Receiving A Prophet's Reward Part 1

He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. - Matthew 10:41

This is probably one of the most abused Scripture verses in the charismatic world. Last evening, I read a ministry article that says the following:

"I truly believe when you support a ministry like [ministry name removed for confidentiality], whose sole purpose is to have prophets speak to the Church, you are truly WELCOMING A PROPHET AS A PROPHET. This honestly puts you in a great place where God can REWARD YOU with a PROPHET'S REWARD. It was Jesus who promised this and He never lies. A prophet's reward is what you can ask God for. If you are being blessed by this ministry, would you stop right now and give your best gift to help us? We thank you in advance. Just hit the green donate button here. Monthly giving is also a huge help to us, as we can then budget better." - By a prophet in the States

It is commonly believed by the charismatics that if you honour a prophet or a man of God, you will receive his reward such as impartation, anointing, spiritual gifts, etc. You cannot find this in the Bible or in the words of Jesus. Some talked about their experiences after 'receiving the prophet's reward', noting an increase in anointing, operation of spiritual gifts, etc. However, if your experience cannot be aligned to the Word (which has ultimate authority), maybe your experience is not from the Word. 

I understand that God, in His sovereignty, can touch people and give them exponential increase in the operation of gifts. But that is not the norm and it has nothing to do with the prophet's reward.

Some of the most 'anointed' people I encountered have the most annoying (pun intended) attitude. They don't honour the least (Matt 10:42c) and other normal believers. If you talk about the reward in the context of Matt 10, they probably don't have (but that's not for me to judge). Yet they continue to move powerfully in gifts. Make no mistake ---- ministry gifts and ministry offices are totally independent from spiritual maturity.

Note: By using the phrase 'most anointed', I am referring to the perceived value by the general Body of Christ. There is no such thing as 'more anointed' or 'less anointed' in the Bible. Every believer is EQUALLY anointed (1 John 2:27) ----- often, they just don't realise how anointed they already are in Christ.

The passage in Matthew 10:41 has been used to justify the need to honour the prophet or the man of God for the believer's own sake (so that he gets the reward). This subtly places the man of God on the pedestal and undermines a believer's identity.

This kind of interpretation misses out the central message of the New Covenant that Christ has come to establish. It mixes the Old Covenant teaching with the New Covenant reality.

The Old Covenant pointed to the man of God whom God chose. The New Covenant points to the God of Man whom God revealed ---- Christ in you the Hope of glory.

People who still teach and model the Old Covenant in the name of empowerment are NOT empowering others.

The New Covenant is the 'covenant' of empowerment. It leads you to look away from the men of God so that you can fix your eyes on the God of Man, who is also the Author and the Finisher of your faith. #identity #trueempowerment