Gift: Prophecy

1 Corinthians 12:9-10 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."

Let me begin by defining what this “gift” of the Holy Spirit is.

The spiritual gift of prophecy is, “Speaking forth a spontaneous message, inspired by the Holy Spirit, which is intended for edification, exhortation and encouragement to the gathered assembly.”

By saying that prophecy is “inspired” I am not saying that it is on the same level as Holy Scripture. In fact, Scripture is the foundational measure for all truth expressed, whether it is a message or sermon delivered, or a prophetic utterance. Paul mentions that it is ultimately to be “judged” or evaluated by the leaders who are present as to its relevance, or timing in a service. (1 Corinthians 14:29) Above all the other gifts mentioned, prophecy is the one gift that Paul favors for corporate gatherings, and encourages believers to pursue an understanding of.

Some have also made the mistake of thinking that the “gift of prophecy” is synonymous with the office of “prophet”. Many have paraded themselves from church to church declaring themselves prophets because they have a “spiritual sensitivity”, or have been used in the gift of prophesy. This is an issue that intimidates those who may otherwise speak out something from the heart of the Lord for the first time. It could also turn off others who may already be skeptical of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said, “You all may prophesy, one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged.” (1 Cor. 14:31) He also said that we should all desire and pursue the gift or ability to prophecy. This discounts the idea of a special class of Christians. The focus of this spiritual gift, as all the others, is for the building up of the Church.

1 Cor. 14:1 “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy”

Another issue that keeps some from understanding this gift or how they could be used in it is the issue of “inerrancy”. Some have incorrectly assumed that the same standard used in the Old Testament for prophets is the same standard used for anyone in the New Testament that may prophesy. The penalty for a false prophet was death. If their prophecies failed to come to pass they were viewed as a “false prophet”. I believe Paul’s view on this was very different. First of all, the gift of prophecy is not often “fore-telling” as much as “forth-telling”. Secondly, this gift is meant to be “judged” by others, which implies it may not necessarily always be perfect in delivery or content. The gift of prophecy is not perfect as Holy Scripture is, but a spontaneous “now” word to bring us into remembrance of what we already know from the source of perfect revelation: The Bible.

Many times people are so unfamiliar with the promptings of the Holy Spirit that they fail to recognize “moments” when God may be desiring to use them. This requires experience and teaching by leaders as to “how” and “when” the use of this gift is appropriate.

As a pastor, I sense that God is prompting the Body of Christ as a whole to place a fresh emphasis upon the spirit of prophecy as a source of encouragement and exhortation. The dirty little secret of most pastors is that it is easier to not deal with this issue than to correct mistakes, teach often on this somewhat controversial issue, and filter the fringe folks who are merely looking for a platform to show themselves spiritual. Regardless of the mess that it may create, I believe the Holy Spirit wants to speak freshly to His church through His church. I am by no means calling for a return to the traditions of charismatic church service order or delivery. I am not envisioning anyone speaking ecstatically in Kings James English. I am desiring and pursuing a “new wineskin”, and fresh ideas of how to empower and facilitate this without confusion or disorder.

I am praying Radiant will be a “Word and Power” church.

Spiritual Gift: Healing and Miracles

I Corinthians 12:9b-10a . “...to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another the working of miracles”

Divine healing is as distinctly a part of “Christian” theology as any other issue. The Gospels are replete with examples of Jesus healing those who were suffering and afflicted with various diseases and maladies.  The disciples were commissioned by Jesus to heal the sick and cast out demons, and obediently carried this aspect of ministry with them beyond their experiences in the gospels into the book of Acts and beyond as the church was established.

Healing comes in many forms and it would be difficult in a format like this to unpack all the methodology. Needless to say, healing relates to the whole of a person and may include the physical, spiritual, and emotional realms.

There is an expectation that all believers could and would at times be used in the ministry of healing (Mark 16:18). There is also the reality that God sometimes sovereignly heals people in response to their own prayers even when no one has specifically prayed for them in an intentional manner.

The “gifts of healing” mentioned by the apostle Paul in I Corinthians is a distinct manifestation of God bringing a “healing event” to one person through another person.  The focus of this gift is not, as such, to the one receiving healing, but the giving of supernatural power to heal through an individual. It is interesting to note that this gift is listed as “gifts”, plural. I believe this is important for two reasons: it gives a wide space for “how” this gift is manifested and imparted, and also implies that this gift is not necessarily resident permanently, but given at unique instances. 

The Gift of miracles or “working of miracles” is akin to healing. In many ways healing can properly be placed under the heading of miracles. The distinction between the two is probably in that “the working of miracles” covers the extraordinary works beyond just physical/emotional healing. Such examples of these miracles are found in the New Testament by both apostle and others.

Acts 19:11-12

“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and evil spirits came out of them.”

It appears that healing and demonic deliverance were included in this description, just on an extraordinary scale. That seems to be the criteria for “working of miracles”, such things as raising the dead, healing the blind, and even the suspension of natural phenomena. 

Paul himself wrote to average people living in an ordinary city attending a local church. Here is what he reminded them of in Galatians 3:2-5

“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and work miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith...”

This is important for us to realize so that we do not idealize the New Testament, or shelve the gifts of the Holy Spirit to another time and people. We may not doubt God’s ability to perform miracles or healings because we believe in an all powerful God, but we need to also realize and embrace that God wants us to pursue and be available for him to work through in specific, sometimes miraculous ways. 

Spiritual Gift: Utterance of Knowledge

“And to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit....” 1 Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV

Defined:  “The utterance of knowledge is the ability to speak to someone or to a situation with revelatory knowledge and details that were not “naturally or intellectually known or knowable”. This gift is different from the preceding gift of the “utterance of wisdom” in that it transcends the limited intellect of an individual and involves an infusion of information directly from the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministering to a need.

Jesus operated in the gift on several occasions during His earthly ministry. Perhaps one of the most well known occasions, and most powerful expressions of this gift is His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4:1-26)

When Jesus said to her to “Go, call your husband, and come here.” the woman answered him, “I have no husband’;

Jesus answered her with revelatory knowledge. His words opened the door to minister to her on a deeper level and ultimately, show that God was present, concerned, and speaking to her.

“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; For you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.

The woman replied with shock at his insight: “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

Spiritual Gift: Faith

Defined:  “A supernatural conviction that God will reveal his power or mercy in a special way in a specific instance.”

This is not a reference to the faith that leads to salvation, although it is obvious that faith is always the work of the Holy Spirit. It would be presumed and not necessary to list it as a spiritual gift for believers if its work was limited to an isolated experience that the reader had already experienced. This “faith” in particular relates to the kind of explosive, supercharged faith, given in the moment, to believe that mountains can be moved (I Corinthians 13:2; Mark 11:23)

Often times this gift of faith works in tandem with the gift of miracles and healing. The Holy Spirit helps us to see as He sees and believe beyond our ability to believe for what may seem impossible or improbable.

An example of this gift in operation is found in Acts chapter 3. On their way to the temple to pray, Peter and John are confronted by a crippled man who asks them for alms. Peter’s response was one of great faith.

Acts 3:4-6  “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “ I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! “

The man was instantaneously healed (gift of miracles, we will cover this in the future), but it was the act of Faith by Peter that led to this miracle. Peter makes this clear when he is explaining to the crowd in the temple what had taken place:

Vs.16  “And his name--by faith in his name-- has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” 

Over the last several weeks I have been teaching on the Holy Spirit, and the role that He, as the third person of the Trinity, plays in the life of each believer. The “big idea” of this teaching series is “in a world obsessed with being filled, we are meant to live beyond ourselves and allow God to overflow our lives.”

Sunday I taught on the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This can be a somewhat controversial issue to teach on because most Christians have either been exposed to abuse of spiritual gifts, or are completely unaware of them and therefore have no grid to put them in perspective.  Others are blinded by biases. Over the next couple of days I am going to attempt to give some working definitions of the nine “gifts” of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12. My goal is not to be exhaustive or dogmatic, but practical and attainable. For those of you who fancy yourself a theologian, realize there are already terrific resources available that are more scholastic in nature. If you want to dig deeper and “get your Greek on!” I will be happy to give you some recommended reading on this subject.

1 Corinthians 12:1-8  ESV  “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are variety of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of Spirit for the common good.To one is given through the Spirit the Utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit...”

 1.  Utterance of Wisdom

This “gift” is the Holy Spirit empowered ability to verbally communicate or teach in such a way that it unlocks the understanding of the hearer to see spiritual truth centered in Jesus‘ death, burial, and resurrection. I believe it is primarily related to those who teach or are in an instructional situation. It’s more than just the ability of public speaking or connecting with others. It is being super-charged with God’s wisdom and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach through you.

Paul made reference to this wisdom earlier on in 1 Corinthians 2:12  “Now we have received no the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual             truths to those who are spiritual.”

As a Pastor, I can relate to this gift from two different angles: From the vantage point of the one giving the “utterance”, and from those who are the hearers.

When I teach or find myself in a “one on one situation”, there are marked times when I know what I am saying or teaching from scripture is being driven by the Holy Spirit. Most of the times it comes as an insight into scripture or experience that comes alive in the moment. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have had someone say something like, “you were talking right to me!” or, “the way you explained that helped me gain a whole new perspective.” This is not the work of my wisdom or intellect. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

You may never find yourself in a teaching situation or on a platform preaching the Word of God, but that doesn’t disqualify you from being used in this way. The call to encourage and disciple is the work of every believer. To those of you who are teachers at all different levels, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to unlock the riches of God’s grace to others.

This Sunday something is going to happen that has never happened before in Kalamazoo. One church will worship together in two locations on opposite sides of the city, but on the same side of the Spirit. Radiant Church, the incredible congregation that I have the privilege of leading, is launching a second campus in Portage, MI. So much work, prayer, planning and wonderful volunteers have gone into venturing into this new territory. Across the country, there are some incredible, frontline churches that have set the pace in the multi-site approach to "church". But to my knowledge, God is using us here at Radiant to pioneer this cutting edge approach in this area. What an honor.

We want to seize the moment and so if you are in the Portage or surrounding area of Kalamazoo, we invite you to join us in this big moment of new beginning. Moorsbridge Elementary School at 10 am this Sunday and every Sunday! Come and be a part of history and come expectant that many people far from Christ will find Jesus as Savior through this new campus.

The message on this first Sunday in Portage will be the same message I preached 13 years ago on the first Sunday of our church plant in Richland. Can't tell you what it is, but can tell you I hold this message near and dear to my heart. It is the heartbeat of Radiant's vision in the Past, Present and into our Future together.

Be there and bring everyone you can cram into your car, minivan or scooter. Those of you who are part of the Richland Campus, we are going to celebrate there as well and we love you guys for your commitment to take Jesus to whomever, wherever. You Rock!!!