Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

Could I just ask you to stand, if you're able?

That's great. And then could you sit down? Thank you.

Because that's about as far away from the early church that the church in Corinth was speaking to,

because this was written at a time of the early church when, frankly, it was total, total power, chaos, excitement, enthusiasm, energy.

Two thousand years later, why did we become so compliant?

Would you stand? Would you sit? Thank you so much.

We wouldn't have recognized the early Corinthian church. It was totally opposite, vibrant and dynamic.

No wonder Paul writes to them and others in the early church and actually starts giving them advice about prophecy and speaking in tongues,

because these gifts were to be shared. It wasn't to be held back.

It was a gift that was given from God for the church to build it up.

And actually, so that people, not that it would be mayhem and loss, but so the richness could actually be heard,

like we heard from Margaret this morning.

Everybody came with a story. Everybody came with something that God was doing in them and through them

to encourage and build up the local church, the people of God.

You know, the church in Corinth was no exception.

And hence, Paul writes, what happens when people experience the Holy Spirit?

What happens when we receive the gifts?

Well, sometimes it can seem a little un-British and a little undignified.

And that's the way it was.

And perhaps that's why a significant number, in my opinion, of leaders in churches

have tried to dampen the gifts of prophecy and of the Spirit,

because actually it keeps a nicely ordered, well-tidy church.

Prophecy isn't dead.

It's alive and it's thriving.

And in a recent New York Times article speaking into the issues in America at the moment,

Dennis Edwards commenting on the wild and bizarre so-called prophecies that are around.

He says,

I affirm that God still speaks prophetically.

We witness the beauty and power of timely pronouncements

that zero in on particular wrongs to be righted.

At times, prophetic words come from unlikely sources,

as well as from faithful pastors and also Christian leaders.

As Jesus made clear, you can tell a tree by its fruit,

and likewise a true prophet.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,

and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

He ends, God still speaks,

and we can hear if our spiritual ears attune and our hearts soften to respond.

We can hear that of God.

When I came in,

Thomas had a little thing on his machine here that goes,

yes.

Can you give us a yes?

Yeah!

Thank you for your response.

Nice, tidy, well-behaved church.

It's an observation,

but on the whole,

we seem to have ignored this gift too much.

You know,

moving in the prophetic,

and the freedom that it brings in worship,

and somewhere along the line,

it dampened not only our gatherings,

but turned some church meetings

to reflect more of a public library

than it did of a church that was alive.

You know,

and as we seek more and more the gifts of the Spirit,

and maybe reverse this trend,

we see the church moving in the prophetic.

Why?

Because it seizes people's attention.

You know,

I saw a vicar once

eat a daffodil from the pulpit.

I can't even remember

what the sermon was about,

but what I do remember

is this amazing technicolor bath

that went,

bleh,

right over the front.

I mean,

as a young person,

it made my day.

It seized my attention.

What does it take to seize our attention?

What is God doing innocent through us?

As he builds up our church,

and in our teaching series,

in our home groups,

you will see

that the spontaneity of prophecy and tongues

is evidence

as the Holy Spirit came for all people.

In Acts 2,

the good news

was conveyed

in everybody's own language.

You see,

what happened

is God has a great way

of creating a receptive audience

by grabbing people's attention.

Here are fishermen.

They're not linguists.

Tax collectors

came out

empowered by the Holy Spirit,

spoke into people's lives,

who went out to their communities

and shared the good news.

That is seizing attention.

These people,

again,

that we saw

in Acts 2,

they had this experience,

this idea

corporately

of sharing the power of God

because they were seized

in order to do that.

a few moments beforehand,

before they had seen

and experienced

the resurrected Jesus,

they were timid,

afraid,

locked away.

the Holy Spirit comes

and suddenly,

they don't care

who they tell.

They break out

in words

that people can understand

and share.

You know,

these gifts

are called

to build up

the church.

the Holy Spirit

sees their attention.

Are we open

to respond?

When it comes to

prophecy

and gift of times,

can I suggest

that in some areas

we have become

a little bit flabby?

It's a balloon

for those on the podcast.

We have

in many areas

and yet we sit back

and we don't expect

the Lord

to use the gifts

or to receive them.

We've got a thing

coming up on the screen,

a little verse

here.

Do not quench the Spirit.

Do not treat prophecies

with contempt

but test them all.

Hold on

to what is good.

It is given for us

to build up

the church,

one another,

to build each other up.

Hold on

to what is good.

Hold on

to what is good.

What is good?

What have we lost

maybe

that is good

in receiving

this particular gift

of prophecy

and speaking

in tongues?

Because

believe it or not

and this may surprise

some people,

we the church

are still

under construction.

we are not

the finished article.

God didn't finish

with the church

in 1662.

Some of you

got that joke.

There will be people

on the podcast

writing to me soon.

And

God has got

great things

to do

with his church.

And yet

somewhere

and somewhere

along the line

we,

we or individuals

may have got stuck.

It has

to be

this way.

No.

For this generation

God

is still

constructing

his church.

We need to listen,

we need to hear

and we need to share

what God

is saying

to us.

And we need

the freedom

to do that.

And what we're

talking about this morning

is tongues

and prophecy

is a freedom,

is a new

freedom

that God

has given us.

You know,

I was worshipping

along with

one of my favourite

worship songs

from,

I think it was

the 70s or 80s.

You know,

I noticed some

of those choruses

are a little bit

sort of swing your pants,

aren't they?

They're quite nice

and sing along.

And there was I

sort of

in my early 20s

as having

found the Lord again.

And

I suddenly found

that I wasn't

singing the words

on the screen.

I wasn't

singing the words

anymore

because I had

been wrapped up

in this amazing

sense of worship

that the words

that were coming

out of my mouth

bore very little

resemblance

to the words

that were in

my hymn book.

Because,

and I couldn't

help but raise

my hands

and I didn't

really worry

who was stood

around me

or what people

were looking

at me for

because this

was between me

and it was

for worship

of God.

and it was

a direct

response

to his love

for me

that I couldn't

hold

and I couldn't

contain

and that's

the way

it came out.

I hadn't been

taught,

I didn't do

a lesson,

I didn't go

to classes,

it happened

and from that

moment on

I felt

a new

sense

of freedom.

It wasn't

about me,

it was all

for him,

all for him.

Has anybody

else had

that experience?

Oh come

on,

to be honest,

here on a

Sunday as

well,

maybe we've

got a long

way to go,

maybe we've

got a long

way to go

back to

experience

what the

Lord,

that freedom

that we hear

about this

morning in

his church

to worship

him.

The Bible

urges us

constantly

to move

consistently

and seek

the gifts,

seek the

gifts,

seek the

gifts.

Moving in

the prophetic,

I've been

so blessed

and I hope

others have

too,

of moving

in the

prophetic.

I've shared

and tested

words of

scripture.

I recall

a scripture

given by

a lady

at a

church

a little

while ago,

not here,

and she

gave a

prophecy

for the

church,

that the

church

should

come

back

to

God,

that the

church

should

come

back

on its

knees

in

humility

and that

the

Lord

wanted

to break

a spirit

of criticism

in that

church.

She was

sent packing

by the

leadership.

I can tell

you now

after 30

years,

that prophecy

is as fresh

for that

church

as it

was the

day it

was given,

if only

they had

listened.

I'm here

this morning

with a

dog collar

on,

partly

because of

a nine

year old

that spoke

prophecy

into my

life,

who spoke

out a

word of

God in

the middle

of what

was a

falcon

camp,

a

venture

camp,

and I'm

there doing

the thing,

you've got to

give it all

to the

Lord,

give it

all to

the Lord,

you know,

do all

that,

and a

nine

year old

looks at

me in

the eye

and he

said,

I sense

the Lord

saying to

me,

Clive,

are you

prepared

to give

it all?

We need

to listen

to what

God's

saying,

do not

quench

the spirit,

don't

dampen it

down,

don't try

and pour

cold water

on it,

yes you

can test

the word

of the

God

by the

tree

that it

comes

from,

I'm

really

sad that

I haven't

got a

film clip

for you,

no it's

even sad

than that,

but I

do have

a sermon

illustration,

you see,

a friend

of mine

gave me

this

arrow,

and when

it comes

to actually

moving in

the power

of the

spirit,

I think

it's a

really

important

thing,

in

Isaiah

it says,

in Isaiah

49,

he has

made my

mouth like

a sharpened

sword,

in the

shadow of

his hand

he hid

me,

he made

me into

a polished

arrow and

concealed me

in his

quiver,

this doesn't

come ready

made,

cut off

the tree,

it has

to be

fashioned,

it has

to be

cut,

it has

to be

made

straight,

it is

a work

in progress

that brings

it to

this,

this is

us,

people,

this is

us,

this is

our

character,

this is

our

character

in God,

you know,

if you've

come with

that word

already in

your mind

of criticism

then it

needs to

be shaved,

it needs

to be

cut,

if you've

come with

a problem

about your

neighbour,

or your

brother that

needs to

be dealt

with,

and of course

you add to

the arrow,

you add

the flights,

and you add

the flights,

it's very much

like the word

of God,

the word of

God get

back into

the Bible

because this

gives us

balance,

it gives us

something to

get back to,

without the

arrow,

it goes,

without the

Bible,

without the

flights,

it goes all

over the

place,

it's never

going to

hit the

mark,

so we

have this

at the

end that

gives us

balance,

that helps

to give it

direction,

but then

if you

were like

me and

you made

bows and

arrows at

school,

you would

know that

you just

shave off

the tip,

and actually

it doesn't

hit anything,

it just

bounces off,

and the

gift of the

Holy Spirit

has to be

added into

us,

into our

character,

to give it

penetrating

power,

power,

and so

when we're

fashioned,

when we're

ready,

we're reading

the Bible,

we've

added the

Spirit,

added what

does the

Lord do

with us?

He hides

us in

his quiver,

why am I

in this

dark place,

what am I

doing here?

Because I've

made you

ready,

because at

a moment's

notice,

I'm going

to draw

you out and

I want you

to have

penetrating

power and

to hit

the mark,

our life

is like

this,

for he

has made

me a

polished

arrow,

moving in

the prophetic

is for

now,

and when

the Spirit

is with

us,

we have

words for

people,

usually

measured by

encouragement,

if you

hear a

word that's

coming out

for you

this morning,

there's about

negativity

and stuff,

I would

probably test

that strongly,

you know,

as I've

said here

before,

and we've

said it

time and

time again,

when people

come to

tell you

something in

love,

head for

a nuclear

fallout

shelter,

because it

will probably

be anything

but in

love,

test the

Spirit,

it often

involves

faith,

boldness

and confidence

in him,

it takes

courage and

boldness,

and that

too comes

from the

power of

the Spirit,

and you

may hold

back and

you may

think,

oh,

you know,

maybe this

word,

it's,

test it,

test it

and see,

spring harvest

many years

ago,

we are in

the big

top,

I'm sat

there,

about 20

rows in

front,

somebody said

to me

about,

what does

it mean

when you

see the

Spirit fall

on people?

Clive,

how weird

you are,

I said,

a set of

people come

into sharp

focus,

and everything

else goes

into soft

focus,

but also

as well,

I well up

with tears

and that's

not emotion,

what does

the Lord

do to

seize your

attention

so we

listen?

Because in

those moments

we listen,

what have

you got for

me today?

On this

particular

day,

and there,

worshipping away,

having a great

time,

the Lord

shows this

lad who's

down the

bottom and

tells me and

says,

just go and

tell him to

go and do

what I'm

asking him

to do.

That's a bit

thin,

Lord.

Could you

give me some

backstory?

No?

Just go and

do that,

would you?

So,

as bold and

courageous as

I am,

I go and

do what we

all do,

sidle up

beside him.

Now,

I don't

normally do

this sort

of thing,

and I'm

probably wrong,

but I

sense the

Lord telling

you to go

and do

what I'm

asking you

to do.

He gets

a tad

emotional,

and we

go for a

coffee.

He's been

studying medicine.

His

granddad was

a surgeon,

his dad was

a GP,

his mother

was a

practice nurse,

his sister

was a

biochemist

working in

a hospital,

and he

was expected

to become

a doctor,

but what

had happened

in a gap

year,

the Lord

had taken

him to

Guatemala

to work

amongst the

street children,

and he

knew that's

where he

had to go.

Everything

was stacked

against him

for going,

and then he

said to me,

and you're

the sixth

person that's

told me that

today,

and I

have to

go.

Don't

dampen

the spirit,

don't

dampen

the gifts

that have

been given.

It's so

important that

we move

in the

prophetic,

and what

you will

find often

is when

you do,

that the

Lord has

already gone

before you.

He's already

prepared that

person,

he's already

doing it.

We're just

part of the

story,

we just

get to

join in.

Isn't that

great?

We need

to keep

being filled

with the

Holy Spirit

to build

up his

church,

because we

are a

people under

construction.

And it

says in

Ephesians

5.18

that we

should be

filled.

Not just

filled once,

but keep

being filled.

filled.

Filled to

overflowing.

Why do we

have to keep

being filled

by the

Holy Spirit?

Because I

leak.

I leak

badly.

I may

have a

thought or

word that's

not of

God.

I leak.

I may

go out

of here,

I may

just

slightly

increase

my speed

at the

wrong

place.

I leak.

I may

go home

and maybe,

I don't

know,

maybe

something

upsets

me,

maybe I

get a,

you know,

things like

I leak.

Before we

know it,

we've just

become that

floppy,

unfilled

Christian

being.

And we

need to

be filled

again and

again.

To be

filled to

overflowing

with all

that God

has for

us.

To move

in the

prophetic,

in our

series,

in our

gifts,

to worship,

to have

the freedom

to worship,

to make

that connection,

to be the

people that

God has

called us

to be in

our joys,

in our

sorrows,

in our

needs,

in our

wants,

in all

our

sexuality,

in our

disappointments,

in our

rebellion,

to be open

to what he

wants to

say in

us and

through us

into every

part.

Why?

Because we

are the

church under

construction and

he hasn't

finished with

us.

Amen?

And the

people said

yes.

Yeah!

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

That's

I

can't

perhaps

it's

I

can't