HCC Monthly Harvest Seed

1 Corinthians 14:1-5 - Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. ² For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ³ But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

The Bible is a prophetic book. It declares the mind, will, purposes and intent of God.

God calls us to be a prophetic people. We are called to be a people who declare the mind, will, purposes and intent of God.

God calls us to speak into the lives of others. To declare His ways to them.

The Bible says that God has given spiritual gifts to the church.

Out of all of those gifts the Apostle Paul said that he desires that we all would prophesy.

There are still prophets in our day. There are prophets that have national attention and there are prophets that like many of the minor prophets in the Bible minister in a more local context.

The gift of prophecy however is something that the Apostle Paul said he wished all Christians would seek to have.

I have watched this gift at work throughout my lifetime. I received my call to ministry through the gift of prophesy working through several people and evangelists.

Prophecy – Means simply to speak forth or to declare the mind, will, purposes, intent and word of God.

It is an inspired message from God is one’s own language. It is a divine disclosure on behalf of the Holy Spirit. It is a revelation of the Spirit of God for the moment.  It could be for a church, a family or an individual.

It is a greater insight of the Spirit of God for several distinct purposes.

1 Corinthians 14:3 - But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 

Edification, Exhortation and comfort.

Those three words are important because they involve some very important things.

A word of Prophecy will call people to repentance when they are in sin. It may be something that you know as a fact or something that God shows you.

A word of prophecy will bring encouragement or exhortation – this brings hope to those who are weak and struggling. The word encouragement means to strengthen. To lift up to elevate. Many times, those who speak to others prophetically help people to grow and mature. It affirms them and their calling.

A word of exhortation can also help bring clarity and direction to people. It helps to guide them.

A word of prophecy is also a word of edification. – This means to build people up. Many times, it is a word of teaching and enhancing. Edification can help people to improve. Many times, edification can involve a word of correction. This is different than a call to repentance, it is really a teachable moment of redirection in life. The way someone is looking at something compared to the way God sees things.

A Word of Prophecy can also be a word of Comfort. It helps to remind people that they are pleasing to God. It brings refreshing. It helps people know that God has good plans for them and they may even get specific.

You can see why Paul said I wish that you all would prophesy.

Prophecy is not fortunetelling. – As a matter of fact, fortunetelling is Satan’s counterfeit to this gift. The insight does not come from the Spirit of God but from familiar evil spirits. It is not predicting the future or predicting end-time events.

Today there are Christians that want to give a personal word to everyone that they meet. They will even call people to see them in a room or make a special appointment or come to the altar and “Get” a word. This is not God. Usually, these people are speaking out of their flesh or even worse they are being used by Satan.  This is very dangerous and not of God.

The gift of prophecy is a grace gift given and available to all believers.

All can prophesy –

1 Corinthians 14:1- Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:31 - For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

1 Corinthians 14:39 - Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Prophecy happens when we speak the impressions God places on our mind. It will well up within us and burn in our spirit and you will know that you must speak it.  It will always line up with the word of God.

You will know it is from God in the same way that you know that you belong to God. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

It also involves honesty. Before we ever declare that something is a word from God, we must test the spirits … including our own. In order to know what we are going to speak is from God.

Remember that God speaks for specific reasons. – He brings comfort, direction, insight, correction, strength, encouragement and issues warnings.

Prophecy can provide confirmation. – As a matter of fact, much prophecy that is spoken confirms what God has already been speaking to someone.

~ Someone said – Prophecy rarely comes like a thunderstorm. It gently affirms what we are already hearing from God in our spirit.

Today people are skeptical of prophecy because at some point they have seen weird things from people and in church.

I have grown up in Pentecost and I have spent my entire adult life in pastoral ministry. I have seen some weird things.

I have a fairly low thresh hold for odd people who do things in the flesh claiming to speak for God.

Because of these weird things people have grown weary and leery of the prophetic.

Quite honestly many pastors would rather not have the prophetic around because it can get messy.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21- Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast to what is good.

(Amp) - Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. ²¹ But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good.

I love the honesty of this. Test carefully recognize what is good and hold on to it.

Satan wants to discredit one of God’s most powerful ways of working with and speaking to people.

The truth is that we should not be preoccupied with the fear of missing it. We should be concerned with functioning in the gifts and hearing from God.

Everyone who lives in the prophetic can expect to have what they say and the way that they live examined.

1 John 4:1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 Corinthians 14:29 - Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.

(AMP) - Let two or three prophets speak [as inspired by the Holy Spirit], while the rest pay attention and weigh carefully what is said.

(NLT) - Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said.

Those who are used by God are people of accountability.

We should expect to have what we say examined and evaluated.

Every week when I preach, I expect you to examine what I have said.

What should be examined?

Does what is being said line up with God’s word?

How was it said? Was it in love and with a good attitude?

If it was a message of correction was it insistent enough or was it given to softly? Was it rude or angry or hateful?

Was what was said so vague that it could have just been a feeling instead of God?

Was what was said meant to make people like you or to love Jesus more?

I believe that Jesus is calling each of us to a deeper level of living for Him.

He is calling us and inviting us to live prophetically.

Remember that you are dearly loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn

Image by Jörg Peter from Pixabay