Retaining Spiritual Substance
It is of vital importance that a man of God learns how to retain their spiritual substance. In order for this to occur they must become men of few words and only speak that which is essential. If they spew out words continually, they will become void and empty of any type of spiritual substance within. This is evident with the Old Testament prophets who learned to be men of few words and only spoke when God gave them something to say. But this also has direct application to the present era with the New Testament Fivefold Ministry Levites. They must learn to be men of few words and only speak when God gives them his words to speak otherwise, they should remain silent.
Jeremiah 15:17 (NLT2)
17 I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand was on me. I was filled with indignation at their sins.
The prophet Jeremiah did not engage in socializing or trivial conversation or merry making with others. He sat alone in separation to God because the hand of the Lord was upon him and he was filled with the Lord’s indignation toward the sins of Israel.
This indignation was not his own personal anger but instead this was a divine anger of God which was placed upon him as he felt the anger of the Lord toward sin. It therefore was not his own anger but the anger of the Lord which consumed him.
He could not be a prophet of the Lord and at the same time engage in trivial talk and merry making and socializing because he could not be speaking words of human origin and then proceed to also speak words of divine origin. If he did that then it would cause confusion.
Jeremiah 15:19 (NASB)
19 Therefore, thus says the LORD, “If you return, then I will restore you— Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.
Jeremiah the prophet was to extract the precious words of the Lord from the worthless words of human origin. This means that a prophet has two sources of words within him. One source are his own natural words of human origin which come from his soul realm and reside in the thoughts of his own mind. These words of human origin are worthless in comparison to God’s precious words of divine origin which are given to a prophet to speak.
It is for this reason that a prophet needs to be a man of few words because if he just spews out human words continually in thoughtless manner then people will never know when he is speaking the oracle of God or if he is just speaking from his own natural human thoughts.
James 3:10-12 (NKJV)
10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
The analogy given here is that a spring cannot produce both fresh water and then bring forth bitter water from the same opening. A spring also could not yield both fresh water and salt water from the same spring.
In the same way, this can also be applied to a prophet because he cannot put out the worthless words of human origin (like those people who make merry and speak idle words of no value just to entertain themselves). The same mouth cannot be putting out worthless words and then later speak precious words of divine origin. If a man of God does such a thing it will create confusion because those listening will never know if he is speaking God’s words or if he is only speaking words of his own natural human origin.
Proverbs 17:27 (NLT2)
27 A truly wise person uses few words…
This scripture also has application to any Fivefold minister because as a man of God he must use only few words and speak only essential things. If he will become a man of few words then he will be wise and able to hold and retain spiritual substance within.
Spiritual substance can be compared to something like valuable oil. If someone is talkative and constantly spews out trivial words for no reason then they will not retain any spiritual substance within and their words will have no power. Someone who is talking all of the time is like a barrel full of oil that has a hole punched in it so that all of the oil is running out. It will not take long before that barrel will become completely dry.
The same is also true of those who are talkative because they will pour out all of their spiritual substance within until they become spiritually empty on the inside. They will have no power in their words if they are always talkative.
This is especially crucial when it applies to a Fivefold minister because people depend upon him to speak God’s word. Such a man cannot be chattering away all day long in careless manner speaking out idle talk or socializing with empty words! He will have zero spiritual substance left within himself and he will be unable to give God’s words in power and authority when the time comes for him to teach or preach or utter a prophetic word of the Lord to the people.
Proverbs 29:20 (NLT2)
20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.
This scripture can also be applied to a Fivefold minister because if they go around speaking without thinking then they are a fool. A fool is always speaking out everything that passes through his mind without thinking of the consequences of his words. People do not listen to a fool because he has a reputation of uttering useless words all day long as he chatters like a bird for no reason. Such a person will have zero spiritual substance and people do not listen when he speaks because he does not say anything worth listening to. His words are empty because he constantly speaks without thinking.
Proverbs 10:19 (AMP)
19 In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.
When someone speaks out a multitude of words from his mouth in a non-stop manner then transgression is not lacking. The more someone speaks the more they will sin against the Lord. Offenses and strife and division and discord all come from someone who is spewing out idle words from a thoughtless mind. This type of behavior is unfit for any Fivefold minister who is required to speak only God’s words rather than his own.
Ecclesiastes 10:1 (NLT2)
1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.
A man of God must carefully cultivate his reputation of being able to hear God’s voice and he does this by only speaking God’s words rather than words of his own human origin. He must remain silent until he is given God’s word to speak for this reason. A man who is making merry with his friends and socializing and spewing out idle talk in careless manner is being foolish. A little foolishness will spoil great wisdom and honor. A man who retains the wisdom and honor given to him by God can spoil everything if he engages in just a little foolishness or jesting with his mouth.
Part of the price to pay for those called to the Fivefold ministry is to become men of few words and to avoid socializing and speaking trivial words out of their mouth in foolish manner. Again, this is like a spring that puts out fresh water one minute and then spews out salt water the next! No one would know what to expect of such a perverse spring like that and the same is also true of a man of God who routinely speaks out trivial words of foolishness and then tries to deliver a word of the Lord that comes from divine origin.
Proverbs 30:5-6 (CJB)
5 Every word of God’s is pure; he shields those taking refuge in him.
6 Don’t add anything to his words; or he will rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Every word of the Lord is pure but this is not true of words that come from human origin because human words can be defiled by evil motives and other things that are not pleasing to God. A man of God cannot add anything to God’s words that are given to him to speak. If God gives him only a few words to speak then he should speak those words then sit down without adding anything of human origin to the words of God. He cannot allow people to draw him into a trivial conversation and he also cannot allow someone to push him to speak when God has not given him something to say.
Revelation 22:18-19 (NASB)
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
The written word of God is not to be added to or taken away from but the same is also true when a Fivefold minister speaks an oracle from God. He cannot withhold some part of it for fear of offending someone in the audience and he cannot add to it by attaching his own words of human origin to the word of the Lord. The man of God must only speak the word of the Lord and no more and no less.
He cannot have fear of man or be controlled by their programs or schedule or dictates. He can speak only if God speaks and he can only say exactly what God says and nothing else!
This is also true of a preaching message or a written teaching lesson because the Fivefold minister cannot add things of human origin such as ax-grinding topics of something that angers him. If he is using the pulpit as an avenue to air his pet-peeves then that is mixing the word of God together with things that come from a human origin. He is not allowed to add anything to the word of the Lord.
Isaiah 30:10 (NASB)
10 Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions“; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.
There are some people who do not want to hear the word of the Lord for rebuke or correction or warning. Such people want to hear only pleasant words and they desire to have a false prophet who will prophesy illusions to them! If a man of God is intimidated by such people, he might compromise his message to give them what they want to hear rather than God’s message! That would render him into a false prophet who speaks their own words rather than the words of the Lord. A man of God cannot have fear of man for this reason but must be bold to speak God’s word even if it may not be popular among those who hear it.
Jeremiah 23:16 (NIV)
16 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
A prophet who sells out to gain acceptance or money or popularity of the people will give them what they want to hear rather than the truth of God’s word. But such words of empty flattery come from human origin not from God. A false prophet is one who speaks visions invented in their own minds which did not come from the mouth of the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:21-22 (NIV)
21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.
The false prophets were not sent by God but they give out their own message invented from their own minds and they said, “Thus says the Lord!” in order to endorse it. God did not speak to them but they prophesied of their own volition! If they were a true prophet then they would have spoken God’s word to the people rather than their own words. The words of the Lord will serve to turn people from their evil ways and cause them to repent of their evil deeds. Giving flattery to sinners however only confirms them in their sin and hardens their hearts.
Jeremiah 6:14 (NIV)
14 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.
A true prophet will rebuke sin and give a warning of pending judgment and call people to repent. But false prophets will dress the wound and comfort the people in their sin and tell them, “God Loves You!” and tell them that they will have continued peace and prosperity. But these people will have no peace by living in continual unrepentant sin which leads them toward their own destruction.
Jeremiah 23:25-26 (NIV)
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?
A false prophet will prophesy delusions of their own minds which means their words are from a human origin rather than coming from God. These false prophesies only serve to cause confusion and come into conflict with the genuine word of God that warns people to repent.
Jeremiah 23:36 (NIV)
36 But you must not mention ‘the oracle of the LORD’ again, because every man’s own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
Often a false prophet will use the words, “Thus says the Lord!” only to give authority to their own ideas and to their own words which were invented from their own minds. Thus, they turn upside down the words of the living God because a false prophet will always contradict the words of a real prophet. Jeremiah predicted coming destruction if they did not repent but the false prophets predicted continued peace and prosperity for the sinner! This cancelled the good effects of God’s word and caused the sinners to harden their hearts so that they would end up in destruction!
Jeremiah 1:9-10 (NIV)
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
The point to emphasize here is that it is God who puts his words into the mouth of the prophet so that the prophet only speaks God’s word and nothing else! The words of Jeremiah could uproot and tear down or destroy or overthrow or build or plant because they had power. Jeremiah only spoke God’s words so these words had the power to destroy a nation and cause it to go extinct or his words could cause a nation which repented to be built up and planted.
It is for this reason that it is of vital importance that a Fivefold minister speak only God’s words because God’s words contain power. If a man of God speaks idle talk and empty words of human origin he will be a fool and this will cancel out the power of God’s words which he speaks.
Jeremiah 23:29-32 (NIV)
29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me.
31 Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD declares.’
32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD.
God’s word is like a fire that can consume or a like a hammer of steel that can break a rock in pieces. It is sacred privilege for a man to give a prophetic word from God and he should not take this job lightly or attach his own human words together with God’s word in trivial manner. God is against those false prophets who steal words from one another and give the false impression that God is confirming the same word among an entire group of false prophets who all say the same thing. Their reckless lies do not benefit the people at all but rather cancel out their repentance. Without repentance, they will be destroyed and sent to hell. Therefore, a prophet must only speak what God says rather than inventing his own words to flatter the people. He must not say “Thus says the Lord!” in order to give false authority to his words to deceive the people to think God is speaking through the false prophet when God is not.
Jeremiah 26:13-15 (NIV)
13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you.
14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right.
15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
The people repeatedly threatened the prophet Jeremiah with death because he warned them of coming destruction if they did not repent. God sent Jeremiah to speak all of these words to the people and these were not words of his own human origin. A prophet must have a reputation of not speaking anything except God’s words and therefore he must be a man of few words who only speaks when God gives him something to say.
Ezekiel 3:1-4 (NIV)
1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.
The prophet Ezekiel was also given the words of the Lord to speak to the people. These were not his own words but the words of God. The same is true with all men of God who speak God’s word without fear or compromise or flattery but give the truth to the people to warn them and turn them away from sin.
Hosea 6:5 (NIV)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.
The words of God have power when spoken by the prophets and these words can cut the unrepentant sinners to pieces and bring about their destruction! These are not words that can be trifled with and so a man of God cannot add to or take away from anything God gives them to speak. They must be a man of few words otherwise they can find themselves adding something to God’s word that is of human origin.
Ezekiel 2:7 (NIV)
7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
A prophet has to speak God’s word to the people whether they listen to it or fail to listen. If they listen then it can lead them to repentance and save them from destruction. But if they fail to listen and rebel instead then they will know for certain why they are being destroyed just before they perish! In either case this fulfills the purpose of God in having prophets speak only God’s word to the people.
The purpose of this lesson is to call attention to the fact that a Fivefold minister is called to speak only God’s word to the people. Whenever they add anything of human origin to God’s word then this is sin. Therefore, they must be a man of few words because anything spoken from human origin can add human words to God’s word. If they only speak the word of the Lord then the people will expect that their words come from God.
Great confusion occurs if a man of God is spewing out idle talk all day and then tries to deliver God’s word the next minute. How will people know when he is speaking God’s word or only speaking words of natural human origin? It is for this reason those who are under training as New Testament Levites must learn to be men of few words and only speak when God has given them something to say. If they will do this, they will retain spiritual substance within and their words will come out with power and authority because they only speak the words that God has given to them to speak.