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Yesterday, I thought I’d just share something about the
gifts of the Spirit with a focus on the gift of Prophecy, but by the time I got
to three pages I realized I still had quite a bit to say, so this post would be
more or less a sequel to yesterday’s.
A few things to keep in mind when it comes to the gift
of prophecy include distinguishing between what it actually is and is not. In
the Old Testament God led His people mainly through His prophets who had the Holy
Spirit on them. In those days Holy Spirit would only come upon Kings, Priests
and Prophets. The the people were told if they wanted all to be well with them
they had better believe the prophets as the last part of 2 Chronicles 20:20 so aptly puts it:
“… believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” – 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV
The only way of judging prophecies during that time was
if the opposite of what the prophet said came to pass, and that prophet would
face death for speaking presumptuously…serious stuff! (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) And moreover they were told not to fear that
prophet, to me such a statement implies that prophets back in the OT were
fearsome characters. Some were quite eccentric too…I mean snacking on locusts
and wild honey, wearing camel hide suits, chilling in the wilderness, when
everyone else is hanging out in town…talk about being weird by society’s
standards.
In the New Testament every born again believer has the
Holy Spirit in them since it is the Spirit who regenerates our dead spirits and
we are joined with Him. This is a separate experience from and a prerequisite
for being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Today God leads us by His Spirit within
us, we do not go a Prophet (or any ministry gift for that matter) to seek
guidance from God. This does not mean that God cannot give you guidance through
someone else though, He can but that is the exception, not the rule and when He
does it will most likely be for establishment or confirmational purposes as He
would have already spoken to you the issue beforehand. Guidance from a prophetic ministry is never solicited, it is God who initiates it. This is more of a function
of the prophetic ministry, which again, is not the focus of this article,
nevertheless I feel its good to point out this exception.
Another thing, the gift of prophecy is not to be
confused with the gift of the Word of Knowledge or the Word of Wisdom or
Discerning of Spirits. The Word of Knowledge has to do with divinely receiving knowledge
of what has already happened or is currently happening, the Word of Wisdom has
to do with the future, the what’s and the how’s, and Discerning of Spirits has
to do with being able to distinguish between spirits; whether it’s the Holy
Spirit or human or angelic or demonic
spirits. All these gifts may manifest and or operate with gift of prophecy. In fact one of
the common ways the Holy Spirit manifests the gift of prophecy is through the
gifts of tongues and interpretation. It is all done as the Spirit wills.
The Word of God tells us NT believers not to despise
prophesying but to judge prophecies, to test all things and to cling to what is
good and wholesome.
19 Quench
not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
– 1
Thessalonians 5:19-21 NIV
We all have the Spirit of God in us and can hear His
voice, Jesus said “my sheep hear my voice…” (John 10:27), so child of God, you can and have been hearing the
Father’s voice all along, that still small voice as well as many other ways He’s
been talking to you, perhaps you weren’t aware of it. Get to know your loving
Heavenly Father; the best way to know someone is to spend time with them. Hang
out with the Father in prayer and in meditating on His Word, you’ll recognize
His voice in a heartbeat! And when you hear prophecies, you’ll be able to
quickly discern the source and hopefully take the appropriate action.
The true gift of prophecy will not exalt man or anyone’s
ego in any way, shape or form, for the Holy Spirit will always seek to exalt
and glorify Christ, not man. Jesus said:
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and
declare it to you. – John 16:14 NKJV
So when you hear prophecies that focus heavily on the
recepient(s) in a way that isn’t edifying, comforting or exhorting but rather
seeking to puff them or their ministry up (and yes there is a world of difference
between encouragement and flattery) a red flag should go up in your spirit. So
called prophecies that go along the lines of “everyone will come and bow at
your feet, you shall be the greatest of them all, blah blah blah…” Know for a fact that these kinds of prophecies
are at best soulish and at worst devilish, but are certainly not from the
Spirit, regardless of how highly the vessel through which they come is
esteemed. Let’s not forget we are not to give the devil a foothold and we are
not ignorant of his devices, so if we choose to let him in, he will take
advantage of the opportunity.
Just because some have selfishly abused this gift is no
excuse for us to shun it today. Remember we are not to despise prophesying and
rest assured, your Father is well able to protect you from being deceived so
relax and enjoy Him and by faith go boldly after what He has made available for
you.
True prophecy will point people to Jesus, not to the
one prophesying. What does the Word say?
10 And I fell at his
feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your
brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” – Revelation
19:10 NKJV
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So there, prophecy testifies of Jesus, His testimony is
to be front and center and rightfully so. What is the testimony of Jesus? I’m
glad you asked…here it is:
11 And this is the
testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
– 1John 5:11 NKJV
Prophecy is to reveal the heart of God for His people,
prophecy is to draw people into a deeper walk with the Father, to get to know
Him on a deeper level, for eternal life is knowing God and knowing Christ.
Prophecy is an expression of the Father’s perfect love
to us. God desires to use every believer in this gift to edify, exhort and
comfort His people. Make yourself available, of all the gifts of the Spirit, He
is calling you to desire the gift of prophecy, so ask Him to use you in
prophecy for His glory. Blessings!
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