Touré Roberts - Modern Prophets

Today, I want to talk about the prophetic. What’s interesting about the prophetic is that, again, people may think of grace in terms of apostolic ministry, which is indeed a grace. I refer to it as apostolic grace. The prophetic, which I will unpack today, is also a grace. What is grace? Grace is a divine enablement; it is an ability that God has ordained and released, one that nothing can oppose. My friend had a song back in the day: «If Jesus says yes, nobody can say no.» Remember that? It was beautiful! Anyway, grace is a divine enablement—it is something that the entire universe must bow to; there is no force in the universe strong enough to annul it. It is powerful.

The apostolic grace provides the ability to lay a foundation that can never be uprooted. Therefore, if you are an entrepreneur or a businessperson and this series has been speaking to you, you need to pursue that thing that God has placed in your heart because it will work. You may have to pioneer it, go by yourself, and blaze a trail, but if God spoke it to you, get to blazing! Nothing in this world can oppose it; it is a key that opens doors no man can shut and shuts doors no man can open. These are graces—these are graces! I get excited talking about it. The apostolic grace lays a foundation, but that passage mentions that the foundation is not solely by apostolic grace; it is also by prophetic grace. It doesn’t mention the others. If you look at verse 20—I’ll put it up real quick—it says, «having been built on”—he’s talking about the church, the family of God—“having been built on the foundation of the apostles”—or let’s just say apostolic and prophetic—“Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.»

So I’m thinking, why didn’t he include all of them? We have five graces, but he only mentions those two in relation to the foundation. Here’s why I believe that is important: the apostolic grace, the grace to lay a foundation, and the prophetic grace work in tandem. The apostolic is about building, about laying a foundation, while the prophetic tells you what to build and when to build it. The prophetic provides specificity to the builders. I don’t want to just go and build; I want to tap into divine clarity about what needs to be built, drawing upon a source that considers past, present, and future. I don’t just want to know that I need to build something; I want to understand more clearly what I need to build and when to do it. Are you tracking?

So that’s the prophetic. Let’s discuss the prophetic in terms of definition. If you’re taking notes, start writing this down: the prophetic is God’s voice in the earth. The prophetic is His voice—it is light in the midst of darkness. No matter how dark your moment is, there is a prophetic stream somewhere that, if you tap into it, will bring light even on the darkest days. It is wisdom in the midst of foolishness, knowledge in a sea of ignorance. Have you ever been around a group of ignorant people who just keep talking in circles? You might try to be humble and not interrupt, but it just goes round and round. That’s ignorance. The prophetic stands as knowledge right in the midst of that.

The prophetic is truth amidst pride. Honestly, the prouder I get, the dumber I feel. You know what I’m saying? The more I feel I know, the more I realize how much I still don’t know. Knowledge is not meant to puff you up; it’s supposed to humble you. If I’ve learned something, it means I was previously ignorant of it, and I could very well be ignorant of something else in my current moment. So, I need humility to gain wisdom. That’s why the Word says to be quick to hear and slow to speak—because I’m still learning.

Let me share something real with you: as preachers, we sometimes realize that messages we preached two years ago, which we thought were brilliant, may not hold up when we listen to them again. You might think, «What was I talking about?» I don’t believe I’m hitting the mark right now; I believe I’m speaking, and it’s not about being self-deprecating. You must perform at the level you’re at and feel that it’s sufficient while also recognizing that both you and I have more to learn. Are you tracking with me? We all have a little more to learn. So, the prophetic is truth amidst pride.