“…earnestly desire the spiritual gifts…“
1 Corinthians 14:1
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith…“
Romans 12:6
You may have noticed that sometimes during our Sunday services a member of the church will share something from that microphone placed on the floor near the stage. It might be a bit of Scripture, or some words intended to encourage, comfort, and strengthen God’s people.
For some, this may be new and you may be wondering what this is all about. For others, you may be wondering why it doesn’t happen more often.
What’s happening during those moments is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, present to bless and build up God’s people. And this is good news, for who doesn’t come to our Sunday gathering without some need for encouragement, comfort, and strengthening?
God meets those needs in many ways, especially as we gather to sing God’s praises and hear the preaching of His Word. When we gather, one of the ways God meets us is through the gift of prophecy.
Eagerly Desire Spiritual Gifts
- The presence of the Holy Spirit is a sign of the New Covenant. As followers of the ascended Christ, we have the privilege of being filled with the Holy Spirit and being given spiritual gifts. (Luke 24:49, John 20:22-23, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 2:14-18)
- The gifts of the Holy Spirit are freely given to God’s people for the purpose of strengthening and building up His church. Every believer has gifts! (1 Corinthians 12:7)
- There is no expiration date given for spiritual gifts, including the miraculous ones, at least not before Jesus, the Perfect One, returns. (1Corinthians 13:8-10) (Here is a helpful article explaining why we believe gifts continue to the present.)
Especially the Gift of Prophecy
- A short definition: prophecy is “telling something God has spontaneously brought to mind.”[1] One has an inner sense that God has something He wants to make known for the “upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3) of His people. This might happen in a prayer meeting, at a small group, during a Sunday morning service, even to the pastor while he is preaching.
- We see this gift in various cities and times during the New Testament era, including Rome, Corinth, Jerusalem, and Caesarea. (Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 14:1, Acts 21:8-9)
- Prophecy is a gift to be especially desired (1 Corinthians 14:1) because it can profoundly and deeply strengthen, comfort, and encourage believers (1 Corinthians 14:1-3) and also convince unbelievers that God truly lives and is present with the church. (1 Corinthians 14:24-25)
- New Testament prophecy is not authoritative or infallible in the way of a New Testament apostle or an Old Testament prophet. Prophecy is always under the authority of Scripture. (1 Corinthians 14:29-32)
Using the gift of prophecy
- Ask God for this gift. Eagerly desire that God might give this gift to you and/or that He might graciously stir this gift up in our church.
- If you sense you might have a prophetic word, give it a try. A small group setting like Community Group is a great place to test and practice and develop this gift.
- Share your word humbly. Since we prophesy in part, we know we can err, so we do well to preface what we say with phrases like, “I think I sense God showing me” or “I believe God has brought to my mind.” These are more helpful than, “Thus says the Lord”!
- Collaborate with whomever is leading the meeting. At Community Group, let the leader know what you are sensing. On Sunday morning, bring it to the person responsible for the ministry microphone (this person, usually Vince Hinders, sits in the front row of the section by the drums, near the microphone placed on the floor below the stage).
- The Ministry Microphone. We desire our meetings to be conducted “decently and in order “(1 Corinthians 14:40). Since our Sunday gathering is a larger group, we believe it is wise to have any public contributions reviewed by a pastor or church leader before being shared with the congregation. Out of a desire for the church to be edified, we seek to discern whether the content is timely and how we might respond.
If you’d like to learn more about this, here are a few resources:
What Does Scripture Teach About the Office of Prophet and Gift of Prophecy? This is a short article by Sam Storms taken from the NIV Study Bible, edited by D. A. Carson.
Prophecy for Beginners: Ten Frequently Asked Questions by Jon Bloom. He is as encouraging about the gift of prophecy as Sam Storms is, but has a slightly different understanding of how it functions.
10 Questions About Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms. This is a short introduction to the topic of spiritual gifts.
As a church, we are looking for ways to study, understand, and practice these things better, so that the saints may be strengthened and God glorified. Let us know if you have any ideas about how we might do this, or would be interested in a class about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, or spiritual gifts.
If you have questions about this, or anything else, feel free to reach out to any of the elders. And I’d love to hear from you at
Grace,
Mark Mullery
[1] Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, p. 408.