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Knowing His Voice (Acts 2:17-18) "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:" The Lord has made it quite clear that the Church must know what He is saying to survive in this hour. That is one of the greatest reasons why God has given us the Holy Scriptures and His Holy Spirit. We must understand our part in hearing what He has to say. There is no doubt that we are part of the "all flesh" spoken of in Acts 2:17. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit abides in us and we are reading or hearing the Word of God, we will be used in prophecy. (1 Cor 12:1) "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." 1st Corinthians chapters 12-14 give us most of the biblical basis for both personal and corporate prophecies. Personal prophecy is delivering a prophetic word from God to an individual. Corporate prophecy is delivering a prophetic word to a body or congregation of believers. In both cases, prophecy is due to the specific revelatory activity of the Holy Spirit prompting someone to prophesy. Prophecy can carry with it revelation for the hour that the Holy Spirit wants the Church to know. As we see in 1 Cor 14:24-25: "But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth." The Lord does not want us to be casual with hearing His voice: (1 Cor 13:9) "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part." New testament prophets only prophesy in part. The prophecy will never overrule scripture in our lives. Prophecy will be a confirmation of divine direction or answer to prayer and will always be in line with the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, in learning to listen to the voice of God : (2 Tim 2:15) "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." As an example: If you were to receive a personal prophecy that made you feel condemned, you would test it with the word of God and find that the Bible says: (1 Cor 14:3) "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." That says the condemning prophecy was not from God. The more we walk after the will of the Father and partake of His written Word, the more we are going to hear Him as He speaks to us through prophecy and preaching. As we keep an understanding of what prophecy is and how and why God has chosen to use it, we will hear the voice of the Lord no matter whom He is speaking through. We will also be better equipped to be used in this wonderful gift ourselves. So remember, brethren, you are living in the last days. Make it a priority to know the voice of the Lord. Jesus said: (John 10:27) "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." - Kurt Thurston January 1996 Newsletter | Resentment | Pastor's Journal January 1995 Preparing and Prepared part 1 of 4 | Prophecy Given to LWCF I Know I Can | Knowing His Voice Revised: June 25, 2008. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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