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

Guidelines for Testing Prophetic Utterances

Questions about the use of prophecy should always include raising the moral issues." 43 It is always right to be alert. 7. Does the person bringing the prophecy do so in love? Our heavenly Father can be very direct and stern with us but He always speaks from a heart of love. Everyone prophesying should reflect His attitude. Restora tion, not condemnation, is God's objective. Just as we expect a certain decorum at our dinner tables, so we can rightfully expect reasonable, loving behavior in our church services. It is essential that prophecy be given in love and humility. The joining of the congregation with the Father's attitude maintains the family atmosphere of the local church. For those who need direction: "The kindness of God leads you to repentance" (Romans 2:4). 1. Does my spirit witness that this is the Holy Spirit? The human spirit has a marvelous affinity with God's Spirit. Jesus likened it to sheep who hear their shepherd: "The sheep follow him, for they know [recognize] his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:4-5, KJV). True prophecy-that inspired by the Holy Spirit-is attested to or confirmed within each believer who hears it. Sometimes good, meaningful words, even a Bible quotation, are used. Simply testing the words alone will tell you only if the message is true, but not if it is a true prophecy. Inspiration by the Holy Spirit is something the spiritual Christian must discern. John talks of the abiding presence of the Spirit as an "anointing" that causes us to know things (1 John 2:20, 27)-a kind of internal guidance system. An illustration I like to use is "sympathetic vibration." Hold a guitar near a piano and strike middle Con the keyboard of the piano. A vibra tion will be picked up by the guitar. The strings of the guitar will respond to the sound waves generated by the piano string and the guitar will begin to pulsate on the same frequency. You can feel the vibration! Certain objects have characteristic frequencies at which they vibrate, and when two such objects are placed close together, the vibration of one causes the other to vibrate as well. The principle of resonance is perhaps the best illustration from nature to show what we experience in spiritual "witness." 44 This approach is admittedly subjective and should not by itself be con sidered conclusive. Nevertheless, the response of our own hearts and spir its is of great significance and remains an important aspect of judging prophecy. 327. The Recipient of the Prophecy