| Do Not Quench The Spirit – Part 7

The Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 – 21 we are told, “Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies.  Test all things; hold fast what is good.”  From these passages of Scripture, we can readily see that the Lord does not want us to be in the dark when it comes the ministry of the Holy Spirit in His church today.  Jesus told us in the book of John 14:16-18 that He would be leaving but that He would send us another helper, the Holy Spirit.  Many in the church today do not understand the operation of the Holy Spirit.  In this series we are going to discover from the Scriptures the importance of a Holy Spirit filled church.  A church that has knowledge of the gifts of the Spirit.  A church that lives in intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit and senses His promptings in ministering to the church and the world around them.  Let’s come together and desire, discover, and develop in the giftings of the Holy Spirit.

Part 7 – In this message we begin to look at the 9 gifts of the spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.  We begin with what we will call the vocal gifts.  Tonight, we discuss the gift of prophecy.  This is not the office of the prophet but the simple gift of prophecy which every spirit filled believer can operate in as we yield to the Holy Spirit.  Paul told the church at Corinth to desire spiritual gifts but especially to prophecy.  Prophecy is supernatural utterance in the native (known) tongue. It is a miracle of divine utterance, not conceived by human thought or reasoning.  It includes speaking to people to edification, exhortation, and comfort.  In the New Testament the simple gift of prophecy has its reference in the finished work of the cross more so than in the predicting of future events. The purpose of prophecy, just like with every other gift of the Holy Spirit, is to encourage and edify the church with the success of the cross as its reference.