As I said in the previous post on 1 Samuel 3, I think that the era of seers to which the writer of 1 Samuel is referring is an era which occurred prior to the time of his or her writing.
Also, I submit to you that one thing I think is missing from the church in the present age is the willingness of those to whom the Lord has given gifts of sight into the realm of the Spirit (as John functioned on Patmos-Revelation 1:10-11). Yes I believe in the modern day function of apostles, prophets (seers and standard prophets), evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
The bottom line is that we need people who are willing to live consecrated lives and are willing to accept the call the Lord has placed on them to function as this. Now at the risk of alienating a couple of my friends who are theobloggers, I am going to share my testimony, which involves a strong dose of this gifting and several prophetic words that confirmed what was already in my heart.
I was saved at the age of four, when I witnessed the resurrected Christ. The second person of the Trinity stood in my room and I knew it was Jesus. He had wounds in his wrists, etc. He was wearing a simple linen robe and had brown hair and beard, etc. He asked me what I wanted, and I knew what I wanted. I told him, “I want a godfather.” To which he replied, “I will be your godfather.” From that moment I knew (my parents divorced a few weeks later in 1984) and confessed with my mouth that Jesus was the Son of God.
The funny thing with me was that it was not a matter of believing without seeing. It was seeing and knowing. It’s like almost not having a choice to believe or not believe. I knew and so was accountable for what I knew. From that moment, I would have dreams where I went to heaven, and dreams where I saw hell. I have experienced much that is glorious and much that is diabolical. I have known joy about which I could say nothing for the magnitude of it, and I have known despair because of the fires of the lake. I have from the age of five battled and struggled with the lust of the flesh, many times being victorious, many times falling. All of this interaction came because I was called to flow as a seer. I knew I had a specific calling, though I did not know how to verbalize it as a child.
But I digress.
If you want to know what a seer’s work looks like, examine the nature of the Revelation to John. Examine the fact that he saw what the Lord showed him, and examine that he interpreted what was seen, and that Jesus evidently thought it important enough to show John.
The tragic thing for me was that, while I accepted the teaching gifting to which I have also been called (the exact word is “a professor to the people”), from the age of 16 until I was 29, I rejected the seer aspect of my calling. I was taught an overabundance of criticism that dried me out. I left behind the truth of a large part of the way God designed me to function. But that is no more. If you wish to cover what the gift of a seer looks like, read 1 Samuel, the Revelation, and the life of Moses. And if you have questions still, then shoot me an e-mail or Facebook me, and I will try to get back with you.
Now, back to the text.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
For those that are non-KJV or anti-KJV, I apologize for the use of the KJV. This text is fairly straightforward, with one exception that jumped off the page.
The Lord “let none of his words fall to the ground.”
Wow!!! Every single word that Samuel spoke, because he grew in the Lord, was himself dedicated to the Lord’s work solely and the Lord was with him. Because he was faithful to the Lord, the Lord established every single word.
Every
Single
Word.
One of my friends from college, Matt Manchester, said the following. He was on our college campus and he saw a vision where there were words, literal words, littering the ground like trash. Like discarded refuse. Words that people had spoken, who were not dedicated to the Lord, that had been spoken and because they were not given to the Lord, they had fallen, ineffectively from their mouths, and did not reach their intended targets and accomplish the purpose intended.
How many of you have said something you knew was worthless, only to regret what you have said?
The Lord offers mercy for that worthless word, if you will but confess it and repent. He wants to help you speak words that will not fall to the ground. He wants all of your words to be effective and to hit their intended target.