Give me a P

In my Bible Alphabet Blog Series P stands for Prophesying.

Prophesying (the gift of communicating revealed truth) comes from the Greek word προφητεία prophéteia i.e. prophecy.

Prophesying is not so much predicting the future, but more so the expression of the mind of God (as dictated by the Bible or the Holy Spirit) at a given moment.

1 Corinthians 14:1 says, follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. Especially prophecy ... How in the world can we make that practical today?

Prophesying is a spiritual gift which enables the believer to share a word of revelation from God (who is in Heaven) thereto urged by the Holy Spirit (who dwells in us). That word, therefore, is not a sermon prepared at home or a predicting of the future. Prophecy is the proclamation of God's will and the calling and encouraging of believers towards justice, loyalty and perseverance.

Some interesting facts:

• Uttering prophetic words is now something every believer can and should do (Acts 2:17).
• The gift of prophecy is distributed as the Holy Spirit decides (1 Corinthians 12:10-11), but we must pursue it (1 Corinthians 14:1).
• The appointment of a prophet for the edification of the church is done by Christ Himself (Ephesians 4:11).
• Nowadays, prophetic words are no longer infallible (as opposed to the OT), therefore, such words must always be weighed and tested (1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 Thessalonians 5: 20-21).
• Prophesy is a matter of using our mind. Actually, it is one of the few times (maybe the only time) that the Bible says we must submit the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:32).

How do we strive to prophesy? I strongly believe by asking the Lord for it in prayer and by studying what the Bible says about it. God has always desired and still desires to speak through people like you and me. He wants to speak through His written Word ... but also LIVE!

The gift of prophecy

This is the 4th and last post (for now) on 1 Corinthians 14:1, Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 'Especially the gift of prophecy'... how do we apply that to our daily life?

Even if we don't know anything about the spiritual gifts as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, we can learn from the above mentioned scripture that we should at least desire the gift of prophecy. This is a gift that enables the believer to bring a word of revelation directly from God (who is in heaven) under the impulse of the Holy Spirit (who is in us). So, it is NOT the delivery of a previously prepared sermon and it is NOT the foretelling of the future. It is proclaiming God's will and exhorting and encouraging God's people to righteousness, faithfulness and endurance.

Many wild stories and ideas do go around the world when it comes to prophecy, I have collected some biblical basics, hope they will help:

• The speaking of prophetic words is available for all believers (Acts 2:17)
• The gift of prophecy will be given as God decides (1 Corinthians 12:10), but we are encouraged to eagerly desire this gift (1 Corinthians 14:1)
• The appointing of prophets to build up the church is done by God (Ephesians 4:11)
• Prophetic words are no longer infallible (as in Old Testament times) and must be tested (1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21)
• Speaking prophetic words is a matter of using our mind. It is one of the few practices (maybe the only one) wherein the Bible tells us to keep our spirit under control of our will/mind (1 Corinthians 14:32)

How do we test a prophetic word? For example by asking ourselves whether it conforms God's Word, whether it promotes Godly living and whether it is uttered by a person who is sincerely living under Christ's Lordship.

How do we desire the gift of prophecy? I believe by asking for it in prayer and then by studying what the Word has to say about it. God has always desired and is still desiring to speak through ordinary people like you and me... through His Word, but also LIVE!

Eagerly desire...

This is already the 3rd post I am writing about 1 Corinthians 14:1. There is such depth and insight in that single verse, Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

'Eagerly desire spiritual gifts'. It's kind of weird, but when I think of the words 'eagerly desire' I tend to think of selfish greed and of the pursuit of goals and longings... maybe that is just my interpretation of the English language and a bit negative. The Webster dictionary says: excited by the desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform, or obtain; keenly desirous; hotly longing; earnest; zealous; impetuous; vehement...

Now that paints a slightly different picture, it deals with excitement, zeal, and hunger. Why would Paul call the believers to eagerly desire spiritual gifts? Gifts can only be given, right? We can do nothing to earn them. Why desire something that is up to God to distribute? As human beings we often eagerly desire many things, but I do not meet too many people who eagerly desire spiritual gifts. Personally, I think Paul is referring to his earlier statement as written down in 1 Corinthians 12:1, Now, about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. We are NOT supposed to be ignorant when it comes to spiritual gifts. Why not? Because the spiritual gifts must be used to build up the church. If we are ignorant about the spiritual gifts, how can we build up and strengthen the church? It is no wonder we see churches falling apart, believers lacking power and not many miracles done. That is not God's fault, but ours... because often we are ignorant.

If you desire to build up and strenghten the church, the body of Christ on earth, then please do not hesitate to study the Word about spiritual gifts and start to use what God will give you! Talk with someone who is studying the same thing, read a good book about it with the Bible as reference and most of all... pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten you, He is after all your teacher.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26).