The gift of Prophecy (Full Version)

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bella05 -> The gift of Prophecy (9/16/2008 6:53:34 PM)

Hi all,

How do you know if you have the gift of prophecy? I'm trying to find out which gifts I have. A couple people mentioned that I might have this gift because I always want justice to be served and am a good judge of character. I see the wrong decisions people make and want to set them on the right path. Sometimes I feel angry when people making foolish decisions or if there's sin within the church. There are moments when I can't stop thinking about it. But I know not to sin in my anger. However, I feel that I can be judgemental at times. I am ashamed of it. I'm trying to learn how to speak the truth in love. It's not easy but with God's help I hope to be more successful.


Any insight on the gift of prophecy? Can a person have more than one gift? Are there any good books or tests that are highly recommended?

Blessings,
Bella05



CherishedbyGod -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/16/2008 7:18:59 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bella05

Hi all,

How do you know if you have the gift of prophecy? I'm trying to find out which gifts I have. A couple people mentioned that I might have this gift because I always want justice to be served and am a good judge of character. I see the wrong decisions people make and want to set them on the right path. Sometimes I feel angry when people making foolish decisions or if there's sin within the church. There are moments when I can't stop thinking about it. But I know not to sin in my anger. However, I feel that I can be judgemental at times. I am ashamed of it. I'm trying to learn how to speak the truth in love. It's not easy but with God's help I hope to be more successful.


Any insight on the gift of prophecy? Can a person have more than one gift? Are there any good books or tests that are highly recommended?

Blessings,
Bella05


First of all, yes, a person can have more than one gift. I have this gift, along with others. Secondly, from what I understand, what you have shared does not, to me, indicate the gift of prophecy. Here is a description:


Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

1 Corinthians 14: 14


It is often associated with the gift of teaching, and, I imagine, with the gift of preaching. But it could also be used with the gift of mercy and/or other gifts. One could be exercising the gift of prophecy by comforting a brother or sister in Christ that is in pain or turmoil, by sending a card of encouragement, etc.



drmark -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/17/2008 5:22:50 PM)

Many contemporary Christian theologians consider the gift of prophecy to be the gift of preaching. Actually, the word prophecy simply means "to speak forth". Thus, it usually is exercised with teaching gifts. Are you familiar, bella, with a so-called Spiritual Gifts Inventory"? Perhaps taking one would help you learn more about your gifting.



Child4Jesus -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/17/2008 5:36:32 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bella05
Hi all,
How do you know if you have the gift of prophecy? I'm trying to find out which gifts I have. A couple people mentioned that I might have this gift because I always want justice to be served and am a good judge of character. I see the wrong decisions people make and want to set them on the right path. Sometimes I feel angry when people making foolish decisions or if there's sin within the church. There are moments when I can't stop thinking about it. But I know not to sin in my anger. However, I feel that I can be judgmental at times. I am ashamed of it. I'm trying to learn how to speak the truth in love. It's not easy but with God's help I hope to be more successful.

Any insight on the gift of prophecy? Can a person have more than one gift? Are there any good books or tests that are highly recommended?

Blessings, Bella05


I'm not sure why people would think you have the gift of prophecy because you want justice to be served and are a good judge of character. Also what is being judgmental?

I mean if you know someone is fornicating and you tell them they are wrong, that is not judgmental.



bella05 -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/18/2008 3:20:42 PM)

I did take one spiritual inventory test. The gift of prophecy ranked the highest, then teaching, discernment, and exhortation.
I'm not sure how highly recommended the test is since I only found it on the internet. That's why I asked if anyone knew a test that's highly recommended.

The reason for me thinking that I have the gift of prophecy is because after I took the test, these are some things it said about the gift:

"It means you are a "forthteller," telling or "speaking forth" the mind of God: preaching, speaking, and teaching God's Word.
As a prophet you have an ability to see that which is wrong. In fact, you tend to easily spot what is wrong and have to look to find something right. You probably spend much time praying and even weeping over the sins of the church and for lost sinners. You have a great burden over the sinful condition of the world around you. Because of this, you take every opportunity to proclaim that everyone must repent or perish. You are very discerning; one who points out sin with the goal of making Christians aware of sin in their lives so they will repent. Other people may think you are demanding, that you enjoy hurting people's feelings, and that you have no understanding. One of your greatest challenges is to keep a spirit of love. Remember to "speak the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15) and not to be judgmental. If you keep a tender, loving heart, you will be a blessing in your home, church, and to individuals. You can make a real impact on their spirituality. Be careful to let the Holy Spirit convict people, rather than trying to convict them yourself. Work on being a little more positive, patient, and tactful. Beware of Satan's attack on your gift. He may try to cause a lack of compassion and forgiveness, bring discouragement because of unrepentant attitudes by others, entice you to fall into the very sins you speak against or cause pride and self-righteousness over lack of certain sins."

I do agree with some of what the test says, like pointing out sin. When Christians or non-Christians, tell me about a wrong decision that they're making or sinful actions, I have a strong urge to say something. However, I'm not very loud or can speak in front of an audience. Maybe it's discernment?
Sometimes I also feel that I have the gift of exhortation. In the past I would have an urge to send a gift to someone when they're discouraged or to uplift them in someway.
It hasn't happened a lot. And then I am a teacher by profession.

Can anyone tell me any specifics about the gift of teaching and discernment?

I don't know. When I read about spiritual gifts, it seems that all Christians posses a little bit of every gift. So I'm curious as of how some Christians know the main gifts that God has given them. I would really like to find out which gifts I have so I can put them to use. Ugh... I'm sort of stuck.



Bluethread -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/18/2008 4:21:34 PM)

I am leery of these kind of tests as identifiers for the gifts of Ha Ruach(The Spirit). As the saying goes, "The proof is in the pudding." What I see Yeshua(Jesus) and Paul telling us is that we should seek to do mitzvot(good deeds). As we do these things we see Adonai blesses them. Though we can identify particular blessings following particular actions, I think it is not really productive to define ourselves by those blessings or actions. There are several examples of people being identified by their professions and abilities. However, Yeshua(Jesus) and Adonai seem to prefer to refer to people based on character or His promises.

Regarding prophecy, most prophets in the Scriptures take on such duties somewhat reluctantly and at Adonai's direct calling. I have been told by some that I have this gift. However, until I hear directly from Adonai, I do not pay much attention to these comments. This is primarily because of the requirements and risks associated with speaking for Adonai. When we look at the critiria we are to use to judge such a person, intent is not a consideration. Therefore, a "mistake" can be fatal. So, I would be reluctant to accept that designation if I were you. Just focus on doing mitzvot.



drmark -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/18/2008 4:50:42 PM)

quote:

This is primarily because of the requirements and risks associated with speaking for Adonai. When we look at the critiria we are judge such a person, intent is not a consideration. Therefore, a "mistake" can be fatal.
If God has called someone to exercise her/his spiritual gift as a preacher or teacher, He will equip them to accomplish His purposes. There are no "fatal mistakes" when we are in the center of God's Will!

quote:

So, I would be reluctant to accept that designation if I were you. Just focus on doing mitzvot.
I'm not sure what you mean by this, Bluethread, but there are far too many Christians these days who think going to church or Bible study once a week is "doing mitzvot". All Christians have at least one spiritual gift and many have several. I am thankful that bella is sensitive to the Holy Spirit in this regard.

It is shameful that we as the Body of Christ do not identify and exercise our God-given abilities more passionately. Just think what impact we could have on child care, education, mental health, the welfare system, etc. through the use of spiritual gifts both inside and outside the church.



Bluethread -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/18/2008 5:32:47 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: drmark

quote:

So, I would be reluctant to accept that designation if I were you. Just focus on doing mitzvot.


I'm not sure what you mean by this, Bluethread, but there are far too many Christians these days who think going to church or Bible study once a week is "doing mitzvot". All Christians have at least one spiritual gift and many have several. I am thankful that bella is sensitive to the Holy Spirit in this regard.

It is shameful that we as the Body of Christ do not identify and exercise our God-given abilities more passionately. Just think what impact we could have on child care, education, mental health, the welfare system, etc. through the use of spiritual gifts both inside and outside the church.
Emphasis Mine

Such is the draw back of the "church"/"bible" study model. Unfortunately, this model is not limited to the "christian church", synagogues tend to follow the same model. In my opinion, if our bible study was really studying the bible and not commentaries such as "The Purpose Driven Life", I think we would see what the gifts of Adonai are. Also, I see the Scriptures telling us to gather at the appointed times as part of what we do as a community. If we are really a community and not just a "church" we couldn't help but be put in situations in which Adonai's gifts are expressed and recognized. In such an atmosphere, a true prophet can not help but prophecy and, having been emerced in the word both written and living, will be tempered by his conscience and the knowledge that he will be held accountable by the community.

Sorry, to get carried away, but this church/synagogue thing is an hot button issue with me.



1love1God1way -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/19/2008 4:40:48 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bluethread

I am leery of these kind of tests as identifiers for the gifts of Ha Ruach(The Spirit).


While it is right to not take them as infallible sources, I think they are a nice little tool to help people understand themselves.



Lapidoth -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/19/2008 4:59:12 PM)

I haven't read all the responses.

I have taken and given these tests.
My conclusion is they are a bit bogus.

I took a very good personality test which I come up
as the classic melancholic, which I am.

I took the spiritual test and I come up as the "prophet."
So, other things considered, a conclusion would be that
all melancholies are prophets. And all prophets would
thus have to be melancholy.

But when we go by what the Word actually says,
there are diverse gifts, but they are given as the Holy Spirit
chooses and directs.

So, on one hand, it could be a one time thing. It could be
done on numerous occasions.

I think we can get off track with a lot of the hype that is in the
church the last few decades.

If God actually gives a person instructions to speak forth,
he speaks that message, it's delivered, the body is edified.
But, that does not make a person a prophet. Not in the sense
that we call a prophet.



rcjames -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/20/2008 1:32:14 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bella05

Hi all,

How do you know if you have the gift of prophecy? I'm trying to find out which gifts I have. A couple people mentioned that I might have this gift because I always want justice to be served and am a good judge of character. I see the wrong decisions people make and want to set them on the right path. Sometimes I feel angry when people making foolish decisions or if there's sin within the church. There are moments when I can't stop thinking about it. But I know not to sin in my anger. However, I feel that I can be judgemental at times. I am ashamed of it. I'm trying to learn how to speak the truth in love. It's not easy but with God's help I hope to be more successful.


Any insight on the gift of prophecy? Can a person have more than one gift? Are there any good books or tests that are highly recommended?

Blessings,
Bella05


So we are talking about the "Gift of Prophecy" and not "Fortune telling" or some "Crystal ball" nonsense.

As others have said it can be manifest as in teaching, but I will go a little further and say that most sincere Bible studying and Bible believing Christians have excerised the gift without even knowing it.

When someone speaks of the Oracles of God, things of God, especially when that speaking was not a planned statement or it comes as a suprise to the speaker; that may well be a gift from the Holy Spirit to help the folks the one is speaking to. It might be quoting Scriptures that you did not realize you knew well enough to quote (and probably did not know that well), or other thing of God.

It happens to me a lot when counselling or visiting with other Believers and I believe tht it is a common if not recognized occurance. It even happens many times when giving a prepared sermon; a real jewel of truth (not studied or prepared) will just happen, and I do not even realized it has happened until I listen to the tapes.

That is just my personal thoughts on the matter.

Thsnks
RC



Peter_Gunn -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/20/2008 1:49:06 PM)

Here's a question: Why do some call it the gift of prophecy and others call it the gift of discernment?

I've heard it said that: 1) discernment is a part of the gift of prophecy; 2) they are two different gifts; 3) they are the same gift, worded differently.

[sm=icon_smile_boggled.gif] Which is it???



drmark -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/20/2008 2:22:53 PM)

quote:

Here's a question: Why do some call it the gift of prophecy and others call it the gift of discernment?
Which translation uses "discernment" as a spiritual gift? I could not find it just now with a quick Bible search.



Peter_Gunn -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/20/2008 2:25:39 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: drmark

quote:

Here's a question: Why do some call it the gift of prophecy and others call it the gift of discernment?
Which translation uses "discernment" as a spiritual gift? I could not find it just now with a quick Bible search.


No translation...just plain, ol people.



drmark -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/20/2008 2:59:05 PM)

Well, plain, ol' people are sometimes wrong. [;)]

Seriously, perhaps they were looking for an alternative decription of the gift that would not be misunderstood as OT prophecy or modern day fortune-telling. I guess if that's the case, I would not have used "discernment" as it seems to me to have a quite different meaning than speaking forth the things of God.



tn1 -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/22/2008 4:42:24 PM)

Concerning the OP,

Rom. 12 speaks of what I consider to be different personality types/talents (prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, compassion). This list is significantly different than the list of manifestations of the Spirit in 1 Cor. 12 (words of wisdom, words of knowledge, gift of faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. And these two lists are completely different than the gifts of Christ mentioned in Eph. 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers).

We all have various combinations of the Rom. 12 personality types and are thus gifted in different ways. I believe these reflect how God made us individually. Those with a strong personality trait of prophecy do tend to be critical, judgemental, seeing things in black and white, right/wrong, no or very little grey area. Each of the personality types has strengths and weaknesses. It is likely that this type of gifting that your friend was referencing.

The 1 Cor. 12 manifestations of the Spirit are completely different, though it too speaks of prophecy. In this scripture, I believe prophecy speaks of the supernatural speaking forth of a message from God. It is more than just preaching; prophecy is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit, something that is beyond what one could do of their own power, knowledge, or wisdom.

The Eph 4 gifts of Christ are also completely different. These are individuals gifted to equip the body of Christ in various ways. Prophets, I believe, are gifted in equipping the body of Christ in prayer, praise and worship, and the manifestations of the Spirit. They also tend to be the seers, the ones who point the direction the church should move in. They point out issues that need to be dealt with.



Juda7 -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/22/2008 8:16:41 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bella05

Hi all,

How do you know if you have the gift of prophecy? I'm trying to find out which gifts I have. A couple people mentioned that I might have this gift because I always want justice to be served and am a good judge of character. I see the wrong decisions people make and want to set them on the right path. Sometimes I feel angry when people making foolish decisions or if there's sin within the church. There are moments when I can't stop thinking about it. But I know not to sin in my anger. However, I feel that I can be judgemental at times. I am ashamed of it. I'm trying to learn how to speak the truth in love. It's not easy but with God's help I hope to be more successful.


Any insight on the gift of prophecy? Can a person have more than one gift? Are there any good books or tests that are highly recommended?

Blessings,
Bella05


I don't think that our spiritual gifts have much to do with whether or not we are a good judge of character or any other natural talent or ability simply becuase spiritual gifts are given to believers by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:3, 6) at the time of their placing their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. At that time the Holy Spirit gives to the new believer the spiritual gift(s) He desires the believer to have (1 Corinthians 12:11). There is no magic formula or spiritual gift test that can tell us exactly what our spiritual gifts are because the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). At the same time, God does not want us to be ignorant of how He wants us to serve Him. The problem is that it is very easy for us to get so caught up in spiritual gifts that we only seek to serve God in the area in which we feel we have a spiritual gift. That is not how the spiritual gifts work. God calls us to obediently serve Him. He will equip us with whatever gift or gifts we need to accomplish the task or tasks He has called us to.

I would say just pray and ask the Lord not other people. The one person who knows exactly how we are spiritually gifted is the gift-giver Himself – the Holy Spirit. Ask God to show you how you are gifted, that you might better use your spiritual gifts for His glory.



LifeisGalatians220 -> RE: The gift of Prophecy (9/26/2008 4:12:54 PM)

Hi bella~ Welcome to the forums. [sm=icon_smile_super.gif]
You may want to check out this website. www.precept.org Precept Ministries Intl. Look in their store for Precept Upon Precept - Spiritual Gifts. It is an in-depth study of something like 21 "gifts" found in the New Testament. Precepts teaches you to study the word yourself by having you look up, and study through OT passages to see what their foundation looked like, brings you to the New and how Jesus exhibited them, then on to His Spirit filled foundational apostles=(11 + Paul) and finally what the rest of a Spirit-filled body of believers should expect these gifts to look like (or not), when exercised with love, in their midst. The best way to know what scripture says about spiritual things is to let scripture teach you by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The greatest problem inherent with the "Spiritual Gifts Inventories" is that it can't distinguish between someone who has truly received the Holy Spirit and one who has not. Scary thought when you think how many churches have used this tool as the "entrance exam" for key ministry positions.

One thing to think about... All the gifts can be faked. The ultimate test will be when we stand before the Lord and see what was of the flesh and what was of His Spirit. I sure don't want to be standing before a big huge bonfire of wood, hay and stubble. [;)]

Blessings,
Melanie



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