and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God.
For no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the spirit.
On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people
for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself,
but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
Now I want you all to speak in tongues,
but even more to prophesy.
The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues
unless someone interprets so that the church may be built up.
Now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues,
how will I benefit you?
Unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching.
If even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp
do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound,
who will get ready for battle?
So with yourselves.
If with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible,
how will anyone know what is said?
For you will be speaking into the air.
There are doubtless many different languages in the world,
and none is without meaning.
But if I do not know the meaning of the language,
I will be a foreigner to the speaker,
and the speaker a foreigner to me.
So with yourselves.
Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit,
strive to excel in building up the church.
So this morning we're looking at two spiritual gifts
that Paul describes.
The gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy.
And as we look at those gifts,
we're going to consider the two commands that Paul gives.
One at the beginning of this passage and one at the end.
He says,
earnestly desire the spiritual gifts in verse 1.
And in verse 12 he says,
strive to excel in building up the church.
Now this is a challenging topic.
Let me say that outright.
Because Christians who believe the Bible and love Jesus
haven't always agreed on what these gifts are
and how we should use them.
I grew up in a Pentecostal church
which encouraged everyone to speak in tongues.
And they said that speaking in tongues
was the initial sign of being fully empowered
by the Holy Spirit.
Then for two years in college,
I went to a Presbyterian church.
The Presbyterian church's leaders believed
that the spiritual gifts of prophecy in tongues
ended after the New Testament was completed.
And then I came to Trinity.
By then I wasn't quite sure what to believe.
Maybe you can relate to some part or other of that.
Some of you, like me,
may have come to know Jesus
and follow him in a Pentecostal or charismatic church.
Maybe you've benefited from tongues and prophecy
and you wish that more Christians
would experience and know the blessing of these gifts.
On the other hand,
I know that some of you have had bad experiences
in Pentecostal and charismatic services.
You might have seen people who place more value
on their word from the Lord
than on the word of the Lord, the scriptures.
Or maybe you've seen worship services
that seem to just become chaotic
or even emotionally manipulative.
Maybe you've been there, done that,
and don't want to go back.
Now for others of you,
all this might seem just a bit unfamiliar.
Right?
Maybe you grew up in a wonderful church
that just said prophecy in tongues
were for the first century
and that was just fine back then
and we don't really need them now.
And maybe you're just not sure what to think
because you haven't seen or experienced them
either one way or the other.
Now whatever your church background
or lack thereof,
I'm convinced that Paul's instructions
in this passage can be very helpful
for all of us.
Because Paul was also writing
to a group of people
in the church at Corinth
who didn't all have the same experience
of these gifts
and who weren't all on the same page.
It seems that some of the Corinthians
loved to speak in tongues.
They felt it was a sign
of how spiritually advanced they were,
that they could speak in heavenly languages.
And they did it frequently,
especially when they gathered together.
Other people, it seems,
were into prophesying
and some of these prophets
like to go on and on and on and on.
And if anyone tried to stop them,
they would say,
but the Holy Spirit is speaking through me.
I can't stop.
Other people in the church at Corinth
were not so impressed.
Some people felt alienated
by all the tongue speaking
that they couldn't understand
or they felt like second class Christians
because they hadn't experienced that gift.
It's possible some people were frustrated
and wanted to just get rid
of these things altogether.
Church would be a lot simpler
if we didn't have to deal
with all this prophesying
and tongue speaking.
And so,
the Christians in Corinth
appealed
to their beloved apostle Paul
for some guidance.
Now,
as we've seen
over the last few weeks,
Paul didn't immediately launch
into
instructions about
these particular gifts.
We're in the middle of a section.
In chapter 12,
Paul began by
sort of painting the big picture.
He says,
first of all,
we need to understand
we're all part of the body of Christ.
And in a body,
there's many different parts,
but we're all connected together
and we're all united together.
And so,
we need to recognize
we'll all have different gifts
and we need to use those
to build each other up.
And we need each other.
And then,
in chapter 13,
he said,
I'm going to show you
the most excellent way.
The way of love.
Love.
Verse 1 to 3
of chapter 13,
he said,
even if you have all the spiritual gifts
in the world,
if you don't have love,
if you don't have love for God,
if you don't have love
for your brothers and sisters,
you're empty.
You're nothing.
And then he described
what love is,
how it's tender
and kind
and patient,
how it's truthful
and how it's tenacious,
how it holds on.
And then,
at the end of chapter 13,
he says,
spiritual gifts like prophecy
and tongues and knowledge,
on the day when we see
Jesus face to face,
we won't need those gifts anymore.
But love is going to continue
into eternity.
And it will never cease.
And so Paul says,
pursue love.
Notice that at the beginning
of verse 1.
Before we jump into prophecy
and tongues,
I want you to notice that.
Pursue love,
Paul says.
That means run hard after it.
Don't miss out on it.
We need to hear that command
loud and clear,
to be patient and kind
with one another.
Not to boast
or puff ourselves up
with pride
before we jump into
these topics.
Because sometimes people
have either fixated
on certain spiritual gifts
or they have loudly
proclaimed their views
about them
one way or the other
and forgot about love.
And Paul says,
remember love.
So having said that,
let's jump in.
We're going to look
at tongues first
and then we'll look
at prophecy.
And for each of them,
we're going to look
at what it is,
what benefits
Paul says it has,
and then what dangers
there might be.
So the nature,
the benefits,
the dangers.
First tongues,
then prophecy.
So tongues.
Let's look down,
verse 2.
Paul talks about
the nature of tongues.
He says,
one who speaks in a tongue
speaks not to people
but to God.
In other words,
speaking in tongues
is not an encrypted message
for another person.
It's a form of prayer
or praise
or thanksgiving to God.
If you look down
in verse 14 to 17,
Paul reaffirms that
and uses some of those words.
Now verse 2 continues.
Paul says,
if someone speaks in tongues,
no one understands him.
He utters mysteries
in the spirit.
Paul's assumption
throughout this chapter
is if someone
is speaking in tongues,
that person won't understand
what he's saying
and the people around him
won't understand
what he's saying either
unless someone has
the gift of interpretation.
Now at the same time,
I think Paul's saying
that speaking in tongues
is not just
meaningless gibberish.
Paul says he utters
mysteries in the spirit.
That could mean
he utters hidden
or secret truths of God
or it could simply mean
he speaks to God
in a mysterious way,
in a way that isn't
obviously understandable
by others.
Now many people have wondered
when Paul speaks
about tongues,
is he talking about
speaking in
another human language,
is he talking about
speaking in a heavenly language
or something else?
And in answer
to this question,
I don't think
we can be certain
because Paul doesn't define
what kind of tongue
or languages
he's talking about precisely.
In fact,
if you look at
1 Corinthians 12 verse 10,
Paul refers to
various kinds
of tongues.
Now in the book of Acts,
if you look in the book of Acts
in chapter 2,
the believers,
the disciples of Jesus
were praying in the upper room,
the Holy Spirit
came upon them,
they started speaking
in tongues,
and people
from other parts
of the world
who were there
in Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost
heard them speaking
in their own languages.
In that instance,
God miraculously
empowered believers
to speak in
foreign human languages
that they had never learned,
but other people
understood perfectly.
That also seems to be
what happened
in Acts chapter 10
when Cornelius,
the first Gentile convert,
came to faith in Jesus.
It says,
people heard him
speaking in tongues
and extolling God.
So in Acts,
we see that
this was a sort of reversal
of the confusion
that resulted from
the Tower of Babel
when people in their pride
tried to build a tower
to heaven
and God confused
their languages
and when God sent
the Holy Spirit
as people were praying
and humbly waiting on God,
there was a reversal
of that curse
and a sign of the gospel
going to all nations.
Now that seems to be
what's going on
with tongues
primarily in the book of Acts
because when people
speak in tongues
in the book of Acts,
you don't see
every single Christian
speaking in tongues
in the book of Acts,
but you do see
as the gospel moves outward
in Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost,
then to Samaria,
then to the Gentiles,
then to the province
of Asia and Ephesus,
you see groups of people
who speak in tongues
as an expression
of the Holy Spirit's work.
So in Acts,
it seems to be
speaking in human languages
that people haven't learned.
But is that always
what tongues is?
And the answer
would seem to be no.
If you look again
at 1 Corinthians 13,
verse 1,
Paul refers to
the tongues of men
and of angels.
Now that's the only reference
to speaking in
angelic languages
in Scripture
so we shouldn't
build too much
on one reference,
but it seems to be
at least a possibility
in Paul's mind.
And also,
in this chapter
we're reading,
1 Corinthians 14,
Paul's writing
to a church
that included people
from many different
languages
and cultural backgrounds.
But he doesn't say,
sure,
go ahead and speak
in tongues
because maybe
your international neighbor
will understand you
speaking in their own language.
Paul assumes
that if someone
speaks in tongues,
probably nobody's
going to understand them
unless somebody has
what he calls
a gift of interpretation.
So Paul doesn't
seem to be assuming
that tongues
are always
foreign human languages.
It seems like
they could be
human languages,
they could be
some kind of
heavenly languages,
or perhaps even
something else.
There's one other verse
that makes a similar point
in the New Testament
that believers
can at times
communicate to God
in prayer,
in the power
of the Holy Spirit
in a way that
goes beyond
normal human language.
If you look at Romans
chapter 8,
verse 26,
Paul says,
likewise,
the Spirit,
the Holy Spirit
helps us
in our weakness.
For we do not know
what to pray for
as we ought,
but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us
with groanings
too deep
for words.
Now groanings
isn't exactly
the same thing
as tongues,
but it's similar.
It's the idea
that in our human weakness,
in our perplexity,
when we don't know
what to pray,
the Holy Spirit
can prompt us
to pray to God
in a way that goes
beyond normal
human words.
Sometimes we might
not understand
exactly what we're
praying for
or what we need,
but God hears
and God knows.
And we put it all
in his hands.
So I think
that's what tongues is.
Speaking to God
in a language
that's not
normally understood
by the person
who's speaking
or the people
who might be hearing.
Second,
the benefits
of speaking in tongues.
Paul describes
some benefits
of speaking in tongues
in this chapter.
Verse 4,
he says,
the one who speaks
in a tongue
builds up himself.
Some people have wondered,
is Paul being sarcastic there?
All you people
speaking in tongues,
you're just building
yourself up,
puffing yourself up,
rather than building
up the church.
But I don't think
that's what Paul's doing.
In Jude,
actually,
Jude 20,
says,
build yourselves up
in your most holy faith
and pray in the Holy Spirit.
And in the very next verse,
verse 5,
Paul says,
I want you all
to speak in tongues.
Now,
that was a favorite verse
when I was growing up
in the Pentecostal church.
I want you all
to speak in tongues.
I heard a few sermons
on that one.
Now,
the emphasis
is actually
the second half
of the verse
where Paul says,
but even more,
to prophesy.
And it's also possible
to translate verse 5,
I'm willing
or I'm happy
for you all
to speak in tongues.
Paul isn't saying
that every Christian
must speak in tongues.
But he is saying
that speaking in tongues
can be personally edifying.
In fact,
in verse 18,
Paul says,
I speak in tongues
more than you all do.
He wouldn't say that
if he thought
that speaking in tongues
was just foolish
and useless.
So it's true,
tongues can be abused
or overemphasized
or wrongly made
into the measure
of spiritual maturity.
That was happening
in Corinth,
but Paul's response
was not
to prohibit tongues
and get rid of them.
In fact,
in verse 39,
he says,
don't forbid
speaking in tongues.
So let me encourage you,
if you've had bad experiences
in the charismatic movement,
don't react
by throwing everything out,
throwing the baby out
with the bathwater,
as they say.
All right,
Paul says,
don't forbid
speaking in tongues.
Now,
some of you might say,
well,
but help me understand,
how could it be
spiritually beneficial
to pray
in a way that
I don't even know
what I'm saying?
Well,
let me say this.
it seems that God may
and sometimes does
edify individual believers
in ways that transcend
our rational,
cognitive processes.
And that our spirits,
indwelt by the Holy Spirit,
can sometimes respond to God
in ways that
can't completely fit
in our rational,
cognitive processes
through groanings
that words can't express
or tongues
that our minds
can't understand.
And maybe this is meant
to humble us,
just to remind us
that God is far greater
than our minds
can conceive.
Sam Storms,
who happens to be
the new president
of the Evangelical
Theological Society,
no scholarly lightweight,
wrote about his experience
of praying in tongues.
And he said,
I found this gift
profoundly helpful
to my prayer life.
It doesn't diminish
one's capacity
for rational thought
or one's commitment
to the authority
of the written word
of God.
It has served only
to deepen my intimacy
with the Lord Jesus Christ
and to enhance
my zeal
and joy
in worship.
Those are some benefits
of speaking in tongues.
But Paul also points out
some dangers
of speaking in tongues.
This is what Paul addresses
in verses 6 to 11.
Verse 6,
he says,
If I come to you
speaking in tongues,
how will I benefit you?
It seems like some
of the Corinthians
wanted Paul to come
and basically put on a show
to show how spiritual
he was by displaying
his gift
of speaking
in tongues.
And Paul
had refused.
Paul said back
in 1 Corinthians 2,
When I came to you,
I didn't come
proclaiming to you
the mystery of God
with lofty speech
or wisdom.
And he didn't come
and stand up front
and put on a public display
of all his speaking
in tongues.
He said,
I came and I proclaim
Christ and him crucified
with weakness
and fear
and trembling.
You see,
in this whole chapter,
Paul places no restrictions
on speaking in tongues
privately.
But he says,
There are some things
that are wonderful
to do when you're alone,
but aren't always
so helpful
when you're gathered
with God's people.
Sometimes,
several years ago,
I used to drive
up to Boston a lot.
I was taking seminary
classes part-time up there.
And before my wife
and I were married,
she was living up there.
And sometimes,
I would be driving
back late at night.
And sometimes,
I would sing and pray
at the top of my lungs
in my car.
It helped me stay awake.
It helped me intercede
for people.
I was probably releasing
all kinds of emotions
to God.
And I wasn't bothering
anybody.
I was edifying myself.
But if I walked
into church
and immediately started
yelling at the top
of my lungs,
prayer and praise to God,
I wouldn't be loving you all.
Paul wants us all
to ask the question
that he asked in verse 6.
How can I benefit you?
And this is a principle
that applies much more
broadly than tongues.
Not, Paul's saying,
the question is not,
how can I display
my gifts in the church
and be recognized
for them?
The question is,
how can I benefit you
even if that means
restraining myself
in some ways?
And so,
Paul's point here
is that speaking in tongues
without interpretation
publicly
isn't beneficial
because the hearers
won't benefit
from what they can't understand.
Verse 7 to 11,
Paul uses three analogies
to make the point.
Musical instruments
only produce pleasing melodies
if they're played
according to some kind
of orderly pattern, right?
If the musicians
all came up here
and just started playing
on their own
without listening to each other,
we would not have
a very pleasant worship service
this morning.
The Corinthian church
sort of sounded like that,
like the sympathy orchestra
when they're all tuning
their instruments
before the conductor
comes on stage.
They're all doing
their own thing,
making a ton of noise
and nobody quite knows
what's going on.
Verse 8,
Paul says,
the military trumpet
only works
in rousing the troops
to battle
if the sounds are distinct
and isn't that part
of why we gather together
as a church?
You know,
we're fighting
a spiritual battle
every day of our lives
and part of why
we come together
is to be equipped
and empowered
to fight that battle
for Christ
and know the power
of the Holy Spirit
being with us.
So Paul says,
we need to hear
a clear and distinct message
in order to be equipped
for that.
Verse 10, 11,
Paul uses the analogy
of foreign languages.
You know,
if I suddenly start
preaching in French,
just because I happen
to know French
and I think French
is a beautiful language,
I'll alienate most of you
right away.
Paul says,
so with yourselves.
We are brothers
and sisters in Christ.
In the world,
we're foreigners
and aliens.
You might feel out of,
I mean,
we should feel out of place
in this world.
But Paul says,
when we come together
as a church,
this is our home.
This is a foretaste
of where our true home
is in heaven.
And when we come to church,
we should help each other
and remind each other
that you belong.
If you believe in Christ,
you belong.
So Paul says,
don't alienate each other
by how you're behaving.
Again,
this principle applies
much more widely
than speaking in tongues.
There's all kinds of ways
you can speak
in ways that people
can't understand
even if you speak in English.
church.
And Paul wants you
to ask,
how can I speak
in a way that can benefit
you,
whoever you're speaking to
or speaking with?
That's why Paul says,
strive to excel
in building up the church.
You know,
when we gather together
here,
the reason we've come together,
it's not like
we're all supposed
to come here
and sit here
and get out our phones
and connect to the same website
and be really excited
that we're connected
to this really cool website.
Okay,
we're not,
we haven't come here
to have 200 individual
private experiences
of the same God.
We've come here
to actually be together
in the presence of God
and build one another up.
Like,
just like the deacons
are looking at those walls
that have had some roof leaks
and they've arranged
to fix the roof leaks,
thankfully,
so there's no,
the plaster's not going
to keep breaking down,
but they,
some of them come in
on Saturday night
and make sure
that there isn't plaster
that's going to fall down
as you're walking down
the right aisle on Sunday.
Right,
they're keeping,
keeping track
of the facilities
and helping to build up
the,
keep the facilities moving well
so we can meet here
and Paul says,
build up the church community.
Right,
just as the building deacons
build up,
take care of the building,
Paul says,
we should all take care
of each other.
Let me give one example
of this before we go
on to prophecy
that I experienced recently.
A few weeks ago
I was at a Bible study
and a few of us
were praying in turn
for someone who had shared
a particular need
with a group
and one person began praying
and in the middle
of her prayer
she launched into
praying in tongues
and I happen to know
that this person
is pretty passionate
about praying in tongues
but immediately
she said,
someone say something,
someone else go ahead
and pray.
This person felt
the freedom
to pray in tongues
as she was interceding
for a sister in Christ.
In the context
I thought that was
a good thing
but she was also
immediately aware
that it would be
unhelpful for her
to just go on and on
praying in a way
that no one else
could understand
and so she was
immediately asking
for someone else
to jump in
and pray
in a way that
everyone could understand
while she continued
praying in tongues
quietly
and unobtrusively.
I think that's
an example
I think it looks
different in different
places
but I think that's
an example
of someone
who loves
speaking in tongues
but who had learned
and was learning
to consider
the others around
them
and be loving
to them.
Alright,
so that's tongues
now we go on
to prophecy
again prophecy
we'll look at
the nature of prophecy
the benefits
and the dangers
so the nature
of prophecy
go back to verse 3
Paul says
the one who prophesies
speaks to people
tongues is primarily
directed toward God
a form of prayer
prophecy is primarily
directed toward people
verse 3
Paul explains
the purpose of prophecy
for building us up
as a united people
of God
for emboldening
and equipping us
for every good work
and for consoling
or comforting
people who are
grieving
or depressed
or hurting
now I think
it's likely
that when Paul
talks about prophecy
in this chapter
he's using it
sort of as shorthand
for various kinds
of intelligible
speaking gifts
instead of every time
saying prophecy
teaching revelation
or knowledge
he just says prophecy
but it's sort of meant
to have a broader
reference
because if you look
at verse 1
he says
desire especially
that you may prophesy
but then in verse 6
he says
how will I benefit you
unless I bring you
some revelation
or knowledge
or prophecy
or teaching
I don't think
Paul is saying
desire especially
to prophesy
and not so much
to teach
or speak words
of knowledge
he's contrasting
prophecy
that is intelligible
speech
with tongues
that is unintelligible
speech
and Jesus is pleased
if we speak intelligible
understandable words
to one another
whether they fall
into the category
of prophecy
or teaching
or knowledge
or wisdom
I think the reason
Paul refers
to those different gifts
is that speaking
to one another
in an edifying
and encouraging
and comforting way
takes a variety
of different forms
right
it can be prepared
you can prepare
a teaching
or you might have
a thought that comes
to mind spontaneously
that's helpful
and edifying
to share with somebody else
it could be
focused on explanation
teaching seems to be
focused more on explanation
or could be more
of an occasional
exhortation
having said
so I think
these words
can apply more broadly
to a variety
of speaking gifts
but having said that
let me say a few words
about prophecy
in particular
as compared
to other speaking gifts
like teaching
so when the New Testament
talks about teaching
it mostly means
preserving sound doctrine
protecting the church
against false
and harmful ways
of thinking
and living
and so a good teacher
can explain
what Christians believe
and how Christians
should live
and where that's found
in the Bible
now prophecy
is a little different
what seems to be
distinct about prophecy
compared to teaching
or other speaking gifts
is that it's based on
what Paul calls
a revelation
if you look down
at verse 30
he talks about that
and by revelation here
he means
an insight
given
by the Holy Spirit
so a few examples
of New Testament prophecy
sometimes
it's an insight
into another person's
spiritual condition
if you read in Acts 13
Paul perceived
by the power
he said he was full
of the Holy Spirit
he perceived
that this guy
Elymas
a magician
was full of deceit
and wickedness
and so he gave
a strong rebuke
and God used
that word of rebuke
sometimes prophecy
excuse me
is an insight
of an upcoming
danger
so the prophet Agabus
in Acts 11
warned of an upcoming
imminent famine
and the believers
responded by sending
material help
to the believers
in Jerusalem
who are going to
experience that famine
at other times
it's an insight
into what exactly
the body of Christ
needs
to hear
at a particular
time
in a particular
place
so in his commentary
on 1 Corinthians
John Calvin wrote this
he said
prophets
were those who were
blessed with the
unique gift
of dealing with
scripture
not only by
interpreting it
but by making it
meet the needs
of the hour
they were endowed
with extraordinary
wisdom for recognizing
the immediate need
of the church
and speaking the
right words
to meet it
you see the church
needs Bible teachers
who can explain
and expound
the scriptures
the church also
needs prophets
who can discern
the particular
needs of our times
and speak directly
and powerfully
in accordance
with the scripture
to them
some of the benefits
of prophecy
Sam Storm
summarizes these
so he says
prophetic utterances
can
as verse 3 says
edify
exhort
and console
they may bring
conviction
as the secrets
of a sinner's heart
are exposed
verse 24 and 25
in this chapter
they may teach
verse 31
says we can learn
from prophecies
they may give
direction for ministry
Acts 13
1-3
they may contain
warnings
Acts 21
10-11
or present
opportunities
for ministry
they may even
identify and impart
spiritual gifts
1 Timothy 4-14
if you want those
references I can
give them to you
later
so you see
Paul is saying
prophecy has
many benefits
and that's why
he's so eager
for us
he says
earnestly desire
the spiritual gifts
especially
that you may
prophesy
earnestly desire
them because
God earnestly
desires to bless
his church
with them
in the Old Testament
Moses longed for
the day
he said
I wish that
all the Lord's
people
were prophets
and the prophet
Joel looked forward
to the day
Joel said
one day
I will pour out
my spirit
on all flesh
and your sons
and daughters
will prophesy
both men and
women
and your old men
will dream dreams
and your young men
will see visions
young and old
even on my servants
both male and
female
servants were
sort of
the poor
in that day
the lowest class
the least well
educated
Paul said
I'm going to
speak through
all my people
so that
my people
can be built up
and my name
can be praised
in the world
and on the day
of Pentecost
Peter proclaimed
that prophecy
has been fulfilled
when the Holy Spirit
was poured out
on the church
Paul wants us
to desire these
earnestly desire
these gifts
because God
has promised
to give them
to us
for our good
so let me say this
let me challenge us
especially
if you've come
from
let's say
a non-Pentecostal
charismatic background
right
or in a
church like Trinity
that's
that's not
a Pentecostal
church
right
do we earnestly
desire the spiritual
gifts that Paul
describes here
do we desire
especially to prophesy
that is
or more broadly
to speak
edifying
encouraging
comforting
words to one
another
do we pray
that the Holy Spirit
would give us insight
when we see someone
who needs encouragement
or when we see someone
a brother or sister
in Christ
who's
falling into sin
or when we
are facing a difficult
situation
we just don't know
what to do
do we pray
Holy Spirit
give us the insight
that we need
of course
part of how
the Holy Spirit
does that
is pointing us
to the scriptures
but sometimes
there are things
that the Holy Spirit
can sort of highlight
as being particularly
beneficial for us
at a given moment
you know
if you're teaching
in a Bible study
pray that the Lord
would not only
give you insight
into the scriptures
but also insight
into what your group
needs to hear
at the present time
in order to more
effectively glorify God
James 4 says
sometimes
he says
James 4 says
you don't have
because you don't ask God
and that can sometimes
be true of spiritual gifts
yes the Lord
sovereignly distributes
the gifts as he pleases
but he also says
ask for what we need
ask for what would be
most beneficial
so I think
Richard Hayes says this
the church that ponders
1 Corinthians 14
seriously
will be led to pray
for the gift of prophecy
and to welcome it
when it's given
so those are some
of the benefits
of prophecy
finally
dangers
of prophecy
this is the last section
I know it's hot
hang in there
we said early
I'm sweating too
we said earlier
that prophecy
is based on
a revelation
that is an insight
given by the Holy Spirit
but here is the danger
and we need to hear
this danger
a genuine insight
given by God
may be combined
with erroneous
human assumptions
for an example
of this
you can look at
Acts 21
now we preached
on Acts 21
about a year ago
I'm not going to
repeat the whole sermon
you can read it
you can listen to it
on the website
but in Acts 21
verse 4
it says
through the spirit
the Christians
Christians at Tyre
were urging Paul
not to go on
to Jerusalem
and if you read
the passage
what's going on
is they rightly
discerned
I think this is
the insight
from the Holy Spirit
that there would be
danger awaiting
Paul in Jerusalem
they wrongly
concluded
that because
there would be
danger
therefore Paul
should not go
and Paul rightly
disregarded
there
what they
would have thought
was a word of prophecy
so it's interesting
the apostle Paul
did not always listen
to everyone
who said
I have a word of prophecy
for you
in fact
sometimes he did
the opposite
he used discernment
there's only one place
where the Holy Spirit
has revealed himself
through human
spokespersons
and without human error
and that is
in this book
in the scriptures
and the scriptures
are our final authority
in faith
and practice
and so prophecy
in the sense
that I'm using the word
in the sense
that I think
Paul is using the word
in 1 Corinthians 14
and in the sense
that it seems
to be most commonly used
throughout the New Testament
is not the same thing
as
God's word
without error
and infallible
okay
and this is why
the New Testament
tells us
we need to test
prophecies
it doesn't say
just listen to anyone
who claims to be a prophet
or even who has spoken
a word of prophecy
before
that has come true
1 Thessalonians 5
don't despise prophecies
again
don't rule them out
but test everything
hold fast
what is good
and abstain
from every form
of evil
so prophecies
or more broadly
any word of advice
or warning
or encouragement
from a fellow believer
must be carefully
evaluated
and discerned
so let me speak
to you briefly
if you have the gift
of prophecy
some people have
the gift of prophecy
and they don't call it prophecy
but perhaps
the Lord
seems to give you
insight
into spiritual dangers
or ministry opportunities
or even into
what seems to be going on
in someone's heart
like we see
in the book of Acts
that can be
a genuine
and very useful gift
from God
but be careful
because recognize
that while the Holy Spirit
may give you insights
you might not always
see the whole picture
and so submit
the way you can
express it helpfully
is submit your insights
to the discernment
of godly spiritual leaders
and the Christian community
as a whole
if you are on
the receiving end
of a word of prophecy
or a strong word of advice
or warning
from a fellow believer
take it seriously
consider
if there are important
insights from the Holy Spirit
that you should take to heart
but test it
against God's word
someone else's advice
even someone else's prophecy
is not the same thing
as an absolute command
from God
if you look in this chapter
verse 37
Paul distinguishes
prophecy
from
what
what he's
from his writings
which he says
are a command of the Lord
now let me say
one other thing
about prophecy
before we conclude
sometimes Christians
experience very similar things
but call them
by very different names
so some Christians
will say
I had a revelation
the Lord gave me
a word for you
I think the Lord
was speaking to me
other Christians
might say
I had a feeling
or I had an impression
I felt a conviction
or an urge
or a burden
or a resolution
or I was reading scripture
and this passage
just
I just wanted to share
this passage with you
now the language
seems very different
but the experience
is sometimes
more similar
than we realize
right
if you're in a Pentecostal
coming from a Pentecostal
background
you might say
I have a revelation
right
I've got a word
if you're coming from
a Presbyterian
or a traditional
Baptist background
you won't say that
right
but it doesn't mean
that the Holy Spirit
isn't doing the same things
because every Christian
Pentecostal
Presbyterian
Baptist
on denomination
or whatever you are
has the Holy Spirit
living in us
and the Holy Spirit
working through us
well we've talked a lot
about how prophecy
edifies the church
but one more pattern
I think we can see
is that gifts
like prophecy
and miracles
and healings
are often most prevalent
when the gospel
is moving outward
when God's people
are crossing
cultural
national
and social boundaries
when we're
going to unfamiliar
even dangerous places
for the sake of Christ
when we're engaging
people from cultures
and backgrounds
that are hostile
to Christianity
when we get stretched
to the limits
of our human capacities
we feel our dependence
on the Lord
more acutely
we know that we need
the Lord
we need his presence
we need his power
we need his wisdom
otherwise we know
it's all going to flop
and so we pray
more earnestly
and fervently
maybe even with groans
that words can't express
and in those very situations
the Lord tends to show up
in unmistakable ways
he gives us the words
we need to speak
he gives us the patience
to endure opposition
he demonstrates his glory
through deeds of power
because what he's doing there
is he's not just
building the church
with the people
who are already here
but he's building the church
by bringing people in
who are going to become
part of it
let me close with one story
about how God uses
the gift of prophecy
or something like it
in a situation where
I think people wouldn't have
even called it that
or realized what was happening
but God used it powerfully
to bring someone to himself
and he even used kids
let me close with this story
several years ago
I was a counselor
at a Christian hockey camp
during the summers
one of the coaches
was a guy named Bill Butters
he had played in the NHL
for a few years
in the 70s
and he was what is known
in hockey as an enforcer
which means he had
far more penalty minutes
for roughing and fighting
than goals or assists
he was a tough guy
he was angry
he was volatile
he had no interest
in religion
he had some terrible experiences
in churches
when he was a kid
but one of his buddies
invited him to volunteer
at this Christian hockey camp
the first Christian hockey camp
in the United States
back in 1980
and at first he said
I have no interest
in this Christian stuff
first he said
how much are you going to pay me
the guy said
well it's a Christian camp
the coaches all volunteer
and he said
you've got to be kidding
the guy just kept pestering him
and he came
because he literally
he said
I don't even know why I came
I literally had nothing to do
now right before he came
to the camp
he didn't tell anybody
this at the camp
except I think
his close friend knew
but he didn't tell anybody
else at the camp this
he had just got cut
from his team
told he wouldn't play
pro hockey ever again
his marriage was falling apart
mostly because
he had become an alcoholic
and he had anger issues
so he goes to the camp
first he says
I'm just doing the on ice staff
forget the chapel stuff
so that works for two or three days
then one of the kids
invites him to come to chapel
he goes to chapel
had an experience there
I'll skip that part
but after the evening chapel
the 12 year old boys
say
Coach Bill
would you come to our huddle group
this is where they would
like discuss
what was shared
at the chapel service
and have a little bible discussion
do a little prayer time
they say
would you come with us
of course you can't refuse
12 year old kids
at the end of the huddle group
he said
each boy began to pray for me
one prayed for a job
he had no idea
I had just been cut from my team
one prayed for peace in my life
he had no idea
that my marriage was breaking apart
one prayed that I might find joy
and happiness
he had no idea
that I had turned to alcohol
in my despair
and finally
one 12 year old boy
prayed that I could know
Jesus Christ
as my personal Lord and Savior
that night
I got down on my knees
and asked Christ
into my life
you see how the Holy Spirit
can use
12 year old boys
probably don't even
wouldn't even call it
the gift of prophecy
but he gave them insight
into what to pray for
and use them
to lead this
tough
hardened
NHL player
to Christ
and then he worked
for this ministry
for the last
30 years
that's how I got to know him
let's pray
that the Lord
would pour out his spirit
upon us
so this church
would be built
Holy Spirit
we pray that you would
pour out
your presence
among us
and your gifts
among us
Lord we want to
earnestly desire them
we want to earnestly
desire every good gift
that you give
for the good of your church
and for the glory
of your name
we pray that you would
protect us
and forgive us
for ways that we have
used gifts
in selfish
or self-promoting ways
or unedifying ways
Lord give us love
give us the love
that would
make us strive
to excel
in building up
your church
and we pray
that you would
use these gifts
Lord not only
to build up
one another
who are gathered here
but to bring in
the people
who would one day
become part of your kingdom
and who would
worship you forever
and who would
join their voices
in the song
of praise
to Jesus Christ
the Lamb of God
pray these things
in Jesus name
Amen