How to hear God through prophecy
We have been in a Sunday preaching series recently based on Pete Grieg’s book “How to hear God”.
This past Sunday Jacqui Webber-Gant brought us an excellent teaching from 1 Corinthians to understand how the gift of prophecy should be administered in a safe and orderly way in our Sunday gatherings. It was both specific and practical, and she then modelled how to test and weigh a prophecy. You can catch up with her message (and any others you’ve missed in the series) here. We thought you may also find it useful to read a summary from the teaching on Sunday in blog form, so Jacqui has provided us with some helpful content below. She also recommends that you listen to the Bracknell and Isle of Wight podcasts to get more general teaching about how to grow your prophetic gifting, and read this Bracknell Blog.
When the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the way God speaks prophetically to his people changed from the prophecies given in the Old Testament. The gift was democratised and expanded and changed!
Prophecy is one of a number of spiritual gifts that we can expect to see used well in our gatherings. Here are nine of them:
1 Corinthians 12: 7- 11
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
· Prophecy is a manifestation of the Spirit- evidence that God is with us
· Prophecy is given for our common good
· The Spirit decides who receives these gifts, they are not earned
1 Corinthians 14:1-3
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
· Prophecy must be shared with love
· We are encouraged to desire to spiritual gifts, especially prophecy
· Prophecy is other orientated
· Prophecy is wholesome, positive and enriching
1 Corinthians 14: 29-33
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
· Expect several contributions
· Give careful consideration in response
· Prophetic ministry needs to be orderly and calm
Let’s be real, some people have been severely harmed by so called prophetic words that were either never from God, or were dropped on them without love, or were only spoken “in part” and not weighed and tested. We need to be a safe person to give prophecies, and we need to feel safe to receive prophecy.
We have a prayer and ministry team of people who are sensitive and caring: they will respect your needs. So, it’s OK to say no thanks when someone offers to pray or speak to you if you don’t feel comfortable. Be safe. Or, if you are not sure- ask one or two people you trust to be with you when someone offers to pray and give you a picture or word, and check-in with them as to its veracity.
Pete Greig said that “prophecies aim somewhere, accomplish something, adjust a matter, or open a pathway for the Kingdom to advance.”
We have this gift which is under the control of the individual speaker who can choose when and how they share their prophecy. (1 Cor 14: 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.)
Coming to an elegant stop can be a challenge. The one sentence that you got from God gets padded out and you can get a bit off track and ramble. Find the one thing to share. It may only be short.
Starting is more of a problem for most of us. We can feel nervous, and self-conscious, it can be hard to know when to share. Self- doubt tries to silence faith. Be brave.
What does Paul say to the Corinthian church? That this is a gift of love, it’s a way of sharing God’s personal love to others. God sees me and knows me and wants to speak directly to me right now. The pictures or words are specific and targeted- they may just be for one or two people. They can be life changing.
Can we grow in this gift? Yes. How? Through practice and feedback. Prophecy can come through many people but it needs to be tested and weighed. 1 Cor 14 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. We do this also by another gift of the Holy Spirit – the gift of discernment.
The gift of discernment helps us sense whether this feels right, and if it passes the ABC test. All prophetic words are “in part” (I Cor 13:9). They carry elements of the worldview personality, DNA and imperfections of the prophet. God chooses to speak through us and that is why we have a responsibility to carefully weigh and respond with maturity. Don’t let this dampen our desire to hear God in fresh ways. Let’s earnestly desire to welcome this gift of the Spirit for the church.
Weigh it
1. Content:
ABC:
· Is it affirming strengthening, encouraging, comforting, edifying and upbuilding?
· Is it biblical: Is this word consistent with the broad teaching and witness of Scripture?
· Is it Christlike: Is this word consistent with the character, mission and message of Jesus?
If yes:
Wait on it: Write it down. Pray about it.
Walk in it: Ask God for it to fulfil it and bring it to fruition. Share it with others and make sure it fits. Let faith rise.
2. The person who prophesies
The character and integrity of the person bringing a prophecy needs to be known. Trust needs to be established. Jesus warned us to look out for wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the fruit of our relationship with Jesus is not measured by the eloquence of our words or the number of the Scriptures we can remember or the confidence of the messenger.
What are the characteristics that are trustworthy? A prophet who is humble, authentic, generous, teachable, committed to the church, someone who will welcome feedback. Someone who is tentative and checks in.
What character and mindset attributes should we be wary of? The need for attention and approval, someone who loves the stage and microphone, someone who has a disconnect of words and life, an unwillingness to hold back, someone who is reluctant to serve, someone not in fellowship with others, someone who is resistant to feedback
Prophetic words come like sparks - jumping from one person to another- you may see we often have several people share in church as the Spirit moves from one person to another. Each may have a beautiful, timely cogent insight that is then sewed together with other contributions to create a patchwork.
Check-in. We want to encourage prophetic voices in our meetings. Offer your message humbly to one of our meeting pastors who will be sitting at the front who will discern if this is something to share in the moment. There are many things to consider - there may or may not be time to hear it, you may be asked to wait or share in another setting. You will often be asked to be brief to honour the message that a preacher has prepared, that needs to be heard.
On Sunday, we then had a prophetic word shared about passports shared. (Do head to the podcast if you want to hear it - it begins just before 24 minutes) Three people had been given the word earlier in the week and each one gave their sense of whether this was from God. Each person, including a young man in our youth agreed this was from God and they too had an additional facet and application to add to the original picture - the spark jumped to them. Other people were invited to give their discernment or add to the prophetic picture. We then encouraged people to receive prayer. Particularly those who felt they had been damaged or hurt by prophetic words in the past. We were encouraged to physically shake them off us and have fresh hope that God’s word for us will do us good if we receive it from a safe person in a safe way.
Let’s have an expectation that when we gather together, our prophetic words will be for the common good, under the umbrella of accountability.