Gifts of the Spirit are special abilities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit that allow us to partake in supernatural ministry. In this message, Pastor Eric Robertson shares how believers can say what God says.
God Speaks!
God is not silent. The benefit of being in relationship with the Lord is that he wants to communicate with his children, unlike “mute” idols. 1 Corinthians 12:2
The three speaking gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 are prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
Prophecy
- Prophecy, simply put, is saying what God is saying.
- When we prophesy, scripture says that we are:
•Building up, encouraging and comforting an individual or the church (1 Corinthians 14:3)
•We are disclosing the secrets of a person’s heart in order for them to believe in God or become closer to God (1 Corinthians 14: 24-25) - Prophecy can be foretelling—speaking about the future. (Acts 21: 10-11)
- Prophecy can be forthtelling—a proclamation or declaration about what God has done in the past or what He is doing in the present. (Acts 2: 14-41).
- A spiritual gift is defined by what it does. If a prophetic word does not build up, encourage, console, or cause someone to grow in their relationship with God, it’s not a prophetic word.
- Prophecy is not predicting the future. (Acts 16: 16-18)
- Prophecy is not just correct Information. It’s not the information that determines whether it’s a prophetic word, it’s the spirit behind it.
- Prophecy is not intuition. We don’t prophesy how we feel about a person or their situation.
How To Prophesy
- Do submit your prophetic word to other mature believers before presenting it to an individual or group. Paul instructs us to allow others to weigh and judge the prophetic word. (1 Corinthians 14:29)
- Do give prophetic words in an orderly way at the right time. (1 Corinthians 14:40)
How to Receive a Prophetic Word
- You should never just receive a word just because someone told you it was from God.
- You can Accept it, Shelve it, or Receive it (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21)
Tongues and Interpretation
- Tongues is saying what God is saying in a foreign or unknown language. (1 Corinthians 14:2)
- God uses another language to get our attention.
- The gift of tongues, not to be confused with praying in the spirit, should ALWAYS be partnered with interpretation, either by the speaker or someone else.
- Tongues without interpretation is like a cat walking on a piano. (1 Corinthians 14:7). If done improperly, people may think you’re crazy (1 Corinthians 14:23)
- Interpretation is the supernatural ability to reveal the meaning behind a tongue, not a direct translation.
- Prophecy is preferred over tongues…. unless there is an interpretation.
TONGUES + INTERPRETATION = PROPHECY (1 Corinthians 14:5)
Conclusion
- You should earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:39)
- You can say what God is saying.
Final Question:
Are you saying what God is saying?