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Modern
Prophecy
101
What
is Prophesy?
Prophecy
is a word from God spoken into a specific situation for a specific purpose. Gr.
Propheteuo; to foretell events, an inspired speaker, to speak or sing by
inspiration, prediction, inspired teaching, disclosure by divine
means relating to various countries, nations, and cities. What is a Prophet? A
Prophet is one who speaks forth the word of God, one who listens to God, gives
prophetic direction, and is vital in planting and establishing churches. Gods
call is without repentance so we have no authority to tell a man whether he can
be called a prophet however the bible tells us that by our fruit we will know
all me. We must test all ministries according to their fruit and test to see if
they be in the faith. A Prophet can be a overseer, shepherd, presbyter, missionary,
a traveling minister, or a lay person however they must be a spiritual person
who has there family in order, a servant who leads by example, Luke 11:49; Acts 15:32; 21:8-11; Eph 2:20; 3:5; 4:13; Rom 12:8; 1
Cor 11:5; 12:10,28; Joel 2:28; Rev 18:20. The Purpose
of Prophecy 1
Corithinans 14:3 But the one who prophesying to men speaks for building up and
encouragement and comfort.
Prophecy
is meant to encourage, exhort, comfort, and build up. It encourages and informs
the believer. Prophesy is Gods word being brought alive and made real applying
it to today's situations inspired by the spirit of God proclaimed by a prophet
of the Lord. No prophecy will ever contradict God's written word, 2 Pet 1:19-21;
2 Tim 3:16. All prophecy must line up with scripture and God's main and plain
purpose, mainly global evangelism through all members of the Body of Christ.
Prophecy is intended to draw a response, a choice, an action or a reaction from
the children of God. In most cases it is a call to action waiting on God,
trusting on God, responding to God, living for God, returning to God, etc… The Purpose of Prophecy is: ü
To show us the reality of God. ü
To convict and convince ü
To give guidance and counsel ü
To show us what God sees ü
To encourage and exhort not to frighten
and condemn ü
To prune and refine Love the
Christian Imperative 1
Corinthians 14:1 Chase after Love, and eagerly seek spiritual gifts, but especially that
you might prophesy. The Christian Mandate
to
Pursue the Gift of Prophecy
Paul wants us to seek to prophesy more than we operate in any other gift. Let us
look at what the prophetic gift is. According
to the New Testament "prophecy" is a gift to all members of the church
who want it however the office of a "prophet" is only to those God has
called and ordained. All are to earnestly seek and expect God to give them the
gift of prophecy and use them in the advancement of His kingdom through the
prophetic word. Prophecy was a major part of New Testament life and was relied
on for directional guidance of the church and for specific ministries. A
prophetic word or the gift of prophecy is for special occasions however the
office of a prophet is a constant revelatory enabling of the spirit of God for
direction, guidance, insight and forth telling. The office of prophet and the
gift of prophecy only come from an intimacy with God you can not be a true
prophet without listening and talking to God personally otherwise you are a
false prophet and part of the end-time deception. If you do not hear from God you are
not a prophet. In the New Testament when a prophetic word was given to a body of
believers and it was of the Lord they would say the Holy Spirit said or sent
thus and so, Acts 13:1-3. Phillip received a prophetic word for the Ethiopian,
Acts 8:30. Peter received a word for Cornelius, Acts 10:20. Prophets sometimes
traveled, Agabus was a traveling prophet. He gave a word to the church
predicting a famine, Acts 10:27, He also warned of Paul's arrest, Acts 21:10.
Even women were allowed to prophecy, Acts 20:9. Prophetic words gave guidance,
direction, and revealed callings and ministries, Acts 13:1-3; 1 Tim 1:18; 4:14;
2 Tim 1:6. Paul put a high value on the impartation of spiritual gifts through
prophetic presbytery for releasing a persons ministry gifts and calling through
their prayers and laying on of hands with anointing oil, Acts 6:6; 13:1-3; Rom
12:6; 1 Cor 12:8,10,28,29; 14:1,39; 1 Tim 1:18; 4:4:14; 2 Tim 1:6. Prophecy is not for personal promotion it
is intended for edification, exhortation, building up, the encouragement of the
saints, commissioning ministries and advancing the kingdom of God through
direct revelation of Gods purpose and intent, 1 Cor 14:22. Prophetic
words given to the whole church must build up the church and draw the lost to
Christ, 1
Cor 14:26, 24. We are exhorted not to stop prophecy rather we are given
guidelines to shepherd them for the advancement of the kingdom and salvation of
the lost, 1 Thes 5: 17-22; 1 Cor 14:12,22,24,26,29,31,39,40. We prophesy only in
part, 1 Cor 13:9. The power of
Prophecy 1
Corinthians 14:4 The one speaking in tongues builds himself up; but the one prophesying
builds up the church.
Prophesying exhorts the church, gives direction, convicts the sinner, and
can bring healing, restoration and deliverance. Prophecy can and will convince
new converts that Christianity is real; it will cause them to say God is truly
among you and draw them to the knees pleading the mercies of Christ. No where in
scripture in New Testament prophecy does scripture ever say that God has
completely done away with judgmental prophecy however God has established rules,
order and a method to test prophecies by. The New Testament does say that
prophecy purpose is to edify. However Paul himself wrote a harsh letter, and then he wrote in 2 Cor How
he was glad it brought them Godly sorrow. I believe all New and Old Testament
prophecy is to bring about a response, a call to action, and/or godly sorrow,
which leads to repentance. Judgmental prophecy is something no new convert
should be allowed to give only the seasoned prophetic ministers who know how to
operate in love and obey the Lord. The reason for this is Judgmental prophesy is
not the norm and should not be allowed unless it is truly God speaking. God would prefer us cold or hot, if we are Luke-warm He
will vomit us out of His mouth Rev 3:15. If a harsh word comes it must be in
love, and exhortation, it must have a goal, a chief aim to save, heal, deliver,
etc. if it does not line up with the word of God, if it does not call one to
action, and if it does not bear biblical fruit. That type of prophecy should
come under scrutiny and must be corrected if it doesn't line up with Gods word
or Gods purpose. How
do we test Prophecy?
1 John tells us to test the spirits to see
which is of God. Paul goes on to teach us to "suffer not that one teach
another Christ" or another gospel, neither allow ourselves to receive any
other spirit except Holy Spirit. Number we test prophecy by whether it lines up
with the word of God, 2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21. We must also test the
spirits whether it is of God, Man or the devil 1 John 3-5; 1 Cor 13:3. Next we
must test whether it bears witness with your spirit, John 10:2-5. Finally we
must test whether it bears good of bad fruit, Luke 6:43-45. Prayer, Expectancy
and Faith are the breading ground to receive the promise of prophetic insight in
any given situation. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Tongues VS
Prophecy 1
Corinthians 14:5 And I wish all of you spoke in other languages, but rather that you may
prophesy – for greater is the one prophesying than the one speaking in
tongues, unless he interprets that the church may receive a building up (or
edification)."
Here
we see the importance of the prophetic in church worship compared to tongues,
and the need for the church to receive edification. Personally tongues
has more value to ones self, but in church there is the need for all to be built
up. In a corporate gathering, the church needs to receive building up or edification. It is important
to prophesy in church, speak in other tongues and interpretation that the church
members may grow in The LORD. Tongues
are not of less value in teaching, it is cumbersome if not interpreted in
worship, it can cause confusion, and doubts coming from unbelievers. Tongues do not have
building up properties or abilities in a worship service without interpretation.
Notice Paul never says, "Do not speak in tongues in Church." Paul does
say, "Do not forbid tongues vs. 39." Many seem to take this passage as
a license to stop all use of tongues in church. Paul never says do not allow
speaking in tongues, He is just asking for order. He also says, "If anyone
is ignorant let him be ignorant," Vs. 38. This is not a matter of control
but shepherding those that are a little too exuberant and selfish, who are not concerned about the benefit
of others or salvation of the lost. They just want to bless
God with their new heavenly language. It is time we stopped condemning and
started exhorting, encouraging, teaching, and building up. Scripture tells us
not defaming a person's character because we do not like their style, theology
or method. We are to disciple them, exhort and encourage them. 1 Corinthians
12:19-26; Romans 14; and Ephesians 4:1-6,13 make it clear that we are one body
with many members and not to discriminate because of the different aspects of
our separate ministries in the body of Christ. We are called to unity, building
up, and saving the lost. It is time to fulfill the great commission instead of
talking about it Matt 28:19. Tongues are therefore to be interpreted unless the
tongue is an actual human language, as on the day of Pentecost (Acts
2:4-17,38,39). Prophetic
Conviction 1
Corinthians 14:23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak
in tongues, and their come in those who are uniformed and unbelieving, will they
not say you are mad? 24 But
if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or and uniformed person comes in, he is
convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And
thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he
will worship God and report that God is truly among you. Here we see Paul showing us how tongues will cause someone who is uniformed to say that you are mad because it a language or a sound they have never heard before, unless it is interpreted, or they are informed of the purpose and meaning of Tongues. On the other hand a Prophetic word will convict and convince them of the reality of God. This is a mandate Paul is reminding us to make disciples not converts. Jesus said go and make disciples. It is time that we start mentoring the lost making them effective soldiers in the army of God instead of making and preserving pew potatoes. We must inform them of what is going on because Paul said he would prophesy, and we are supposed to prophesy. Prophecy will reveal the secrets of you heart, reveal sin, show you God's plan for you life. Prophecy will convince and convict of the truth. Prophetic
Tongues 1
Corinthians 14:6 But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues what do I profit
you, except if I speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in
prophecy, or in teaching?
Paul
is saying here that there is no profit in a corporate gathering is one speaks in
tongues unless the tongue is a tongue of revelation, knowledge, prophecy or
teaching. I believe he is showing us that tongues will not profit in worship
unless it is a tongue of revelation, a tongue of knowledge, a tongue of
prophecy, and a tongue of teaching. I believe that the tongues God may give us
in worship should, and will probably come as a revelation, knowledge, prophecy
or teaching, and that the tongue is to be interpreted as such according to the
grace God gives you. There are the prophetic tongues, which seem to be most
common in church however we must not limit to that. There are also the
revelation, knowledge and teaching tongues. Sometimes all God wants to do is
bring a specific teach, a word of knowledge or revelation and we must be open to
that when Prophetic Tongues are pronounced.
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