Prophetic Ministries Today

For a period of about two years I struggled with something the Lord had said to me. He said, "Kent, if everyone could hear me like you do, I would not need you, nor would I have created prophets for My church." The reason I had a hard time receiving this word was because I realized I would be given a great deal of responsibility. My responsibility would be to deliver the uncompromised word of the Lord with such accuracy that there would be no doubt in my heart that what I had spoken was truly from the throne of God.

When the Holy Spirit speaks inside of you, it is different than when an angel delivers revelation knowledge. First of all, there is much more power in the voice and presence of the Holy Spirit. At times, He will cause you to fall into a trance or weep uncontrollably under His conviction.

Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." Acts 10:10-15

After I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit I gained understanding of how I was able to know of things to come. Before I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I only heard Him ever so often, maybe once a year. When the Holy Spirit spoke it was not in long sentences or casual conversation. His words were short, to the point and powerful. Even though I did not have all of the understanding of what He was saying, there was always evidence of a change in my life. Each time the Holy Spirit has spoken to me, I have remembered every word and the experience of hearing His voice.

I was 9 years old the first time I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. Not only did I hear his voice, but I felt pain in my heart from his Word knowing that tragedy would visit my family. At the time, no one would believe that I had really received insight into what was about to take place. I was at my Grandmother's house waiting for my parents to come pick my sister and me up and take us home. It began to rain softly outside as I stood next to my Grandmother while she talked to my parents on the phone. At the same time the Holy Spirit said, "Your parents will be in an automobile accident and it will be fatal." Sensing the truth in His word, I tried to get my Grandmother to let me talk to my parents who were about to leave our house to come pick us up. My Grandmother hung up the phone and I asked her, "Why didn't you let me talk to them?" She replied, "They will be here in just an hour; you can talk to them then." Crying I said, "No they won't; they are going to have a wreck and it will be bad." Grandmother walked away probably thinking I was just tired or didn't want to go home.

Whatever the reason, I felt helpless. I began to pray to God and even tried imagining in my mind that they would just run off of the road or have a small wreck. I felt that there was no way I could change the coming event, but I tried entreating the Lord with all that was within me to do so. Shortly after my Grandmother had spoken to my parents, my Dad's four brothers came in and announced that my parents had been in an accident. My Dad had survived, but my mother had been killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver.

My world changed in many ways that day. First, with the loss of my mother, and then with the new experience of hearing the voice of God. He had spared my Dad, I believe, because of my prayers. However, looking back now I see that when my mother died, my Dad buried me and my sister with her. He has never been the same man as he ceased to allow us to be a part of his life.

This may seem like a sad story, but really it is not. I believe everything we go through in this life shapes and molds us into the vessel God desires us to be, for His glory. Each time He has spoken to me, it has always been the same. Sometimes He is correcting me or giving me scriptures-- teaching me things about His kingdom. Other times He has told me things to do, but never has He spoken more than one or two sentences during one of His visitations.

Many things the Holy Spirit has taught me do not fall in line with the main stream of doctrine today. Each time the Lord has revealed a new teaching to me, I have had problems accepting it because I knew that many would not receive the message. Over the years I have found that it is easier for the masses to believe a half truth rather than the Spirit of truth. To be accepted by the majority of believers today, you must be willing to believe everything the brand name preachers teach. If you do not preach what is the main stream of thought, you will find yourself religiously and sociably unacceptable.

It is written in the prophets, "And they shall be taught by God." Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. John 6:45