Mike Signorelli - PLEASE, Watch This Before You Prophesy
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Summary:
In this teaching, the preacher shares practical guidance on delivering New Testament prophetic words responsibly, drawing primarily from 1 Corinthians 14:3 which emphasizes that prophecy should build up, encourage, and comfort people. He outlines seven key "dos" like speaking in love, staying under authority, and pointing others to Jesus, along with seven "don'ts" such as avoiding Old Testament phrases like "Thus saith the Lord," prophesying doom constantly, or giving directive words about major life decisions like marriage or moving. Ultimately, he stresses that true prophecy flows from intimacy with God through Scripture and the Holy Spirit, always rooted in love and aimed at guiding people into God's will rather than controlling or elevating the prophet.
Introduction: The Impact of Prophetic Words
— Many Christians have been hurt by bad prophetic words. Many have even left the faith altogether as a result of being in toxic, charismatic churches. However, many other people have also been tremendously helped and even guided by powerful prophetic words. So, in this video, I’m going to give you the seven dos and the seven don’ts of how to give a prophetic word. You might even want to share it now with some friends who could use the confirmation or even the correction. So let’s just jump right in. How to give a word: seven dos.
Do #1: Encourage, Edify, Exhort, and Comfort
Number one, encourage, edify, exhort, and comfort others through your prophetic word. I know that sounds basic, but First Corinthians chapter 14, verses two through four says, «On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and their encouragement and consolation.» It sounds basic, but so many people do the opposite of that. This is New Testament prophecy. Encourage.
Do #2: Read Your Bible
All right, number two, read your Bible. I can’t tell you how many prophetic people are like, «I’m waiting on a word from the Lord.» And I’m like, open your Bible. You’ll get one immediately. So many people actually want the rhema word of God to the detriment of the logos word of God. So, read your Bible. As a matter of fact, when you read Genesis through Revelation, you gain insight into the character of God, and it’s like when I live with my wife. I spend so much time with her that if somebody told me something she said, I’d be like, «Well, I know her character. She didn’t say that,» or, «Yeah, that sounds just like her.» When you read the Bible, you know what sounds like God. Number three, before I jump into it, hit the thumbs up if this is already helping you.
Do #3: Allow a Senior Pastor to Cover You
Number three, allow a senior pastor to cover you. And before you click off of this video because of your rejection and your woundedness, those who are in authority must be under authority. Just because you were hurt by a covering doesn’t mean you can’t be protected by one. Just because a covering misunderstood you, ostracized you, and gossiped about you doesn’t mean God can’t give you a covering that will lift you up, encourage you, give you direction, platform, influence, greater insights, and care for you. You have to be under authority if you are to be in authority. That’s God’s plan. And if that’s missing from your life because you’re one of these rogue prophets, if you’re wondering what’s the next level, I’m just gonna tell you, it’s coming up undercover.
Do #4: Speak the Truth in Love
Four, speak the truth in love. Prophecy should be rooted in love. I often ask myself, because I have two daughters, am I disciplining them out of anger in response to what they’ve done? Or am I trying to increase their wisdom and raise them up? And is this discipline actually bringing them to a place of maturity? I think sometimes when you’re a prophet, you see so much in the spiritual realm that it can create anger. And so, what happens is God does not give you discernment to increase your criticism; it’s to increase your accuracy. And the temptation for prophetic people, I know you’re going to be amen-ing me in the comments right now. Somebody’s like, «This feels like prophetic therapy.» Yes, it is. God isn’t showing you all that He’s showing you to make you hate people. He’s showing you so that you can become more accurate. Always make sure it’s rooted in love.
Do #5: Do Exactly What the Holy Spirit Instructs
Five, do exactly what the Holy Spirit instructs you to do. Prophecy is delivered to your spirit, but en route from your spirit to your mouth, it goes through your mind, and there’s going to be a temptation to change the words and deliver it a little bit differently. So, you have to do exactly what the Holy Spirit instructs you to do. I hope this empowers you to do it.
Do #6: Use Prophecy to Guide Others into the Lord’s Will
Number six, use prophecy to guide others into the Lord’s will. Jesus constantly revealed the will of His Father. When you prophesy, don’t try to help people fulfill their will. Use prophecy to fulfill God’s will. You’re going to feel that temptation, especially when God uses you to prophesy to renowned people, famous people, and known people. And you’ll be like, «Okay God, how do I help them fulfill their will?» No! Prophesy to help people concerning the Lord’s will.
Do #7: Point Others to Jesus Christ
Number seven, allow prophecy to point others to Jesus Christ, not yourself. I know it sounds basic, but if you’re operating in supernatural ministry, the temptation is going to be to absorb glory instead of deflecting it. But the secret to elevating it to higher dimensions of influence is how much glory you can deflect. This is going to be coming through you, but it shouldn’t be coming to you. You should be a conduit for glory that deflects back to Jesus, not an absorber of glory. It sounds so basic, but I’ve seen people start right, but then they start seeing money flow into that Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal, and then they start getting these assignments and begin to get into green rooms. It perverts the prophetic in their lives. If this has helped you already, I need you to hit the subscribe button so that you can continue to be trained and developed. But we’re going to jump into the seven don’ts.
Don’t #1: Say “Thus Sayeth the Lord”
One, don’t say «Thus sayeth the Lord» just because they did it in your storefront Pentecostal church. And believe me, I was raised in that same kind of church. It doesn’t mean you need to put as a prefix to every prophetic word, «Thus sayeth the Lord.» Why? Because you’re going to miss it sometimes, and you’re not always going to be 100% accurate. So why put that phrase that was used in biblical times for the prophets to identify whose God they were speaking on behalf of when you are a New Testament prophet and don’t have to do that anymore? So stop it.
Don’t #2: Always Prophesy Doom and Gloom
Number two, don’t always prophesy doom and gloom. It doesn’t mean that God won’t use you for future foretelling prophecy. Many significant prophetic voices have warned of economic downturns or warned of war and have been accurate, and God may use you to prophesy in that way. But if your prophecy is primarily doom and gloom, you don’t have a revelation that whenever there is a Goliath, there’s going to be a prophetic David. Whenever there’s a famine, there’s going to be a prophetic Joseph sitting on the pile of grain to distribute to a nation. God is always fighting a spirit with an opposite spirit. Don’t become doom and gloom, prophesying doom and gloom, okay?
Don’t #3: Spend a Lot of Time in Dialogue Before Prophesying
Three, avoid spending a lot of time in dialogue before and during prophetic ministry. It poisons the well. Let me explain. You don’t want to prophesy 30% from the dialogue and 70% from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the more information you take in from the natural realm, the harder it is to enter the spiritual realm. So, oftentimes, I will limit my conversations with people before and during prophetic ministry to help keep it pure.
Don’t #4: Use Prophecy to Control Others
Four, don’t ever use prophecy to control other people. Forward this video to people who you know are doing that. Even if you think what you’re saying is right and they need it, just call it a teaching, not a prophecy. If what you’re saying is beneficial to the person and is going to bring correction, call it a pastoral counseling session. Call it a teaching, call it advice, but don’t call it prophecy. Come on now.
Don’t #5: Release a Word If You’re a People Pleaser
Five, don’t release a word if you are a people pleaser. If you want people to like you, don’t become a prophet. At one point in my life, I prophesied a word and was ostracized by an entire church. Nobody agreed with me. Nobody believed me. They all thought I lost my mind. They thought I was lying. It wasn’t until a year and a half to two years later that the word came to pass, and then I was elevated to a higher level of respect. But there was a duration of time where the people closest to me thought I was crazy. So, if you struggle with people-pleasing, you’ve got to go before God and say, «Lord, I want to learn the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, but the fear of man is the beginning of foolishness.»
Don’t #6: Prophesy When You’re Very Tired
Six, don’t prophesy when you’re very tired because when you’re tired and exhausted, you’re going to have a tendency to speak out of emotion. It’s very important. Just like Elijah, he had ministering angels that fed him as he prepared to sleep. Sometimes, when you’re being chased in this brutal attack from Jezebel—because Jezebel will always attack prophets—you are going to have to learn how to rest and recharge. If you minister out of tiredness and exhaustion, you are going to speak out of emotion, which is your soul, instead of prophesying from your spirit in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.
Don’t #7: Give Directive Words About Major Life Decisions
Number seven, don’t give directive words about marriage, pregnancy, or moving across country. Stop it. You don’t know what gender the child is going to be. You have a 50% chance. And even if you guessed correctly the last three times, you still had a 50% chance. Medical science will provide the true answer. We don’t need you to prophesy. I’ve seen people do the dumbest things imaginable. Here’s the thing about marriage: they need pre-marriage counseling. They don’t need you to prophesy about whether or not they should marry that person.
I counsel marriages, and I can tell you that even if they are someone’s soulmate, they are going to need a lot of Christian counseling and wisdom to survive marriage. It’s not about choosing the right person; it’s about becoming the right person. So stop with this foolishness. Stop giving people directive words and give them biblical wisdom that teaches them how to be the right person instead of just making the right choices. Because becoming the right person God has called them to be will actually direct them for the rest of their lives. But I just want to say this with a little caveat: don’t do this unless you are confident that the Lord has released you to do so, because I have given people directive words that have been accurate and have helped them, but I do it with extreme caution.