Session 3 of 9
Culture, etiquette, and love as the foundation.
I don’t believe God gives gifts to those who are merely open to them. I believe He gives them to those who earnestly desire and long for them. That way He knows they will be valued, treasured and nurtured. If you are just open to the gift of prophecy, I believe you will always just be open and not necessarily ever filled. It is something special to be desired, sought after and treasured.
“So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy…” — 1 Corinthians 14:39 (ESV)
The desire must come from a place of love. Love for God, His Name, His Kingdom, His ways, His gifts and His people. Pursue love first. Then desire from a place of love.
The gift can never be more important than the Giver, and the one who operates in the gift can never become more important than the gift itself. The gift must always glorify Jesus — never ourselves, never anyone else.
Just because we are given the gift of prophecy does not mean we will always use it in the right way, which is why we need the heart of God. In the same way, just because you have the gift of music does not mean you will always worship God. Many musical gifts start in church and end up becoming secular if the heart of worship is lost. We need to be careful we do not fall more in love with the gift than with God — that we love ministering in the prophetic more than we love spending time with Him.
“And if I have prophetic powers… but have not love, I am nothing.” — 1 Corinthians 13:2 (ESV)
In prophetic terms, though you prophesy to presidents and direct countries, if you have not love you have achieved nothing. Your level of love will also determine your level of influence.
Luke 10:20 makes it plain: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” We should not rejoice that we hear God or that our words come to pass, but rather in our salvation — in knowing the Giver and being known by Him. The gift can never be greater, receive more focus, or be more important than the Giver. The created can never be more important than the Creator. And the warning of Matthew 7:22 is a sobering one: “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?’” It is never about what we do or what we achieve. It is about the relationship we have — becoming the Bride and Lover Christ desires for all eternity.
We need to focus on love, not technique — to transition from a relationship of obedience to one of intimacy. From concubine to bride. God will sometimes show us things to see our heart and what we will do with it — to see if we have His heart, if we see the bigger picture beyond our own circumstances. In 1 Samuel 24, David cut off the corner of Saul’s robe, and afterwards his heart struck him. He was convicted of the small bit of self that came through — possibly self-justification, or a moment of self-gratification, just letting Saul know he was in control. Whatever it was, it struck him. We need that same heart after God: reliant on Him, His timing, His promotion, His protection, His provision. A heart that sees and understands the priorities of Heaven and places them above our own priorities and feelings — so we can get to the place where we honestly live for Him and not ourselves. Where what is important to God is what is truly important to us. If it is not important to God, it should not be important to us.
Fear — keeps us looking left, right and over our shoulder, instead of looking forward to Jesus.
Unforgiveness — we need to forgive now, and ask God to help us. There will never be a better time.
Offence — sometimes called the bait of Satan. Most offence comes from insecurity and not knowing who we are in Christ. If we have any identity that is not 100% in Christ, we will be offended when it is questioned or threatened. Anything that challenges our worldly identity will make us feel threatened. The only solution is to make Jesus the core of your identity. It can also help to see yourself as having no rights to anything — only blessings that come from God, which you continually give thanks for. This is why we say grace before meals: they are a blessing, not a right. As Christians we have no rights, only blessings that flow from God’s abounding love, mercy and grace.
Religion — smothers us with regulation and duty, when God intended us to be smothered in love. Religion reduces you to a concubine. Don’t settle for being a concubine when you are called to be a lover and a bride.
Independence — the prophetic flows most easily, is most protected, and brings the greatest benefit when it operates under the covering of accountability and authority. Pride fuels independence, and pride comes before a fall. We were never meant to be independent — original sin was Adam wanting to be independent of God. We only see in part. We need each other and are called to operate as one body, always dependent on Jesus, what He has done and what He is going to do.
Old Testament prophets represented the law. New Testament prophets represent grace and love. We are to be provoked by a love for God and to extend His grace wherever we go. The role of the prophet has changed — from one of judgement to one of reconciliation. No longer focused on identifying sin and issuing warnings, but on identifying destiny and calling down blessings. Building up the Bride, to be the lover He desires for all eternity.
We also need to learn the basics and continually practise them, lest we lose our heart and our foundation. We are not to run after every new thing: “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)
Great golfers and sportsmen continually practise the basics — working on the same swing until it becomes constant. They never try to copy someone else’s swing; it would ruin their game. It is about the race you have been gifted and called to run: your calling, your purpose, your gifting — which you will be accountable for. Not how you compare to others.
This plan follows Session 3 — love as the foundation, the culture and etiquette of the gift, and the things that restrict it. Each day pairs scriptures cited in the teaching with passages that deepen the same theme.
From the session referenced in the teaching · Suggested added to deepen the theme
The gift is given to those who long for it.
The blade that does the work; the gift is only the handle.
God shows us things to reveal our own heart.
Fear, unforgiveness, offence, religion and independence.
From a relationship of obedience to one of intimacy.
Read the passage unhurried. Then sit quietly, let the noise of the world settle, and journal anything that comes — a word, a picture, an impression — and date it. Over weeks and months, patterns emerge that you would never see otherwise. Test everything you receive against Scripture.
Each scripture link opens in a new tab — so you can read the passage and return here without losing your place in the session.
“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21