Sunday September 21, 2014 | Shawna Boren
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This week we hear from guest speaker Shawna Boren about the gift of prophesy. Shawna talks about the importance of staying awake to the Spirit's movements in our lives and how that will help us acting in the gift of prophesy.
The sermon for this week comes to us from guest speaker Shawna Boren. Shawna continues to teach us about the spiritual gifts in our short sermon series on that topic. This week’s focus is on the gift of prophesy. As we have discussed earlier in the sermon series, the importance to make space to listen to the Spirit in our lives is the first step in being able to move in the gifts. Too often in our busy world, our everyday tasks can get in the way of us being able to hear from the Holy Spirit.
The gift of prophesy centers around words and in particular requires an understanding about the power that words can have. Words can cause joy, fear, pain, healing, encouragement, and more. The Apostle Paul tells us about the gift of prophesy in 1 Cor. 12. It is important to recognize that for the Corinthian church to which Paul was writing the issue was not a lack of the gifts, but how the gifts were used. The Corinthians had been using the gifts for the sake of their individual uses, rather than used for the common good of all. The gifts in this church had been used to Lord over others or to bring attention to individuals. It is when we live in the Spirit that we will reflect the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the wholeness of our lives.
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophesy. The gift of prophesy is like many of the other charismatic gifts in that it can be a controversial one to discuss. Prophesy can be translated from the Greek as an inspired utterance. It is one way in which God speaks to his people. These Spirit inspired messages are given to encourage, inspire, and guide a community. These messages are delivered by the Holy Spirit in a number of different ways. Prophetic messages can be delivered by angelic messengers, an audible voice, an inner voice, a phrase impressed on the mind, through a bible verse or passage, in a vision or dream, or a sense of knowing.
Like the other gifts given to us by the Spirit, the individual should discern and pray over the message prior to responding. These prophetic messages should be given in a manner of humility. This humility should reflect kindness and understanding. The God who was faithful in delivering this message to us, will also be faithful in giving us a time, place, and way to deliver his message to an individual or body.