The Gift of Prophecy in the Local Church

[Music]

 

Dr. Ray: Hey everyone, welcome to Self Talk with me, Dr. Ray Self. I'm feeling very self-confident today and self- assured today, and I'll do no more self puns if you are lucky, but I can't promise. Anyway, got an exciting show today. I'm going to be talking about the gift of prophecy and interviewing a young prophet that I know from Alabama. Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are blue, Dr. Janie Minor. So, I can't wait to get into this interview about where is prophecy in the local church? Why don't we see it in the local church anymore? And what about outside the church? A lot of questions to talk about. Again, this show is sponsored by and made possible by, boy, that really sounds like an old TV commercial. Anyway, made possible by the International College of Ministry, icmcollege.org. It's an online, Holy Spirit-filled, accredited seminary that is affordable. If God's called you, you got a call of God on your life. It's time to get serious, get equipped, get your credentials, get your bachelor's, finish up your master's, go even into the doctorate program to be an effective minister of the gospel of Jesus. icmcollege.org, enrolling right now. Anyway, I'm very excited about my guest, Dr. Janie Minor. Hey, Dr. Janie.

 

Dr. Janie: Hey, how are you?

 

Dr. Ray: Doing good. So, let me tell people about who you are. First off, I'm very proud that you are a graduate of International College of Ministry with a doctorate in prophetic ministry, which is an unusual degree that we offer, but a very powerful degree. So, congratulations on that. And you know, and now, actually, you work for ICM, grading. 

 

Dr. Janie: I do. I, I enjoy it very much. I grade uh, student assignments, and it has been a blessing to my life, and it truly is a ministry that I'm very humbled and honored to be a part of.

 

Dr. Ray: You know, one thing about an online school is we get a lot of homework submissions, especially this time of year when graduation's coming up, and there's just…it, it, it's a, it's a job trying to grade all the assignments that come in. And thank you, Dr. Janie, for that.

 

Dr. Janie: Oh, well, thank you for allowing me to be a part of it. It is really an honor. I didn't fully understand what I was signing up for, but I've gotten a lot more out of it than I would have ever expected.

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. A lot of times, our students, we do discussion questions, and many times our students, not only do they answer the questions of the assignment, but they also give testimonies, prayer requests, pour out their heart to us, and, and… 

 

Dr. Janie: They do

 

Dr. Ray: …you're like the contact. Yeah. Yeah. You, you hear a lot in these assignments. So, what I want to talk about today is the, the gift of prophecy in the local church. What happened to it? Where is it? You know, um, and first off, let me finish introducing you. Uh, Dr. Janie is a biology teacher in Albertville, Alabama. Um, that is, you teach 9th and 10th grade biology. You have a, a bachelor's and master's in secondary education. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes, sir. 

 

Dr. Ray: And you know, you work in a secular school, but you've been there for many years, and you are an influence on young people in Alabama. And uh so, God bless you for that. 

 

Dr. Janie: Well, thank you. It is truly, I never would have– my original plan was not to be a teacher. Um, I wanted to go into medical research, and God called me somewhere else. And I could have– He told me I could choose my own path, but it would be very difficult. He said, "But if you choose My path, I will, I will make it smooth for you,” and I have never looked back. And it is a ministry to teach young people, to put them on a path of where they need to go. 

 

Dr. Ray: God bless you for being a Christian influence in a secular, secular environment. God bless you for that. But today, I want to talk about the gift of prophecy in the local church. Now, in the Bible, usually I preface this when I'm talking to students or a group, I'll, I'll ask the group, "How many of you believe the Bible's the word of God?" And nearly every single time, everybody raises their hand. Yes. Yes. Yes. The Bible's the word of God. “So, should we do what the Bible tells us to do, be obedient to the Bible?” Absolutely. So, then I read 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue love, earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you would prophesy.” So I say, "Are you earnestly desiring spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy? Would God ask you to desire a gift and not give it to you? Would you do that to your kids?" Say, "I don't think so." So we have a commandment to desire to prophesy. Then, in the same chapter, in verse 39, it says, "Do not forbid to speak in tongues, but covet to prophesy." So here we have these clear commandments in scripture that the gift of prophecy over all the gifts in the Bible is preeminent. It's the one that Paul said, you know, desire all the gifts, but especially this gift. You know, years ago, I, I was, and I don't want to do all the talking, I want to get into to your, your thoughts, but years ago, I was kind of questioning God. “But God, all the spiritual gifts are great. Like the gift of healing is great, the gift of faith is great, you know, and uh tongues, discerning of spirits, those are great gifts. Why prophecy?” I remember the Lord speaking to me and went, and He just said so clearly, “Because prophecy is My voice to the church.” I went, “Oh,” or “It's My voice.” I'm thinking, well that's, that makes sense. That's important. That is the most important thing. But what I've noticed is I'm very blessed with my ministry to be able to circulate around a lot of churches. Uh, but I've noticed that I just don't see this gift operating much anymore. Um, sometimes in small churches, you'll see it. Big churches, almost never ever do you see the gift. What we call the seeker-friendly churches, the mega churches, I mean, they do a great job leading people to the Lord, evangelizing and preaching the gospel, and people getting saved and baptized. But this gift, I, I don't see operating very much. But now, you go to a beautiful church in Albertville called Hosanna Christian Fellowship. Is that right?

 

Dr. Janie: Yes, sir. 

 

Dr. Ray: So talk to me about the gift of prophecy in the local church. Uh, how it works in your church, and why are we not seeing it? What do you think the issue is?

 

Dr. Janie: I think I agree with you. Prophecy is the most important gift. I think it is the foundation for all the other gifts to operate in. If you can't hear the voice of God, then how are you going to know, okay, I need for you to go over there and lay hands on that person. They need a healing. Or I need for you to go over there and give this, a um, a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom, or I need for you to go over there and lay hands on them. They need a miracle. They need a new heart. If you can't hear God's voice, how are you going to know to go and do all those things? 

 

Dr. Ray: Good point. 

 

Dr. Janie: I think it is the foundation for all the other manifestation gifts to work, ‘cause to manifest means to show evidence of. If you want to know that God is still working in the earth and He is who He says He is, then you have to hear His voice in every aspect of your life. I think a lot of people, even in you know, especially in the local church, you know, where I go to church, we're encouraged, you know, if you believe that you have a word for somebody, then go to that personally. It doesn't have to be a, I'm standing up and “Thus sayeth the Lord.” It is, it's just a conversation. And you are probably relaying a message to that brother or sister in Christ that God's probably been trying to speak to them about. And most of the time, whenever you tell them that word, you know, it's just as simple as you've taught me. “I, I strongly believe I hear the Lord saying this and, you know, and you can do with it what you want to,” and then you speak that word to them exactly the way God gives it to you. Don't add, don't subtract. And then usually you'll see their eyes open wide, and a lot of times they will say, “You know, I think He's been trying to say that to me.” “Oh, you've just confirmed something to me.” Or, you know, it could be anything. It could be for their future. It could be for them right now. It could just be a word of encouragement or comfort to them. They may be going through something that they have not shared with anyone. And just to simply say, "The Lord wants for me to tell you that He sees you, that He loves you, that He's pleased with you." You know, that could change the whole trajectory of their life. But I think a lot of people are either…they have a spirit of pride that prevents them from stepping out because, “Oh, I don't want to look silly. I don't want to embarrass myself.” You know, ‘cause manifestation gifts are not about you. It's about that brother or sister or even someone who is lost. They need, everyone needs to hear God's voice. And a lot of times… 

 

Dr. Ray: Excuse me, 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes.

 

Dr. Ray: You mentioned before the show, you also thought it was an issue of control. 

 

Dr. Janie: Oh, yes, sir.

 

Dr. Ray: You’re not seeing it because if the issue of control. Tell me about the issue of control.

 

Dr. Janie: You know, deep down, I know that people want to be in control of their life. They want to make their own decisions. They want to even decide what leaves their mouth. 

 

Dr. Ray: Mhm. 

 

Dr. Janie: But at the core, if we really do make Jesus Lord over our life, then we give Him every aspect of our life. He is living in every room of our house. And if we give Him control, well, a lot of people don't like that. It's a, “Well, I don't know what's going to happen.” And it's a trust issue. Control is a lack of trust in who Jesus is in your life. 

 

Dr. Ray: Control is a lack of trust in who Jesus is. 

 

Dr. Janie: It is. And you know, and and deep down, you know, control is a form of witchcraft. It really is. And um, you know, our flesh wants to agree with the enemy a lot faster than it wants to agree with our spirit. Our flesh is always in con– in conflict with our spirit. We have to humble ourselves, and we have to die to self. I think a lot of times people either neglect that or deep down they, they kind of don't want to because they, they don't want to step out and give control over to the Holy Spirit to speak through them. And you know, that's really being disobedient and that grieves the, it grieves the Holy Spirit, and the Word says do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

 

Dr. Ray: I think it does. I really think there's been an issue of control, uh, with humans for centuries, probably since the Garden of Eden, you know, when Adam and Eve wanted to have the, the knowledge of good and evil from the tree of– they didn't want to be as God. They wanted to have the same control that God had. And I think our flesh loves to be in control because we know what to expect. And letting go and let something else, someone else be in control is uncomfortable. But it's exactly…

 

Dr. Janie: It is.

 

Dr. Ray:  …what God has called us to do.

 

Dr. Janie: It really is. And I believe everyone needs to get to that place where they say, "Okay,” I know I had to. I had to decide, “Oh Lord, I'm hurting your heart. I'm being disobedient to you. That grieves my spirit. That grieves you, Holy Spirit. Oh, I've got to change my ways." You know, and they say that it takes 30 days to either make a habit or break a habit. 

 

Dr. Ray: Mhm. 

 

Dr. Janie: And if you really are conscious of your words and your thoughts and your actions, and you give them over to the Holy Spirit and you, you know, you ask for that fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit every day ‘cause you know, you, you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit if you want those gifts. If you want to operate in those gifts, if you want to hear His voice clear, you're going to need it.

 

Dr. Ray: Amen. I like that. Be baptized in the Holy Spirit every day. The Bible say…

 

Dr. Janie: Every day.

 

Dr. Ray: …remember, it, was it Jude, “do not be drunk with wine but be continually filled with the Holy Spirit?” 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes. 

 

Dr. Ray: Uh, and I, I do, I do think that. I just…I know that you'll see in so many churches. We focus on the gift of salvation, which is amazing. It's, without the gift of salvation, nothing else really matters. And that is very supernatural, the gift of salvation is it not? We become a new creation. We were given eternal life, sealed to the day of redemption. And all these miracle things happen. But then it's like the local church doesn't want to deal with the other miracles in the Bible. You know, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophecy, healing, faith, miracles, and we're, we're called to, to move in the miraculous. Jesus, that's what Jesus did. He was our example, our model. He taught the word of God. He preached salvation, but He moved in the miraculous. And I think the local church is called to do the same, which, I think we're called to do. I'm passionate about this in the church and outside the church. And I know, 

 

Dr. Janie: We should. 

 

Dr. Ray: …it's uncomfortable. I think pastors get uncomfortable with it. We're afraid that we're going to look crazy. We're going to look weird. Uh, and, and I gotta tell you, I've seen some people with the gift of prophecy that do, that do get weird. But you know, just because– 

 

Dr. Janie: They do.

 

Dr. Ray: …that are counterfeit, you don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. 

 

Dr. Janie: No.

 

Dr. Ray: That's an Alabama saying.

 

Dr. Janie: It is. 

 

Dr. Ray: We throw the baby out with the bathwater because, you know, we don't want to be weird, but then we cut everything off. And here's prophecy, God trying to say something to us that'll change our lives. And we've cut it out of the local church. That's my soapbox.

 

Dr. Janie: Yeah. And…I hope you have both shoes on. 

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. Ha ha ha.

 

Dr. Janie: You know, and you always hear the phrase of, "Well, we can't be out of order. We can't be out of order." Well, you know what? If it's of God, it's in order. And like you said, if somebody, you know, makes it weird, then you have to let that fall to the ground and die. You have to. I mean, you can't just say, "Well, every, you know, TV evangelistic preacher who…” went into this for the wrong reasons, you know, we don't throw all pastors in the same boat with them. We realize that people are people. They have their own free will. And, you know, you can't, like you said, you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. You can't do that. You can't say, "Well, God's voice is strange." No, He may tell you something that you go, "Uh, what does that mean?" Well, if you ask Him and you pray about it, then He will show you what He's wanting to tell you. Because I mean, He speaks to us various ways. He speaks to us through our circumstances, through a bumper sticker, and usually the last thing that He wants to do if you're really not hearing Him is getting somebody else to relay that message to you.

 

Dr. Ray: I, on that point, too, a couple of points here. So many times when the prophetic gift does flow and I want, I want to see it flowing more in the church. I love the church. Jesus loves the church. But when it does flow, we were talking earlier, it's a confirmation of what God's already been trying to tell you. So God's been trying to show you something. Here, He sends another person to tell you what He's been trying to show you all along. And all of a sudden, you go, "Oh, I get it. You've been trying to—

 

Dr. Janie: And you see the light bulb come on. 

 

Dr. Ray: …“You sent Janie Minor to tell me what you've been trying to tell me,” and then you get the confirmation. 

 

Dr. Janie” My favorite is whenever they get the big eyes, their eyes just widen, and they go, "How did you, how did you know that?" And I'll say, "I don't know that. God just asked me to, to relay this message to you.” Tell them, I, I don't remember what I told them because they're not my thoughts. They're not my words. But people should. They should want and desire to hear God's voice not only for themselves but for their friends, for their family members, for everyone, because at the root of it you, you are being disobedient, and I think if people really understood that

 

Dr. Ray: If you don’t do it, you’re being disobedient; if you don’t do it, you're being disobedient. 

 

Dr. Janie: Ooh.

 

Dr. Ray: You know, if we don't desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy, we are being disobedient. 

 

Dr. Janie: Mhm.

 

Dr. Ray: That's what the Bible says, right? 

 

Dr. Janie: It does.

 

Dr. Ray: I mean…

 

Dr. Janie: You know, 

 

Dr. Ray: Do we go and go, "God, I really want spiritual gifts. Lord, I really want these spiritual gifts, Lord. Especially that gift of prophecy. Lord, I desire this." 

 

Dr. Janie: Mhm.

 

Dr. Ray: And I think this is what it's saying. You know, turn your desires toward these gifts, especially prophecy. And I've said this a million times, it feels like. Why would God ever ask us to desire something He would not give to us?

 

Dr. Janie: Amen. I think a lot of our denominational brothers and sisters are just, they have been taught that, you know, after the apostles died out, that all of that went away. No. Jesus specifically said, “greater things that you will do than I have done.” He was only limited by His time here on earth. He passed the baton to us and said, “...go forth and make disciples.” You know, you mentioned salvation. We get people saved, but then we leave them in the condition that they're in. 

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. 

 

Dr. Janie: And that's wrong. 

 

Dr. Ray: Right. 

 

Dr. Janie: You know, He wants disciples. He wants us to know Him as closely and as deeply as each individual desires. And a lot of that does…If we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, then we're going to tools in our box. Those tools are spiritual gifts. And it starts with prophecy. It really does. And I think if people could just grab a hold of that and step out and say, "Okay, I'm letting you have control, God." It would blow their mind. 

 

Dr. Ray: Right. It's such an important gift. I mean, Paul, the Bible emphasizes that gift, you know, and it's just, it's God speaking. And, and yes, the gift gets messed up, and the gift gets counterfeited. And some people claim they have a prophetic word, and it's not a prophetic word. That doesn't bother me. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes.

 

Dr. RayL I mean, it's irritating sometimes. 

 

Dr. Janie: No. 

 

Dr. Ray: But you know what? If somebody comes to me and they go, "Oh, I have a prophetic word for you, Dr. Ray." I go, "Great. Give it to me." And sometimes I hear that word and go, "Wow, that's from God. I know that's from God." There have been times they give me a prophetic word, and I'm thinking to myself, "That has nothing to do with God. Thank you so much." And I just let it fall to the ground, and I don't worry about it. But,

 

Dr. Janie: No.

 

Dr. Ray: …you don't want to– just because somebody gets flaky or weird, you don't want to stop the gift because so many times you never know when it's, it is, it's actually a message from God to you or to the church. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes. 

 

Dr. Ray: And it's important. It's very important. And we need it in the big churches. We need it in the small churches. We need in the denominational churches and the non-denominational. All the churches need this gift. Phew. 

 

Dr. Janie: They do.

 

Dr. Ray: Soapbox moment for me. Ha ha ha.

 

Dr. Janie: I mean, everyone needs to hear God's voice. How are you going to know to be warned about something? How are you going to know that you're on the right track? How do you know that you're walking through the valley and you just need to hear, “He sees me?”

 

Dr. Ray: Well, I'll tell you, I give a tip to the to church leaders or pastors that are listening to this podcast. One thing that, that I have recommended if you're, you're nervous about this, because it is possible somebody will give a prophecy to the church, and it'll be weird or wacky. Yeah, that's possible. But it's also very likely it could be something straight from the heart of God. So you don't, again, you don't want to eliminate the gift and miss the blessing. So what I have done is I would tell my church, I said, “Look, if you believe you have a prophetic word for the church, come to me and do your best to give it to me first. Let me hear it. Let me, let me just hear the word.” Then I can say, "Okay, boy, that's great. That's from the Lord. Please give this to the church." And it's possible, it doesn't happen very often, every now and then, somebody gives a prophetic word. You go, "Well, thank you so much. We, we'll hold on to that one." But most of the time when they came up to me, my church members, and said, "Dr. Ray, this is what I hear the Lord saying." It was God. It was God speaking. I said, “Please give this to the church. The church needs to hear this.” But that's one way, you talk about control, but that is also one way you can, if you're a pastor, you can stop the weird and wacky. Just have them submit it to you first. 

 

Dr. Janie: That’s true.

 

Dr. Ray: You know, if that's a concern. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes, and their spirit, the Spirit of God in them, should bear witness with the Holy Spirit in you. 

 

Dr. Ray: That's true. 

 

Dr. Janie: And if you feel a “errt” then that should be your indicator of, well, let's put that on a shelf. Let's, let's pray about that and see if that's, you know, really of the Holy Spirit or it might be mixed in with a little flesh there.” 

 

Dr. Ray: It's such a good point because, that's an excellent point, Dr. Janie. Somebody gives you a prophetic word, or you hear it in the church. You have the Holy Spirit in you. So, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, the Holy Spirit in you recognizes His own voice and says, "Yep, that's me." But if somebody's speaking to you claiming it's the Holy Spirit, the Holy Sp– and it's not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in you goes, "Nope, that's not me." We used to call it a check in your heart. The check in your spirit. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes. A check in your spirit. 

 

Dr. Ray: It's not the Holy Spirit. They have– and if the Holy Spirit recognizes His own voice, and the Holy Spirit in you can let you know if it's from God or not. Of course, you also have the Bible. A prophetic word must agree with the Bible. 

 

Dr. Janie: Amen. 

 

Dr. Ray: Must contain love. No condemnation. No shame, no judgment because Jesus took all that to the cross. That's a whole nother topic. But anyway…Amen. 

 

Dr. Janie: That is true. I mean, if you think it's kind of, “uuh,” then,

 

Dr. Ray: “uuh.” 

 

Dr. Janie: …you know, 

 

Dr. Ray: So if you get the “uuh” feeling, maybe– 

 

Dr. Janie: It is. 

 

Dr. Ray: …that word. 

 

Dr. Janie: It's, it's usually pretty strong. And me, it's a “errt, no.” It's like a buzzer sound, almost.

 

Dr. Ray: But I guess uh, do you think we're not seeing it in the local church as much because of fear, control issues? Uh, “That's not part of our tradition?” Uh…

 

Dr. Janie: I think it's a combination of a lot of it, that…

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. 

 

Dr. Janie: I do. And I do believe that people, they do hear from Him, and then they start to question, and then they start to overanalyze. I know I used to do that.

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. 

 

Dr. Janie: I used to think, “Well, I don't know. Maybe, maybe this is just me.” And it is fear. It, and two, the enemy doesn't want you to give a prophetic word. So, he is, he's going to enter in and tell you, “You didn't hear God. That's not Him. That's just you. You need to be quiet and go sit down.” He doesn't want God's verse, voice to be heard in the earth. He wants us all to be quiet. But you have to tell him, "Be quiet, liar, in the name of Jesus." And if you… 

 

Dr. Ray: That's a big issue, overanalyzing, getting overanalytical. We get so much caught up in our head, and the Bible says, out of our belly shall flow rivers of living water. The prophetic gift is a flow from inside you where the Holy Spirit is residing. Um, and the, the really intelligent analytical people struggle sometimes because they get so analytical, it kind of blocks the flow, but that's, that's a whole nother issue. Um, you know, I've taught, of course, I've taught on the prophetic gift for many years, and trying to help people flow in the prophetic gift, but I– my heart is I know that in your church when you get a prophetic word, your church is pretty good about allowing you to give that word. And also sometimes you get prophetic sermons.

 

Dr. Janie: Yes, sir.

 

Dr. Ray: And the pastor had let you get up and give a prophetic message in the form of a sermon on Sunday morning.

 

Dr. Janie: Oh, yes, sir. And, and that, and it goes back to trust. He trusts the Holy Spirit in me that God has given this message, and He wants to give it to the corporate body. So you got to trust– 

 

Dr. Ray: Wait a minute. Key point. The pastor trusts you. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes. He trusts the Holy Spirit in me. And yes, I do. I, I ask of course, because he is my spiritual covering and I respect, you know, the Lord speaks to pastors differently than He does prophets. 

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. 

 

Dr. Janie: And I respect that and I do I respectfully say, you know, “Brother Jerry, I believe that the Lord has given me a message for the church,” and I do, I let him know what is the topic, uh, what is it really about and then I ask him, you know, “Do you feel that this is an appropriate thing or not?” ‘cause he can tell me yes or no and I respect his answer, you know, because he is the shepherd over the flock, and I think you, you do need to respect your pastor if he says, or she says, says, "No, that's not for right now." And say, and not get offended about it, and say, "Oh, okay."

 

Dr. Ray: See, that dynamic you just said right there. I hope if you're a church leader, you're listening to this dynamic. So, here's Dr. Janie. She has a prophetic word or prophetic message, and she talks to the pastor about it, but she's willing to submit to the pastor's wisdom. And I've often said this, that the prophets come with revelation, the pastors have wisdom. And the revelation of the prophet should always submit to the wisdom of the pastor. Now God downloads a wisdom to the pastor for that s– and a responsibility. Wisdom and responsibility for that service. And He speaks to pastors differently than He does us. And so I have to know if I have a prophetic word, and I'm visiting in a church, and the pastor goes, "No, not now." I may not agree with that, but I'm going to respect his wisdom. And that's critical. And that's what you were just describing. And if you are a pastor, um, you have the wisdom, and you have the responsibility for the order of that service. Hope you allow the Holy Spirit to move. And if you are, have a prophetic gift, you should go to the pastor. But there has to be divine order. Let your gift submit to the pastor. And then when the pastor goes, "Okay, it's good." Now, sometimes the pastor is going to block it, and he shouldn't have blocked it. But that's on him. That's– And if he's wrong, 

 

Dr. Janie: That’s right.

 

Dr. Ray: God will hold him accountable. But if you rebel against the church, “I'm going to do it anyway,” and I've seen that. Then you're in rebellion. 

 

Dr. Janie: That's dangerous. That is like stepping out of the umbrella protection.

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah. 

 

Dr. Janie: That's, that's a very dangerous place to be in.

 

Dr. Ray: It is. But it's such a beautiful gift. I have seen…my life has been impacted by a prophetic gift in so many ways. And I've seen people…lives changed, people healed. Like you said earlier, sometimes prophetic gift is really about how to move in other gifts. You know, He's prophesying healing over people. He's prophesying words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and, and, direction, and miracles over people. And it began with the prophetic word. It's so powerful. And, and even prophecy can lead to salvation.

 

Dr. Janie: It does. 

 

Dr. Ray: I've seen this happen. 

 

Dr. Janie: I mean…

 

Dr. Ray: Prophesying to an unbeliever can lead to their salvation.

 

Dr. Janie: It does. I remember a long time ago, we had eaten at a local Pizza Hut. We had eaten lunch there after church…

 

Dr. Ray: …all the five-star…

 

Dr. Janie: …and I was sitting there, and we were finishing up our meal. 

 

Dr. Ray: Of all the five-star restaurants, the Pizza Hut. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yeah, it was good. I do. I love that pan pizza. 

 

Dr. Ray: Yeah, pan pizza. Can't beat it. 

 

Dr. Janie: Oh, back in the day, whenever you got enough AR points, you got a, a little bookmark, and you could take it up there, and you got a free one. 

 

Dr. Ray: There you go. 

 

Dr. Janie: Oh.

 

Dr. Ray: Anyway, go ahead. 

 

Dr. Janie: …that’s re–

 

Dr. Ray: I'm interrupting you. Go ahead.

 

Dr. Janie: Well, that's all right. And uh, we were sitting there. We were finishing up our meal, and we had our waitress that day and, and the Lord said, "I need for you to write her a check for $50 and give it to her." 

 

Dr. Ray: Mhm. 

 

Dr. Janie: I thought, "Okay." And I didn't really question it. I just did it. And I just, literally walked up to her. She was filling up drinks at the drink machine. And I said, "Excuse me." I said, "Um, I know this may seem strange." I said, "But the Lord wanted me to give you this check for $50. I would appreciate it if you would accept it." And she just started sobbing. I had never seen anything like it. I was shocked. I know my eyes were probably as big as a saucer. And I thought, "Oh no, I have upset her." And she just grabbed me, and she hugged me, and she was sobbing. And she said, "You have no idea how much I needed this $50." She didn't tell me what it was for. She didn't tell me any details. She said, "I have been praying for $50." She said, "And you gave me $50 today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." I said, "Don't thank me, ma'am." I said, "You just thank the Lord ‘cause He's the one." I said, "I'm just the person who wrote the check." I said, "It doesn't have anything to do with me." I said, "You just thank the Lord that this is how He delivered that $50 to you." And I never saw her ever again. I don't know what she needed the $50 for, but… 

 

Dr. Ray: What a blessing. 

 

Dr. Janie: …knowing that– It was. It was a blessing to me just to see that I stepped out in obedience, and I got to watch God move in someone's life. Getting to be a front row seat to what God does in the lives of His children… 

 

Dr. Ray: Amen. 

 

Dr. Janie: …is a blessing that cannot be taken away from you. You know, with obedience comes faith, and it increases your faith. And then with that faith comes more obedience. You're more willing to step out and say, "Oh, okay. Well, I saw this happen. I'm going to do it again." 

 

Dr. Ray: Amen. Yeah. Oh, that's true. That is totally true. 

 

Dr. Janie: I think that's what local churches need to do. Say, "Hey, I don't really understand this." One, you need to read the Word about it. Two, you need to trust Him and step out in faith that He's going to do what He said that He's going to do and that He is who He says He is. You know, He is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. He hasn't changed. We have. We've got to decide to get in line because He wants to move on this earth in a greater, I mean, the latter reign will be greater than the former reign. 

 

Dr. Ray: Amen. 

 

Dr. Janie: And we're a part of that.

 

Dr. Ray: Oh, that's so good. You know, Jesus said to His disciples, "I'll tell you the things that have come to pass so when they come to pass, you shall believe." When we get prophetic words in the church that are true and confirm something, or maybe a prophetic word about something that's going to happen, and it happens, the faith goes up the Richter scale. The faith just explodes. 

 

Dr. Janie: Yes.

 

Dr. Ray: And we love, we're always trying to build people's faith. That's one thing that– the gift of prophecy is an incredible faith builder.

 

Dr. Janie: It is.

 

Dr. Ray: And the waitress at, or server, they call them now at Pizza Hut. I bet you her faith went up the Richter scale. And so there's so many benefits to it. And listen, if you're a local church and you're not moving in the gift of prophecy, I think the Bible's very clear that of all the gifts, that's the one that should be operating the most in the local church. 

 

Dr. Janie: Amen to that. 

 

Dr. Ray: That's what, that's what Paul was writing about. So, uh…

 

Dr. Janie: I mean, if you agree with the rest– 

 

Dr. Ray: Just any final thoughts, Dr. Janie, as we’re getting ready to close here and uh…

 

Dr. Janie: All right. Um, I would just say be bold and be brave. Be bold and be brave. Trust Him. 

 

Dr. Ray: Wasn’t that a soap opera? The Bold and the Beautiful? No. No. Sorry. 

 

Dr. Janie: Something. 

 

Dr. Ray: I don’t know, I thought it was like the Bold and the Bra— No. Okay. It's an old soap opera. But be bold and be brave. 

 

Dr. Janie: Be bold and be brave. Trust Him. 

 

Dr. Ray: You know, the Holy Spirit will make you bold. 

 

Dr. Janie: He will. People, people forget about that. 

 

Dr. Ray: He will. Well, Dr. Janie Minor, this is Dr. Janie Minor from Albertville, Alabama. One of our, one of our dear graduates and staff member. Thank you so much for being with us today. 

 

Dr. Janie: Well, thank you for having me. 

 

Dr. Ray: An honor and a privilege. Um, why don't you close us with a prayer?

 

Dr. Janie: All right. Lord, we praise you for today and all your many blessings. Lord, we repent of all our sins, for we are not perfect like you. And we pray and ask that you'll forgive us of them. Lord, I ask that every person that hears this podcast, Lord, I ask that you prick their heart and speak to them personally in the way that they hear you best. I pray that you…them with a holy boldness, Lord. Holy Spirit, prick their heart. Let them know that to speak your word is to speak your heart, Lord. I do. I speak that spiritual supernatural gift of faith over them, Lord, to step out. Whenever they hear your voice, let them step out. Let them have peace, Lord. Peace over them, Lord, to hear your voice and to know that they know that they know that it's you. And to trust you, Lord, to let go of that control and to trust you and step out. And your word says that if we step out that you will meet us there. And I thank you. I pray blessings on everyone that hears this podcast. I thank you. I thank you that these things are being done and they are being multiplied and rippled out in Jesus' name. We thank you, and we praise you. We worship you, Jesus. Amen.

 

Dr. Ray: Amen. Thank you, Dr. Janie Minor. And folks, you've been listening to Self Talk with Dr. Ray Self. I've just been interviewing Dr. Janie Minor of Albertville, Alabama. So grateful to have her today. Don't forget to go to the…the show website is a great place, a lot of resources there. icmcollege.org/selftalk. icmcollege.org/selftalk will take you right to our website. All the episodes are there. There you can subscribe to us, which really helps. You can give us a review which helps. This helps us get the show out, get the message out. All I want to do, this podcast is not a money-making thing. Actually, it's an expens– expensive thing to do, but the idea is we just want to bless people. We want to glorify the name of Jesus Christ through this podcast. So, please help us do that. Um, God bless you and thank you so much for listening. This is Dr. Ray, and good night and goodbye, and thank you again, Dr. Janie Minor. God bless y'all. Amen and amen.

 

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