6

BEYOND THE SERMON

Gifts of the Spirit

Message 6: The Gift of Prophecy

Pastor Rod Meyers  •  Covington Community Church  •  Key texts: 1 Corinthians 12:7-10; 1 Corinthians 14:1-4; Acts 2:17-18 (NIV)

 

Message Overview

If you thought your Christian walk was ordinary, think again. It is supernatural and extraordinary — you have gifts, and the hope of this series is that you not only discover them but feel empowered to use them in the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Two gifts remain. This message takes the first of the gifts of inspiration: prophecy, the one gift Paul singles out for us to eagerly desire (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Prophecy, as Rod teaches it here, is something revealed: a spontaneous, right-now word from God for an individual, a church, or an age, given to build up, encourage, and comfort. It is not preaching, teaching, or counsel. It is not on par with Scripture. It can come through anyone — Peter says sons and daughters, young and old, men and women — and you do not have to be a pastor, rabbi, or leader to have it. It also has limits and must always be judged. The message walks through what prophecy is, how you recognize it, what a prophet is, the prophets of Scripture, the warnings, and a personal story of a word that sent Rod to India. It ends with a question — who has a word for us? — and with prayer for those who want the gift.

Key Scripture

 

 

Peter's words in Acts 2 are Joel's prophecy fulfilled (Joel 2:28-29) — and Peter said he was preaching in the last days. The gift of prophecy is for everyone. And notice the order in Paul: the way of love first, then the gift. Prophecy is meant to come in a spirit of love, to correct, to foretell, and to speak the words of God — which is not always the feel we get from "prophecy" today.

Word Study

 

What Is Prophecy?

A working definition: prophecy is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in which God spontaneously reveals a message for an individual, a church, or an age. Its purpose is to edify the church, a particular situation, or a need. In the days of the priests and the temple, the revealed word of God was sought through two stones on the high priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:30); we have direct revelation, and so did the early church, who waited in Jerusalem for the gift the Father promised (Acts 1:4-5) and received it at Pentecost, when Peter immediately began speaking prophetically to Israel, the early church, and our age.

• It is a gift that never ceased. Prophecy, like tongues, undeniably occurs in the New Testament, and it persists with us today — a gift we ask for, receive, and very much need. It goes hand in hand with the Scriptures; people deep in the Word often receive visions, dreams, and prophetic things. But it does not come often, and it does not come on demand.
• It is different from teaching and counsel. Prophecy is not something you study. In prophecy a person does not set out to learn a truth about God; a truth is brought to them unexpectedly, directly from God, by the Holy Spirit. It is a revelation, a right-now word with a specific purpose.
• The early church needed it. They did not have the written New Testament — Paul was still writing it, the Gospels were not yet written, and the canon was centuries away. They needed a right-now word from God, and so do we, to help us interpret, move, and forge ahead: "When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up" (1 Corinthians 14:26).
• The receiver listens. "If a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop" (1 Corinthians 14:30). The one prophesying is speaking on behalf of God; your job is to be silent and receive it. Time will tell on the prophet.

How You Know It's From God

Paul is referring to something God may suddenly bring to mind or impress upon a person's consciousness or spirit in such a way that they sense it is from Him. It is often surprisingly distinct from the person's own train of thought — something you were not even thinking about — and it may be accompanied by a sense of vividness, urgency, or persistence that makes clear the word is from the Lord. If you have ever had a dream or a word from the Lord, you know it is something different: not your conjuring, not from you, definitely supernatural.

 

Not on Par with Scripture

 

• It is not private interpretation, not our idea, not our will, not our word. Many people prophesy in their own name — the newspaper prognosticators of an earlier day — but this is the voice of God, spoken as people are carried along by the Holy Spirit.
• Prophecy is local and situational, not normative and universal. It is a supernatural revelation for a person, place, and time. God is truly speaking to His people through it — but it is not on par with Scripture. It is a word for right now that will carry you and will line up with Scripture; both are words of God, but they do not carry equal weight. If it is of God, it will come true (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
• Do not overemphasize the spectacular. When we see prophecy displayed we must be wise, not foolish, because it is a work of the Spirit in relation to the Word — it can never supplant the Word or become the number-one value. Some church movements have let prophecy supersede the Word itself; many have erred and abused this extraordinary gift.
• Do not expect it to be frequent or habitual. It may not happen every Sunday; it may not happen once a year. When it does, know it, check it, and see it.

What Is a Prophet?

A prophet is a person with the ability to receive and convey messages of divine revelation. Their main function is to communicate the words and will of God — a spiritual entity who became flesh in Christ and is still communicating with us today — to other people. Prophets are intermediaries between the divine and the human, transmitting teachings, warnings, and predictions about the future. Prophecy typically has a two-fold punch: a near event and a far, Messianic one — two shoes, and you often get both. And the person speaking frequently does not understand what they are saying; Daniel is the perfect example (Daniel 12:8-9).

 

This is the only place Moses identifies himself as a prophet — and he does it while prophesying about a greater one. People asked Jesus if He was the prophet Moses spoke of, and He certainly was (Acts 3:22-23). Moses is our greatest example of how a prophet speaks to a community: edifying, warning, chastising (which they did not like at all), and delivering judgment. Prophets are seldom well thought of in their own day, and many did not survive it.

 

The Limits of Prophecy

 

Prophecy is a gift for now. Like tongues and the other gifts, it will pass when we go on to the age to come — you will not need the gift of prophecy then, because you will be living in it, face to face (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). Should we marvel that we have the gift? Absolutely not; it is for this age and this time.

• Prophecy is imperfect because it gives only a glimpse of the subject, whatever the message is.
• It is received directly but given indirectly, through a person — so it can be flawed. The person prophesying may include elements that are mistaken or misunderstood, or their interpretation may be off.
• It is valuable, but limited. It must never supersede Scripture, and revelation should be clear.
• It must be judged: "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said" (1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies — but test everything and hold on to what is good.

Rod's Story: "Pack Your Bags"

Rod was set to go to India right after the 2004-05 tsunami, and he was not going. The man sponsoring the trip had a business agenda, and Rod wanted to go for the gospel. He told God so — in anger, and only in his spirit: "I don't care if the trip is paid for and the ticket is done. I'm not going. You're going to have to tell me, naturally and supernaturally — audibly."

The next day, before the service even started, a woman in the congregation with a strong prophetic gift walked up to Rod and the trip's host, knowing nothing of what had passed between Rod and God, and prophesied directly to them: "Pack your bags. You're going to India — and you're not going for the reasons you think, or for the reasons that are coming. You're going to minister to pastors under the heavy burden of the tsunami. That is your role. You need to go." Then she spoke to the host as well. Rod was blown away: he had said it in anger the night before, and God came back quick, in a flash, with a direct revelation only he could have understood. He went to India for thirty days. Was it fun? Not for him. But it was a right-now word for a right-now situation — spontaneous, instantaneous, distinct from anything he was thinking, and confirmed.

Application

• Desire it. Paul says to eagerly desire the gifts, especially prophecy. Of all the gifts, this is the one you are told to ask for — because it builds up the church, not just yourself.
• Stay in the Word. Prophecy goes hand in hand with Scripture; those deep in the Word are often the ones who receive visions, dreams, and prophetic words — and the ones equipped to test them.
• When a word comes, deliver it in love, for strengthening, encouragement, or comfort. If it does none of those, hold it.
• When a word is given to you, be silent and receive it — then weigh it against the Word. If it is for you, it will come about; if not, keep it on the back burner and see what God does.
• Do not despise it, and do not worship it. The spectacular is not the measure; faithfulness to the Word is.
• Rod's closing question stands: who has a word for us? And who would like this gift? If that is you, ask — and let the eldership pray with you.

 

Series Roadmap

 

 

Reflection Questions

1. Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-5. Why does Paul single out prophecy above the other gifts? What does "follow the way of love" have to do with it?

 

 

 

 

 

2. Rod distinguished prophecy from preaching, teaching, and counsel. In your own words, what is the difference? Why does it matter that we not confuse them?

 

 

 

 

 

3. Have you ever had a dream, an impression, or a word that was "surprisingly distinct from your own train of thought" and turned out to be from the Lord? What made you sense it was from Him? How did you test it?

 

 

 

 

 

4. Read 2 Peter 1:20-21 and Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Rod said prophecy is a word of God but "not on par with Scripture." What could go wrong in a church where prophecy is treated as equal to, or above, the Word?

 

 

 

 

 

5. Read 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21. How do you test a prophetic word? How can a church weigh prophecy carefully without quenching the Spirit or treating prophecy with contempt?

 

 

 

 

 

6. Rod's word came the morning after he argued with God in private. Is there a decision you have been arguing with God about? What would it take for you to hear a right-now word — and to obey it even if it was "not fun"?

 

 

 

 

 

7. Rod ended by asking who would like the gift of prophecy. Would you? Why or why not? If God gave you a word for someone this week, would you be willing to deliver it in love?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further Study

• 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 — Paul's full teaching on prophecy and tongues in the gathered church.
• Numbers 11:24-29 — the seventy elders prophesy, and Moses wishes all the Lord's people were prophets.
• Numbers 22:21-35 — Balaam's donkey: the external voice of God from an unlikely source.
• Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and Deuteronomy 18:14-22 — the tests of a true and false prophet.
• Acts 11:27-30 and Acts 21:8-14 — Agabus: New Testament prophecy in action, and how the church responded.
• Amos 3:7 and Amos 7:14-15 — the Lord reveals His plans to His servants the prophets; Amos was a shepherd, not a professional.
• Revelation 19:10 — the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
• Jeremiah 23:16-32 — the Lord against prophets who speak visions from their own minds.

 

Next in the series: the finale — speaking and praying in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.