1 Corinthians 14:1-12

and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God.

For no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the spirit.

On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people

for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself,

but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Now I want you all to speak in tongues,

but even more to prophesy.

The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues

unless someone interprets so that the church may be built up.

Now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues,

how will I benefit you?

Unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching.

If even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp

do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?

And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound,

who will get ready for battle?

So with yourselves.

If with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible,

how will anyone know what is said?

For you will be speaking into the air.

There are doubtless many different languages in the world,

and none is without meaning.

But if I do not know the meaning of the language,

I will be a foreigner to the speaker,

and the speaker a foreigner to me.

So with yourselves.

Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit,

strive to excel in building up the church.

So this morning we're looking at two spiritual gifts

that Paul describes.

The gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy.

And as we look at those gifts,

we're going to consider the two commands that Paul gives.

One at the beginning of this passage and one at the end.

He says,

earnestly desire the spiritual gifts in verse 1.

And in verse 12 he says,

strive to excel in building up the church.

Now this is a challenging topic.

Let me say that outright.

Because Christians who believe the Bible and love Jesus

haven't always agreed on what these gifts are

and how we should use them.

I grew up in a Pentecostal church

which encouraged everyone to speak in tongues.

And they said that speaking in tongues

was the initial sign of being fully empowered

by the Holy Spirit.

Then for two years in college,

I went to a Presbyterian church.

The Presbyterian church's leaders believed

that the spiritual gifts of prophecy in tongues

ended after the New Testament was completed.

And then I came to Trinity.

By then I wasn't quite sure what to believe.

Maybe you can relate to some part or other of that.

Some of you, like me,

may have come to know Jesus

and follow him in a Pentecostal or charismatic church.

Maybe you've benefited from tongues and prophecy

and you wish that more Christians

would experience and know the blessing of these gifts.

On the other hand,

I know that some of you have had bad experiences

in Pentecostal and charismatic services.

You might have seen people who place more value

on their word from the Lord

than on the word of the Lord, the scriptures.

Or maybe you've seen worship services

that seem to just become chaotic

or even emotionally manipulative.

Maybe you've been there, done that,

and don't want to go back.

Now for others of you,

all this might seem just a bit unfamiliar.

Right?

Maybe you grew up in a wonderful church

that just said prophecy in tongues

were for the first century

and that was just fine back then

and we don't really need them now.

And maybe you're just not sure what to think

because you haven't seen or experienced them

either one way or the other.

Now whatever your church background

or lack thereof,

I'm convinced that Paul's instructions

in this passage can be very helpful

for all of us.

Because Paul was also writing

to a group of people

in the church at Corinth

who didn't all have the same experience

of these gifts

and who weren't all on the same page.

It seems that some of the Corinthians

loved to speak in tongues.

They felt it was a sign

of how spiritually advanced they were,

that they could speak in heavenly languages.

And they did it frequently,

especially when they gathered together.

Other people, it seems,

were into prophesying

and some of these prophets

like to go on and on and on and on.

And if anyone tried to stop them,

they would say,

but the Holy Spirit is speaking through me.

I can't stop.

Other people in the church at Corinth

were not so impressed.

Some people felt alienated

by all the tongue speaking

that they couldn't understand

or they felt like second class Christians

because they hadn't experienced that gift.

It's possible some people were frustrated

and wanted to just get rid

of these things altogether.

Church would be a lot simpler

if we didn't have to deal

with all this prophesying

and tongue speaking.

And so,

the Christians in Corinth

appealed

to their beloved apostle Paul

for some guidance.

Now,

as we've seen

over the last few weeks,

Paul didn't immediately launch

into

instructions about

these particular gifts.

We're in the middle of a section.

In chapter 12,

Paul began by

sort of painting the big picture.

He says,

first of all,

we need to understand

we're all part of the body of Christ.

And in a body,

there's many different parts,

but we're all connected together

and we're all united together.

And so,

we need to recognize

we'll all have different gifts

and we need to use those

to build each other up.

And we need each other.

And then,

in chapter 13,

he said,

I'm going to show you

the most excellent way.

The way of love.

Love.

Verse 1 to 3

of chapter 13,

he said,

even if you have all the spiritual gifts

in the world,

if you don't have love,

if you don't have love for God,

if you don't have love

for your brothers and sisters,

you're empty.

You're nothing.

And then he described

what love is,

how it's tender

and kind

and patient,

how it's truthful

and how it's tenacious,

how it holds on.

And then,

at the end of chapter 13,

he says,

spiritual gifts like prophecy

and tongues and knowledge,

on the day when we see

Jesus face to face,

we won't need those gifts anymore.

But love is going to continue

into eternity.

And it will never cease.

And so Paul says,

pursue love.

Notice that at the beginning

of verse 1.

Before we jump into prophecy

and tongues,

I want you to notice that.

Pursue love,

Paul says.

That means run hard after it.

Don't miss out on it.

We need to hear that command

loud and clear,

to be patient and kind

with one another.

Not to boast

or puff ourselves up

with pride

before we jump into

these topics.

Because sometimes people

have either fixated

on certain spiritual gifts

or they have loudly

proclaimed their views

about them

one way or the other

and forgot about love.

And Paul says,

remember love.

So having said that,

let's jump in.

We're going to look

at tongues first

and then we'll look

at prophecy.

And for each of them,

we're going to look

at what it is,

what benefits

Paul says it has,

and then what dangers

there might be.

So the nature,

the benefits,

the dangers.

First tongues,

then prophecy.

So tongues.

Let's look down,

verse 2.

Paul talks about

the nature of tongues.

He says,

one who speaks in a tongue

speaks not to people

but to God.

In other words,

speaking in tongues

is not an encrypted message

for another person.

It's a form of prayer

or praise

or thanksgiving to God.

If you look down

in verse 14 to 17,

Paul reaffirms that

and uses some of those words.

Now verse 2 continues.

Paul says,

if someone speaks in tongues,

no one understands him.

He utters mysteries

in the spirit.

Paul's assumption

throughout this chapter

is if someone

is speaking in tongues,

that person won't understand

what he's saying

and the people around him

won't understand

what he's saying either

unless someone has

the gift of interpretation.

Now at the same time,

I think Paul's saying

that speaking in tongues

is not just

meaningless gibberish.

Paul says he utters

mysteries in the spirit.

That could mean

he utters hidden

or secret truths of God

or it could simply mean

he speaks to God

in a mysterious way,

in a way that isn't

obviously understandable

by others.

Now many people have wondered

when Paul speaks

about tongues,

is he talking about

speaking in

another human language,

is he talking about

speaking in a heavenly language

or something else?

And in answer

to this question,

I don't think

we can be certain

because Paul doesn't define

what kind of tongue

or languages

he's talking about precisely.

In fact,

if you look at

1 Corinthians 12 verse 10,

1 Corinthians 12:10

Paul refers to

various kinds

of tongues.

Now in the book of Acts,

if you look in the book of Acts

in chapter 2,

the believers,

the disciples of Jesus

were praying in the upper room,

the Holy Spirit

came upon them,

they started speaking

in tongues,

and people

from other parts

of the world

who were there

in Jerusalem

on the day of Pentecost

heard them speaking

in their own languages.

In that instance,

God miraculously

empowered believers

to speak in

foreign human languages

that they had never learned,

but other people

understood perfectly.

That also seems to be

what happened

in Acts chapter 10

Acts 10 · chapter mention

when Cornelius,

the first Gentile convert,

came to faith in Jesus.

It says,

people heard him

speaking in tongues

and extolling God.

So in Acts,

we see that

this was a sort of reversal

of the confusion

that resulted from

the Tower of Babel

when people in their pride

tried to build a tower

to heaven

and God confused

their languages

and when God sent

the Holy Spirit

as people were praying

and humbly waiting on God,

there was a reversal

of that curse

and a sign of the gospel

going to all nations.

Now that seems to be

what's going on

with tongues

primarily in the book of Acts

because when people

speak in tongues

in the book of Acts,

you don't see

every single Christian

speaking in tongues

in the book of Acts,

but you do see

as the gospel moves outward

in Jerusalem

on the day of Pentecost,

then to Samaria,

then to the Gentiles,

then to the province

of Asia and Ephesus,

you see groups of people

who speak in tongues

as an expression

of the Holy Spirit's work.

So in Acts,

it seems to be

speaking in human languages

that people haven't learned.

But is that always

what tongues is?

And the answer

would seem to be no.

If you look again

at 1 Corinthians 13,

1 Corinthians 13:1

verse 1,

Paul refers to

the tongues of men

and of angels.

Now that's the only reference

to speaking in

angelic languages

in Scripture

so we shouldn't

build too much

on one reference,

but it seems to be

at least a possibility

in Paul's mind.

And also,

in this chapter

we're reading,

1 Corinthians 14,

Paul's writing

to a church

that included people

from many different

languages

and cultural backgrounds.

But he doesn't say,

sure,

go ahead and speak

in tongues

because maybe

your international neighbor

will understand you

speaking in their own language.

Paul assumes

that if someone

speaks in tongues,

probably nobody's

going to understand them

unless somebody has

what he calls

a gift of interpretation.

So Paul doesn't

seem to be assuming

that tongues

are always

foreign human languages.

It seems like

they could be

human languages,

they could be

some kind of

heavenly languages,

or perhaps even

something else.

There's one other verse

that makes a similar point

in the New Testament

that believers

can at times

communicate to God

in prayer,

in the power

of the Holy Spirit

in a way that

goes beyond

normal human language.

If you look at Romans

Romans 8:26

chapter 8,

verse 26,

Paul says,

likewise,

the Spirit,

the Holy Spirit

helps us

in our weakness.

For we do not know

what to pray for

as we ought,

but the Spirit himself

intercedes for us

with groanings

too deep

for words.

Now groanings

isn't exactly

the same thing

as tongues,

but it's similar.

It's the idea

that in our human weakness,

in our perplexity,

when we don't know

what to pray,

the Holy Spirit

can prompt us

to pray to God

in a way that goes

beyond normal

human words.

Sometimes we might

not understand

exactly what we're

praying for

or what we need,

but God hears

and God knows.

And we put it all

in his hands.

So I think

that's what tongues is.

Speaking to God

in a language

that's not

normally understood

by the person

who's speaking

or the people

who might be hearing.

Second,

the benefits

of speaking in tongues.

Paul describes

some benefits

of speaking in tongues

in this chapter.

Verse 4,

he says,

the one who speaks

in a tongue

builds up himself.

Some people have wondered,

is Paul being sarcastic there?

All you people

speaking in tongues,

you're just building

yourself up,

puffing yourself up,

rather than building

up the church.

But I don't think

that's what Paul's doing.

In Jude,

actually,

Jude 20,

says,

build yourselves up

in your most holy faith

and pray in the Holy Spirit.

And in the very next verse,

verse 5,

Paul says,

I want you all

to speak in tongues.

Now,

that was a favorite verse

when I was growing up

in the Pentecostal church.

I want you all

to speak in tongues.

I heard a few sermons

on that one.

Now,

the emphasis

is actually

the second half

of the verse

where Paul says,

but even more,

to prophesy.

And it's also possible

to translate verse 5,

I'm willing

or I'm happy

for you all

to speak in tongues.

Paul isn't saying

that every Christian

must speak in tongues.

But he is saying

that speaking in tongues

can be personally edifying.

In fact,

in verse 18,

Paul says,

I speak in tongues

more than you all do.

He wouldn't say that

if he thought

that speaking in tongues

was just foolish

and useless.

So it's true,

tongues can be abused

or overemphasized

or wrongly made

into the measure

of spiritual maturity.

That was happening

in Corinth,

but Paul's response

was not

to prohibit tongues

and get rid of them.

In fact,

in verse 39,

he says,

don't forbid

speaking in tongues.

So let me encourage you,

if you've had bad experiences

in the charismatic movement,

don't react

by throwing everything out,

throwing the baby out

with the bathwater,

as they say.

All right,

Paul says,

don't forbid

speaking in tongues.

Now,

some of you might say,

well,

but help me understand,

how could it be

spiritually beneficial

to pray

in a way that

I don't even know

what I'm saying?

Well,

let me say this.

it seems that God may

and sometimes does

edify individual believers

in ways that transcend

our rational,

cognitive processes.

And that our spirits,

indwelt by the Holy Spirit,

can sometimes respond to God

in ways that

can't completely fit

in our rational,

cognitive processes

through groanings

that words can't express

or tongues

that our minds

can't understand.

And maybe this is meant

to humble us,

just to remind us

that God is far greater

than our minds

can conceive.

Sam Storms,

who happens to be

the new president

of the Evangelical

Theological Society,

no scholarly lightweight,

wrote about his experience

of praying in tongues.

And he said,

I found this gift

profoundly helpful

to my prayer life.

It doesn't diminish

one's capacity

for rational thought

or one's commitment

to the authority

of the written word

of God.

It has served only

to deepen my intimacy

with the Lord Jesus Christ

and to enhance

my zeal

and joy

in worship.

Those are some benefits

of speaking in tongues.

But Paul also points out

some dangers

of speaking in tongues.

This is what Paul addresses

in verses 6 to 11.

Verse 6,

he says,

If I come to you

speaking in tongues,

how will I benefit you?

It seems like some

of the Corinthians

wanted Paul to come

and basically put on a show

to show how spiritual

he was by displaying

his gift

of speaking

in tongues.

And Paul

had refused.

Paul said back

in 1 Corinthians 2,

When I came to you,

I didn't come

proclaiming to you

the mystery of God

with lofty speech

or wisdom.

And he didn't come

and stand up front

and put on a public display

of all his speaking

in tongues.

He said,

I came and I proclaim

Christ and him crucified

with weakness

and fear

and trembling.

You see,

in this whole chapter,

Paul places no restrictions

on speaking in tongues

privately.

But he says,

There are some things

that are wonderful

to do when you're alone,

but aren't always

so helpful

when you're gathered

with God's people.

Sometimes,

several years ago,

I used to drive

up to Boston a lot.

I was taking seminary

classes part-time up there.

And before my wife

and I were married,

she was living up there.

And sometimes,

I would be driving

back late at night.

And sometimes,

I would sing and pray

at the top of my lungs

in my car.

It helped me stay awake.

It helped me intercede

for people.

I was probably releasing

all kinds of emotions

to God.

And I wasn't bothering

anybody.

I was edifying myself.

But if I walked

into church

and immediately started

yelling at the top

of my lungs,

prayer and praise to God,

I wouldn't be loving you all.

Paul wants us all

to ask the question

that he asked in verse 6.

How can I benefit you?

And this is a principle

that applies much more

broadly than tongues.

Not, Paul's saying,

the question is not,

how can I display

my gifts in the church

and be recognized

for them?

The question is,

how can I benefit you

even if that means

restraining myself

in some ways?

And so,

Paul's point here

is that speaking in tongues

without interpretation

publicly

isn't beneficial

because the hearers

won't benefit

from what they can't understand.

Verse 7 to 11,

Paul uses three analogies

to make the point.

Musical instruments

only produce pleasing melodies

if they're played

according to some kind

of orderly pattern, right?

If the musicians

all came up here

and just started playing

on their own

without listening to each other,

we would not have

a very pleasant worship service

this morning.

The Corinthian church

sort of sounded like that,

like the sympathy orchestra

when they're all tuning

their instruments

before the conductor

comes on stage.

They're all doing

their own thing,

making a ton of noise

and nobody quite knows

what's going on.

Verse 8,

Paul says,

the military trumpet

only works

in rousing the troops

to battle

if the sounds are distinct

and isn't that part

of why we gather together

as a church?

You know,

we're fighting

a spiritual battle

every day of our lives

and part of why

we come together

is to be equipped

and empowered

to fight that battle

for Christ

and know the power

of the Holy Spirit

being with us.

So Paul says,

we need to hear

a clear and distinct message

in order to be equipped

for that.

Verse 10, 11,

Paul uses the analogy

of foreign languages.

You know,

if I suddenly start

preaching in French,

just because I happen

to know French

and I think French

is a beautiful language,

I'll alienate most of you

right away.

Paul says,

so with yourselves.

We are brothers

and sisters in Christ.

In the world,

we're foreigners

and aliens.

You might feel out of,

I mean,

we should feel out of place

in this world.

But Paul says,

when we come together

as a church,

this is our home.

This is a foretaste

of where our true home

is in heaven.

And when we come to church,

we should help each other

and remind each other

that you belong.

If you believe in Christ,

you belong.

So Paul says,

don't alienate each other

by how you're behaving.

Again,

this principle applies

much more widely

than speaking in tongues.

There's all kinds of ways

you can speak

in ways that people

can't understand

even if you speak in English.

church.

And Paul wants you

to ask,

how can I speak

in a way that can benefit

you,

whoever you're speaking to

or speaking with?

That's why Paul says,

strive to excel

in building up the church.

You know,

when we gather together

here,

the reason we've come together,

it's not like

we're all supposed

to come here

and sit here

and get out our phones

and connect to the same website

and be really excited

that we're connected

to this really cool website.

Okay,

we're not,

we haven't come here

to have 200 individual

private experiences

of the same God.

We've come here

to actually be together

in the presence of God

and build one another up.

Like,

just like the deacons

are looking at those walls

that have had some roof leaks

and they've arranged

to fix the roof leaks,

thankfully,

so there's no,

the plaster's not going

to keep breaking down,

but they,

some of them come in

on Saturday night

and make sure

that there isn't plaster

that's going to fall down

as you're walking down

the right aisle on Sunday.

Right,

they're keeping,

keeping track

of the facilities

and helping to build up

the,

keep the facilities moving well

so we can meet here

and Paul says,

build up the church community.

Right,

just as the building deacons

build up,

take care of the building,

Paul says,

we should all take care

of each other.

Let me give one example

of this before we go

on to prophecy

that I experienced recently.

A few weeks ago

I was at a Bible study

and a few of us

were praying in turn

for someone who had shared

a particular need

with a group

and one person began praying

and in the middle

of her prayer

she launched into

praying in tongues

and I happen to know

that this person

is pretty passionate

about praying in tongues

but immediately

she said,

someone say something,

someone else go ahead

and pray.

This person felt

the freedom

to pray in tongues

as she was interceding

for a sister in Christ.

In the context

I thought that was

a good thing

but she was also

immediately aware

that it would be

unhelpful for her

to just go on and on

praying in a way

that no one else

could understand

and so she was

immediately asking

for someone else

to jump in

and pray

in a way that

everyone could understand

while she continued

praying in tongues

quietly

and unobtrusively.

I think that's

an example

I think it looks

different in different

places

but I think that's

an example

of someone

who loves

speaking in tongues

but who had learned

and was learning

to consider

the others around

them

and be loving

to them.

Alright,

so that's tongues

now we go on

to prophecy

again prophecy

we'll look at

the nature of prophecy

the benefits

and the dangers

so the nature

of prophecy

go back to verse 3

Paul says

the one who prophesies

speaks to people

tongues is primarily

directed toward God

a form of prayer

prophecy is primarily

directed toward people

verse 3

Paul explains

the purpose of prophecy

for building us up

as a united people

of God

for emboldening

and equipping us

for every good work

and for consoling

or comforting

people who are

grieving

or depressed

or hurting

now I think

it's likely

that when Paul

talks about prophecy

in this chapter

he's using it

sort of as shorthand

for various kinds

of intelligible

speaking gifts

instead of every time

saying prophecy

teaching revelation

or knowledge

he just says prophecy

but it's sort of meant

to have a broader

reference

because if you look

at verse 1

he says

desire especially

that you may prophesy

but then in verse 6

he says

how will I benefit you

unless I bring you

some revelation

or knowledge

or prophecy

or teaching

I don't think

Paul is saying

desire especially

to prophesy

and not so much

to teach

or speak words

of knowledge

he's contrasting

prophecy

that is intelligible

speech

with tongues

that is unintelligible

speech

and Jesus is pleased

if we speak intelligible

understandable words

to one another

whether they fall

into the category

of prophecy

or teaching

or knowledge

or wisdom

I think the reason

Paul refers

to those different gifts

is that speaking

to one another

in an edifying

and encouraging

and comforting way

takes a variety

of different forms

right

it can be prepared

you can prepare

you can prepare

a teaching

or you might have

a thought that comes

to mind spontaneously

that's helpful

and edifying

to share with somebody else

it could be

focused on explanation

teaching seems to be

focused more on explanation

or could be more

of an occasional

exhortation

having said

so I think

these words

can apply more broadly

to a variety

of speaking gifts

but having said that

let me say a few words

about prophecy

in particular

as compared

to other speaking gifts

like teaching

so when the New Testament

talks about teaching

it mostly means

preserving sound doctrine

protecting the church

against false

and harmful ways

of thinking

and living

and so a good teacher

can explain

what Christians believe

and how Christians

should live

and where that's found

in the Bible

now prophecy

is a little different

what seems to be

distinct about prophecy

compared to teaching

or other speaking gifts

is that it's based on

what Paul calls

a revelation

if you look down

at verse 30

he talks about that

and by revelation here

he means

an insight

given

by the Holy Spirit

so a few examples

of New Testament prophecy

sometimes

it's an insight

into another person's

spiritual condition

if you read in Acts 13

Paul perceived

by the power

he said he was full

of the Holy Spirit

he perceived

that this guy

Elymas

a magician

was full of deceit

and wickedness

and so he gave

a strong rebuke

and God used

that word of rebuke

sometimes prophecy

excuse me

is an insight

of an upcoming

danger

so the prophet Agabus

in Acts 11

warned of an upcoming

imminent famine

and the believers

responded by sending

material help

to the believers

in Jerusalem

who are going to

experience that famine

at other times

it's an insight

into what exactly

the body of Christ

needs

to hear

at a particular

time

in a particular

place

so in his commentary

on 1 Corinthians

John Calvin wrote this

he said

prophets

were those who were

blessed with the

unique gift

of dealing with

scripture

not only by

interpreting it

but by making it

meet the needs

of the hour

they were endowed

with extraordinary

wisdom for recognizing

the immediate need

of the church

and speaking the

right words

to meet it

you see the church

needs Bible teachers

who can explain

and expound

the scriptures

the church also

needs prophets

who can discern

the particular

needs of our times

and speak directly

and powerfully

in accordance

with the scripture

to them

some of the benefits

of prophecy

Sam Storm

summarizes these

so he says

prophetic utterances

can

as verse 3 says

edify

exhort

and console

they may bring

conviction

as the secrets

of a sinner's heart

are exposed

verse 24 and 25

in this chapter

they may teach

verse 31

says we can learn

from prophecies

they may give

direction for ministry

Acts 13

1-3

they may contain

warnings

Acts 21

10-11

or present

opportunities

for ministry

they may even

identify and impart

spiritual gifts

1 Timothy 4-14

if you want those

references I can

give them to you

later

so you see

Paul is saying

prophecy has

many benefits

and that's why

he's so eager

for us

he says

earnestly desire

the spiritual gifts

especially

that you may

prophesy

earnestly desire

them because

God earnestly

desires to bless

his church

with them

in the Old Testament

Moses longed for

the day

he said

I wish that

all the Lord's

people

were prophets

and the prophet

Joel looked forward

to the day

Joel said

one day

I will pour out

my spirit

on all flesh

and your sons

and daughters

will prophesy

both men and

women

and your old men

will dream dreams

and your young men

will see visions

young and old

even on my servants

both male and

female

servants were

sort of

the poor

in that day

the lowest class

the least well

educated

Paul said

I'm going to

speak through

all my people

so that

my people

can be built up

and my name

can be praised

in the world

and on the day

of Pentecost

Peter proclaimed

that prophecy

has been fulfilled

when the Holy Spirit

was poured out

on the church

Paul wants us

to desire these

earnestly desire

these gifts

because God

has promised

to give them

to us

for our good

so let me say this

let me challenge us

especially

if you've come

from

let's say

a non-Pentecostal

charismatic background

right

or in a

church like Trinity

that's

that's not

a Pentecostal

church

right

do we earnestly

desire the spiritual

gifts that Paul

describes here

do we desire

especially to prophesy

that is

or more broadly

to speak

edifying

encouraging

comforting

words to one

another

do we pray

that the Holy Spirit

would give us insight

when we see someone

who needs encouragement

or when we see someone

a brother or sister

in Christ

who's

falling into sin

or when we

are facing a difficult

situation

we just don't know

what to do

do we pray

Holy Spirit

give us the insight

that we need

of course

part of how

the Holy Spirit

does that

is pointing us

to the scriptures

but sometimes

there are things

that the Holy Spirit

can sort of highlight

as being particularly

beneficial for us

at a given moment

you know

if you're teaching

in a Bible study

pray that the Lord

would not only

give you insight

into the scriptures

but also insight

into what your group

needs to hear

at the present time

in order to more

effectively glorify God

James 4 says

sometimes

he says

James 4 says

you don't have

because you don't ask God

and that can sometimes

be true of spiritual gifts

yes the Lord

sovereignly distributes

the gifts as he pleases

but he also says

ask for what we need

ask for what would be

most beneficial

so I think

Richard Hayes says this

the church that ponders

1 Corinthians 14

seriously

will be led to pray

for the gift of prophecy

and to welcome it

when it's given

so those are some

of the benefits

of prophecy

finally

dangers

of prophecy

this is the last section

I know it's hot

hang in there

we said early

I'm sweating too

we said earlier

that prophecy

is based on

a revelation

that is an insight

given by the Holy Spirit

but here is the danger

and we need to hear

this danger

a genuine insight

given by God

may be combined

with erroneous

human assumptions

for an example

of this

you can look at

Acts 21

now we preached

on Acts 21

about a year ago

I'm not going to

repeat the whole sermon

you can read it

you can listen to it

on the website

but in Acts 21

Acts 21:4

verse 4

it says

through the spirit

the Christians

Christians at Tyre

were urging Paul

not to go on

to Jerusalem

and if you read

the passage

what's going on

is they rightly

discerned

I think this is

the insight

from the Holy Spirit

that there would be

danger awaiting

Paul in Jerusalem

they wrongly

concluded

that because

there would be

danger

therefore Paul

should not go

and Paul rightly

disregarded

there

what they

would have thought

was a word of prophecy

so it's interesting

the apostle Paul

did not always listen

to everyone

who said

I have a word of prophecy

for you

in fact

sometimes he did

the opposite

he used discernment

there's only one place

where the Holy Spirit

has revealed himself

through human

spokespersons

and without human error

and that is

in this book

in the scriptures

and the scriptures

are our final authority

in faith

and practice

and so prophecy

in the sense

that I'm using the word

in the sense

that I think

Paul is using the word

in 1 Corinthians 14

and in the sense

that it seems

to be most commonly used

throughout the New Testament

is not the same thing

as

God's word

without error

and infallible

okay

and this is why

the New Testament

tells us

we need to test

prophecies

it doesn't say

just listen to anyone

who claims to be a prophet

or even who has spoken

a word of prophecy

before

that has come true

1 Thessalonians 5

don't despise prophecies

again

don't rule them out

but test everything

hold fast

what is good

and abstain

from every form

of evil

so prophecies

or more broadly

any word of advice

or warning

or encouragement

from a fellow believer

must be carefully

evaluated

and discerned

so let me speak

to you briefly

if you have the gift

of prophecy

some people have

the gift of prophecy

and they don't call it prophecy

but perhaps

the Lord

seems to give you

insight

into spiritual dangers

or ministry opportunities

or even into

what seems to be going on

in someone's heart

like we see

in the book of Acts

that can be

a genuine

and very useful gift

from God

but be careful

because recognize

that while the Holy Spirit

may give you insights

you might not always

see the whole picture

and so submit

the way you can

express it helpfully

is submit your insights

to the discernment

of godly spiritual leaders

and the Christian community

as a whole

if you are on

the receiving end

of a word of prophecy

or a strong word of advice

or warning

from a fellow believer

take it seriously

consider

if there are important

insights from the Holy Spirit

that you should take to heart

but test it

against God's word

someone else's advice

even someone else's prophecy

is not the same thing

as an absolute command

from God

if you look in this chapter

verse 37

Paul distinguishes

prophecy

from

what

what he's

from his writings

which he says

are a command of the Lord

now let me say

one other thing

about prophecy

before we conclude

sometimes Christians

experience very similar things

but call them

by very different names

so some Christians

will say

I had a revelation

the Lord gave me

a word for you

I think the Lord

was speaking to me

other Christians

might say

I had a feeling

or I had an impression

I felt a conviction

or an urge

or a burden

or a resolution

or I was reading scripture

and this passage

just

I just wanted to share

this passage with you

now the language

seems very different

but the experience

is sometimes

more similar

than we realize

right

if you're in a Pentecostal

coming from a Pentecostal

background

you might say

I have a revelation

right

I've got a word

if you're coming from

a Presbyterian

or a traditional

Baptist background

you won't say that

right

but it doesn't mean

that the Holy Spirit

isn't doing the same things

because every Christian

Pentecostal

Presbyterian

Baptist

on denomination

or whatever you are

has the Holy Spirit

living in us

and the Holy Spirit

working through us

well we've talked a lot

about how prophecy

edifies the church

but one more pattern

I think we can see

is that gifts

like prophecy

and miracles

and healings

are often most prevalent

when the gospel

is moving outward

when God's people

are crossing

cultural

national

and social boundaries

when we're

going to unfamiliar

even dangerous places

for the sake of Christ

when we're engaging

people from cultures

and backgrounds

that are hostile

to Christianity

when we get stretched

to the limits

of our human capacities

we feel our dependence

on the Lord

more acutely

we know that we need

the Lord

we need his presence

we need his power

we need his wisdom

otherwise we know

it's all going to flop

and so we pray

more earnestly

and fervently

maybe even with groans

that words can't express

and in those very situations

the Lord tends to show up

in unmistakable ways

he gives us the words

we need to speak

he gives us the patience

to endure opposition

he demonstrates his glory

through deeds of power

because what he's doing there

is he's not just

building the church

with the people

who are already here

but he's building the church

by bringing people in

who are going to become

part of it

let me close with one story

about how God uses

the gift of prophecy

or something like it

in a situation where

I think people wouldn't have

even called it that

or realized what was happening

but God used it powerfully

to bring someone to himself

and he even used kids

let me close with this story

several years ago

I was a counselor

at a Christian hockey camp

during the summers

one of the coaches

was a guy named Bill Butters

he had played in the NHL

for a few years

in the 70s

and he was what is known

in hockey as an enforcer

which means he had

far more penalty minutes

for roughing and fighting

than goals or assists

he was a tough guy

he was angry

he was volatile

he had no interest

in religion

he had some terrible experiences

in churches

when he was a kid

but one of his buddies

invited him to volunteer

at this Christian hockey camp

the first Christian hockey camp

in the United States

back in 1980

and at first he said

I have no interest

in this Christian stuff

first he said

how much are you going to pay me

the guy said

well it's a Christian camp

the coaches all volunteer

and he said

you've got to be kidding

the guy just kept pestering him

and he came

because he literally

he said

I don't even know why I came

I literally had nothing to do

now right before he came

to the camp

he didn't tell anybody

this at the camp

except I think

his close friend knew

but he didn't tell anybody

else at the camp this

he had just got cut

from his team

told he wouldn't play

pro hockey ever again

his marriage was falling apart

mostly because

he had become an alcoholic

and he had anger issues

so he goes to the camp

first he says

I'm just doing the on ice staff

forget the chapel stuff

so that works for two or three days

then one of the kids

invites him to come to chapel

he goes to chapel

had an experience there

I'll skip that part

but after the evening chapel

the 12 year old boys

say

Coach Bill

would you come to our huddle group

this is where they would

like discuss

what was shared

at the chapel service

and have a little bible discussion

do a little prayer time

they say

would you come with us

of course you can't refuse

12 year old kids

at the end of the huddle group

he said

each boy began to pray for me

one prayed for a job

he had no idea

I had just been cut from my team

one prayed for peace in my life

he had no idea

that my marriage was breaking apart

one prayed that I might find joy

and happiness

he had no idea

that I had turned to alcohol

in my despair

and finally

one 12 year old boy

prayed that I could know

Jesus Christ

as my personal Lord and Savior

that night

I got down on my knees

and asked Christ

into my life

you see how the Holy Spirit

can use

12 year old boys

probably don't even

wouldn't even call it

the gift of prophecy

but he gave them insight

into what to pray for

and use them

to lead this

tough

hardened

NHL player

to Christ

and then he worked

for this ministry

for the last

30 years

that's how I got to know him

let's pray

that the Lord

would pour out his spirit

upon us

so this church

would be built

Holy Spirit