Introduction to the Prophetic
The “Greater” in Greater Emanuel
Mark 16:17-18
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons;
they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick,
and they will recover."
We speak with new tongues for five (5) reasons:
1. Sign – Mk 16:17; 1 Cor 14:22
2. Speaking to God – 1 Cor 14:2
Prayer & Praise – 1 Cor 14:14-15
3. Edify self – 1 Cor 14:4; Jude 20
4. Foreign Language – Acts 2:4, 6
5. Spiritual Gift – 1 Cor 12:10
With Interpretation
As Apostolic / Pentecostals, “Tongues” are our introduction to the Supernatural
We must be careful not to stop there
Acts 2:17
It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
If You have His Spirit & speak in tongues, YOU CAN Prophesy
1 Cor 14:1-5
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God,
for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied;
for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues,
unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
First, let’s define Prophecy
· Prophecy: foretelling, predicting & forth-telling
· Prophets: Seer (Samuel – 9:9) & Spokesman (Abraham – Gen 20:7)
Deut18:18
…I will put My words in His mouth, and
He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
· Prophesy: to speak by divine inspiration
Notice, that isn’t any different from “Tongues”
Prophecy is “Saying what God says”
Do not put Limits on the various ways God can speak to and through us
Through Prophecy Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10; Eph 4:11-12 (Acts 13:1; 15:32; 21:9-10)
The Prophetic is a Major Evangelistic Tool
1 Cor 14:24-25
If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
Have the right Attitude about Prophecy & the Spirit
1 Thes 5:19-20
Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies.
· The same way you desire one, you should desire the other
Four Levels of Prophesying
1. Office of the Prophet (government – Eph 4:7)
2. Gift of Prophecy (ministry – 1 Cor 12:11)
3. Prophecy (edification, exhortation, comfort – 1 Cor 14:1-5)
4. Spirit of Prophecy (Saul)
To prophesy does not make you a Prophet
How can I prophesy?
1. By the Power of the Spirit that Works in you
1 Cor 12:7
The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all
Eph 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
2. Desire to Edify others & the church
3. According to Your Measure of Faith – Rom 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:
if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
Once we are born again, we are “partakers of the divine nature” – 2 Pet 1:4
We can Minister the Mind of Christ
John 16:13. When He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority,
but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
1 Cor 2:9-12, 16
But as it is written:
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (Is 65:4)
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep (secrets) things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" (Is 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.
How can we “Minister the Mind of Christ”?
Isa 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,"
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
He raises us up and elevates our thinking
Col 3:1-2
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
· Eph 2:6. He has made us sit together with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.
So, have faith to Prophesy
o I have His Spirit – He tells me things
o I have His mind – I know things
o God wants us to know His thoughts about various situations
What if a prophecy is wrong?
Doesn’t make them a ‘false prophet.’
1 Cor 13:9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
1 Cor 14:29-32
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. (distinguish, separate)
30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
Just receiving a prophecy, doesn’t make it automatic
And if it doesn’t happen, doesn’t necessarily make it wrong or false
1. You must War with prophecy
1 Tim 1:18. This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
2. The enemy fights against who you are prophetically & your future
3. The value you place on the word determines what the word will produce in you
4. The Word does not produce Increase if you don’t mix it with Faith – Heb 4:2
Unbelief will kill a prophecy
Prophecy is different from a Word of Knowledge, i.e. the woman at the well
Prophecy isn’t just about confirming (often, that’s to connect)
Prophetic Protocol
If you are not a Prophet, prophecy should be limited to “edification, exhortation and comfort” – 1 Cor 14:3
Don’t fuss, don’t correct, don’t judge
Don’t give personal prophecy in private
Discerning the Voice of God
In learning, don’t say, “God said.”
Say something like, ‘I believe,’ ‘I feel,’ ‘I think,’ ‘I sense,’ etc.
You don’t have to be strange to prophesy
You don’t have to speak Shakespearian or be mystical
Training:
Sons of the Prophets – 1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2, 4, 6, 9