Prophecy!

March 11, 2024 Monday Message:

Isaiah 7:14 NLT, Isaiah speaking the Lord’s words: “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

We all recognize this as a prophecy or prediction of the birth of Jesus. That event happened just like God said it would. By the way, Immanuel means God with us. One important thing to remember is that Isaiah lived 800 years before Jesus! He personally had no knowledge of a virgin birth. Isaiah was simply speaking the words given to him by the Lord. Those words would come to fruition 800 years later!

Prophets have a unique job description. Some people think that prophets can predict the future, but that’s not true. Only God knows the future, and Isaiah is retelling the words God gave him. Listening for God’s voice is the end of Isaiah’s super-powers!

Are there prophets nowadays? Probably, but they don’t get a lot of attention. Journalists only focus on catastrophes, things gone wrong. Apparently Good News isn’t newsworthy. And you won’t hear about prophets in most churches. God is probably speaking, but we have our radios off and hear nothing. And it’s very difficult to hear a prophet if you don’t believe in them!

Same thing with evil demons. The subject of demons seldom comes up in churches nowadays. But let me warn you: Satan never takes a holiday! Satan enjoys an unrestricted earthly battle because so few believe in him. When churches stopped casting out demons, Satan jumped for joy! We rarely talk about the problem, so Satan runs free.

Jesus taught that we should: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons.” Especially nowadays we should follow Jesus’ instructions!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship