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

The Use of Prophecy in Church Today

know that the leadership will handle mistakes, just as an unbiased referee calls the shots. Praying people who are Bible-readers, open to the moving of the Holy Spirit and who have been worshiping fervently in Spirit and in truth will be able to flow with the program of prophetic activity. Consider the opening episode of this chapter. What if the young man in flowing garments had not turned and left? What if he had continued to shout out his thoughts in defiance of our wishes? This kind of situa tion should be handled in a straightforward manner. As he came striding down the aisle, I was not going over some mental checklist. The man was an intruder and had to be treated as one. If a bur glar attempted to break into your house, what would you do? You would defend your loved ones, property and goods to the best of your ability. It is the same in a church service. If the man had not left the sanctuary peace fully, escorted by our ushers, we would probably have asked the people to stand and then led them in a loud, victorious chorus; this action would have refocused everyone's attention on the Lord, frustrated any evil spirit activity and made it difficult for the intruder to retain any attention. If the man had been belligerent, one of our staff would have called the police to handle the troublemaker. A perfectly good word from the Lord can be canceled, misunderstood or misinterpreted if the hearts and minds of the people are not in a posi tive, receptive mode. Eight suggestions can assist everyone's cooperation: 7 l. Desire to hear and understand. Unfortunately many are dull of hear ing or have no ears to hear (Jeremiah 6:10; Ezekiel 12:2; Matthew 13:9-17). 2. Be neither skeptical nor gullible. Neither despise prophecy nor swal low it without "proving" it (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). 3. Listen with a willing heart. Be ready to attend to God's direction (Zechariah 7:11-14). 4. Pay attention. Carelessness or lack of interest can cancel God's best for you (Ezekiel 33:30-33; Mark 4:23-25; Hebrews 2:1-4). 5. Seek further confirmation. Even when you believe the word is from the Lord, wait on Him for further confirmation (2 Corinthians 13:1-3). 6. Hear in faith. Do not let opportunity be lost by an attitude of unbe lief (Hebrews 4:1-3). 7. Face strong words with confidence. Excuses are easy to find when a challenging word comes (Amos 7:10; John 16:12; 1 Corinthians 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:4; Hebrews 12:19-20). • 334