PROPHETIC - Ralph Howe Ministries

The Knowledge of Jesus

January 28, 2020/in Apostle's Perspective, prophetic insights /by ralph

Last time we were chatting about “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Ephesians 1:17). And, we saw the necessity for releasing revelation in our lives as believers and disciples of Jesus. Let’s continue with the verses we are looking at.

Ephesians 1:16-18a “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened …” (ESV)

The Passion Translation: “… my heart is always full and overflowing with thanks to God for you as I constantly remember you in my prayers. I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him.

I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination …”

The key to receiving revelation is found in coming to know Jesus better and deeper every day. The spirit of wisdom and revelation is released in direct relationship to our level and depth of intimacy with God the Father and Jesus His Son. When we are born again God, our loving heavenly Father, gives us a gift. This gift is deposited in our born again spirit. Romans 6:23b states, “… the gift of God is eternal life.” This is not ‘to live forever’ because all human life ever conceived lives forever. The gift called ‘eternal life’ is defined for us in John 17:3 … “This is eternal life, that you may know God the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent…” The word ‘know’ means “intimacy with.” We have the supernatural ability to ‘intimately know’ God the Father and Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

The more we come to know Him the more godly wisdom we will have. Not worldly wisdom but godly wisdom (James 1:5). The more wisdom our hearts hold the more revelation we will receive. So, our focus in the coming months must be to know Jesus better. The real Jesus. The radical revolutionary that we see in the pages of the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The same radicalness that transfers over to the apostles and the early believers when they were born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Their story starts in the book of Acts and continues through all the letters addressed and written to the church fellowships in various cities and towns as the gospel was preached and the Kingdom spread pushing back the darkness.

Get to know Jesus. Look at how He lived. What did He value? What did He say and how did He say it? How did He treat people? Who were His friends? How did He disciple and mentor His followers and disciples? What was His relationship with non-believers like? His attitude? His prayer life? His heart for the people? These and many other questions can be answered as we read the four accounts of His life and ministry. But, as we read we need to read slowly and let the words and actions of Jesus sink deep into our hearts. We need to dwell on what we see and discover. We need to apply the truths we are observing about His life to our own lives … so we can become more and more like Him as the Scriptures state so clearly.

There is much that can be said in this regard …

John 15 – He is the Vine and we are the branches

John 14 – You will do what I do

Acts 17 – “In Him we live and move and have our being”

But, like Paul the apostle we should pray a second prayer…

Philippians 3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…” (ESV)

The Passion Translation: “And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and I will be one with him in his death.”

Let’s view 2020 as a gift from the Lord to come to know Him intimately; deeper and better than ever before.

Spirit of Revelation

January 27, 2020/in Apostle's Perspective, prophetic insights /by ralph

There is a real need today in the Church – even the Spirit-filled side of the Church – to be praying what Paul the apostle prayed for his people in the city of Ephesus. This was a church that he had planted. In Acts 19 Paul finds a group of disciples. He soon discovers that they are not disciples of Jesus. They are disciples of John the Baptist. So, he shares the gospel with them and they are born again. He immediately baptizes them in water by immersion. As they come out of the water he lays hands on them and baptizes them in the Holy Spirit. The begin to prophesy and speak in tongues. (Acts 19:1-6)

He stays with them in Ephesus and lays the foundation for a very powerful church. This church within two years of being birthed has reached every person in Asia with the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10). They were a powerful and Spirit-filled church expanding the Kingdom and making disciples as Jesus had commanded. (Acts 19:10)

In writing a few years later to this church now numbering 50,000 in a city of 200,000 he tells them that he is praying for them. This is not out of the ordinary as apostles are fathers and they pray for their children. What is fascinating is what he prays. Listen to his prayer very carefully…

Ephesians 1:16-18a “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you I’n my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…”

These were Spirit-filled, Baptized in the Holy Spirit, moving in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit believers. Yet, Paul prays for them that they might receive the “spirit of wisdom and revelation…” Why?

It is not so that they could speak about future events coming upon the Church and the world. That is the role and ministry of both apostles and prophets. I believe there are two main reasons a regular believer needs to activate the Holy Spirit’s role of bringing revelation to God’s people

First, when reading the Scriptures the believer needs the Holy Spirit to guide Him in all truth. And, to reveal the things that Scriptures speaks to us that Jesus did not while with us ministering for three years. As well as understanding the depths of the truths that He did share during His early ministry. (John 16:12-13)

An example would be when the disciples witnessed Jesus praying afterwards said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) When the average believer reads this their mind says, ‘teach us how to pray.’ And so, we have systems of prayer that have been developed from the Lord’s Prayer (really the disciples prayer) teaching us “how” to pray. But this is not what the Word said.

The disciples witnessed Jesus’ intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father and the way they spoke to each other. They realized that the way they were praying was nothing like what they were witnessing. They realized that they were not praying – they were simply following a formula and a ritual. Which, while watching and hearing Jesus pray, suddenly seemed totally inadequate and not really prayer as it should have been understood and practiced. So, they said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Teach us how to have this intimate relationship that we see you have with the Father as you share fellowship with Him.

Powerful revelation brought to my heart and mind while reading Scripture recently.

And, secondly, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. And so the Holy Spirit can reveal truth that we need to know for that specific day. He can reveal to us situations where we will have opportunity to share the word of the Lord as the church in Ephesus did. He can give us a word for a friend, a co-worker, or even a stranger. He can reveal wisdom – godly wisdom – to counter the worldly wisdom that we come up against daily.

So, Paul prays for his people to release the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. And, I believe that we need to be praying that same prayer for ourselves and for others today so we can walk in the fullness of the calling and purpose that is upon our lives as disciples of Jesus in the world today.

Church as Usual is Coming to an End – Part 1

June 27, 2019/in Apostle's Perspective, ARTICLES, prophetic insights, Resources for Every Believer /by ralph

(and Prophetic Churches Must Emerge to Fill the Void)

Around the world the Church, as we know it, is in trouble

In some places it is seriously dying – growing smaller every year

20% decline a year due to deaths, moves, and people leaving

So to remain steady at the same number of people annually need to grow 20%

In some places the Church has fallen into heresy – teachings that are not biblical

In some places there are what we call “man-made moves of God” where the churches are growing but it is by programs and hype, charismatic leaders who tickle ears

In some places the Church is growing quickly and attracting young people but these young people soon recognize that the structures and traditions are, in many ways, hampering and hindering the flow of the Holy Spirit

Laying Apostolic Foundations in the 21st Century

Laying Apostolic Foundations
in the 21st Century