No, this is not a photo of Florence, but Auckland, right now, as dawn comes up. The real introduction to the day’s post, however, is one of the Psalms for this time.
73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
This passage was not directly alluded to in Church where the illustration used was God taking out of us what should not be there, so we reflect Christ, with us screaming and saying it hurts. Because it does. We cling onto that which we ought not to.
And we over value that which we should not. We get distracted. This happens all the time. The light is good up in Auckland for photography for minutes only — and I’m out taking photos on the hotel balcony instead of doing this.
I would not call speaking in tongues cheap, for it is a gift from the Holy Spirit, and all gifts of the holy spirit come at the cost of Christ hanging crucified for us. And it is an error to say that this is not a gift, or it has ceased, for there is teaching on it which we do have to take seriously.
But it is of limited value to others. It is wonderful for prayer, when you literally are out of words, and cannot express what you feel, or find the word for it. Even in English, with its 200 000 words and the 15 000 — 20 000 words that most fluent speakers have as a working vocabulary.
1Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. 3On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. 5Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
6Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? 8And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. 11If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.
13Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. 15What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. 16Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? 17For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you;19nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue./div>
So what is this prophecy and why should we value it? s it preaching or its simple cousin, blogging? I think not. Expository preaching and is of great value, and it is indeed one of the gifts. Instead it is the word of God for a situation. Sometimes this is frankly frightening. Consider Paul. Agabus took his belt off, and bound Paul, saying that just like this you will go to Rome.
And in these fallen times, true prophets exist, but false prophets outnumber them. We have to take any statement that starts “God says” or in high churchian “Thus saith the LORD” with a certain skepticism and test it. Even prophets err, for they can fall. And this may be why being a false prophet was a capital crime in the Law of Moses.
Perhaps God speaks also through his spirit, and words others say that speak truth to us. Perhaps this happens when a preacher is teaching with the power of the Spirit. But I am not a prophet. But this time needs one. Or we will end up one with the Hittites, the Chekists, and the NSDAP.
You don’t hold to the cessationist view?
That such gifts have ceased?
No. I do not. But I do not think that they are as big a thing as those who think there is a second baptism in the spirit do
The problem is as you have said is that there are false prophets. I’ve seen some that I am pretty sure are false in my own church.
But as a person following God, you should follow God and not any prophet.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2013
Here we have God telling a person (not given a name but called Man of God) who listens to a prophet, but not any prophet, an old somewhat known prophet.
And because the Man of God listened to this prophet and not to God he was subsequently killed.
There was another Old Testament book (I forgot the book name and the prophet name) where many Israelite prophets are proclaiming Israel shall be freed from captivity very soon and they are all rejoicing, and only one prophet goes against it saying something along the lines “Amen! Let it be so, but let us not rejoice until something like this actually happens, and let us not falsely believe something like this will happen without any proof.” And the other prophets ragged on him because “he did not believe” yet it turned out he was right and that God was with him and not the other prophets.
I feel many of the prophets in churches today simply say what they want to hear or what other people want to hear. The fact is each person with God, has been called to God and has to obey God first, even if a prophet is well known, even if a prophet speaks great things, even if a prophet claims to have heard God. Now, not all of us have the power to hear “God’s voice” but we know what God has commanded us, and the examples he gave us in the Bible. If anything a prophet says contradicts that, the prophet is not hearing the spirit of God but another spirit.