the gift of prophecy

Lord's word. First Corinthians, Chapter 12, you know that by heart, I guess, right? They already put their finger there with their eyes closed and boom.. the Bible opens to First Corinthians, Chapter 12.

It's taken me a little longer than I anticipated to get to through this Chapter but it is because there is so much substance, and so much to learn. And I believe that what we are doing among other things is laying the foundation for the proper use and proper understanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how our church is to move in them.

In this way, I think you can also listen to my heart as the senior pastor of the church about how I think these gifts work, and you can also, I think, discern the great respect, the reverence we have for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And I heal myself by saying that what you're going to hear today, thinking about what I shared this morning in the 9 o'clock service about the gift of prophecy, is in no way designed to discourage anyone or discourage anyone in the use of none of the gifts, rather the opposite, rather, providing healthy structures within which we can let these gifts manifest.

And our desire is quite the opposite, it is to encourage the people of God to take advantage and use and move within the supernatural gifts, they are all supernatural, that God has chosen to bless his people. And as we have said previously, remember that each gift has a specific function and each gift is given by God for the edification of the people of God, it is to edify the people.

And remember also that there are different gifts, some of which, I think, have not even been mentioned in the different passages in First Corinthians 12, in Ephesians 4, I think it is, in Romans as well , there are other gifts I think it's Chapter 12. There are different gifts and this is a list of gifts that we could call as open, clear, obviously supernatural, spectacular, but there are other gifts that are not so spectacular, so flashy, we could to put it that way, but they are very, very useful and I am thinking, for example, of the gift of counseling.

How many have ever read that there is a gift of counseling in the Bible? I have not found the gift of counseling described, however I have always said that it is one of those gifts that is needed in an extraordinary way in the time we live in, in the 21st century. Because? Because in the world, and even in the church, there is a great need for emotional healing, there are many emotional problems, there are many families in difficulty, there are people with problems of chronic depression, anxiety, phobias, of different types, of psychosomatic illnesses of all kinds, and there is a lot of pressure that urban life brings, that brings the immigration process, that brings the mismatch of generations and all these things create a great need for people gifted by God to bring a word of wisdom, a word of instruction, a word of counseling and emotional healing.

And by the way, this Friday, a series of teachings began here in León de Judá through a grant, money from the federal government that we obtained through Copani, with the help of León de Judá, It is specific money to train, imagine, the government is paying us to train lay, Christian marriage counselors. What a bless! There are about 60 people from different churches throughout this area of the city who are chosen by their pastors, including several pastors, like 6 or 7 pastors who are also taking classes that people from our church are giving, my wife, Meche, the couple from Luis and Ada Valles, and it is a tremendous blessing. I gave one of the introductory presentations on Friday night...

And why do we do this? Because we believe that God is distributing counseling gifts, those gifts are needed, and we are trying to identify through a spiritual process who these people are in the churches and train them, give them solid, biblical, but also intellectual, academic knowledge and release them in their churches. so that churches are raised up with a pastoral sensitivity, with a sensitivity of pastoral care, which is so important.

But I think that's a gift that God is raising up today, and it takes people with a pastoral heart to give counseling and who are endowed by the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that gives the gift of wisdom, of science, of miracles, of healing, of interpretation of tongues, of tongues, of prophecy, with that endowment ministering to the people of God, and also to the unconverted.

This morning a lady came from outside and said, 'I found out that here in the church they give counseling and I would like it, they sent me here because... and I referred her to the Valles brothers and I assume that she went there and was able to speak, because there is a great need in the world and that is necessary, it is absolutely necessary, and that is also something evangelistic.

Many of the gifts are given to assist the church in preaching the Gospel. Well, I believe that a church that gives good counseling, based on Scripture through people gifted by the Holy Spirit, is a church that is also going to present a very attractive picture of the Gospel.

Now, for the brothers who visit us, for the brothers who perhaps have been left out of this series for one reason or another, we have been discussing the different gifts that God gives as listed by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians, Chapter 12. And as you know, those who were here and were awake when I was preaching, will know that we have spoken about the word of wisdom, we have spoken about the word of knowledge, knowledge, knowledge; we have talked about the faith that God gives for supernatural purposes; we have talked about the gifts of healings; We have also talked about the gift of miracles, last Sunday.

And today we are going to talk, if you have your Bible there, in Chapter 12, verse 10, about the next gift that Paul points out, which is the gift of prophecy. It is a very beautiful and very useful gift for the people of God, and it is a mysterious gift.

How many of you have seen at some point in the middle of a service, a person stand up, or in a moment of exalted worship and a person stand up or go to the pulpit with the permission of the pastor, and deliver a word in the name of the Lord that has an evidently supernatural origin. It is a word that is declaring something that comes directly from God about the church. And the person can often do it in a natural way, as if to say, brothers, I feel in my spirit that God tells me such and such a thing for this congregation. Or it can sometimes be in a slightly more mysterious way, thus saith the Lord, I am with you, etc. and whatever, in a more formal, more Old Testament kind of way, let's say like that.

And many have wondered, well, what is that going on there, what is happening? This..... some will think that this is divination or something like that and they don't really know what is being done.

This afternoon I want to take some time to do some fine-tuning, so to speak, and instruct our brethren about how we see the prophetic gift, and how we believe, according to the Bible, that this gift is due to manage, so to speak, and manage in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And I want to be, like, very systematic, because I wrote some things here because I want to be very structural and organized in the way that I am going to present the truth of the Lord to you. First let's go to a definition. The Apostle Paul says here:

“... to another to perform miracles, to another prophecy....”

What is prophecy, what is the prophetic gift? Listen to this definition, for me the gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to members of the body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message from God. I'm going to add something else, but so that you don't… don't elaborate too much so that you have time to process that part, I'm going to repeat it.

The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to members of the body of Christ to divinely receive, from the throne of God and communicate an immediate message – that word is important, a message out of the oven, out of the heart of God, out of the mouth of God- from God -and here comes the second part- to an individual, -because it may be, how many have sometimes received a word from someone for you personally?- . ... an individual, a group of people..... – because the prophetic word can be given, for example, in the context of a beautiful time where a group of brothers gathered there can, in fact, even develop more the prophetic gift in a controlled environment, small scale, harmless to a certain point, and then it can be in the context of a group as well,-.... or to a church, to a total community, to a congregation.

That is, “.......to an individual, a group of people, a church for a specific purpose....”

And what can they be? Some of those purposes that a prophetic word fulfills? For example, it can be for confrontation, because I believe that there is a dimension that has the prophetic gift of confrontation and we see, for example, in Scripture that many times the prophets of God confronted the able of Israel with a word, either because they had abandoned the worship of Jehovah, and had gone after other gods, had allowed injustice to spread in society and the poor to be neglected, the rich to benefit unfairly.

The prophet Amos, for example, talked a lot about social justice. We see, for example, in Isaiah, in the first especially 39, 40 Chapters there is a lot of confrontation and a lot of demand from the people of God that they return to the ways of the Lord, etc. So it can be for confrontation and there is a place in the life of God's people, even in preaching and other things, to speak strong words as well. Many times we only want the preaching to be passing people's hands over their backs and over their heads, but there are times when the word of God confronts and is sharper than any two-edged sword. How many say amen? TRUE?

So, prophecy can be for confrontation, but it can also be for edification. The Apostle Paul speaks of to edify, to comfort, to exhort. The edification can be through a communication of doctrine, even from God, and we will add later about that, of doctrine, in what sense, but it can be a word of correction in the practices that are having in the church, which is to build. It may be to strengthen the spiritual foundations of the church, but in any case, it is to build and strengthen and prop up the life of a congregation well and it can also be for consolation.

We have the word of the prophets, '.... console yourselves, my people...'. And how wonderful it is, in the same book of Isaiah, for example, the second part of the book of Isaiah has always touched me because it is a word of encouragement in the midst of words that are also confrontational.

I also think of Jeremiah's words to the people of Israel when they are in Babylon, exiled for their bad behavior and there they are depressed and feel like God has abandoned them and that he no longer wants to hear from them. them and that is why he has thrown them out of their land, and they are getting desperate and depressed and the Lord sends them a word through Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 29 is that love letter from God. The Lord tells them:

'...My children, do not be depressed in the land where you are because after 70 years I am going to take you out of that land and return you to his native land. And in the meantime, don't lose heart and don't lose numbers, but have your children married and buy houses and grow vegetables and eat the goodness of the land. And not only that, but also pray for the peace of the city where you are because in the peace of the city you will also find your peace....'

How many of us immigrants miss pestering that we are in Boston and that the cold and that the snow, and that I am already crazy to leave this country, and this and that? Look, instead of grumbling there, bless the city where you are. Amen. Instead of swearing at people and how bad they are and asking God to send fire and destroy, ask for a blessing for the president, even if he doesn't like it and has to ..... Lord, bless him, please. .. but bless him in the name of the Lord, because the word says that we pray for our rulers.

And the Lord comforts them and says, hey, be a blessed people, not only hang in there with your teeth clenched, but bless the city as well and pray for that Nebuchadnezzar, whoever it was that was in power, whose name alone says that he is not a good person, but pray for him even if it is, right? Because there is a word in that case of consolation of spirit.

Prophecy can also be to give direction. There are times when God's people need... they are at a crossroads and they don't know where to go and they need the word of God to come to channel. We see many cases in the Old Testament, too, where the people of God did not know what to do before a powerful enemy came and a prophetic word was raised in the midst of the congregation, and said: 'Thus says the Lord, the battle is not yours, but it is mine. Stand tall, worship me and I will bring a great victory this day. And the people of God listen to the prophets and are blessed, a great victory comes, a great liberation comes and the people go in and collect spoils to their hearts content. Because there was a word of direction.

God wants to give direction to his people and that sometimes raises a prophetic word. And we often have to be anxious to receive a word that gives us direction, it can also be to give instructions, which is the same thing, in a certain sense. I told the brothers, I have benefited through the years in my ministry from prophetic impressions that God has given to my life, from prophetic word through others or also through impressions that he has given me. to direct and guide my life.

I was talking to the brothers, when I was at Harvard University in my second year, I received a recording that a lady sent me who is one of the few people that I say that I can truly say I'm sure she's a prophetess of God, Sister Rosa, now I don't remember her last name, from Puerto Rico, Brooklyn. We grew up, yes. That sister sent me a cassette, in those days the cassettes were the last cry of technological fashion, imagine how old I will be. Pray for me, brothers.

The thing is, she sent me a cassette where there was a word on it that God had called me into the ministry and I still believe that cassette is out there somewhere that I have it. It's already full of mold I imagine, but it's out there somewhere. And that word touched my heart and I believed that word, I heard it. It was a time that God was working in my life, the fact is that God began to move. That is when I began to attend what is now the León de Judá congregation, in the year 1982. And we spent 6 months in the South End, and from there we moved to Cambridge, where God provided us with a beautiful building and we were 15 years. I was still a layman at that time, and Pastor Juan Vergara founded the church, and in November of '82 we moved to the city of Cambridge.

I used to tell the brothers, and perhaps I have shared this with you, but I share it now in light of what I am saying, that when I stopped, in the course of those 6, 7 months , these people were people of faith, they made me a Sunday school teacher, imagine. They were people who believed that God can do anything, and so... Mary and Chago know from that time that they were there. The fact is, but this was a little before you arrived, in fact, and Meche... we hadn't gotten married. What's more, Meche wasn't even evangelical. Imagine that, brothers, if it's been a while. But it was my fiancée, we were already getting married. And I stood up front in a pulpit with about 15 people or so the first time we had Sunday school there, and I felt a clamor, a burden come down on my spirit, and I'm not a very mystical person, you know? But God sometimes, from time to time, makes a mistake and speaks to me. I don't know what's wrong with him but...

The fact is that an impression descended on me that covered me like a curtain. And in my mind, I interpreted what I felt as this way, that the Lord was saying to me, 'This church has been planted for you to shepherd'. And I tell you, brothers, with all honesty, I did not have the slightest desire to be a pastor, nor did I suspect that God wanted me shepherding, of all the things that I saw myself doing, never in the pastorate. The case was that I received that, I shared it with Meche, who also had, in her own way, a word similar to mine, which told her that she was going to be the wife of a pastor, that I don't think she wanted that in that time. God has already worked in her life and she has resigned herself, the poor thing, to the situation.

But the case was that, again, it was barely in November of 1982 and a year and a half later, a year and a half, perhaps a little more, Pastor Vergara announced that they had to return to Puerto Rich with his wife, they had some commitments there, but God had already been working in my life. That word that I had received, the word of Sister Rosa Ramos, was her name, all these things, because sometimes what the prophetic word does is like it gives you an interpretive framework within which to live your life and your ministry.

There are words that I have received in my life that still guide me like a compass, and are like reference points that are always there, chasing me and that are always determining some of my actions. Some of those words have not yet been fulfilled, but I received them as a child, I even remember them in my spirit. And those words guide one, they bring instruction.

We coming here to Boston was a word that was also instructive. Well, the case, the story is long, when Pastor Vergara announced that he was leaving, they left me, once again, another work of faith that he did in the congregation, helping them as a layperson while I continued with my doctoral studies. And the Lord continued to speak that word into my life, right? And already then with the informal pastoral work, God was confirming the call and the congregation also heard the call of God on my life and they offered me if I wanted to be their pastor. And I accepted, because those words had already been working in my spirit, in the spirit of my wife, and they kind of helped so that the process that I was undergoing of observing the experience was informed by the word that God had implanted in me. spirit and all that came together in such a way that by the year 1986 I was being ordained as a pastor and you poor people have had to suffer me for 23 years and suffer my experiments in the pastorate.

But that's how God works. The prophetic word brings direction. The prophetic word brings instruction. The prophetic word can bring confirmation of something you have felt and it can also be a word of commission, to commission a person in the ministry.

Think of Samuel when he comes to David's house and anoints him because God has sent Samuel to anoint David as Saul's replacement king. And then God, through Samuel, anoints David and a chain of events is unleashed immediately because that's what happens. The prophetic word often releases, we will talk about that a little later. Many times it unleashes circumstances, unleashes calls, unleashes gifts, through the word anointed and authorized by the Holy Spirit.

David receives that anointing, Samuel goes on his way, but David's reality immediately begins to take shape according to that word. One day he goes to visit his brothers in the war camps to bring them some cheese and salt-in-crackers, and there he hears Goliath challenging the people of God, cursing the God of Israel. David is filled with the Holy Spirit, because he already has God's printing press, the prophetic word running inside him, he confronts, you know the story, the giant, knocks his head off, attracts the attention of the president of the nation. He immediately enters a very high political-military plane in the country and then he has to flee. He has been fleeing from Saul for many years, but the prophetic word is chasing him. And what happens? Finally, after time, David is installed as king according to the prophetic word that Samuel had released.

Because many times the prophetic words take a long time to be fulfilled. And we have to learn, as I said, to protect the prophetic word that God has placed in our hearts and to keep it there. Don't let anyone rip it from you... A word that God gave, because time has passed, don't let anyone rip it from you, don't let doubt eat it either, don't let the crows come and rip it from you. your heart or your sensitivity. Hold that word, love it, breathe it into it, find ways to develop it, pray about it and love it and pray that the Lord will make it a reality. Because it can sometimes take many years, once a word is given.

But the fact is that all these are functions of the prophetic gift, it is a special ability that God gives to members of the body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message from God to an individual, a group of people, a church, for a specific purpose that can be confrontation, edification, consolation, direction, instruction or commission, to commission someone.

So having said that, you have enough, do you want to go home or do we have time for a little more? That is the definition of what prophecy is. Let me give you some notes here that are pointing to the gift of prophecy.

Number one: Prophecy exists because God is a God who speaks and communicates his truth in history.

God is a communicative God. God is a speaking God. God is a God who speaks continuously, in fact, God did not simply give his general revelation, the Bible, and then lay down on some planet in the universe to wait for all things to happen and then continue his dealings with humanity. God has continued to speak, God is a communicator God. God is a gregarious God. God is a social God. There we have the Trinity, which is the most beautiful and harmonious society in the universe. But God loves to communicate with his creatures too.

So, God is continually speaking and God wants to communicate with you and me in life situations, give us instructions, share his heart with us, encourage us in times of trial and need, and give us advice for life. So that's what prophecy does.

Prophecy is a bread taken from the oven of God's heart for a specific need, to put it like that in that metaphorical way. Prophecy exists because God is a God who speaks and who communicates to his people.

Second, prophecy supplements but is inferior to God's general revelation. God..... what is the general revelation of God? The Bible, there is at least one person who is attentive here. It is the general revelation of God, it is a revelation that God has given for all humanity and that word was issued centuries ago, but that word also needs to be updated, updated, applied to specific situations. And God has provided, among other things, prophecy, many times to supplement it.

I told the brothers, the system of government of the United States provided a constitution that is inviolable, it is there, it is an absolutely fixed and firm document, but those who forged the constitution also provided provisions for constitutional amendments that allow the constitution to breathe and expand and contract according to the various historical needs that arise in the course of the life of the American nation. So, the amendments have been like adjustments.

And I think in a partial sense that's what prophecy does. Prophecy brings adjustments from the mouth of God for specific people, specific congregations, specific generations. For example, for me, I believe that when Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church, began his ministry in the 16th century, he was a prophetic voice at a time when the church had lost its vision, had lost its course, had entangled in the world and politics, and the devil had gotten the church into a mire of politics, materialism, corruption, lack of vision, and the people perished, God raises a prophetic voice to straighten the church again and so that its revelation would not be wasted and thus provide a prophetic influence at that time.

So, the prophetic word supplements, but it is inferior, always remember that. Any prophetic word you receive has to be in accordance with the word of God, and if not send yourself running and leave that false prophet as far away from you as possible, or rebuke him in the name of the Lord, because anything that contradicts the word of God is out of place. The word of God is sovereign, over all revelation, all teaching, all doctrine, everything that is shared with the people of God. That is why it is important that we know the word in order to know how to discern what is of God and what is not of God, especially at a time, as the word says, when teachers will multiply in the last days and people will have a restlessness to hear and people will pile up giving listeners what they want to hear, which is even false, to their downfall. And that is why a lot of spiritual discernment is needed, even from the pulpit itself, even what I say as your pastor, brothers, submit it to the scrutiny of the word of God. Because sometimes one can spark something there in the brain and then one says, wow,... and one doesn't realize it.

Mature people are needed, we are in dangerous times. From television, from the radio, you hear things that are not from God and that mislead the people of God and we have to ask ourselves, is what I am listening to conform to the word of God? Even that spirit that is emanating from that person, is it according to the spirit of God? Because the Bible says that according to their fruit you will know them. There are times when there is a person who is going to be preaching, it is more or less fine, but something in your spirit says, like I don't know, there is something there... and listen to that voice, submit to prayer and do not pounce too fast because nowadays beans are being baked everywhere, brothers, it is dangerous today, so it is needed.... The Bible is a general revelation from God supplemented by prophecy, which is inferior to it.

Third, the Bible is universal revelation for all time. The prophecy is specific, for a specific time. The word of God is valid from the first century to the twenty-first century. How many say love to that? It is universal for everyone. No one can say that word does not apply to me, I am going to get out of it, it is applicable to all times. Now, the prophecy is more specific, it is for a person, for a congregation, for a generation, for a specific time, and always, again, the revelation of God is higher, broader, more encompassing than the prophetic word.

Fourth, the Bible is unquestionable. The prophecy must be judged. Not all prophecy is from God. If the Bible says, brothers, that Jesus Christ walked on the water, believe it and ask no questions. I say that if the Bible says that Christ walked on the water, I say, not even his tennis shoes got wet when he walked on the water because I believe what the word of the Lord says. If the Bible says that the whale swallowed Jonah, I say, praise God, I know it did, although I have never seen a whale swallow a man, but there is... a whale could easily swallow a man.

But the point is, the Bible is unquestionable. Now, the prophecy must be discerned and judged. And if you hear a prophet out there getting upset because people are saying, is this from God or not? We are going to submit him to the counsel of God, etc., that person, I would say, if he is not a false prophet, is very misdirected. Because I myself should not be offended that you submit my preaching to the scrutiny of the word of God. I believe that this is their right and it is their duty, even, and I encourage them to do so.

Anyone who claims to have the prophetic gift should be subject to the scrutiny and judgment of the congregation and be humble about it. And the congregation must use its judgment and as soon as someone begins to prophesy all those little antennas like My favorite Martian, uuuuuuuu, it begins to rise up and people to discern, is this from God or not? What does the word of the Lord say, what feeling is that person emitting, is it building or strengthening the church? All these things, and that's part of the prophetic process, brethren, that's from God. The Bible is unquestionable, prophecy must be discerned, it must be evaluated.

Fifth, the Bible is without error, but prophecy can be in error. Even a person can be 70% correct in the prophetic, but there is 30% of the meat that was put in there in the prophecy, and one has to discern sometimes.

That is why the Apostle Paul says, 'examine everything, in connection with prophecy, and hold fast what is good.' And again, prophets or people who feel they have a prophetic calling must also be humble in this regard and be aware that there is human frailty that often intervenes with the prophetic gift, with God's prophetic move, and they must submit their prophetic revelation. with great delicacy, humility, and a tentative character before the person or the church to which they are.....

Many times I believe that people with prophetic gifts suffer from a certain spiritual pride and they believe that because they are subjected to pastoral scrutiny or whatever, like they are being underestimated or that the person is not anointed, etc. and sometimes they demand too much for what actually is the current state of prophecy in our time.

So the Bible does not contain error, but prophecy can and does contain error on many occasions.

Sixth, prophecy is both declaring and predicting. In English they speak of 'forthtelling' and 'foretelling'. There is a dimension of prophecy that is more like declaring, it can be declaring a fact, for example, the renewal prophets who spoke against injustice are not predicting, this is going to happen... Many people believe that prophecy is like riddle, is like fortune telling, which is simply predicting the future. Not necessarily, there are prophets who did not perform any miraculous act, nor did they predict anything about the future, but they limited themselves to declaring things, denouncing injustices, correcting the defects that existed in the life of the people of God, but they never moved in prophecy. predictive.

So prophecy can be declaring God's truth to a people. Now, it also has a dimension that is to predict the future, something that is going to happen in a church, in the life of a person, in a community.

Daniel, for example, is a prophet whose predictions are still... there are some that are yet to be fulfilled. There is a dimension.... John in the Book of Revelation, or Revelation moved into that predictive aspect of prophecy, but not all prophecy predicts the future, it can simply be a declaration of a truth from God.

Seventh place, I'm looking fast enough bros, or do you want me to go even faster. The prophetic word sometimes predicts what is going to happen, listen to this, this is what I call its passive function, predicting what is going to happen but it also releases, this is very deep, it releases in time and space what God wants it to happen

For example, a ministry, a gift, a healing, a miracle. In other words, prophecy can often be limited to simply bringing God's will to the knowledge of people and declaring something that God wants to be known, but sometimes also, the prophetic word can acquire a dimension of unleashing on the world. of time and space certain things that God wants to happen or to be unleashed in a person's life.

For example, Paul speaks to Timothy and says, 'I advise you to fan into fire the gift of God that is in you, through the laying on of my hands..' < p>Paul talks about wanting to go to Rome and communicate some gift to the Romans because the man, the woman of God provided by the prophetic gift can declare things in the life of a person that begin to unleash the destiny of that individual.

The prophetic word can be like a key that unlocks things in the world of time and space and is honored by God in heaven. When Elijah says, 'As the Lord lives, before whose presence I stand, it will not rain on Israel except by my word...' immediately the heavens close, and any little clouds that were there quickly flee and go to another country. The weather world closes over Israel, in the sense of rain, because the prophetic word works on reality.

When Paul tells the false magician Elymas, 'right now, by my word, you're going to go blind for opposing the Gospel and you won't see for a few days...' and Elymas is immediately totally blinded . The prophetic word acted.

I have seen in my ministry very select cases that God has given me a word for a person and after a while, that person comes and tells me, 'Pastor, everything you said started a series of things in my life that was exactly as you said...' And I gave the word in the sense of so, by declaring that word I knew that God was going to start a series of events, that what I was saying it was going to come true in that person's life, that's why he was saying it. Because the word of God issued in the gift of prophecy unleashes things.

When Samuel anoints David and tells him, 'you are going to be king of Israel,' that word immediately begins to configure the world outside and inside David so that what he declared would be fulfilled. Then you can release into time and space what God wants to happen.

Eighth, there is a difference between the gift of prophecy, listen to this, between the gift of prophecy and the office of the prophet. Everyone can prophesy, but not everyone can be a prophet.

That is, every Christian can, used by the Holy Spirit and at a given moment, be taken by God and give a prophetic word, a word of edification to the church, a word of advice to someone in the spirit, but that does not mean that this person is a prophet or a prophetess.

Now, every prophet, every prophetess moves in the gift of prophecy. It is not the same things. It is like the gift of healing: every believer can be used by God at a given moment to utter a word of healing, or pray for someone and that person be healed, but that does not mean that that person moves in the gift of healing. . You understand?

The prophet, the prophetess of God is a very chosen person. I believe that there are very few prophets who walk the earth at this time. It is a job that God chooses a person to move in a special way.

For example, very few New Testament prophets are noted. The only one who is clearly designated as a prophet in the New Testament is Agabus, in Chapter 19. Please don't call your son Agabus. It is the case that, if there is someone, forgive me, I cover myself in health, but Agabo is the only one.... he says that Agabo had 4 daughters, imagine, that they prophesied, he says that they prophesied. They were not prophetesses, but he is called a prophet. So, we can all prophesy, says the Apostle Paul, but not all of us are prophets or prophetesses, remember that well. They are two different things.

Ninth, the gift of prophecy exists to inform, advise, warn a person, a congregation from God. It is a way of providing current, up-to-date direction to God's people. We've already covered that.

Number ten, prophecy can be an aid for evangelization or for the daily life of God's people. We see there, for example, with this thing about Elymas, this false magician, Paul is preaching there to an official of the Roman Empire who is interested in the Gospel and poor Paul is there talking to this official who is interested in things of the Gospel, and he's eager to listen, and here's this magician who's running out of money, business he had with this man, contradicting Paul and continually opposing what Paul is saying until Paul is exasperated, and taken by the Holy Spirit He tells him, 'Oh, son of the devil, it seems that he had been taught by Yiye Ávila, son of the devil, that you oppose the things of God, when will you stop opposing? And now I declare that you are going to go blind and you will not see for a few days', and immediately darkness falls on the eyes of Elymas and he must be guided and the Roman officer, seeing this, believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and surrenders his life to the Lord. Mister. Because? Because the gifts are given, among other things, to help the church in the work of evangelization.

The Apostle Paul in First Corinthians, Chapter 14, verses 24 and 25, speaking in fact, correctively of the gift of prophecy, says here, 'But if all prophesy, speaking in the context of the church, ... but if everyone prophesies and an unbeliever or unconverted person enters, everyone is convinced....'

What happens? If there is a church where the prophetic gift is moving with genuine power, an unconverted person comes, he says when there is that prophetic word for all, it is as if the whole world is addressing him, '..... for all it is convinced, he is judged by all, the secrets of his heart become manifest and thus, prostrating himself on his face, he will adore God, declaring that truly God is among you....'

It is one of the beautiful things, when the prophetic gift is moving in a genuine way, in God's people unconverted people come and are impacted. How many times have you heard someone go to a church and say, 'the pastor was like he was reading my emails and who told the pastor that I was going through this, this or that?' Nothing, the Holy Spirit used the prophetic word through preaching to reprove and touch someone's heart, and that has a tremendous impact on the person's life, because the prophetic gift above all is that, to impact people disbelief and bring her to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm going to add something important here, I'm going to point number 11, I'm almost done. Personally, brothers, I have observed that prophecy can be a great blessing but also very dangerous and harmful if it is not handled with maturity and sobriety. It can be a great blessing but it can also be harmful. Because?

Number 1, because there are people who often believe they have the gift of prophecy but they don't. There are people who are wrong. How many people are pastors but do not have the pastoral call? And what they do is make a mess many times. Or hobble there all the time and their churches are not blessed, because they got the call wrong.

Thus, there are people who believe they have the prophetic gift, but they do not and many times what they do is do harm, using something that does not have the backing of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, it can be harmful because there are emotionally unstable people who exercise the gift and put it in disrepute and also do damage.

One of the great mysteries that I have seen through my time in the pastorate and observing other Christian milieus, is that there are times that supernatural gifts, like they attract in a very strange way people who they have certain structural weaknesses in their emotions. And in some very strange way, that actually dates back, I have seen that through medieval literature, through anthropology, there is a strange confluence between emotional instability and spiritual movement. It's that the person who has a small part of his mind open to neurosis, like a little of the spiritual also filters through there. I don't know, that is a very long oddity to explain, and I venture it with great fear and trembling.

But the fact is that sometimes madness can open access to the supernatural, brothers, that's how it is. I'm talking here in psychiatric, psychotherapeutic terms so forget it, don't get too far into that abyss. What I want to say is that many times there are people in the congregations who have a certain emotional instability, they move in the prophetic gift, and since they do not have the maturity, the adequate personal solidity, they can cause harm. That is why it is so important that in the churches where the Holy Spirit moves there is always pastoral authority, that there are spiritual elders, that there are mature people stabilizing.

And prophets must always hold to pastoral authority in the context of the church. It is one of the great controversies throughout the church that many times the prophetic gift does not want to stick to the pastoral gift, because they say, hey, I am not going to respect this little pastor here, if I have a revelation from God. No, each one in his place. In the church the pastor guides, the elders govern. God has given them the governmental authority to preside over the church and the gifts have to follow in a hierarchical way to that pastoral authority.

How many can say amen even if they are not convinced of what I am saying? It's important because? Because many times the prophetic gift can move in an unstable way and sober, biblically instructed people are needed who can maintain order and correct excesses, as Paul does in First Corinthians, Chapter 14.

Now Well, sometimes prophecy can be exercised, too, this is another reason why it can also be harmful, it can be exercised in a disorderly and excessive way and harm visitors, new believers and even mature people in the church.

That's why Paul says, 'look if you all start speaking in tongues, tremendous language, everyone, each one over there jumping, one over here... he says, a unconverted and they will say, 'these people are crazy, they all have to be taken to the asylum'. That's the Apostle Paul speaking, if you don't believe me look for First Corinthians, Chapter 14.

Many times the use of gifts has to stick to reason, aesthetics, order, and effectiveness evangelistic. The gifts are not ends in themselves, brothers. You have to ask yourself, what blessing is the use of the gift bringing? If it's not bringing a blessing, put it aside, brother, the gift is nothing except if it's a blessing to God's people.

The Apostle Paul says that one day all gifts will end and the only thing left will be love, because the rest will no longer be necessary.

I love the gifts, but I don't idolize them. And churches must not idolize the gifts. There are charismatic Pentecostal churches that border on witchcraft, excuse the word that is a bit heavy, or on magic, because they idolize the gifts, and there is an atmosphere of magic in the air, and it is always as if it is waiting at what moment Someone is going to say something and if it doesn't come out, well, they make it or whatever, because there is that thing.... do you understand?

And no, look, if God wants to talk, he talks. Glory to God, we are open, we receive it, we bless it, we revere it if it comes from God, and if not glory to God we have the word of the Lord, we have the adoration that declares the truths of God. You don't always have to hit a home run, you don't always have to hobble out there because the cult was a tremendous, wacky thing. Sometimes it can be very soft, very beautiful, very calm and glory to God, there was the same manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

But sometimes churches kind of create an issue, an overappreciation of the gifts. The gifts must be put in their proper place, in their relative place.

Paul says, 'Look, I speak in tongues more than all of you, but I'd rather speak in church one word that blesses the people than a thousand words that people don't understand.' ? Because Paul was a man already seasoned in things of the spirit. He had seen it all, had been used by God in all things. He had already seen the excesses of the congregations and he was already cured of fright and he already knew what was worth and what was true and what was not.

And that happens, with experience one gains, and one says, look, ok, all the sisters in the church lost their bows, but someone converted. The church grew in holiness. There was some pivotal revelation. There was building. There was a word of doctrine, the strongest brothers came out. And usually the answer is no, no, no, no. So what was the use of all that display of supernaturality.

Paul says, no, there has to be edification, there has to be blessing, there has to be glory to God, there has to be doctrine, there has to be something. That is what conditions the use of gifts, brothers, is that there is edification.

He says that the gifts are given for edification, so forgive me if I sound a little, you know, one gets excited and believes what he is saying from up here. I would like to qualify it a bit more, but you understand me, right?

Sometimes the wrong prophecy can lead to harmful decisions. How many people have been misdirected because they have received a word. Look, the Lord says that you marry so and so because that is the man that God has chosen for you. And there goes that poor sister, like a little lamb taken to the slaughterhouse to be married, and then the Lord has to be there fixing the imbalances that occurred, right?

I think, one of the most dangerous things is what I call directive prophecy. Move to this city, marry so-and-so, divorce so-and-so, take this profession, buy this car, that brand. Be very careful. Or the child is going to be a boy, how many times have I heard? Oh, that's a boy. God tells you that the child is a boy and then comes out more female than Marlene Dietrich or something like that.

We have to be careful, brothers, especially when you say a word, when you feel the Lord give a directive word, say it with humility and simplicity of heart because the prophetic record is not so good. And I think that sometimes you have to say things as they are. So don't come as if there is a hundred percent accuracy record, there isn't.

And if you are going to give it to someone who can determine a significant part of your destiny, and your life, give it with proper care and respect and humility. And tell him, look, I am sorry from the Lord, to tell you this, but seek confirmation from God. And I am doing my duty, but I only do that, so now pray to the Lord to confirm what I am saying. You understand? Instead of getting offended because the person at once doesn't jump into doing what you tell them to do. You have to be humble, brothers. That is biblical and that is according to the heart of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes immature prophets, finally a new reason to be careful, sometimes immature prophets can fall under diabolical deception and lead an entire congregation into error.

Los Mita in Puerto Rico, a church that began strictly Pentecostal, a very Pentecostal church, where God apparently moved but what happened? Over time, the pastor, the person she led, began to think that God, the spirit of God was upon her, that she was the goddess Mita, and when she came to see that woman, she developed one of the biggest heresies in all of Latin America. . And when she died, to correct the next one they said that God had passed on to her husband.

And these are errors. How many times have we seen throughout history ministries that have started well, they have begun full of the spirit of God but little by little a root of bitterness, pride, veniality, money, sensuality and the devil have grown, little by little Little by little, he has been getting into the heart of that person and turning his influence into something that has destroyed many, many lives, entire congregations, Jim Jones and others like that. Perhaps they started well, but ended up in error because they let themselves be carried away by other spirits.

And that is why, brothers, it is that I point out these things, not because I am against prophecy, but quite the opposite, because I respect it so much and because I want to provide a healthy image of what it is the prophecy.

Having said all this, I say what it says, First letter to Salonians, Chapter 5, verses 19 to 21, the Apostle Paul says:

“... do not put out the spirit, do not despise the prophecies, examine everything, and retain what is good....”

Our church will never, never with the help of the Lord quench the spirit. Many revival movements throughout history have been quenched by rationalistic people who did not know how to handle the supernatural move of God and have killed and quenched the spirit throughout history.

I love the moving of the spirit and I want more of it, which is why I'm taking this whole week to preach about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And I say, let's never quench the spirit, never belittle prophecy.

Why does Paul say that? Because I believe precisely what happens in these times, where there has been so much error at times around the subject of prophecy that people already underestimate it, and say, 'ah, those are fairy tales, they are old things' . And Paul says, 'no, don't despise the prophecies, hold fast to the good in them, examine everything and hold fast to the good.'

In other words, there are many very rich nuts in the prophetic move, so what What we have to do is examine everything and retain what is of God and put the rest aside. Many people, when they see a little error in the prophetic movement, throw it all away at once, instead of looking for the good and retaining it. That is sound advice from the word of God.

There are so many other things that I want to say, brothers, I am going to ask the musicians to come over here quickly. Let me finish with some, just like that quickly, I'm just going to read it while the musicians are passing by.

I want to end with something like this very positive, prescriptive. I have put like many props around, and I hope that what remains is my great reverence for God's prophetic move and that I believe in prophecy.

If you are going to move and exercise the gift, if you believe that God is calling you to a prophetic move:

First, prophesy naturally, prophesy in words understandable to person. You don't have to go too dramatic. There are times when the word can flow in a natural way. Prophesy naturally.

Hold on to your shepherd. I appreciate when people submit to my pastoral authority. I have a responsibility before God to protect this congregation and sometimes I have to judge, sometimes people come and want to impose themselves on me so that I let them prophesy and if I... I am, brothers, I am in he.... let's say before God, I tell people, look, I take responsibility before the Lord.

I believe that if I am preventing something from being given out of love for my congregation, God will understand if I am wrong, and he will give me grace. The pastor has a very unenviable position, where he has to arrange many different things. I love humble people who, when they feel a prophetic word, come to me and communicate it to me, and then they give me the freedom to follow through or not.

And if they don't stay as friendly with me as if nothing had happened. That is the prophetic gift. That is the humility that must be had.

Prophesy with humility, do not think that because you have a prophetic gift you are the last Coca Cola in the desert. And prophesy in a simple way and submit your prophecy to the judgment of the people and then withdraw. You already fulfilled your duty, now leave that in the hands of God and the person who is receiving.

Prophesy with a pastoral heart. Discern the moment, discern the subject, discern the person, discern the situation, discern the congregation, there are revelations, there are prophetic words that God is going to give you, that if you announce them before a large crowd you are going to embarrass someone or you are going to Splitting up a marriage, or you're going to create problems for the pastor, or you're going to leave a congregation all divided and confused. This is not of God. The word of God does not bring confusion.

So, you have to discern. If you believe that a person is demonized, do not tell him in front of 500 people, if he has probably been demonized for a long time, wait a few more minutes for the service to end, so that you tell him personally, it will not do no harm. Wait for the moment, but sometimes we feel something and we want to announce it so that people see our prophetic anointing. That is of the flesh, that is not of God.

Prophesy with a pastoral heart. Prophecy has to be pastoral and merciful and graceful and mature and wise and sober, and it seeks to bless and lift up, it does not seek to run over.

Grow in your biblical knowledge and spiritual maturity. The more you know about the word and the more mature you are in the spirit, the more you will be able to handle that sublime gift that God has placed in your hands, prophecy.

Many people are very prophetic, but they are very immature and so they do damage, they have a very strong weapon, and since they don't know how to use it, they blow half the world's head off and from time to time, well, they hit the heart. But much better that you grow up. The fact that you are a prophet does not exempt you from growing in the knowledge of the word of God and also from growing in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That will bless your gift more than impoverish it.

Cultivate the fruit of the spirit. Many people fall in love with the gift of the spirit, but they do not cultivate the fruit of the spirit and a gift used in the fruit of the spirit is beautiful, it has a special beauty.

Beware of spiritual pride. Beware of directive prophecies. Make it tender and tentative and discern what is circumstantial from what is divine and spiritual. Because many times what we are seeing is psychology and it is not divine revelation. We see a person, in poorly dressed clothes, and we say, 'oh, God says you're in financial need. Well, any psychologist can look at that and say, it's true, isn't it? Sometimes what we have is more of a psychological insight and we call it prophecy. So, we have to be careful, truly discern that what we are saying we are saying in the spirit.

Brothers, I'm going to finish because the children seem to be telling me, 'Pastor, it's time for you to finish.' I take time because it is a very complex subject and it is a very important subject and it is a subject that needs clarity and that the people of God are living in a very dangerous time and I know that God is going to move more and more in our midst and we have to provide a good fireplace for the fire that God is bringing. Amen, so that our whole house does not burn down, but that there is blessing and warmth for the people of God.

Thank you for being patient and may these words stay in your hearts. We love the prophetic gift. We love the manifestation of God's power. We want God to move more in the midst of his people, we want to provide healthy channels within which divine energy flows. Receive that word from the Lord this morning.

Stand up for a moment, my brother, my sister, and if you feel from the Lord that God is calling you to exercise the prophetic gift right now tell him, 'Father, I receive your spiritual anointing, I want to that you use me and I am open'.

And if God puts an impulse in you and you feel that God is speaking and that he wants to communicate something through you to a person, do it with humility, do it with love, do it with simplicity of heart and tell him , look, of what I have I give you, as Peter said, 'I don't have gold or silver but what I have I give you. I have something that God has placed in my heart and I am going to share it with you and I hope it will be a blessing to you. Pray and ask for confirmation from God.'

Use your gift, exercise your gift, exercise your gift and grow in use and wisdom and experience and dare more and more until your gift comes into a full demonstration.

Father, in the name of Jesus I ask that by this word preached your people, Lord, receive encouragement and desire to move more in the sublime of your supernatural power, Lord. We declare the release of the prophetic gift in the heart, in the spirit of your people, Lord. We thank you, because you are the same yesterday, today and forever. We thank you, Lord, that there are prophets in our midst. We thank you, because there is a prophetic word that has been a blessing to this church and to our lives, Lord.

We thank you because you have had mercy on us and have not looked at our lowliness, Lord, but with your incomprehensible love, you have given these gifts for the edification of this people, and we welcome you, Lord and we ask that you unleash that gift in the hearts and spirits of your children, in the name of Jesus, more anointing, Lord, more of your prophetic move, more crystal clear revelation, Father.

We long to hear from you, Lord. We want dealings with you, we want intimacy with you, Father. We want everything that comes from you, we receive it and put it to flow in the life of your people, in the mighty name of Jesus, and we say, Amen, may the Lord be with you, my brothers, his grace bless you greatly .