Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

The Importance of Prophecy

• "Many, 0 LORD my God, are ...Thy thoughts toward us" (Psalm 40:5). • "'I know the thoughts that I think toward you,' says the LORD, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope"' (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV). • "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer" (1 Peter 3:12). God has shared His thoughts with humankind throughout history.He communicated with Israel and the early Church-and still has thoughts for His people today.Sometimes the Lord spoke audibly, sent angelic mes sengers, gave dreams and visions, used prophets, utilized catastrophes, even whispered quietly to the inner spirit of the human being.In less dra matic but equally important ways today, we also have the clear teachings of the Bible, impressions received in serious prayer, the obvious directions given through everyday circumstances and the wise advice of godly coun selors.All these wonderful vehicles are used by God to speak His thoughts into our lives. This brings us to the main theme of this book: prophecy. Prophecy is a key way God has spoken to His people in both ancient and modern times.Hebrews 1:1, referring to the Hebrew period, says that God "at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets ..." (NKJV). In the Christian era Paul heartily endorsed prophecy to the churches: "Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy ..." (1 Corinthians 14:39). Prophecy, in simple terms, is the verbalized expression of God's thoughts through a Spmt-inspired person "to a particular person or group of per sons, at a particular moment, for a particular purpose." 1 To some people prophecy evokes the mental picture of skin-dad, destitute, thundering Old Testament prophets who either "forth-tell" (proclaim the divine will) or "fore-tell" (predict future events).This depiction is partially true, but it tends to override the simple beauty of the New Testament prophetic experience that can be enjoyed by the people of a local church in our day. This book will clearly present the similarities and differences between Old and New Testament prophets, as well as the prophetic possibilities now available to the entire family of Spirit-filled believers who make up today's local New Testament Church. I hope the teaching will establish the credibility of prophecy for many biblically orthodox Christians who are not presently enjoying this avenue of divine edification. Refinements will be made later, but my introductory thought is simple and foundational: God is beaming His thoughts down on His people. Explained simply, prophecy occurs when a prophetically inspired person

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