Don't Treat Prophecies With Contempt
I can't believe I left Uni over thirty years ago (1990) - Wow I'm old! We had an amazing time back in Uni. The highlight was the Christian fellowship. It was a strong, non-denominational community of young people who were 'on fire' for God. We were in our late teens, but we were organised, bold, courageous, and full of faith. We organised and self-funded mission trips in rural and urban areas hundreds of miles away from campus. We saw lives transformed, communities liberated from demonic strongholds and many miraculous encounters.
However, the biggest and most memorable were the prophetic utterances. There were prophecies about God preparing us for life beyond the campus, which would mean many of us leading churches, organisations and becoming influential not only in Nigeria but across the world. Today, all those prophetic words are being fulfilled. Over three hundred of us are still in touch with one another, growing strong and still bearing fruit in our walk with God. Here in England, there are over fifty of us involved in church, charities, and businesses up and down the country, being a blessing to all the communities we belong to. Prophecies always finds fulfilment because their origin is God.
When Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil," I think this is something we need to take very seriously today. Prophecies are God's word, prompted and revealed by the Holy Spirit for instruction, encouragement, correction, and admonition. (1 Cor. 14:3 & 31). They are speaking God's mind and will. An environment where the Spirit of God is not honoured and reverenced will not promote prophetic utterances.
If the Holy Spirit is on the outside, instead of being on the inside, we hinder and obstruct our ability to hear him when he is speaking. We stifle the Holy Spirit when we constantly disobey him and insist on our own way. Post Pentecost, in the early church, "To quench the Spirit was to suppress or restrain the Spirit from manifesting itself in charismatic activities like speaking in tongues and uttering prophecy within the life of the community" - Wanamaker (1990). Therefore, when we gather today, we must also ensure we don't plan out the Holy Spirit but allow him room to express himself. Let him speak!
When we create an environment that is conducive for the Holy Spirit to speak, we need to go beyond that to pay careful attention to what he has to say. This means we need to treat with respect any word purported to be from God. We don't reject it outright or accept it outright before we test it. How do we test every prophecy? There are a number of ways we can test every prophecy, here is a list, though not exhaustive, but I hope helpful:
1. A pretty good test is to check if it is in line with God's written word "Like the inhabitants of Berea, we are to 'examine the Scriptures' to see if what any Christian teacher says is true." (Acts 17:11) - J. R. W. Stott (1994). It does not matter who the speaker is, if it is contrary to God's word, then it is not from God period!
2. God provided another means of testing through the gift of discernment "distinguishing between spirits". (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:29; 1 John 4:1).
3. The known character of the speaker is another test. "When Jesus told us 'Watch out for false prophets', warning us that they are wolves disguised as sheep, he added: 'By their fruit you will recognise them' - (Matthew 7:15-16) Stott.
4. Another test is "the degree to which what is said 'edifies', that is, builds up and benefits, the church. An authentic prophetic message will 'strengthen, encourage and comfort' the hearers, 'edify the church', bring a conviction of sin and an awareness of God, and be conducive to peace and order, and above all to love." - Stott
After these tests have been applied, it will help us sift out what is from human origin and what is God's mind and will. The tests help protect the church, maintain a high integrity and confidence in God's word, but also makes allowance for our human fallibility.
Is it genuinely from God? If it is, we are to "hold on" to it. If not, we are to reject it. The way to hold on to prophetic words is to believe it, trust that God who said it will bring it to pass. Lately, I am learning to consider prophetic words carefully. I check whether there are instructions to obey, an attitude to adopt, and I pray for fulfillment.
As we emerge from lockdown, let us pay careful attention to prophetic utterances, God is speaking and will continue to speak. Let's learn to sift and hold on to that which is authentic.