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

The Use of Prophecy in Church Today

We developed a climate of expectancy for spiritual manifestations, and I taught from time to time on how I believed prophecy and tongues should function in the local church.We have felt it wise to reserve prophecy and spiritual gift manifestation for a time after or near the end of spiritual worship and singing.Since prophecy functions best in an atmosphere of praise and worship, it seems reasonable to concentrate as much as possi ble on great worship. It is counterproductive to allow people to interrupt the worship with prophecy.Spiritual worship has a way of building to a climax in which everyone is blessed, so we advise anyone desiring to prophesy to wait in a designated area near the front and continue worshiping. 21 We place a microphone at floor level near the front of the sanctuary with an elder acting as monitor.This elder quietly inquires as to the basic content of each person's contribution, making a quick judgment of the content and its ability to flow with the service.This is part of the testing process-a pre-prophecy screening that helps sift out potential problems. Both monitor and candidate are aware of the importance to coordinate with the worshipleader's intent and actions.At an appropriate time, when the message does not interrupt the worship flow, the elder suggests that the one who has come forward for ministry go to the mike and speak. Usually what is said (prophecy) or described (from a vision) or sung (a Spirit-inspired ode) or shared (a revelation) or exhorted (a challenge) is so uplifting and challenging that little needs to be said or added. Bruce Yocum agrees: "...Most prophecies do not require any signif icant direct response.The majority of prophecies serve purposes of encour agement and exhortation.They do not of themselves demand any deci sion as to whether or not they are directly inspired." 22 If the import of the prophecy is true and faith-building, a public dis cussion about whether it was inspired would be counterproductive and disrupt the service.If a message was not misleading or unscriptural, yet some of the elders feel uneasy about what was said, they can discuss the matter later.Then one of them can go privately to that person and talk it over, bringing proper alignment. If the pastor or leader senses that what has been said is troubling some of the people, yet a public statement of correction would be awkward, he or she may ask the person publicly to remain after the service for a few moments, "because I would like to talk to you about prophecy and give some suggestions about how we do things here." In this way everyone knows that any improprieties will be handled. The pastoral concern encourages people to invite their friends and reassure them that spiritual manifestations will not get out of hand. 342