Things the Prophets Told Me
You’re Gonna Be Famous, Kid!
The first prophecy I can remember receiving in a church service was textbook.
“You’re going to be someone who is celebrated. You’re going to be a celebrity!”
He was an older gentleman in a suit and tie. My mother told me later that he used to have a television show that aired on one of the Christian networks.
I wish I would have been in the habit of taking notes at that time, but I was still new to church and hadn’t yet discovered my love for scribbling notes while in the pew. Despite being uncertain about who the prophet was, I still distinctly remember the prophecy.
Me, famous?
That’s what every teenager wants to hear.
I was a senior in high school at the time, and I recall struggling to decide what I would do with myself after graduation. I eventually developed ambitions of being a writer or maybe going to film school to learn how to make movies. I guess I could be famous for such pursuits.
Looking back on those words now, I see how silly they were.
Of all the messages to communicate to a young woman trying to figure out her place in the world- why would the God of the universe ask his messenger to pass along: You’re gonna be famous, kid!
It’s not a message from God. It’s bait to get people to stick around. It creates followers who thrive on the high of hearing from God; hearing good things. It brings in money.
The you’re going to be a celebrity prophetic message is one that is palatable to people who don’t have a taste for sound teaching. It feeds human insecurity and narcissism.
If you’re insecure in your identity and unsure of your purpose, being celebrated sounds like assurance that people are going to see what’s special about you and maybe you’ll finally have fulfillment. And, it’s pretty obvious why it appeals to the narcissist.
This prophet claimed that he never got prophetic words about being a celebrity for people. This was rare! Oh, wow. Everyone fawned over the idea of my celebrity status.
Looking back, I can’t help but think that these so-called prophets have no respect for God’s people. They speak these bright, hopeful words without even knowing who it is that’s in front of them. They make it seem that God is more concerned with our happiness than our right understanding of His Word.
But, it should be no real surprise when we study the Scriptures and see the times we live in described.
Though the crowds gather, hoping for bright, hopeful words- A true spokesperson for God has a higher calling. They are to expect a stricter judgement and they ought to take their role seriously.
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:1–5
The things that the so-called prophets told me only get stranger.
Stay tuned for another edition…
