Let us think for a moment about the ministries that serve to bring each Christian to place where he or she may serve as a prophet to the nations.

The prophet was one of the principal ministries of the old covenant, and is listed along with the apostle as one of the principal ministries of the new covenant.

The point to be stressed concerning the prophet (and this is true also of the apostle) is that he is a man of God. He is not primarily a man of the people, although he may weep over the people as we notice in the life of Jeremiah.

The prophet differs from the apostle in the immediacy of his message. He is standing in the very Presence of the God of Heaven and declaring what God is saying at this moment. He is the Presence of the consuming Fire among mankind.

The apostle, on the other hand, has been sent from Christ with a message, a teaching, with knowledge and authority that were deposited in him at a previous time as he walked with the Lord and was trained by Him. The Lord must be present in power and wisdom when the apostle ministers, as is true of all gifts and ministries.

Some ministries tend to be more people-oriented than is true of the prophet, although each member of the Body of Christ always maintains his bond and allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, never to people, never to a church. Let us not forget that crucial fact.

There are ministries that stand with the people and ask God to "bless us all." The true pastor may have that attitude more than others.

The prophet, however, is "on the Lord's side." Sometimes he is on the Lord's side against most or all the Lord's people. He stands with God against the people. We see this in the ministries of Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, and especially Jeremiah.

In our day many ministries are far too people-oriented. We attempt to please the people, being bound by the fear of man. We term the fear of man "peer pressure" or "group pressure."

Group pressure is a snare to the man of God. The true prophet of God remains free from group pressure. He spends much time alone with God and enjoys his close fellowship with God and his visions and revelations. He often leaves the company of people because he desires to be alone with God.

The prophet of the Lord is prepared to stand against the whole Church—against the whole world.

God must have such men and women today. He must have people who are on the Lord's side. He must have spokesmen who are ready to rebuke the Church and the world.

God's people are prone to murder God's prophets, as Jesus taught us. Why is this? It is because the churches rapidly and easily fall into the trap of fighting against God. They fight against God because of the self-will and self-centeredness that are in them. The Sanhedrin and the chief priests and elders fought against the Lord Jesus and Stephen because these leaders of the Jews did not pray and seek the mind of the Spirit of God. Instead they employed their fleshly reasonings.

To be continued.