost!

The Lord spoke this to my heart: "Revival won't come to America until the prophets get up and speak and prophesy."

Teaching isn't going to get it. Pastoring isn't going to get it. Holding evangelistic meetings isn't going to get it. Unless the prophets come forth and speak, our country is in trouble.

America needs prophets who can't be bought with a price... prophets who won't "pimp" their ministries for a price... prophets who will obey God... prophets who will go to any church God leads them, whether big or small.

We need the prophet's ministry to emerge in the forefront.

We need to hear what the Spirit of God is saying.

We need the prophets in this land to speak so we can have revival!

Yet I've never seen such disrespect toward God and his prophets. Some ministers get cocky. They think they know everything about all the ministry gifts.

I used to come out of meetings and complain to the Lord, "I'm never going back to that church again! What's wrong with those harebrained people?"

Then the Lord answered, "Son, you've got to teach them about the office of the prophetand don't call my people harebrained!"

How many churches really teach on the prophet's ministry? Most Pentecostal denominations know nothing about the prophet's ministry, and many Word of Faith churches know nothing about the prophet's ministry!

Someone told me that the pastor of a Word church said, "Well, God doesn't use prophets today. The prophet's ministry has been done away with." This was a Word church!

People seem to think a prophet (or prophetess) is someone like John the Baptist: a weirdo who lives in a remote place, eats strange things, has long hair, and hasn't taken a bath in thirty years.

On the other hand, another problem today is that many people are going around saying, "I'm a prophet." Watch out for anyone who says, "I'm this and I'm that" all the time!

Proverbs 18:16 says that your gift will make room for you. The Body of Christ will recognize the prophet's anointing on you. You won't need to tell everyone, "I'm a prophet, and you must listen to me!"

(And just because you operate the simple gift of prophecy occasionally and prophesy does not make you a prophet. It does not mean that God has ordained you into the office of prophet.)

Prophets and apostles are now coming on the scene, as we will see in the last chapter of this book. But for now, we need to look at the nine major characteristics of a true prophet of God. We are indebted to Patsy Behrman, an instructor at Rhema Bible Training Center, for compiling this list and sharing it with us.

A Characteristic of Revelation

The first characteristic of a true prophet is that he is a man of revelation.

Evangelists and pastors are concerned especially with the people. If an evangelist is not concerned about people, he is not a true evangelist. And if a pastor is not concerned about people, he's not a true shepherd.

Many people, including singers who travel around, are called "evangelists," but they are really exhorters. Such singers, musicians, psalmists, and others in the ministry of helps are set in the Church, but they are not evangelists. An evangelist is one who has miracles, signs, and wonders following his ministry. He's a soul-winner.

Teachers are concerned with the Scriptures. They are very important to the Body of Christ; however, if they are not careful, they can lead the Body in the wrong direction. We need to pray that the teachers will teach accurately.

Apostles are men sent from God with a special messagesent ones who gospecial ones anointed to do special things.

A Characteristic of Knowledge

Resident in the prophet is the counsel of God. He has the heart and the pulse of God. Therefore, he can distinguish between the true and the false. This is the second characteristic of a true prophet.

It's important for the prophet to speak and bring revelation to the Church. How else can the teachers teach anything unless the prophets prophesy? When a true prophet prophesies, revelation comes. Then the teachers who were set in the Church can build on that foundation by teaching believers about things that are to come and things that need to be corrected.