Ministers Should Know About the Gift of Prophecy

The Gift of Prophecy restores the communion that was and is being made inactive by man's disobedience. In a certain sense, it is a pipeline to God's ministers telling them what He (God) needs seen through us.

The prophetic gift has variations.  It may be exhortational and may take the form of song or poetry as in the Psalms, or it may on occasion reveal future events. When in operation it has a direct line from the sender (God), to receiver (Minister or saint), and to the hearers (saints or others).  The gift has varied operations and may be a vehicle for other gifts such as the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, or discerning of spirits.

Prophecy relating to the future is of two distinct kinds.  Some prophecies are unconditional as an example, the Abrahamic Covenant or the Messianic Prophecies.  Others are conditional such as Isaiah's warning of Hezekiah's impending death (2 Kings 20:1-6) or Jonah's pronouncement of judgement on Nineveh (Jonah 3:3-10) Unconditional prophecies are not dependent upon man for fulfillment. Conditional prophecies, however, depend on the obedience of the person or persons to whom they are addressed.

There is a difference between revelation prophecy and that which is exhortational. In the latter, the Spirit of God takes over the person's subconscious mind and from his storehouse selects, rearranges, and anoints certain truths for the edification of the hearers.  Revelation prophecy is a higher form of the gift which involves a greater yielding to the Spirit.  Exhortational prophecy is the more prevalent and usually is the kind manifested in regular services (I Corinthians 14:26).

It is true that there is an increasing hunger in the hearts of the people for revelation prophecy. Nevertheless, because of the complexity of the gift, certain safeguards are important in its operation.  The gift of prophecy involves the merging of the human and the divine, the finite with the infinite, and the imperfect with the perfect.  This is something most people, even some ministers do not understand.  If prophecy were entirely an operation of God, there would be no need of instruction in its exercise.  God does not need instruction.  The inspiration and revelation gifts are a product of both God and man.  God is infallible, and when the person is fully yielded to the Spirit, the utterances are infallible.  Unfortunately, a man is not always fully yielded.  Therefore, Paul tells us that prophecies are to be judged to make certain that they fully conform to the Word (I Corinthians 14:29).

The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10).  True prophecy ever points to Christ, to His Deity, His ministry, His purpose in coming into the world, and to His return to Earth.  Alleged prophetic gifts that engage in telling fortunes, divining mysteries, predicting the outcome of political events, locating lost articles,...etc..betray the fact that they are something other than the Biblical gift.  The true gift of prophecy is not to be confused with fortune telling, extra-sensory perception, clairvoyance, and other psychic manifestations.  It may, however, at times give guidance.  Moreover, just as some people misinterpret scripture, so it is possible to misinterpret a prophecy.  In all cases, people need spiritual discernment to understand either.

The gift is not intended as a vehicle to establish new doctrine.  We are warned by Peter of men who will come into the Church with damnable heresies which can lead to great confusion.  Some of the most serious heresies owe their origin to the private interpretation of some self-styled prophet.

I thank you for your continued viewing and reading.  If this Blog and its contents have been a blessing to you, then I ask, with God's leading, that you consider supporting Artesian Well Church.

Talk to you soon,
Pastor James P. Norman Jr.

Artesian Well Church
6031 Linden Avenue
Long Beach, Ca







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