The Holy Spirit and the gift of Prophecy.

Joel ch-2 v-28-32

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said.

On the day of Pentecost when the disciples were in the upper room this prophesy was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 gathered there.

If you look in Acts 2-v-1 you will see that they were all together in one place.

I take this to mean that they were together in unity, That they obeyed what he had said when he said, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, Acts 1-v-4.

I believe that had they not obeyed then the Holy Spirit would have not been poured out.

So we see that obedience to the Lord was one of the keys the out pouring of the Holy Spirit at this time.

Jesus said that they had to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come and anoint them for service.

I believe that we must do the same and wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon us so that we are empowered for ministry.

If the disciples had gone without this they would have failed and there would be no church today.

It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can go out and make disciples of all nations.

It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that they were able to preserver in the face of persecution.

They operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit like when Peter and John were used to heal the crippled beggar, Acts 3 v-1 to 8.

Also in Acts 5 v-12 the Bible says that the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people.

Notice in verse 13 that all the believers meet together.

That I believe is important as it says that they are in unity, This is one of the keys.

If we look in Acts 6 v-8 we see Stephen, A man full of Gods grace and power doing many signs and wonders among the people.

He was later stoned in Acts 7.

These men of God I believe were using all the gifts of the Spirit, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Miraculous powers, Prophecy, Distinguishing between spirits, Speaking in Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues, 1 Corinthians 12 v-1-11.

Do you notice that later in the chapter that it says that the body is a unit though made up of many parts. There's the unity again.

I would now like to speak a bit about one of the gifts, Prophecy.

If we look in 1 Corinthians Ch 14 v-1-25 the Bible speaks about the gifts of Prophecy and Tongues.

It says in verse 3 about the one who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

It also says in verse 12 try to excel in the gifts that build up the church.

Let me now encourage you by give you a testimony of how God uses me in the gift of Prophecy and Word of Knowledge.

Back in January of 1996 the church had a 40 day prayer with people fasting on a rota.

Around this time a preacher called Gary from South Africa came.

He prayed that God would give to me the same gifting that God had given to him.

Just before then when he came in December 1995 he gave me a word that has now come to pass.

During the first week of this 40 day project God began to give Words to me about people.

This has kept going since then though it has been difficult at times.

I find that God gives me a picture of what he wants me to say or at other time a name comes up.

God has also given me dreams at night.

Sometime the person just stands out to me or I am just drawn to that person.

When I am to speak I feel heat on me or at other times it feels like an electric charge on me waiting to discharge or as I say sometimes I feel like a lightning bolt ready to strike.

That is the only way I can describe what happens.

This can happen anywhere, anyplace, anytime.

One of the things that I have found is that God is showing me things from the Bible in a new way.

Within the last few week God has been doing new things in my life in the area of word of knowledge. This really got going when I went to Sunderland in June.

I found that could be walking past someone or sitting next to them and God gives me something for that person.

These are people that I have never met before.

These people said that what I saw was right on.

The situations that the Lord had shown me they said were to do with ministry in there own churches then they told me all about what had been happening.

This really blew me away and it was also humbling for me as well.

Last year in the prayer meetings the Lord kept showing me verses from the Bible which I then read out.

These had quite an impact in the prayer meeting.

Eddie has said I don't know where you get the verses you get from.

Just read the Bible and God will show you.

Sometimes I have come out with a word then later I read it in the Bible.

This can only be the Holy Spirit doing this.

In using the gifts that God gives you, They must be used in love as it say in 1 Corinthians Ch 13.

So I wish to encourage you to seek God as to what gifts he wants to give to you. (Stir up the gift of God within you. Step out in Faith).

Glory to God. Go for it.

Let us pray and ask God for his anointing to come upon us.

If its right I will pray for the Holy Spirit to give gifts to whoever wants me to subject to the leaders of that group.

Come Holy Spirit, Please anoint as you will for service unto the Lord.

Let your gifts and the fruit by made manifest in the lives your servants.

I pray that from this day forth that we will never be the same again, Come Holy Spirit.

Dave 7/9/96.