Sunday
10/09/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Prophecy” (“Spiritual Gifts” Series –
Part 6 of 7)
Old Testament
Scripture: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 17:11-19
My friends, my sisters and brothers, welcome again on this
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost. Twenty one Sundays after the Holy Spirit
moved so long ago on the day of Pentecost and the Christian Church was born.
This morning, I am continuing my preaching series on
spiritual gifts. While the Bible lists as many as twenty-five spiritual gifts,
based on your own reading of scripture, our spiritual gifts survey lists
sixteen spiritual gifts. While there are many spiritual gifts, I have been preaching
about the seven spiritual gifts that Apostle Paul presents in Romans 12:6-8.
In
the first five weeks of this preaching series, I have discussed the spiritual gifts
of “giving” or generosity,” of “mercy,” of “exhortation” or “encouragement,” of
“teaching,” and of “leadership”.
This
morning I am going to discuss a hard, challenging, and perhaps even mysterious
spiritual gift, the gift of prophecy. The spiritual gift of prophecy is an amazing,
scary, and I believe sometimes manipulated spiritual gift.
In
defining the spiritual gift of prophecy, one definition of a “prophet” is this:
“In the New Testament, the office of prophet is
to equip the saints for the work of service through exhortation, edification,
and consolation (1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians 14:3 Ephesians 4:11). The
prophet's corresponding gift is prophecy.
Prophecy is "reporting something that God spontaneously brings to your
mind". Many, particularly Pentecostals and charismatics,
distinguish between the "office of prophet" and the "gift of
prophecy", believing that a Christian can possess the gift of prophecy
without holding the prophetic office” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift).
So according to this definition of prophecy, some are
uniquely called “to equip the saints for the work of service through
exhortation, edification, and consolation” (1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians
14:3 Ephesians 4:11). This is the work of an actual prophet. Yet the spiritual
gift of prophecy itself is often seen as one who “is "reporting something
that God spontaneously brings to your mind".
Many of us have heard
the old statement, “The Devil made me do it,” or “The Devil is in the details”.
Well does God ever tell us something, that we are in fact supposed to share
with others? If such a thing is truly of God, then it can be the gift or
prophecy.
I have to admit when I
first hear such things from people sometimes, I can get a little defensive, in
that I worry if the person who is “speaking for God,” is in fact “speaking for
God”. Or is there message from themselves only.
We certainly have many
examples of people who clearly did not have the spiritual gift of prophecy, and
as a result have caused great harm. An example of this is Jim Jones, who had
the famous Jonestown forced mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana South America
in 1978. Jim Jones lead this group of people both in the United States and then
in Guyana South America. In doing so, Jim Jones claimed that he was receiving
special revelation, messages, and knowledge from God. More specifically, that
God was talking to him directly, and that the things he said were not only
true, but were true even if they conflicted with the Bible.
We have had pastors
throughout history that have claimed to be the second coming of Jesus Christ,
or to possess special powers that only God has. I remember watching Benny Hinn
when I was child touch people on the head and heal them, only to find out later
that most of these people were told what to do and how to do it ahead of time.
We have seen pastors who time and again have claimed to know the year and the day
that Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and such years and days come to pass,
without the Lord returning. So is the spiritual gift of prophecy not a true
gift? Do people not have this gift?
I believe that the gift
of prophecy is a true gift, but I also believe that God will not tell us
anything that is in direct contradiction to the Bible. I believe that God can
speak to someone sometimes to warn them, to inform them, or to do other things.
Where I get off of this
wagon though, is when a pastor or a person tells me that have special powers,
authority, and or abilities that not in the Bible, or that only belong to God.
If a person where to tell me that they were the second coming of Jesus Christ,
I would ask them to show me scripturally how this is true. If they were to then
tell me that God is speaking to them in a way that supersedes or cancels out
scripture, then I would believe them to be in error. For if the Bible is God’s
revealed truth and word to us, then how can anyone speaking for God differ from
the truth of God?
Let me give you another
set of definitions of prophecy from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary,
under the definition of prophecy. Here is what it says prophecy is:
1.
An inspired utterance of a prophet.
2:
The function or vocation of a prophet; specifically: the inspired
declaration of divine will and purpose.
3:
A prediction of something to come.
So being a prophet is speaking for God, and having the gift
of prophecy is telling people what God said or showed you. So does God speak to
us? Does God speak to you? Does God ever give us a message for us only, for
others, or for the church? I believe that God does in fact do this, but which
ones are real, and which ones are made up. This can be the hard thing about the
gift of prophecy.
For those who have the spiritual gift of prophecy sometimes
God can speak to those people in dreams, visions, in giving them a sense of
direction or calling, or in some
measure of awareness regarding current events closely related to the individual
(http://www.theopedia.com/gift-of-prophecy). Has God ever spoken to you in a
dream, a vision, called you to do something, or given you a heightened sense of
spiritual awareness?
As I said, I believe in the spiritual gift of prophecy, but
there certainly have been and continue to be men and women who claim to have
this gift, and they pretty clearly to me don’t. These men and women who have
chosen to lie, deceive, and slander, claiming to have the gift prophecy to gain
power, prestige, and money. If you a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ for
example, and you amass millions of dollars, live in mansion like a king, while
the poor suffer all around, you had better believe that I will challenge that
you in fact do not have the spiritual gift of prophecy. True prophets, true
people that speak prophetically do not do it do to manipulate people, to get
wealthy, or only for themselves. Such things are not of God.
Due
to all of this, I don’t think that we should reject people having the spiritual
gift of prophecy, I just believe that we measure what someone is saying with
Biblical truth, and what their intended outcome is.
So if a pastor or any religious leader claims to have
power, authority, and gifts that are not biblical, that make claims that they
have power that only God can have, then run away from them, and fast. It is possible
for God to speak to us though, but we just need to measure this with what the
Bible says.
Within the Bible itself, we have many examples of prophets
and the spiritual gifts of prophecy. In the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible,
prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel talked to God, had dreams, or
visions, or other experiences, where God told them what to say, or what to do.
The spiritual gift of prophecy is a real gift, but we just have to make sure
that this is a gift from God and not just us doing what we want to do.
Perhaps the greatest book in the Bible that is filled with
prophecy is the Book of Revelation. The Book or Revelation was written by the
Apostle John while imprisoned on the Island of Patmos. The Roman authorities
intentionally put the Apostle John on this uninhabited island, so that he
couldn’t preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone. The Apostle John
apparently was quite an effective preacher. While there on the Island of Patmos,
John received the vision that we now call the Book or Revelation. This book of
scripture is about the second coming of Jesus Christ. This book is about Jesus’
returning, a new heaven, a new earth, and the end of days.
Prophecy therefore, is all throughout the Bible, and we have
a strong tradition in Jewish history and Christian history of prophets and the
gift of prophecy. Remember though what Jesus said Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s
clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Mt. 7:15, NRSV). Prophets of God
and the spiritual gift of prophecy are real, but beware of the wolves in
sheep’s clothing (Mt. 7:15, NRSV). Do you have the spiritual gift of prophecy?
If so, what is God telling you, or what has God already told you?
In our reading from the prophet
Jeremiah from this morning, Jeremiah is speaking what he claims that the living
God told him. The prophet Jeremiah claims to have the spiritual gift or
prophecy. In this reading, Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Israel who are
living in Babylonian exile. Here is what Jeremiah says to the people of Israel that
God told him to say: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all
the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses
and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have
sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in
marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not
decrease” (Jer. 29:4-7, NRSV).
Jeremiah then concludes this reading
by saying, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,
and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your
welfare” (Jer. 29:7, NRSV).
In this reading from Jeremiah,
Jeremiah, the prophet, is telling the people of Israel who are in exile in
Babylon that God told him to tell them the things that I just told you, so that
they could survive while in exile. Do you believe in the spiritual gift of
prophecy? Do you have this spiritual gift?
In the reading this morning from the
Apostle Paul’s second epistle or letter to Timothy, he first connects the Old
Testament with the New Testament. He says to Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ,
raised from the dead, a descendent of David—that is my gospel, for which I
suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the
word of God is not chained” (2 Tim. 2:9a, NRSV). The Apostle Paul is saying
that prophets in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible in part prophesized
about the coming of Jesus Christ, prophesized that he would be a decedent of
the mighty King David, and that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
The Apostle Paul then repeats some of
the same prophetic words similar to that which Jesus spoke: “The saying is
sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we
will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are
faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 11-13,
NRSV). The Apostle Paul is telling Timothy here that he believes the prophetic words
of Jesus Christ to be true. That he believes that Christ is the savior, and
that we are saved through our faith in him.
In
the gospel lesson form the gospel of Luke from this morning, Jesus heals ten
people with the painful and debilitating condition of leprosy. As Jesus was
traveling to Jerusalem, we went through the region between Samaria and Galilee,
and during this journey, these ten lepers yelled to Jesus, “Jesus, Mater, have
mercy on us!” (Lk. 17:11-13, NRSV).
Jesus instead of healing them himself directly
tells them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests”. And as they went, they
were made clean” (Lk. 17:14, NRSV). Now they were all excited that they were
healed, but one man came back to thank Jesus. While Jesus didn’t make a
prophecy here directly, he told these ten sick people where to go, and they
listened. He knew they would be healed through his power, and they were. They
had to trust that he was speaking for God when he sent them to the priests.
This is in general how it works when prophets speak prophesies. It is a little
different with Jesus though, as he was God in the flesh, but everything he
predicted has or will come true.
As I said in this gospel reading, one of the ten cleansed
lepers came back to Jesus. At this point in the gospel reading from Luke, Jesus
seems pleased that one of now cleansed leper return to him, and Jesus said to
him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well” (Lk. 17:15-19).
So do you have the spiritual gift of
prophecy? This spiritual gift is all throughout the Bible, as seen with the
many prophets in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, and in the New Testament
with Books like the Book of Revelation. Jesus himself also made predictions, as
others did to. This gift of being a prophet or the spiritual gift of prophecy
is real, but we just need to be cautious in determining who in fact really has
this gift, and who is wolf in sheep’s clothing (Mt. 7:15, NRSV). Do you have
the spiritual gift of prophecy?
Today, this week, and always, may we be
aware of the prophecies that people are making, their claims to predict the
future, their claims to be speaking for God, and let us through the Bible, our faith,
our reason, and our experience, determine if those people truly have the
spiritual gift of prophecy.
Next week, this series will end with
the spiritual gift of “serving”. Until then, may listen for the voice of God,
and if we hear God talking to us, may we use first the Bible, and then faith,
reason, and experience to determine if we are truly hearing God’s voice, or if
we are hearing a different voice. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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