The King's Church in Ilford
Reading: 1Thess 5:20-22
Members of a Pentecostal church were getting carried away in worship. The tambourines were banging, the choruses were flowing in an everlasting stream and the prayers mounted to heaven like a 1000 arrows loosed from the quiver. Amidst the sighs and shouts of joy, one old man was overcome with emotion. "Oh dear Lord!" he called out. "Thou canst see we're having a blessed time here tonight, Lord, but this is nothing, Lord. Thou shouldst have been here at the meeting last Sunday, Lord!"
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how not to put out the Spirit's fire. We talked about how sin, formalism, externals can so easily do that. We talked about how we shouldn't settle for being candles, when the Holy Spirit wants us to be furnaces of His passion, power and presence. I finished by talking a little about how that works in our meetings, where we want the Holy Spirit to be in charge and to lead us. I talked about how He inspires different gifts and contributions in our meetings that are a blessing to God, and to others; and lastly how we need to learn to flow in the Spirit together as these different contributions blend together to make a common theme.
A broad definition of Prophecy is an inspired message from God. It could be spoken, sung, preached, acted, danced. It could be poetry, prose or prayer even. Lots of expressions, but taken like this, we are to be a prophetic people. Not just in our meetings either. Wherever we go and talk to people, if we take what God is giving us, and speak it out, we are being prophetic. When we speak up for God's values in the office, we are being prophetic. When we exercise love inspired by the Holy Spirit, we are being prophetic. When we claim God's guidance and direction, we are being prophetic. God speaking through his prophetic people. More often it will be a spoken word brought in the meeting, but let's not limit it to that.
However, we immediately have a problem. If prophecy is God's Word, we need to do what it says. Don't argue with God, or debate the issue. We're to be obedient - plain and simple. So when somebody comes up to you and says, "Thus says the Lord....", or "The Lord's told me..this, this, and this..." it doesn't leave a lot of room for discussion. So how can we be sure they're hearing right? Prophecy can become very manipulative if we're not careful. Paul's answer to this is to "Test everything."
Let me say that Prophecy is a vital ministry in the church today. It is that ministry which brings vision and direction to a church. It is the ability to bring words from God that speak incisively into a particular situation at a particular time, often to particular people. It's the ministry that gives us a cutting edge as a church. We know where we're going. We know what God's called us to. For individuals, a prophetic word about a situation is an enormous encouragement to keep going. It goes without saying then, that Satan would love to undermine the prophetic ministry. He'd love to bring it into disrepute, and have people treating prophecies with contempt - which is what was in danger of happening here. If people won't take Prophecy seriously, it'll soon disappear from church life.
We treat Prophecy with contempt when we fail to take Words brought seriously. It may have been that some Words being given were plain flakey, or banal, or mayby there had been predictions that had proved wrong. Whatever it was, the result was the same. People were starting to dismiss Prophecy and weren't taking it seriously. Others are contemptuous of Prophecy when they become so focused on what the written Word - the Bible - says, that they've no time for God speaking any other way. This is, in fact, what happened in the early church, eventually, and the ministry of Prophecy disappeared. Paul sees the dangers signs even this early on, and warns the Thessalonian Christians not to treat prophecies with contempt. His remedy is to "Test everything. Hold onto the good."
So how do we test prophecy?
Firstly, we don't test our own prophecies. It's assumed we believe they could be from the Lord, or we wouldn't bring them. Sometimes I've had people come to me and say, "God's given me this Word, and I've been praying about it for three weeks, so I know it's of God...." - and they're daring me to say otherwise! But the first test we're given in 1Cor 14:29 is to let others weigh up what we're bringing. "Two or three prophets should speak and the others should weigh up carefully what is said." We are to let other people test them. I'm personally very wary of saying, "The Lord's given me this Word...." until it has been tested by others. It's a presumption that belies our willingness to have our words tested, by the Elders, other prophets, and others in the meeting.
So, how do they weigh it up? Firstly, by comparing it to the written Word of God. Prophecy won't contradict Scripture. So if somebody prophesies that Jesus is coming back in such and such year - or day, even, don't believe them. The Bible says that no-one knows when the Son will return.
Secondly, we look a the character of the person bringing the Word. Are they godly and humble? Are they willing to have their words tested? Can they take it if the others felt that wasn't of the Lord? Bad character - pride and arrogance - undermines what could be an anointed ministry. People will be reluctant to trust Words brought, if they can't trust the bearer. Then there is their track record. Has this person brought prophetic words before that have been shown to be God-inspired? The fact is we tend to listen more closely to those who've brought God's Word's before.
Next, there is the witness of the Holy Spirit within us. Does the Spirit within me agree that this is of God? Do I have a sense that this is right, or does it make me feel uneasy?
In practice, if you get a Word in the meeting, and you're not sure about it, or maybe you're new to the church, take it quietly to one one of the Elders and ask them what they think of it first. Others, more established in their ministries, may feel able to just stand up and give their word, but both need to weighed up, maybe there and then, perhaps over the days that follow. It would have to be something really flakey before I would get up there and then, and say that's not of God. For most of the banal Words - those that may be true, but there's no cutting edge - it's case of "least said, soonest forgotten." Whereas, people remember, and often refer back to the ones that are most inspired.
Remember how in 1 Cor 13:9, Paul taught that we "..prophesy in part..". What he meant was that in any Word we get, there'll be a proportion that's of ourselves, as well as, hopefully, a part that inspired. We have to learn to discern what is of the Spirit, and what is of us; and in doing so, "Hold onto that which is good." In our meetings there'll be contributions we get wrong, where we'll be influenced more by our own desires than the Spirit of God. We're going to need a lot of grace with one another, grace to submit what we want to bring to the leadership of the meeting, grace not to go off in a huff if you're asked to hold back on that for the moment; patience with each other when we make mistakes, and encouragement to try again.
Paul finishes this particular exhortation with v. 22: "Avoid every kind of evil." This has often been preached in a wider context, but here Paul is saying is that we are to worship in the beauty of holiness, to minister to one another in the flow of the Holy Spirit.
The alternative is to minster out of our own flesh and imaginations, and that's not holy. It's evil! That's a strong way of putting it, but in the few years I've been around, I've seen where that can take us - into set forms, routines, focusing on externals.. The Holy Spirit is squeezed out, and church life descends into mediocrity and spiritual death. So many movements and churches start out in the Spirit, and end up in the flesh, and die spiritually. Closure may not take place for years, but the Holy Spirit has long since gone.
It could happen to us at King's. We're not exempt. We need to ensure that we keep seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be led by Him, and to flow together in the Spirit. We need to take responsibility to keep the fire of the Spirit burning brightly in us. Stay Passionate for God. Seek His Presence. Receive His Power. Never be satisfied with a candle's worth of the Spirit's fire in our lives. I want to be a furnace, glowing hot with the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1