Rom. 12:3-8, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God Hath Dealt To Every Man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having Then Gifts Differing According To The Grace That Is Given to us, whether Prophecy let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or Ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that Teacheth, on teaching; Or he that Exhorteth, on exhortation: he that Giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that Ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth Mercy, with cheerfulness."
Introduction:
A. Knowing your Spiritual Gift will help you to Understand:
1. The Motivational Drive that gives you the greatest sense of contentment --- or Why You Act The Way You Do.
2. Why People around you Respond To You The Way They Do --- or why they Misunderstand You.
3. How People Act when they are Walking In The Spirit --- and when they are Walking In The Flesh --- depending upon what Spiritual Gift they have.
B. I assure you that, as we go through the Spiritual Gifts, you will See Yourself and be Identified.
C. In the Scriptures --- Prophecy:
1. Does Not always mean to Supernaturally foretell the future.
2 Peter 1:19-21, "We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
1 Cor. 14:3, "..he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." V.31, "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted."
2. It was used predominantly in the Scriptures meaning to: "Speak Forth The Truth".
D. Peter --- had the motivational gift of Prophecy.
1. When the world was Mocking and Ridiculing Christians on the day of Pentecost, It was Peter who "Spoke Forth The Truth" and rebuked their evil actions.
2. Acts 2:13-14, "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:"
3. Peter Was Not Elected to preach the sermon on the day of Pentecost --- He Took It Upon Himself to rebuke the evil that was going on in his midst.
4. Did God Bless Him For Doing So --- V. 41, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."
Characteristics of People With
The Gift of --- "Prophecy"
I. They Need To Express Their Thoughts And Attitudes Verbally --- Especially Regarding Right And Wrong.
A. They have an Innate Desire to express their feelings.
B. There is a Compulsion within them that Compels them to speak out.
II. They Possess The Ability To Identify Character And Motives of Other People And To Reject Dishonesty In Any Form.
A. When a person with the gift of prophecy sees any kind of Hypocrisy --- Insincerity --- Manipulation --- He Can Identify It and must speak against it.
B. They have the Discernment To See And Understand what is going on around them when other people do not --- they are able to Sense People's Spirits.
C. However, the person with the gift of prophecy Needs certain Characteristics as described in:
Rom. 12:9-10, "Let love be without dissimulation, Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;"
III. The Person With The Gift of Prophecy Is Not Always The Most Thoughtful, Kind, or Tactful --- He Is Often Very Quick And Harsh In Identifying Evil, Without Regard To Anyone Feelings.
Peter --- Acts 5:3, "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" --- V. 9, "Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out."
A. However, A Person Never Has The Right To Say,
"Well, that's my Spiritual Gift, and that's the way I am, and you will just have to accept me the way I am --- Ooooh, no we don't either.
B. When The Spirit of God Is In Control of that person, --- though they may come across firmly and strongly and discerning --- there is going to be Love Within.
IV. They Have An Openness About Personal Faults And Failures And Honesty About Themselves.
A. They Genuinely and Honestly want people to tell them of Their Blind Spots And Faults.
B. They Understand The Consequences of allowing sin to proceed --- They want sin out of their life.
C. Peter --- Luke 5:8, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
V. They Have A Genuine Concern For The Reputation And Program of God.
A. If God is going to get the blame for something that He has no reason to get the blame for --- this person is very sensitive to that.
B. They are even Willing To Suffer Wrong in order to defend God's program.
C. They are Very Careful Not To Take Credit for what God is doing.
Peter --- Acts 3:12, "And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?"
D. They Must Speak The Word of God no matter what consequences may come.
Peter
E. Peter rejoiced in being Counted Worthy to suffer shame for Jesus when he was beaten (Acts 5:29-42).
VI. They Have A Tendency To Be Painfully Direct When Correcting Someone Else.
A. When the prophet sees something going on in someone else's life, and being Able To Discern and Foresee The Ultimata Consequences of that decision --- the prophet is interested in Correcting The Decision:
1. Not their feelings,
2. Not their attitude,
3. He is not interested in whether they are willing to accept him or not,
B. The only thing he is interested in is --- "You Get That Thing Corrected In Your Life Before You Really Blow It."
C. So the prophet will often times Come On Strong and You May Say:
1. You are so insensitive,
2. You don't care about me,
3. You are not concerned,
4. All you want to do is judge and accuse me.
D. All the time, the prophets Genuine Motivation Is:
"Foreseeing the Ultimata Consequences of that sin in your life --- Let's get that thing taken care of right now, lets don't waste any time."
Like a Doctor when he Discovers Cancer in your body ...
E. That may come across strong but --- His Motivation Is The Protection And Salvation of The Person Heading In The Wrong Direction.
F. The Boldness of the prophet is demonstrated by Peter,
Matt. 16:22
G. This type of boldness can:
1. Absolutely Devastate A Person with the Gift of Mercy.
2. Someone with the Gift of Service would Feel Absolutely Rejected and out of the picture ---
"You don't love me, you don't appreciate me, if you did you wouldn't treat me that way."
H. However, the person with the Gift of Prophecy is responding from an Inter Motivation --- and their tendency to be painfully direct --- they want to Save You From Making A Mistake.
1. You May Be Saying, "Just leave me alone and let me make my own mistakes."
2. The person with the Gift of Prophecy Can't Understand That because: --- If other people Understood The Consequences of sin As He Does, they would want to correct it also.
I. He may be quick to give you what seems to be Simple Solutions for Complex Problems, but With A Discerning Spirit, He Knows That It Works.
VII They Are Very Persuasive In Defining What Is Right And Wrong And Also Strong In Appealing For Outward Change.
A. They are operating on a basis of Inter-Commitment.
B. They may also Want To See Evidence that you have settled this "problem" in your life.
C. John The Baptist --- Matt. 3:8, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:"
VIII They Have A Strong Dependance Upon Scripture To Validate Their Convictions.
A. The person with the gift of prophecy is Pron-To-Correct --- and Then Add "Here's what God says..." --- They want you In The "Word"!
B. A person with the gift of prophecy --- who is walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit --- can Absolutely Devastate And Reject their Husband, Wife, Children, or Friends.
C. A father who is wise enough to walk in the Spirit will correct his children in the Following Manner:
1. Son, I see something here that I think you and I need to talk about --- and let me share with you what God says about it.
2. That Transfers The Authority To God --- not to the father.
3. The father should want Correction --- Not Credit.
D. Now when the prophet get out of fellowship with God, he can be an Absolute Disaster To His Family. --- (more about this later)
IX They Desire To Give Open Evidence of Desire, Commitment, And Loyalty.
A. If a person with the gift of prophecy loves you and believes in you, they will often Stick With You Even When You Are Dead Wrong.
B. They May Be In The Process of Trying To Correct You, But they will hang in there with you even though you are wrong.
C. A Prophet Will Stick With You In Thick or Thine.
Peter --- Matt. 26:33, "Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended." V. 51, "And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear."
D. But, when a person with the gift of prophecy Gets Out of Fellowship With God, you will be Amazed What He Can Do.
Matt. 26:58, "But Peter followed him afar off..." V. 74, "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man..."
X They Have A Willingness To Experience Brokenness In Order To See God Work In Their Lives As Well As Others.
A. He knows that God Uses Broken Vessels More Effective than He does those who are unbroken.
1. When they see someone Defending Themselves, they just bear down a little bit harder.
2. Having been broken, he knows that Brokenness Is God's Ultimate Purpose in the lives of each of us --- That He might be better able to use us in His service.
B. The prophet knows the Value of Humiliation, Submission, Humility, and Brokenness to serve the Lord.
John 13:8-9
XI The Prophet Has A Tendency To Make Quick Judgments --- Be Impulsive --- And Make Wrong Decisions.
A. He may be Impulsive in his actions, but he will be Wholehearted Involved in whatever he does.
B. You may study these 10 characteristics of the person with the gift of prophecy and wonder "How In The World Could Anyone Ever Live With or Get Along With This Person?"
Misunderstandings of People With
The
Gift of "Prophecy"
1. Their Sense of Right And Wrong --- And Their Sharpness --- May Be Interpreted As Being Real Intolerant.
In Reality, that is Not their motivation, so the Prophet Must Learn to deal with that and Soften that impression.
2. A Strong Desire To Proclaim Truth May Be Interpreted As Disinterest In Listening To Another Person's Point of View.
A. The whole time you are talking to a prophet, you sense that he is Just Waiting Until You Get Through so that he can tell you what he is thinking --- something really important.
B. The person with the gift of prophecy:
1. Already sees the end results,
2. Has already cut through all the details,
3. The prophet is interest in the Origin and the Destination, Not The Trip.
C. This Comes Across As: "Your not interested in me, you don't want to hear any of the details, you just want to correct me." --- The prophet must be careful not to leave that impression.
3. His Frankness May Be View As Harshness.
Because he wants to get Immediately To The Problem --- he may come across as been very insensitivity.
4. Interest In Groups May Be Interpreted As Disinterest In Individuals.
The prophet often sees things in the big picture and wants to get everyone involved.
5. Efforts To Gain Results May Be Seen As Using Gimmicks.
The prophets main interest is the End Results
6. Emphases On Decisions May Be Interpreted As Neglecting Spiritual Growth.
The prophet is extremely interested in spiritual growth, but he knows that the First Step is to get them saved and he want to Get That Done.
7. Public Boldness And Strict Standards May Hinder Intimate Relationships.
A. The prophet may be a very lonely and rejected person because of Appearing to hold people off at a distant.
B. Because of his boldness he may Appear Distant, When In Fact he may be hungry to build a personal relationship with someone else.
How Does A Person With The Gift of Prophecy
Act When He Is
Living Within The
Will of God --- "Walking In The Spirit"
1. Truthfulness --- They are committed to truth.
They want to be truthful and they expect truthfulness from others.
2. Obedience --- They are committed to obeying God.
A. If they are obeying God, it doesn't make any difference to them what anybody else thinks.
B. They Depend Entirely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin.
3. Sincerity --- They are very sincere in their ministry.
You may not agree with them but you know that person is Totally Committed to what he believes.
4. Virtue --- They are pure in their life and their mind.
5. Boldness --- They are bold in their witness and service to God.
6. Forgiving --- They have a Very Forgiving Spirit.
When they see someone trying to make something right, there is a deep loving, forgiving spirit toward that person.
7. Persuasive --- They are very persuasive.
How Does A Person With The Gift of Prophecy
Act
When He Is Living Outside
The Will of God --- "Walking In The Flesh".
1. Truthfulness turns to Deceptiveness.
A. They can be extremely dedicated to deceptiveness when walking in the flesh.
B. Prophets tend to draw conclusions on a few known facts --- and draw Hasty Conclusions.
C. Once a hasty conclusion has been made, they tend to Look For Confirming Evidence (true or false).
D. This can result in Taking Words And Actions Out of Context in order to prove a point.
E. Keep in mind, this is a person Out of the will of God.
2. Obedience turns to Willfulness.
A. They are Rebellious, Dictator, Dominating and going to have their own way.
B. They don't want to hear anybody else's opinion.
C. They Depend More On Their Ability to speak than on the power of the Holy Spirit to convict.
3. Sincerity turn to Hypocrisy.
A. They begin to Camouflage their real life.
B. Manipulations and all kinds of things takes place in their life.
4. Virtue turns to Defilement, Impurity, Sensuality.
He becomes Just As Dedicated To Impurity now as he was to virtue when he was walking in the Spirit.
5. Boldness turns to Fearfulness
6. Forgiveness turn to Rejection.
A. They begin Judging and Exposing a brother Rather Than Restoring him.
B. Once a person has failed, they tend to Cut off Fellowship with that person and persuade others to do the same.
C. They will Even Cut Off A Friend in order to be true to a cause.
7. Persuasiveness turns to Argumentiveness.
He becomes Proud of His Rhetoric And Persuasiveness and begins to like to argue.
Every Church Needs All of The Spiritual gifts But
They Probably
Need Only a Minimal Number of Prophets.
It Is A Joy To Discover Your Spiritual Gift And To
See
Its Characteristics As You Walk In The Spirit And Not The Flesh.
If You Are Not Saved, Nothing Else Matters
