Acts 2 records what happens when the Holy Spirit
comes to God’s people. The story says, that in obedience to the words of Jesus
(Acts 1:4-5), the disciples did not leave Jerusalem. Ten days after Jesus’
ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon them while they were gathered, and they
spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4). The people who heard them were amazed because
they realized that they heard the disciples speak in their own languages (Acts 2:5-12).
Some of the people, however, made fun of them and accused them of early morning
debauchery (Acts 2:13). So Peter stood before the multitudes and defended the
disciples, saying that the sudden outburst was actually a fulfilment of the
prophecy of Joel concerning the promised Holy Spirit. He argued,
This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “In
the last days, God says,
I
will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your
young men will see visions, your
old men will dream dreams.18 Even
on my servants, both men and women, I
will pour out my Spirit in those days, and
they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18; cf Joel 2:28-29)
What I would like to highlight here is the
fact that Peter, along with the prophet Joel, stated that one of the
consequences of the coming of the Spirit is that people “will prophesy”
(2:17-18). What does this mean? What is the gift of prophecy?
In Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians
12:8-10, the gift of prophecy is included. Paul does not admonish us to desire
for any gift, because he believes that the Spirit “distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor 12:11). But
interestingly, he later on says that we should “eagerly desire the greater
gifts” (1 Cor 12:31), which he later reveals as the gift of prophecy: “Follow
the way of love and eagerly
desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy… I would like
every one of you to speak in tongues, but
I would rather have you prophesy” (1 Cor 14:1, 5).
This high valuing of the gift of prophecy is
not only found in the New Testament. Moses once remarked: “I wish that all the Lord’s
people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 11:29). So, what
does it mean for us to have the gifts of prophecy? Why is it highly priced in
the Bible?
Quite simply, the gift of prophecy is the
enabled and empowered ability to speak the Word of God. The problem is that the
world—including Christians—has a very narrow and specific understanding of what
prophecy is. Today, prophecy is understood solely or primarily in terms of
telling the future. Unfortunately, the world has received so many prophecies from
well-advertised Christians that have failed to happen. But surely, the gift of
prophecy is not about the ability to know the future, because Jesus Himself, in
the context of promising the Holy Spirit to the disciples (Acts 1:4-5, 8), said
that “It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). This was just a
repetition of what He already told them earlier: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matt 24:36; Matt
13:32).
The gift of prophecy that
the Spirit gives to believers is not the gift of insight into future events;
rather, it is the capacity to communicate God’s Word to others. The gift of prophecy is the ability,
courage, and authority to speak the Word of God to people. This is the
power given by the Spirit so that we might become witnesses in our Jerusalem,
Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
We can understand this gift in two different
ways. First, it is the gift to speak the Word of God to others within the
church. This is what we usually call the gift of encouragement. Secondly, it is
the gift to speak the Word of God to others outside the church. This is what we
usually call evangelism. In this sermon, we will only deal with the first.
When we talk about the ability to communicate
the Word of God to others in the church, we might think that this is about
rebuking others. This is partly true. We have a God-given responsibility as
believers to offer rebuke to our fellow brothers and sisters. Paul admonished
believers to “exhort and rebuke with all authority” (Titus 2:15, ESV). It is
our responsibility to help each to stay in the right path, and as Paul continued,
“if anyone is caught in any transgression, you
who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1).
We know these things, but
for us who are Filipinos, this is actually quite hard to do. Because we are
very relational, we excel in maintaining
friendships by silence. Well, we are silent in their presence, but we talk
about them when with other people. We prefer to gossip than to rebuke. We
assume that rebuking others will cause them to stumble and be destroyed. But
when we gossip, are we not actually intentionally destroying them? Sometimes,
when we are in the presence of our erring brother, we put them in high regard,
focusing on their strengths and forgetting their sins. But when we are in the
presence of others, we put them in low regard by delightfully talking about
their failures and completely forgetting about their strengths.
Prophets are highly priced in the Old Testament.
They are the communicators of the Word. They guide people, including kings.
They remind the people who God is and what He requires. They remind the people
of God’s Word. They offer counsel. They rebuke people and call them to
repentance. Prophets are God-appointed people to make paths straight for
everyone. But speaking the Word to others does
not only mean offering rebuke. The gift of prophecy is not solely the gift of
discerning other people’s wrongs and pointing them out. This is too negative.
The positive aspect of the gift of prophecy is the gift of encouragement.
In the recent Generation Congregation #FaithGoals
camp, the organizers gave an opportunity for everyone to be able to receive short
messages by hanging envelopes with their names on it. I received several short
letters, including very encouraging words. These little notes have reached my
heart and touched me. They have encouraged me. There is something uplifting
when people give you encouraging and uplifting words. Just a simple statement
about our appreciation to people and their lives can make a huge difference. In
this regard, I hope that you express your appreciation to the music team for
their sacrifice of time, or the Sunday school teachers for their commitment, or
to the ushers for their beautiful dresses and smiles, or for those who prepare
the coffee. These things seem to be simple, but many people find it challenging
to even do them. Instead of high-level toxic wastes being dumped from our
mouths into other’s ears, we need to learn to use our mouths in building each
other up.
What we need today are experiences like what the
prophet Balaam had. Numbers 22-24 narrates the story of the Israelite prophet
who was hired by the King of Moab, Balak, to pronounce curses upon the
Israelites (Num 22:10-11). Out of disobedience to God, Balaam went to Moab
(this was when his donkey talked, Num 22:21-35), but to Balak’s dismay, instead
of uttering curses upon the Israelites, Balaam blessed them indeed. This
happened three times (Num 23:11-12;
23:25-26; 24:10-11).
This is what we need today. We need
Spirit-filled Christians, who, even if they are paid, will not utter curses and
evil testimonies against each other. We need people who will only utter
blessings, prayers, appreciation, and encouragements. We need people like
Barnabas, who saw the best in others. His name actually meant “son of
encouragement” (Acts 4:37). He encouraged Paul twice (Acts 9:26-28; 11:25-26) and
John Mark (Acts 15:36-41). The description about him and what he did in the
Antioch church is very instructive: “News of [persecution] reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent
Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had
done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all
their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts
11:22-24).
If we can encourage, then we must encourage
others. “Therefore encourage one another and
build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thess 5:11). The writer
of Hebrews even says that we should encourage one another “all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb
10:25). Why is it important to
encourage one another especially in the last days? Because, “in later times some
will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim
4:1).
This is why Paul preferred the gift of
prophecy over the gift of speaking in tongues: “The one who prophesies speaks to people for their
strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who
prophesies edifies the church” (1 Cor 14:3-4).
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