1TH 5:20 "do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
22 Avoid every kind of evil."

The O.T. prophets and the N.T. apostles were chosen by God to give us His very word with all authority. The scriptures are complete. We are neither to add to or subtract from God's written word. This necessarily means that the N.T. gift of prophecy does not carry with it the same authority as the written word of God which we have in our possession.

We've seen how the O.T. prophets were given no lee way when it came to speaking on God's behalf. If they spoke presumptuously or out of accord with the very words God gave them, they were instructed to be put to death.

DEU 18:20 "But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."

In contrast the N.T. gift of prophecy fully assumes that men would make mistakes in their revelations from God. However, they are never instructed to be put to death, but instead, we are told in our text those prophecies are to be tested. "Hold on to the good", and exclude those things which do not align with the written word of God, which can be the only true test of any prophetic utterance.

One example of where a prophecy was received by a N.T prophet, which was not exactly fulfilled, is the prophecy I mentioned at the end of our study last week. The prophecy of Agabus.

ACT 21:11 "Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

In other words, the Jew's will take Paul and tie him up and then take him to the Gentiles or the Romans. However, the actual fulfillment went this way.

ACT 21:30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.
31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done."

The actual fulfillment did not have the Jew's binding Paul, it had them beating Paul. Instead of delivering Paul over to the Gentiles, the Gentiles took Paul away from the Jews who were trying to kill him.

But wasn't the prophecy from the Holy Spirit, and didn't the final outcome actually take place where Paul was bound and ended up in Gentile custody? Of course. And this is why we must conclude that this was a legitimate word from God which found its ultimate fulfillment in Paul being delivered over, at least indirectly, by the Jews as they caused enough of a commotion that the Roman soldiers had to step in.

But as we saw with O.T. prophets, when they were given a word from God every detail was fulfilled. In fact, if he didn't report everything just as God gave the word to His prophet, that prophet was instructed to be put to death. Agabus' prophecy was from the Holy Spirit, and yet not every detail of the prophecy that Agabus conveyed was fulfilled.

Since we are not given every detail and since N.T. prophecy is in part and leaves room for the prophet to possibly speculate on his or her own, it must be tested to see if it lines up with the written word of God.

Now, what about teaching and the gift of prophecy? Are these two necessarily the same?

In our study last week we saw that there are 2 essential characteristics to the N.T gift of prophecy.
#1) It must be based on a revelation from the Holy Spirit of God; if there is no revelation there is no prophecy.
#2) It must include a public proclamation. As Dr. Grudem says, the mere reception of a revelation does not constitute a prophecy until it is publicly proclaimed.", which is what we see taking place in 1Cor.14:29-31.

And so N.T. prophecy is spontaneous in nature as God gives the revelation for that moment to be shared with the Body of Christ for its edification and exhortation. (1Cor.14:26,31)

Teaching on the other hand is not necessarily a spontaneous revelation from the Holy Spirit like the gift of prophecy. Teaching is, more often, simply an explanation or application of the written word of God. The gift of teaching is no less a gift from God but its application is different from prophecy.

Dr. Grudem in his book, "The Gift of Prophecy in the N.T. and today, says, "This is evident in Acts 15:35 where Paul and Barnabas and many others are in Antioch TEACHING and preaching the word of the Lord.

And at Corinth, Paul stayed a year and a half TEACHING the word of God among them (Acts 18:11). Paul tells the Romans that the words of the O.T. scriptures were written for our instruction (or TEACHING, Greek didaskalia) (Rom.15:4), and he writes to Timothy that all scripture is profitable for TEACHING (2Tim.3:16)."

Grudem goes on to say, "The difference with prophecy is quite clear here: Timothy wasn't to prophesy Paul's instructions; he was to teach them. Paul didn't prophesy his ways in the church; he taught them. The Thessalonians were not told to hold firm to the traditions which were prophesied to them but to the traditions which they were taught." .......

....... Thus it was not prophecy but teaching which in a primary sense (from the apostles) first provided the doctrinal and ethical norms by which the church was regulated. And as those who learned from the apostles also taught, their teaching guided and directed the local churches. ......

....... Among the elders, therefore, were those who labor in the word and teaching (1Tim.5:17), and an elder was to be an apt teacher (1Tim.3:2; Tit.1:9) -- but nothing is said about any elders whose work was prophesying, nor is it ever said that an elder has to be an apt prophet or that elders should be holding firm to sound prophecies. .......

....... In his leadership function Timothy was to take heed to himself and to his teaching (1Tim.4:16), but he is never told to take heed to his prophesying. James warned that those who teach, not those who prophesy, will be judged with greater strictness"(Jam.3:1).

And so the gift of teaching is a separate gift from the gift of prophecy. And so there is a distinction. "If a message is the result of conscious reflection on the text of Scripture, containing interpretation and application to life of the text, then it is (in the N.T. sense) a teaching. But if a message is the report of something God suddenly brings to mind, then it is a prophecy.

Now, sometimes God may interrupt a prepared message like this one where the teacher may receive a prophecy which He brings to mind to share with the congregation. And so you have a teaching with prophecy mixed in.

This distinction is important because many Charismatic or Pentecostal churches may encourage the Pastor to get up in to the pulpit and deliver a message as the Spirit "guides" him without any preparation.

When Jesus told Peter to feed the sheep He inferred that Peter would teach and encourage the Sheep with the word of God which Peter must study and then use to instruct the sheep.

Not to be prepared as you enter the pulpit or teach in any capacity, by opting to simply wait for some anointing from God as He gives you a word, is not to be more spiritual it is to be foolish and lazy to neglect that gift of teaching or to confuse it with the gift of prophecy which is spontaneous.

But, the gift of prophecy is never to take precedence over the written word for our instruction and learning of our God and His salvation.

As we've seen in this study, the gift of prophecy is to be encouraged in the body as God chooses to use it to edify the body at a particular time for a particular reason, which in turn directs our eyes to Christ.

This by the way, is the reason that the gift of teaching, in most cases, is associated with leadership and why Paul instructs women not to teach in a capacity which would place them in that leadership role over the church, and yet they are encouraged to prophesy.

If N.T. prophecy and the gift of teaching were equal in authority Paul would never have encouraged women to seek the gift of prophecy as he does in 1CO 11:5 "And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved."

Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven had four unmarried daughters who prophesied as we see in ACT 21:9.

Now, one of the questions which I brought up last week is: can someone who has the gift of prophecy, prophesy at will, whenever they want to? The answer is found in what the Scriptures tell us what the N.T. gift of prophecy is, which is basically a spontaneous revelation which God prompts upon the heart of a believer.

This means that this gift is different from the others in that when, and only when, God chooses to give a revelation can it be utilized. The other gifts like teaching or mercy or faith or any of the others can be utilized as we seek to practice them by faith.

So, then what does it mean when Paul says to seek after the gift of prophecy as he does in 1Co.14:1 ...... "eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy."

The gift of prophecy as we saw last week is a wonderful way of how God personally enters into our lives with a word of encouragement and edification from His throne, but it is conveyed through His people by merely human words revealing a spiritual word, which is why they must be tested.

But, like anything associated with the Kingdom of God, our Lord desires that we seek Him in everything by faith and this gift of prophecy is no exception. We should be praying that God would give this gift and use it in our midst.

In fact, God has used this gift in our midst. And He may have used it with some of you without you knowing exactly what He was conveying to you. One way in which it has been used here is in some of the things the Lord has laid on my heart during a morning message like this which He urged me to share as I was teaching.

There may be times when you're speaking to another person or maybe counseling someone according to God's word and the Lord may have prompted you to share something with that person that fit exactly his or her situation without you even knowing it. That can be a form of prophecy.

You might be in a Bible study like we have on Thursday evenings when, as we study a portion of scripture, the Lord gives you an insight which you had never thought of before that you share with the Body that encourages and edifies. That can be a form of prophecy.

During prayer time, the Lord may burden you with a need which you were not made aware of from anyone else, and yet someone in this church needed to hear it so that they might be blessed as we pray either for them specifically or for a general need which God brings to mind to edify this body.

Now, what happens if God gives you such a prompting? Does this mean that you have the gift of prophecy? It could very well mean that. But, don't think that you have some official title which demands that you walk around with the word Prophet written on your T-shirt.

What I find interesting with the gift of prophecy is that God may give a revelation to a person and not give another revelation to that same person for quite an extended period of time.

Remember, it is at God's good pleasure to give such revelations. And so don't get discouraged if God has given you such a revelation to share with the body and He doesn't do so again for some time. Just continue to seek and serve Him and be content with the other gifts you more than likely possess which are also to be used to edify the Body of Christ.

Now, since Sunday morning services are usually more structured for worship and instruction from the word of God it's more difficult to utilize this gift during that time. Precisely because the Pastor is to be teaching to equip the saints, not primarily prophesying.

Also, if you set aside a specific time for someone to prophesy you run the risk of forcing a gift which only God can prompt and which He may not decide to use during that time.

1CO 12:4 "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

We don't want to create an artificial environment for this gift and possibly force someone to say something which may not in fact be a revelation from the Lord. And yet we don't want to neglect this gift either, which is why Thursday evenings lends itself to more interaction from the rest of the body and their gifts, such as the gift of prophecy.

But, we should be praying that any gift be used in love and not for our own glory or status as Paul describes in 1Cor.13. Along with seeking this gift there should be the attitude that we would be content with any gift God gives us and that we should be growing and maturing in our walk with God if we are to utilize any of His gifts effectively in His power.

Are you studying His written word and growing in His knowledge and grace to be used for the building up of the body today, or are you waiting for a bolt from heaven to strike you and show you with letters engraved in the clouds before you begin to serve and glorify Christ in your daily life?

If you're not sure what gifts you have from God ask others what they see in your life which might indicate how God is using you. If you seem to receive very pronounced promptings from God which you didn't dream up on your own, it may be God prompting you to share something He desires this body to hear, and you may in fact have the gift of prophecy which will be put to the test of God's written word.

You may discover that your gift from God lies in other areas of service, but each of us do have gifts, but as I said last week, if it is a gift from God let us never act as though it were not a gift, as though we had something to boast in.

In fact, this is what Paul tells us in 1CO 4:7 "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

Give God the glory and serve Him with the gift or gifts He's given you in the power of His Spirit.

1TH 5:20 "do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
22 Avoid every kind of evil."

To treat a prophecy with contempt is to literally treat them as though they were nothing. They are something. They are gifts from God to encourage us and to edify the Body of Christ. But, they are not to replace His written word which is why we must test them.

And after testing them we must hold on to the good; that good which is from God as He visits us with a special word of encouragement. But we must avoid every kind of evil or, as the Greek would allow us to say, that which is hurtful.

Whenever we mix our own interpretation into a revelation from God we may do more harm than good. If God's prompting is more general in nature than keep it general. If it's more specific then share only what God seems to have prompted you to say. Don't embellish it and don't presume that God would give you something that would contradict Himself by giving you that which is contrary to His word.

One prophecy which comes to mind which got national attention a few years back and turned out to be an embarrassment to the Christian community was the alleged prophecy of Oral Roberts.

He stated that God told him that if the combined viewers of his television program didn't send in so many millions of dollars to assure that his program didn't fail that God would take his life.

What an absurd thing to say. Before he went on national television with that, the elders or someone more spiritual in his church should have tested that with more biblical discernment than it obviously received.

But that same kind of attitude should be applied to any gift which is used to build up the Body of Christ. We should always apply discernment that checks teachings, or any other gifts which may be used, against God's word.

The gift of mercy for example should be applied biblically and not be allowed to let someone continue in their sin by expressing mercy and kindness to someone when a rebuke may be in order.

Our entire lives should be tested according to the word of God and should come into conformity with His word and with the life of Jesus Christ who is the One we should be imitating in all things.

Paul told Timothy, "don't neglect the spiritual gift within you (1Tim.4:14) and God tells us today not to neglect the spiritual gift within us, the greatest gift being the gift of eternal life which we should be sharing with the world through our words and deeds.

As we serve one another in love we will fulfill the greatest commandment which is to love God with all our heart, souls and minds as we reach out to each other and apply biblical principles and guidelines for all of life.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you because it's given to you by your heavenly Father. I'll end with the words the Lord gave James in his epistle. It's encouraging and practical.

JAM 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror
24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."

Be a blessing and be blessed in the process. Give glory to God and bless His name in your life all your days as you rely on His power and His Spirit to be the servant He wants you to be.