Just as God gave you natural abilities, He can also give you supernatural ones. “Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers)… To one is given through the [Holy] Spirit … prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people]…” (1 Corinthians 12:4,8,10 AMP).
There are people with whom you talk every day about many things, but there are only a few people that you will entrust with those secret things deep inside your heart. The same is true with the Lord. God will speak to us all if we would listen, but He reserves some things for only His chosen few who were given the gift of prophecy through the Holy Spirit.
Never covet the spiritual gift God has given to another lest He withhold the spiritual gift that He has for you. “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others… it is the Spirit who… decides which gifts to give to each of us” (1 Corinthians 12:7,11 NLT).
We can all prophesy, for we can all be given a prophecy by the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit. But there are a chosen few with whom God will pick them up and give them the gift of prophesying as their dominant and ongoing spiritual gift.
You can either be inspired, or it will be from you. “…I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…” (Joel 2:28 NLT).
There are many who inappropriately desire this gift of prophesying the future so that they can be lifted up before others in the present. But God will have none of that. The more you desire gifts to build yourself up, the less God can use you to build up His church.
Spiritual gifts are not for you, but to be through you. “…since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel” (1 Corinthians 14:12 NKJV).
Everyone thinks they want to know the future, but for most of us, it would ruin our present. It takes a special person to know what trouble lies ahead and yet live joyfully content with each day until they reach that trial.
Before a man can change people, the Lord must change the man. The Lord said regarding His servant Paul, “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16 NKJV). How few we would have in ministry if they knew in advance all they would have gone through.
There are some in our day who say there are no longer spiritual gifts. They only preach to the level of spiritual power they themselves have, and they have none. We were warned about the Christian teachers who deny the power of God. They teach others that there is no power, and then the people are left powerless. Only a powerless teacher teaches a message on living a powerless life.
Don’t preach to be popular lest the power of God be diluted by the opinions of man. “Do not quench the Spirit, do not utterly reject prophecies, but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 NASB).
The greatest danger to the church is in the church. The danger is not that men would preach the potency of the devil but of the impotency of God. They teach a hundred ways to look holy but neglect to teach on the power of the Holy Spirit, who alone can make you holy.
If you deny the power of God, you only limit what He will do through you. Some people are “holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these” (2 Timothy 3:5 NASB).
A prophecy can be a revelatory truth to bring a fresh word to a hungry nation. This never contradicts the Word of God but expounds on and complements it. Many will say that God has no more truths to give us and that no more prophecies are forthcoming. They say that the written Word of God is the end and there is no more. They’re wrong. God will never reach the end of all He has to teach us. The Bible is complete, but the Holy Spirit is still speaking.
The reason so few hear from the Holy Spirit is that so few believe that He will talk to them. Jesus taught, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13 NASB).
If you want to read of a revelatory truth on the ongoing pouring out of God’s word in our day, then search online for a small article out of the unspoken sermons written by George Macdonald, which is called The Higher Faith. It was published in 1867. We need more believers like Mr. Macdonald in our day. If you believe for more, you’ll get more. It was my greatest honor to use the title of this blessed article for my last book.
https://www.online-literature.com/george-macdonald/unspoken-sermons/3
The gift of prophecy comes with the weight of humiliation, and this will be a weight that seems impossible to carry. To whom the Lord entrusts much, He expects much. With this gift, you will not always understand what the Lord is giving you to say, and that is where the test begins: will you say it even when people may mock you?
It’s not your calling that matters, but the degree to which you’ll walk in it. “…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility…” (Ephesians 4:1-2 NASB).
This great gift of prophecy also comes with a great burden, as when the Lord gives you something to say, you’ll have an unbearable burden to say it. The Lord will be relentless in the burden, twisting your arm and pushing you along, until finally you pour out all He has given you, and it will be there that you can then rest once more.
The harder you resist a burden, the greater it will become. And if you continue to resist the burden to the point you disobey the Lord, then He will reveal to you the loss to the kingdom that your disobedience caused. Don’t do it again lest He may have to find another in which to speak through.
The burden of the Lord is not that you would do more, but that you would let Him do more through you. “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi” (Malachi 1:1 NKJV).
If this is your gift, then you must never add to or water down anything that He is giving you to say. You’re the utensil He is pouring through, not an editor or commentator to somehow help God with His message. Be humble enough to be nothing more than a violin in the hands of your Master.
You are but the violin in the Hands of God. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV).
There is enough power in the Word of God to create all of creation in a single word. Never underestimate the power of the word that God is pouring through you. Be obedient to your call because your life belongs to Him, and He will bring you home when He is done with you. For now, your calling is to say whatever He tells you to say.
The more that you let the Holy Spirit change you, the more He will. “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Samuel 10:6 NKJV).
The gift of prophecy is a blessed gift for those who will hear what God is speaking through His chosen servants. In all probability, the prophecies will not be confirmed until after they are gone, so for now, they must simply serve God with no accolades at this present time.
Prophetic words are not bound by the timelines of man. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:3 NKJV).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius
Asking the Holy Spirit this question for a person unknown to you takes a little faith ‘ The question being what do you want to say to this person?’ Considering you know them not, you will believe the best of them. Therefore when hearing and speaking great and wonderful upbuilding words comes easily for you to believe the words you speak through the Holy Spirit using you as a mere vessel. For this reason I find it enjoyable to be used of God for such events as prayer lines. Now lets explore a harder situation that requires greater faith. You know the person and at least some of their failings, you ask the Lord for a message from Him to them just as before. ‘ What do you want to say to this person Lord’ The love of God is such that while we see the shortcomings, He always sees the Gold, the Gold of their true unfettered and unlocked potential. To deliver these words takes more faith and in so doing reminds us that we are mere clay, just as is the person whom we speak into. But here is where it gets exciting, the words received and believed have the potential to unfetter and unlock potential. How can I say this with such confidence? By my own personal experience. I am grateful for those who spoke into my life and knew enough about me to exercise a greater faith.
Hi Roger! I have been looking forward to replying to you! I am so blessed that God has arranged for you to come into my life at just the right time! This message you sent here was relayed in the message I preached last week on Skid Row. Oh what wonderful timing! How much we need to speak life into others, to see the diamond in the rough, to as you say unlock the potential, and to see what God can see, what He intends that person to become. I am so blessed to of had others do that for me and it is the greatest privilege on this earth to be used of God in a similar way to others. God bless you!
Thank you for this timely message ! I believe God has given me this gift and I was just saying to myself how I need to stop telling people about the things God reveals to me cause I think I was trying to make it about myself somewhat altho my heart intention is to encourage people to seek more fromGod this message showed me that humility is key to go deeper in the Spirt Also what you said about how God shares his heart with those he trusts I believe he is that way with me !! Thanks for your encouragement and I heard God thru this message !!!
Oh what a beautiful and precious gift that God has given you! May the Holy Spirit teach you and guide you in using this gift for the kingdom to the glory of God. Press into it and let the Lord bring confirmations when He will, and give you the faith even when you feel unsure. It is a wonderful thing to be picked up by God and used for His kingdom. How much we need each other and the blessings that come from the spiritual gifts He has for each of us. May He richly bless you with His wisdom and His grace.