Robert Morris - I Like Presbytery

Pastor Robert teaches on the meaning and importance of prophetic presbytery. Through presbytery, God encourages us and imparts His gifts and power to us.

Prophetic Presbytery happens when the elders of the church lay hands on a believer to pray for them and prophesy over them (1 Timothy 4:14). During prophetic Presbytery, we receive gifts from God that help define our specific call to serve God and people. Prophetic Presbytery brings encouragement.

Presbytery is about team ministry. We have many examples in Scripture of prophetic team ministry. Judas and Silas were a prophetic team (Acts 15:32). Paul instructed the Corinthian church that prophets were to work in teams of two or three (1 Corinthians 14:29). Paul felt so strongly about team ministry that he chose not to minister in Troas because he didn’t have anyone to go with him (2 Corinthians 2:12–13).

Presbytery brings an impartation of God’s gifts and power. Something supernatural happens when we agree with God’s word and lay our hands on someone and give them His word for them. We not only receive gifts from God, but power to fulfill the prophetic words that are spoken. We know from Genesis 1 that God creates by speaking, so when God speaks a prophetic word over our lives, He also sends His power within that word to fulfill it.

God speaks encouragement to us through Presbytery. He shows us His desires and His heart for us. But it doesn’t automatically happen just because God said it—we have a part to play in seeing God’s words fulfilled. We must receive God’s word with faith, and then act on it. We must be careful not to neglect the gifts we receive from the laying on of hands (2 Timothy 1:6; 1 Timothy 4:14). We must give ourselves to God’s prophetic word and fight the spiritual battles that come against us in the process of seeing it fulfilled (1 Timothy 1:18–20, 4:15)