The Prophetic Spirit

Good morning. Good morning. Today is just a very exciting day. We're going to be doing a tag team preaching today as we've done before.

So Vijay is going to be joining me later and sharing God's Word. One of the reasons why we do a tag team is because we really want to raise up people in the different gifts within the congregation and give opportunities to really grow in that.

So I'm just excited to be able to do this and Vijay is just going to be sharing a little bit later with us.

Let me just pray for us and then we'll get going.

Father, your Word is powerful.

I pray this morning that you would speak to us.

I pray, Lord, even as we're looking at this topic, which I know is just a controversial topic,

but it's one that we need to hear, Lord, because you speak it in your Word.

So I pray, open our ears, open our hearts to just be sensitive to what you want to say to us this morning.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Great.

Great. Welcome.

If you don't know me, my name's Chris.

I'm a teaching pastor here at Watermark.

It's just great.

Great to see you.

And if you've been here for a few, a couple of weeks, we've been looking at a new series going through talking about the Holy Spirit.

And we've said that the Holy Spirit is the creator spirit, the one who creates the whole world.

And as he's part of that creation, he also recreates us as Christians and brings us new life and new birth.

And he's changing us.

And we saw last week how the Spirit kind of gives us a new operating system.

And so we have a new way where we don't have to rely on our own strength, our own power to try and change ourselves.

But he gives us his Spirit to change us to be the people that he's making us to be.

And so today we're going to look at a controversial topic of prophecy, okay, and how the Spirit works in prophecy.

And this is one of those topics which raises a lot of questions and a lot of issues.

And we're not going to be able to deal with all of them today.

But one of the things we are going to be doing is, if you see in your bulletin, there's going to be a Q&A on the Holy Spirit and gifts and things.

And we just want you to kind of come up with questions and email me in questions.

I want it to be a great kind of beginning of discussion and dialogue as we really talk in getting God's Word about what it means to talk about spiritual gifts together.

So I don't know what comes to your mind when you think of the word prophecy.

I grew up in what is called a cessationist church, which means they didn't believe that gifts like tongues and prophecy continued.

And we had a kind of a great, it was a great congregation, but there was just, it was very kind of intellectual all the time.

A little bit dead spiritually.

Then I went to what is called a charismatic Anglican church.

And some of you wonder whether those two things go together.

But, and through my childhood and then I actually went for a few months to a Pentecostal Bible college.

And when I was there, you know, I had some great experiences, but I also had some very negative experiences.

I had some experiences of being pushed over, like by people trying to pray for me.

I had experiences of false prophecies where people prophesied that my allergies would be healed.

And they weren't.

And after that, that really messed me up.

And then I had, you know, I started to hear different people preaching.

And they would just take kind of verses from the Bible to just say whatever they thought it meant to say.

And eventually, I got very disillusioned with all of it.

In fact, you know, I got to the point, you know, I had some people who kind of say,

Oh, I saw a cloud in the sky and it looked like a chicken.

So that means like I should have chicken for dinner tonight.

And all these kind of strange things.

And I just became very cynical, very cynical of all of it.

I went there to a church where they taught Scripture well.

They had a great community together.

And they didn't talk about the Holy Spirit at all.

And so I just kind of lived with that.

You know, I became what I would call a I smoke but I don't inhale kind of Christian when it talks about the Holy Spirit.

I believe in the Spirit, but I don't kind of do the kind of some parts of the Spirit.

I don't practice.

I'm very cynical.

And so as being a watermark as well, I think one of the things that I've realized,

I think we can have been a little bit of a kind of I smoke but I don't inhale kind of church.

We haven't talked about spiritual gifts really or prophecy or any of those things at all in the congregation.

And many of us, I know, prefer to stick with just kind of what intellectually we feel comfortable with.

If you're like me, that's what I'm like.

And if you have negative experiences, like I've had some negative experiences,

we don't even necessarily want to think about this.

And it's very interesting because if you look at the different ways people's personalities work as well,

some of us are very rational kind of people.

Some of us are kind of very feely, intuitive people.

And we all kind of tend to look down on each other.

Okay?

And that's even in churches that's often the way.

Okay?

But what you see in Scripture is God has made both us to have truth and experience.

He's made heat and light.

He wants us to really grasp both of these things together.

And as we as the elders have been looking at Scripture together, we just prayed,

we felt God really convicting us that we need to kind of rethink about where we stand as a church

in terms of thinking about spiritual gifts.

It's not tenable when you read Scripture to say we smoke but we don't inhale.

And so when God's Word says to us,

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

if I'm just all the time cynical about what prophecy means,

then actually I've been living in disobedience to what God is saying.

And we, as elders and as a church, we need to repent of that

and actually begin to understand what does it really mean when the Scripture calls us to these things.

So we don't want to let tradition, we don't want to let our experiences shape the way we view this.

We want to get back to Scripture and what it teaches us so that we can be obedient to that.

And so I know some of us are going to kind of have,

we disagree with different things that we'll say, and that's okay.

We want to have a conversation and we want to start this conversation,

but we want it to be one where we're getting back into what God's Word tells us,

not just what my experience has said.

So what we're going to look at today is,

I'm going to start sharing a little bit about what prophecy isn't,

and maybe what it is,

and then Vijay's going to come and talk a little bit about attitude to it,

and our response to it.

Okay?

So that's where we're going to go.

Okay.

One of the things that Scripture is absolutely clear about is,

and it's unique in Christianity,

is that we have a God who not only speaks to us,

he also speaks through us.

Okay?

I mean, just stop and think about that for a minute.

The God of the whole universe,

the God of the whole universe,

you know, he could be kind of like a distant boss

who occasionally kind of throws out orders to us

and then goes back into his office,

but he's not.

In fact, every religion,

whether it's Hinduism,

whether it's Islam,

whether it's Buddhism,

whether it's Judaism,

God is not personally wanting to reveal himself to you.

But in Christianity,

it says God wants to speak to you

because he desires a relationship with you.

I don't know if you get that.

Jesus says it like this.

He says,

My sheep hear my voice.

My sheep hear my voice.

I don't know.

Have you heard Jesus' voice?

Okay.

Are you a Christian?

If you're a Christian,

you've heard Jesus' voice.

If you've read the scriptures,

you've heard Jesus' voice.

Jesus wants to speak to you.

And I don't know if you,

some of you maybe are agnostic.

Some of you are maybe not sure whether it's God.

And you may find this difficult to believe.

And some of us, even as Christians,

we kind of have this idea that

God's this kind of floaty thing out in the sky,

you know, a little bit kind of distant from my real life,

not really interested in me.

And we say things like,

you know,

if there was a God,

why doesn't he kind of hold a press conference for me

and just kind of tell me what he wants me to do?

You know, perform a few miracles.

Just let me know he's there.

And the Bible says,

well, what more do you want?

If I wrote in the sky,

in big letters with your name,

you'd still find a way to explain it away.

But he sent Jesus,

who spoke for God,

performed miracles,

who rose from the dead.

He started a movement

which spread out of peaceful means,

taking over the whole of the Roman Empire

because of a radical love.

And he left his word to us

as a demonstration

of an unmatchable love

that he both calls us to

and reveals to us.

And we can keep trying to explain

this kind of God away in our lives,

but he says,

in the gift of prophecy,

I want to give you another sign

that I desire to be in relationship with you.

So he says,

so the question is,

what if you asked him today

to speak to you?

Are you willing to listen?

Are you willing to listen?

So we're going to look at this passage

in 1 Corinthians 14.

Just have it in your bulletin.

Just going to pick through

a few little parts of it.

But the context of this passage

is the Apostle Paul,

he's writing to a church

which is kind of wild

about spiritual gifts.

They're kind of completely

out of control.

I mean,

you think of the most excessive,

charismatic church,

if you've ever been in one,

that you can think of,

Corinth is like off the scale.

Off the scale.

It's just a free-for-all.

Everyone's just speaking in tongues,

prophesying all over each other.

Everyone's trying to get a word in.

Everyone's trying to get themselves

promoted as better than everyone else.

The gifts are being abused.

Everyone's all about themselves.

And in that environment,

do you know what?

I think many of us would say,

yeah,

I don't want anything to do

with spiritual gifts like that.

I don't want anything to do with that.

And yet,

Paul doesn't say that.

He doesn't say,

hey,

just stop prophesying, guys.

Quit the tongues.

He doesn't say that.

He says,

I want you to excel in gifts,

but gifts which build other people up.

And just do it in good order.

That's what he says.

Do it in good order.

So,

here's just a few things

to think about what prophecy isn't,

and then we'll talk about

what prophecy is.

Okay?

With me?

Good.

Okay.

Just before this passage

in chapter 13,

it says,

as for prophecies,

they will pass away.

As for tongues,

they will cease.

As for knowledge,

it will pass away.

For we know in part

and we prophesy in part.

But when the perfect comes,

the partial will pass away.

The first thing,

the prophecy isn't,

it says prophecy isn't finished.

Okay?

Some people think

prophecy died out

in the first century

when the Bible was written.

What Paul says

is that spiritual gifts,

including prophecy in tongues,

they have a time limit.

They have a time limit on it.

But that time limit

is the return of Jesus.

When the perfect comes,

not the first century.

Until that time,

prophecy,

though it's not perfect,

it continues.

Okay?

It continues.

So we should expect it

in the life of the church.

First thing,

it isn't finished.

Secondly,

it isn't just for spiritual

kind of elite people.

Verse one says,

pursue love,

earnestly desire

the spiritual gifts,

especially that you may prophesy.

I want you all

to speak in tongues,

but even more to prophesy.

Now,

who's Paul talking to?

He's talking to the whole church.

And I don't know,

in the Old Testament,

if you were,

God raised up particular people

at particular times,

you know,

Isaiah,

Ezekiel,

all these kind of guys,

the Spirit came on them,

they heard revelation from God.

And it was so pure

that they wrote it down

in Scripture,

and that's what we have

in the Bible.

But you know,

in the Old Testament,

if you're a prophet

and you got it wrong,

do you know what would

happen to you?

You get stoned.

Okay?

So if you said,

I think your mom

is going to come

to visit you on Friday

and they came on Thursday,

that was it.

Okay?

That was the end of the game.

Why?

Because the idea was

if you got it wrong,

you could lead people

away from God.

And there were only

a few people

who could speak

on God's behalf.

But now,

the Bible says,

in Acts 2,

when Pentecost come,

when the Spirit comes

on everyone,

it says,

everyone,

all your sons and daughters

shall prophesy.

It says,

no one in the New Testament

gets stoned

for getting it wrong.

Doesn't matter

if you're a CEO,

if you're a cleaner,

if you're educated,

if you're uneducated.

Doesn't matter

if you've been a Christian

for two weeks

or 20 years,

every Christian

can hear from God

and every believer

should desire

and ask

to be able

to prophesy.

So don't,

do you?

Do you?

Okay?

Prophecy isn't finished.

Prophecy isn't

for spiritual elites.

Prophecy isn't

astrology.

Okay?

Some people think

that prophecy

is kind of getting

your fortune read.

Okay?

Like kind of

something about the future,

something kind of

a little mysterious,

a little kind of,

ooh,

that's exciting.

Get some inside knowledge.

That's not what prophecy

is about.

It's not about

satisfying your curiosity

to find out what you're

going to be doing

in two years' time.

Prophecy

is about loving others.

That's why it says

pursue love

and pointing others

to Jesus.

That's the key thing.

God's providing ways

for you to love

other people better.

Okay?

So,

let me ask you.

Would you like

to be able to have

the right words

at the right time

for the right situation

to just speak

into somebody's life

so their life,

they will be built up,

they'll be encouraged,

they would grow

in faith?

Would you want

that gift?

Two people would.

You know?

That's what he says.

Desire it.

He says,

it's God's discretion

what he gives

and when he gives it,

but it's our responsibility

to desire

and to pray for it.

So,

it's not finished.

It's not just

for spiritual elite people.

It's not astrology

and it's not authoritative

like scripture.

1 Corinthians tells us

in verse 29,

let two or three prophets speak.

Let the others weigh

what is said.

If a revelation

is made to another

sitting there,

let the first be silent

for you can all prophesy

one by one

so that all may learn

and all be encouraged.

Some people get nervous

about talking about

prophecy in church

because the Bible

can easily get pushed aside

in favor of like

emotional,

subjective experiences.

But prophecy,

what he's talking about here,

he says it's fallible.

It can be wrong.

That's why you need

to test it.

That's why you need

to weigh it.

That's an important part of it.

If someone comes to me

as they have in the past

and says,

you know,

the 24th of December

is going to be

the end of the world.

I'm going to look

in scripture

and say no one

knows the day

so I'm going to just

tune out of that.

Right?

If somebody comes to me

though and says,

okay,

the Bible says to me

don't commit adultery,

I don't sit back

and say,

well,

let me just test that.

Right?

It's authoritative word.

Do you see the difference?

So prophecy's not finished,

it's not for elites,

it's not astrology,

it's not authoritative

like scripture,

what is it?

Okay?

What is it?

I said what it isn't.

What is it?

Verse three,

it says,

the one who prophesies

speaks to people

for their upbuilding,

encouragement,

and consolation.

Prophecy

is a spontaneous thought

that is given by God

to an individual

for strengthening you.

That's what the word

upbuilding means.

For challenging,

that's what the word

comfort,

encouragement means.

And for comforting you

in your trials

and difficulties.

You know,

it's about,

it can be about

predicting the future,

that's foretelling.

You know,

in Acts 11,

there's this guy,

Agabus,

he predicts a famine.

You know,

it leads to the church

donating money

for victims.

But in this passage,

it's more about

foretelling,

which is about

strengthening your faith,

challenging you,

how are you walking

with Jesus?

And encouragement

in your life.

You know,

I had a,

when I was growing up,

I remember I used to

kind of preach sermons

in my head a little bit.

I don't know why,

it was just weird.

And I remember though,

once at a week,

I'd never preached

before in my life.

I went to a camp

and at the end of it,

a random lady

came up to me

and said,

I think you're going

to preach to many people

in your life.

And something in my heart

just said,

yeah,

that's right.

Like,

I'd never preached before.

And,

first sermon

I ever preached,

the pastor said to me

afterwards,

you are never meant

to preach again

in your life.

Yeah,

I hope they deleted

the recording.

But,

I knew,

like,

something in my heart

said,

no,

that's not right.

because the word

that had been given

to me

confirmed something

that God had already

placed in my heart

and just strengthened me

through that situation.

That's what prophecy

is about,

strengthening you

through your life.

And by the way,

if someone gives you

a directional word,

like,

you should do this

or do this,

it should affirm

something which God is,

you personally should

affirm that in your own heart.

Don't just make a decision

because I tell you to do it.

It should be something

God's already affirming

to you,

working in your heart

already.

Okay?

That's what prophecy

is about.

I'm going to hand over

to Vijay

to talk a little bit more

about our attitude

to it.

So,

good morning.

Hi.

So,

my name is Vijay.

So,

I think we are all glad

that Chris actually

tested the prophecy

he got,

right?

So,

that he continued

preaching.

So,

thanks Chris.

So,

today I'll just take

where Chris left.

So,

we'll be looking into

what is the right

attitude?

What does Bible say?

How should we

come towards

this concept

of prophecy

or this

spirit,

gift of spirit

prophecy?

And then we look

into a life application

and there's Esther

today who

also shares something

what has recently

happened in our life

to really learn

something from that

for us as a church

and then finally

we'll work on the

response.

How should we respond

to this whole thing?

So,

that's what we'll be

doing.

So,

before I start,

I heard a funny

account in the past.

So,

there's this guy,

a young guy

who wants to get

married

and so he's been

praying

and he said,

he comes to the

pastor and says,

you know,

I've been praying

about getting

married and God

gave me this verse,

Hebrew 416,

where it says,

receive mercy

and get grace

in time of help

or time of troubles.

And so he says,

oh,

and then,

since then I've met

these two ladies

named Mercy

and Grace

and I think God

is telling me

to marry them both.

Yeah?

And this pastor

is a quick-witted

pastor and he said,

okay,

alright,

so let's pray

about it

and let's talk

about it tomorrow

again.

So the pastor

comes next day

and he says,

alright,

so I've been

also praying

and really,

I got this verse

from 2 Corinthians

12,

9,

where it says,

my grace

is sufficient

for you.

So I think

you should not

marry both,

just one.

So I think

that's not the attitude

we'll be talking

about today,

but it just shows

it's one of the

concepts where

people have

misused

in church

pretty much.

And really,

if we look into

what is the right

attitude towards

prophecy,

and in 1 Corinthians

and also in Thessalonians,

it gives you a very

clear account

of what Bible

says prophecy

or what's the right

attitude towards prophecy.

prophecy.

So I think Chris

already mentioned

about be eager

to prophecy

in Corinthians 14,

39 and 40,

and it says,

do not forbid

the work of spirit

and do it

in a fitting

and orderly way.

So,

let's talk about

eagerness,

yeah?

What does it mean,

eager?

And in another

version,

it says desire,

desire to prophecy.

So,

prophesy.

Can you go to

the next slide?

So I think the desire

by nature of it,

it's something you

want,

desire.

And actually,

if you,

I think we all

desire

different things,

materialistic things,

right from chocolates

to a most expensive

property in Hong Kong

right now.

So,

there's a range of

things we desire,

and in the secular

world,

everybody will agree

achievement,

the origin of an

achievement is

somewhere in

somebody's desire.

So,

it's the origin

of something.

It's a start.

And actually,

it's a very

misused thing,

I would say,

if you read in the

news and internet,

I think desire is

often time used

in a very

sexual context.

And actually,

it is skewed

in a lot of ways

how God has

actually designed

desire to be.

And I think Bible

tells you to desire

a lot of good

things.

Actually,

there is,

let's say,

a lot of

philosophy around

this.

And I think one

of the things in

Buddhism is to

completely make you

void of desire,

this nirvana,

the state you

will reach.

So,

actually,

Bible actually

says desire

good things.

And actually,

I think it was

Chris who mentioned

a desire can be

replaced only

with another desire.

And I think

that's a very

important thing.

I think God

wants us to

desire good things

and have passion

for it.

And if you want

to be,

I mean,

it's something you

want to have more

and more and more

of.

So,

that's the kind

of spirit

what Bible

talks about

when it says

desire eagerly

the prophecy.

prophecy.

So,

with that,

if you can go

to the next

slide,

please.

So,

again,

coming to the

right attitude

towards prophecy,

1 Thessalonians

now in

chapter 5,

it clearly says

do not quench

the spirit.

So,

what does that

mean?

So,

don't have,

don't dismiss

it.

So,

if something,

if there is a

prophetic word

comes to anybody

in church

or anybody,

don't have

this

resisting

attitude

towards it,

yeah?

Or dismiss

it right away

saying that

it's so much

out there

it cannot

be true.

I think

we cannot

have that

dismissive

attitude

or even

an indifferent

attitude

towards it

to say,

oh,

prophecy is

not for me.

That's not

the attitude

what Bible

tells us

to have.

And also

it says

do not

treat prophecies

with contempt.

Yeah,

I think

often time

there is

an inclination

for us

to ridicule

it because

it's so much

sometimes

feels like

we are not

in control

of it.

So,

that's also

not what

Bible tells

us to do.

So,

don't have

an attitude

of ridiculing

but test

them all.

It says

you can

test them.

It's not

something you

say,

because if

it's a

truth,

it will

stand the

test.

So,

I think

you can

test them

with

biblical

teachings

and also

people in

the church

who are

living in

the spirit

by talking

to them.

We'll look

into that

aspect a bit

later,

more in

detail.

And after

you have

tested them,

hold on

to it.

And if

it's a

truth,

it has

to be

also held

on to

in your

life for

that to

come to

fruition.

So,

sometimes

we receive

in a

weekend,

in an

experience,

some nice

verse,

and then

we tend

to forget

sometimes.

I think

it also

needs some

kind of

holding on

to it

for it

to be

realized.

So,

in summary,

what are

the do's

and don'ts,

right?

So,

I think

we looked

at

indifferent

attitude,

this cold

attitude

towards it.

That's

a clear

no-go.

And it

says,

do not

dismiss

or resist

that in

your spirit,

and do

not

ridicule.

So,

that's

what I

wouldn't

do when

I get

a prophecy

or you

are in

a setting

where prophecies

are being

proclaimed,

but rather

be eager.

So,

this engaging

attitude,

how can I

engage with

it?

And test

it.

I would

not take

anything

without testing

at the end.

Of course,

it has to be

personally affirmed

and tested

with respect

to biblical

teachings

and hold

on to it,

as I said.

And that

also takes

some effort.

It's not

something

automatically

happens.

So,

next slide,

please.

So,

I just

wanted to

quickly talk

about this

part as

well.

So,

testing it

and

Corinthians

chapter 4,

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

says,

do it in a

fitting and

orderly

way?

And what

is it?

And I

think it

has to

be fitting

to biblical

teachings.

And it

cannot

contradict.

That's the

thing Chris

also mentioned.

It cannot

be,

has a

super

authority

over biblical

teaching.

And that's

a good test

for us,

how we

can say

whether this

is the

word from

God or

not.

And if

unsure,

and I

would approach

elders and

spiritual

leaders in

the church

and talk

about it.

And I

think that

is also in

that process

it would

also get

cleared and

affirmed in

your life.

And everything

must be

done so

that the

church is

built up.

And here

again,

there could

be that

prophecy comes

into a

church and

there are

divisions in

the church

sometimes because

some people

believe this or

that and that.

but I

think in

overall,

it has to

be building

the church

in the right

direction.

What the

Bible says

and what

God wants

the church

to be

developed in

that direction.

So it

has to

be building

church in

the way

God wants

us and

really to

strengthen,

encourage,

and comforting

people.

And so

that's kind

of the

framework.

What God

gives us

could be the

right attitude

towards prophecy

and how it

works in

our lives.

With that,

I'll now

move on to

what is the

relevance for

us here?

So what

should we

do about

it?

And I

think if

you really

go one

step into

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14,

it talks about

what happens

when unbelievers

come and

you're

prophesizing.

And what

happens if

you read

that account,

you can

read it

in your

house.

I think

the person

who comes,

the unbeliever,

he really

gets convicted

and he's

laid bare

before God,

it says.

And finally,

his conclusion

is God

is really

among you.

So prophecy

is one way

where God

really shows

his powerful

presence in

our life.

And that's

the thing.

So presence

and power

of God.

God's

real presence

and power

of God.

And it's

oftentimes a

life-changing

experience.

And in my

life,

actually,

I could

say,

I spent

20 years

of my

life in

India,

in a city

south of

India,

and I've

never taken

a flight in

20 years

of my

life.

And,

I mean,

I would

only travel

through trains

and things,

but I

received

once a

prophecy

with Isaiah

55,

and God

clearly

affirmed in

my spirit

that I'll

be going

to different

nations.

And it

was a

prophecy

which was

kind of

too big

for me to

handle,

so I

talked to

my mother,

prayed with

my friends,

and,

but I

was personally

very affirmed,

so I had

no doubt,

but it

was just

too big

for me

to,

and since

then,

in the

last 17

years,

I've been

in different

nations,

so I've

been traveling

all the

while to

U.S.,

France,

Germany,

so I

either studied

or worked

in Shanghai

and now

in Hong

Kong,

and my

job pretty

much is

about going

to different

countries and

doing things,

and,

and,

I would

never have

dreamt

something like

this my

life would

be,

and God

is not

done yet

as well,

so it

just has

changed my

life experience

and what

God has

shown me

and how

this story

has blessed

my family

and my

friends has

been also

amazing,

so it

could be a

very life

changing

experience,

and really

to strengthen,

encourage,

and comforting

people,

and it's

the way to

show and

follow the

way of

God's

love.

What it

means is

probably

you could

be skeptical

when you

receive a

word for

somebody else,

but that

would really

build that

person up,

so I

think it's

also you're

blocking God's

love sometimes

because you

don't feel

it's logical

or sometimes

even you're

not in

control,

and oftentimes

it's bigger

than yourself,

these kind

of words,

and so I

think there

is an

aspect of

really also

loving others

in this,

and so that's

something we

have to be

open to as

well as

church.

So with

that I

would like

to invite

Esther,

who is

going to

share with

us some

of the

recent

experience she

has had

with prophecy,

so,

yeah,

Esther,

hi.

Good

morning.

Good

morning.

So,

yeah,

Esther,

tell us a

little bit

about yourself

first.

Yeah,

my husband

and I

started coming

to Watermark

when it

first started,

and my

husband Pat,

and I

have two

boys,

so I'm

a full-time

mother,

and in

my free

time,

I

help out

at school,

at different

volunteer work

and ministries.

Cool.

So,

tell us about

this experience

you had two

weeks ago,

I guess.

Yeah,

two weeks.

So,

I was

invited to

serve at

this Christian

retreat,

and it

was a

three-days

retreat

at

Taofeng

Shan,

and my

role was

to be in

the chapel,

there was a

small chapel,

and I

was serving

as an

intercessor

there,

so basically

I'm spending

three days

inside that

small chapel

praying for

the team,

the speakers,

and the

people who

were attending.

Yeah,

yeah.

So,

you had a

prophetic

experience,

can you?

Basically,

because we

were inside

the chapel

all the time,

we didn't

get a lot

of information

about the

people coming,

and they

were very,

the organizer

was very

careful not

to release

much information

to us,

it was not

a purpose,

you know,

to gossip

and guess,

so we

were to

pray by

what the

Holy Spirit

was showing

us for

the three

days,

and I

was a

little bit,

I felt

inadequate,

of course,

at the

beginning,

but by

faith,

I served

with two

other friends

and fellow

sisters in

Christ,

and it

was just

quite amazing

that in

a lot of

ways,

we prayed

and felt

the Holy

Spirit

guidance in

leading us

to certain

types of

prayers,

or to

pray certain

verses for

certain people,

we didn't

know them,

and many of

the team

members I

didn't know,

so we

would look

at their

photo,

and if we

sent something,

we would

just pray,

and God

used dreams,

so there

was one

night when

I felt

like it

was a

nightmare,

because I

had all

sorts of

dreams,

and it

was about

marriage,

about adultery,

about really

ugly things,

so I woke

up,

I told my

roommate,

who was also

serving with

me in the

chapel,

she immediately

picked up

something about

marriage,

she herself

repented about

her own

marriage first,

and so we

did together,

I think that

was God's

prompting for

us to also

be cleansed

in the

journey of

this,

and so we

just felt

that God

was telling

us that he

was going to

speak into,

because it

was a

women's

retreat,

and just

speak into

the women's

lives about

marriage,

and little

did we

know that,

so my

other sister

who was

serving in

the chapel,

she didn't

stay with

us in the

same room,

she came

over,

and she

shared a

room with

the speaker

that morning,

and she

said,

oh,

this morning

Dada is

going to

share on,

actually the

topic was to

study God's

word,

but she was

going to share

a personal

testimony on

her own

marriage,

how it

was broken

and that

God healed

her marriage,

and so we

were so

encouraged that

the three of

us actually

got the same

message to

pray for

marriage,

and then we

got words

about unforgiveness,

bitterness,

so we were

just praying

along in that

direction while

the speaker was

doing that

that morning,

and afterwards

I heard some

team members

came back

with feedback

that indeed

there were

some people

attending and

they were

recovering from

divorces,

and a lot of,

so God did

bring comfort

and strengthen

the team as

well.

Amen,

amen,

so just,

what was your

initial thoughts

when you received

something like

this,

like your dream

and things,

you said you

were kind of

nightmarish,

right,

but you

took the

courage to

talk to

your roommate,

right?

Yeah,

I think I

just felt

that if it

is from the

Lord,

he would

confirm it,

and the

Bible does

say that,

you know,

two or three

prophesy and

test the

others,

and for the

others to

also test it

out,

and so we

had spiritual

directors,

pastors in

the team as

well,

so they did

come in in

the morning

and brought

the speaker,

and the

speaker did

confirm that

she felt the

same message

should go

out,

so it was

a confirmation,

so the

Holy Spirit

doesn't just

talk,

you know,

if it is

something,

I felt that

if God was

really going to

do something

like this,

he would,

you know,

give us

scriptures to

back up,

and also,

so he did

bring us to

the scriptures

on forgiveness,

on bitterness,

and we just

had so many

confirmations,

actually.

Right,

right,

so you kind

of tested it

out.

Yes,

we did.

Cool.

So,

yeah,

what was

the impact

on your

life when

you went

through this

experience,

and also you

shared something,

what happened

to the others,

they really got

healing in their

marriages and

things,

so what was

your impact

in your life?

I was just

completely in

awe of how

the Holy Spirit

speak so

clearly to

us,

and we

were kind

of sometimes

battling in

that room for

certain members

of the team,

and he would

just give us

the so-called

strategy to

how to pray.

We had no

idea how to

pray,

I mean,

we were just

three little

people in there,

but God

just carried

us the whole

way,

so we were

really encouraged,

our faith is

strengthened,

and especially

at the end

when they did

a sharing

from the

ladies,

so the

ladies that

we've been

praying for,