Tag: prophecy

Lord! Lord! (Matthew 7:21-23)

We look at a short yet powerful passage from the Sermon on the Mount today. Such verses should absolutely challenge us to look carefully at our lives and ensure we are truly following God and the Gospel.

We read:

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

To be clear, these are words of Jesus Himself. As with everything the Lord said, we ought not to take it lightly.

Jesus tells us plainly that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In other translations, I believe it says not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will be saved. This is vitally important, and tells us something about what it truly means to be saved. Many people call themselves Christians, and many would say that Jesus is Lord, but is He – really?

Jesus says that only those who do the will of the Father will actually enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Does this fly in the face of the Gospel of grace? It sounds like salvation by works doesn’t it? Calling on the name of the Lord is suddenly not enough, but we must do certain things too to “earn” salvation, right?

I think not.

There is a distinct difference between acknowledging Jesus as Lord and living so, and simply paying lip-service and saying the words. I may have said this before, but it is a good example… I may be a fully paid up member of the local gym, carrying my membership card and even wearing the T-shirt, but if I never go and lift weights, I may as well not bother.

In a similar way, we can go to church, sing the songs, carry a Bible around and more, and yet if our lives do not reflect holiness and obedience, we must ask ourselves if we have truly surrendered our lives to God.

#Salvation is more than just saying words, it is living a life of #obedience #Bible #Jesus #Christianity

When we encounter Jesus, it ought to change us. When we make Him our Lord, that means putting Him in full charge of our lives and not just tagging Him on to our current lifestyle. True submission requires obedience. There can be no other way. It is a silly example, but I cannot claim to be a man of peace if I am frequently getting into fist-fights in the local pub. Likewise, I cannot claim to be a Christian while completely ignoring God’s instructions.

Obeying God’s will, as Jesus sets out above, is not a means to salvation, but a result of it.

Obeying #God is not a means of #salvation, but a result of it #Bible #Jesus

The true Gospel is indeed a Gospel of grace, not something we earn through obedience. God’s grace is freely given, and we need not nor cannot do anything to work for it. However, once freely received, the resulting change in our hearts should be reflected in our lives. Once saved, we joyfully obey the will of the Father in response to His grace. Grace comes first, and the fruit of obedience follows.

Verses 22 and 23 send a shiver down my spine. On that final day when we all stand before God, not all who think they are saved actually are. Imagine that for a moment, imagine being one of those who are told by Jesus, “I don’t know you!” What a terrible thing.

I do not want that to be me, and neither do I want that to be you.

The defence of these people (which is really no defence at all), is that they have 1) prophesied in Jesus’ name, 2) cast out demons and 3) performed many miracles. These are not small things in and of themselves. What this tells me is that not every miracle worker knows Christ, or rather, is known by Christ. Not every prophet, nor everyone who delivers others from demons, is part of God’s kingdom.

So how can we tell?

This is not straightforward to answer in a short blog post. Clearly, the Bible does encourage the use of such spiritual gifts such as prophecy or the working of miracles. Yet my suspicion is that is less about the activity itself i.e. casting out demons, but the motive behind it. Of these three examples, all are very public things. I wonder if it is all too easy to start claiming the credit for a miracle, a prophecy or a demon-deliverance. These are gifts of the Spirit, but there is no mention made of the fruit.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Many seek the gifts of the Spirit, without seeking the fruit. Jesus said you will know them by their “fruit,” not by their “gifts.” (see earlier on in this very chapter – Matthew 7:15-20)

So what do we take from this?

Firstly, we do need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. He is in charge, and we must recognise His rightful place in our lives. We must not seek Him as Saviour without also accepting Him as Lord.

If, indeed, He is our Lord, then we must do what He tells us. We will not get that perfectly right all of the time, but in response to the grace we have been given, we take His commands seriously. The better we come to know Him, the more we will want to do this.

We obey, not to earn His love, but in response to it.

When we do obey, it must also be for the right motives. We do not do it to be popular or to seek fame and fortune, but instead we do it for His glory.

As a blogger, I too need to be cautious with this. Do I write to bless people, or do I write to seek their favour? Judging by how often I check my stats, I need to check my motives! How about you?

These are challenging words from Christ, and I encourage you to pray over them in the coming days. I want you to know Christ, and I want Him to know you. When you stand before Him one day, I want you to have full assurance of your salvation. God’s grace is sufficient, and so let each of us respond to it in obedience. Amen

Just as He said He would

Happy Easter!

It was my privilege to share for a few minutes this morning at our early morning sunrise service on this Resurrection Sunday.

I share below a recording of the message which I hope you enjoy.

May you be eternally blessed this Easter weekend!

A message from Andy on Easter Sunday morningA message from Andy on Easter Sunday morning

Is the Old Testament Relevant Today? (Best of 2021)

As part of my Course in Christian Studies, I have completed an assignment about why I think the Old Testament is relevant to 21st Century readers. I thought I would share it with you today. Is the Old Testament Relevant Today? CCS Assignment 1 Imagine you have a Christian friend who cannot see the point…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2021/01/09/is-the-old-testament-relevant-today/

Joseph and Jesus (Joseph #8)

I have now written and published a series of posts on Genesis 37, which covers the early part of the story of Joseph. I know it is a familiar story to many, and I hope that you have found my thoughts helpful.

Let me summarise chapter 37 for you now:

There once was a son, beloved by his father, and he made some very bold claims about himself. He was hated by his brothers, so much so that they bound him and beat him. They wanted to kill him and left him for dead. They thought they had gotten rid of him for good for the price of a few silver coins. They did not realise that one day, he would return to rule over them.

Who am I talking about here? Joseph? Or Jesus? With some careful wording, the above seems to apply rather well to both the son of Jacob and the Son of God.

Joseph is a “type” of Christ, and by type, I mean something akin to a prototype. In the Hebrew Scriptures, prophecy is less about predicting the future, and more about  establishing a pattern. Joseph is a pattern for Christ.

Let’s walk back through Genesis 37 and see if we can spot the similarities between Joseph and Jesus.

  • Joseph was hated by his brothers. Jesus was largely rejected by the people of Israel. (Gen 37:4)
  • Joseph was beloved by his father, as was Jesus beloved by His Father (Gen 37:4)
  • Joseph’s brothers hated him for telling them the truth (his dreams). Jesus was hated by the religious leaders of the day for telling them the truth. (Gen 37:5)
  • Joseph told his brothers that they would one day bow down to him. Jesus said that one day we all will bow down to Him (Gen 37:6-7)
  • Joseph’s father sent him to his brothers. Jesus was sent by the Father to the people of Israel (Gen 37:13)
  • Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him; Jesus’ fellow Israelites plotted to kill Him. (Gen 37:18)
  • They threw Joseph in a pit, and Jesus was put in a tomb hewn from rock. (Gen 37:19)
  • They stripped Joseph of his tunic, and the same was done to Jesus (Gen 37:23)
  • Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver; Jesus was sold for thirty pieces. (Gen 37:28)
  • Reuben returned to Joseph’s pit and found it empty. Likewise, the women found Jesus’ tomb empty on the third day (Gen 37:29)
  • Joseph’s brothers killed a male goat to hide their sin. Jesus became a sacrifice for us all, and His blood covered our sin (Gen 37:31)

Some of these, alone, may seem just trivial or coincidental. But when you look at the list as whole, you must admit there is certainly something here.

Is Joseph a perfect, prophetic representation of Jesus? No, not exactly of course. However, there are signs here and patterns set out which we must not gloss over. This passage alone is surely not enough to convince anyone of Jesus’ future coming, but take it alongside the many other Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, and a picture forms.

I am not suggesting you bend Scripture to make it say whatever you wish. IF you look however, you will soon see that Jesus is ever present in His Word. The old Testament is a shadow of things to come, and that shadow is that of Christ Himself.

Genesis 37 is not the only place in Joseph’s story where we see Christ. As we continue on through his story, I will try to point them out to you. If you spot one that I miss, do let me know!

Rest assured; the Bible is true! It is the only truth we can rely on! I have not just bet my life on it, but my whole eternity as well. How about you?

Peter Preaches… Again

In yesterday’s post – Miracle at the Gates – we spent some time thinking about the miracle performed by Peter and John at the entrance to the temple. This miracle created a lot of attention, and Peter did not hesitate to speak to those gathered. Today we will have a look at what he had to say. Notice this is the second time Peter preaches, hence the title. You can read about the first time he spoke (at Pentecost) in my post – Peter Preaches.

You can find Peter’s words in Acts 3:12-26, and as it’s quite a lengthy passage, I won’t quote it all here. Hit the link above if you want to read the full text, and I’ll quote parts of it throughout the post.

Open With a Question

Peter begins his sermon by asking the crowd a few questions. It can be a good way to start a message, as it gets us thinking about the subject at hand.

When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?

Acts 3:12 (WEB)

Peter gets straight to it, asking why they are so interested in what has happened. He is challenging their surprise, as if this man becoming well is a perfectly normal thing to have happened. And indeed, when in the presence and power of Christ, the supernatural becomes the natural.

Peter asks the group why they “fasten their eyes” on them, which is the same phrase used in verse 4 when peter looked on the man prior to the healing.

He is crystal clear with the people that this man was not healed by his or John’s power or godliness, and therefore the crowd’s interest should not be on them, but on the source of that power. And that is…?

The Answer

Verse 13 begins “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus,” and points very clearly to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter names the Jewish forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob leaving the people in no doubt about Who has performed this amazing feat of healing.

Peter pulls no punches as he tells them that they are responsible for killing the prince of Life. Pilate offered them a chance to release Christ, but they chose a murderer instead, denying and rejecting the Messiah.

By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 3:16 (WEB)

Verse 16 implies it is both faith in the Name of Jesus, and the very Name itself which has given this man “perfect soundness” of body. What miracles can be brought about by the Name of Christ! We must never underestimate that Name, nor use it in vain. Power is released as we utter the Name of Jesus, and is the reason we pray in that Name alone.

What Shall We Do?

Verses 17 and 18 tell us that Peter acknowledged their ignorance of what they had done. They knew not who Jesus really was, and neither did their leaders. Yet the prophets had foretold that the Christ would have to suffer and die, and so Christ fulfilled their words.

Peter goes on to tell the people what they now need to do.

Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,

Acts 3:19 (WEB)

To repent, as Peter says, is to turn – to turn away from sin and wrongdoing, and to turn to God. We must all do this. Few churches seem to remind their congregants of the need to repent these days. Yet, each one of us, must turn from our sin and turn to Christ. In doing so, our sins will be blotted out – crossed out of the book if you prefer – never to be mentioned again.

Peter tells not just his audience, but us as well, of the terrible consequences of not turning to Christ in verse 23.

And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’

Acts 3:23 (ESV)

We must take this warning seriously. There will come a time when it is too late to turn back, and their is no better time than now to give your life to Christ. He is the only way to Heaven and their are no shortcuts. Surrender to Him right here and now, ask Him to forgive you and to be in charge of your life from here on out. It will be the best decision you ever make!

Closing Words

Peter closes his sermon by telling the people that Christ will remain in Heaven until the time comes to restore all things. When that day comes, He will return and put all things right! This was spoken of by the prophets of old, and Peter points out several Scriptures to them.

He reminds them of the covenant God made with Abraham, and that it would never be forgotten. God is not slow in keeping His promises, nor will He ever break a single one of them.

Peter finishes in verse 26 with the following words, and I think it is a great place to finish our post today also.

Praise God our Father who sent His Son to us to bless us, and to turn us from our wickedness!

God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Acts 3:26 (ESV)

Three Days

For us, Easter Saturday sits between the devastating day of the cross on Good Friday, and the joy of the resurrection to come on Easter Day. I prefer the name “Resurrection Sunday” but perhaps that’s a discussion for another time!

For the friends of Jesus two thousand years ago, many of them were not ready or waiting for the resurrection at all. This day would have been a day of loss and grief for them. All of their hopes and dreams had been smashed. They had expected Jesus to evict the Romans and set Himself up as King. Quite the opposite had happened! Their Messiah had been lost. 

Would they have started to doubt themselves? Would they have been asking one another – was this really the Christ after all? They had seen so many miracles and wonder works, yet they had not expected Him to die like a common criminal. 

It may seem somewhat baffling to us that the disciples had not heard the words Jesus had spoken. In advance of these things, He had told them that it would happen. And even beyond His words, the Scriptures foretold it all. But I think we can forgive them for not seeing that in the prophecies of the Old Testament. 

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Matthew 16:21 (NIVUK)

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 (NIVUK)

The verse above from the Gospel of Matthew shows that Jesus taught His disciples that He would die, and three days later rise to new life. Likewise, Paul (in hindsight of course) shares the same thing. Paul says however “according to the Scripture.” So the Old Testament must have predicted this in advance.

But where?

When reading Old Testament prophecies, we must understand that often they do not merely say “The Son of God will come, and His name will be Jesus, and after dying He will come back to life after three days…” That would be convenient for Bible scholars of course, but we must not forget the Old Testament was written by many people over hundreds of years. Despite this, it really is astonishingly coherent, and clearly shows the hand of the divine behind it. 

The first place I want to point to is the lie – or rather death – of Jonah the prophet. Sometimes called “The Reluctant Prophet,” because he ran in the total opposite direction to where God was sending him, Jonah is a fascinating character. 

You probably know his story from Sunday School, if you ever went, and may well be familiar with his being swallowed by a large fish or whale. 

Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17 (NIVUK)

We see here that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. Reading on to Jonah 2, I think it is clear that Jonah actually died in the sea or sea creature. He talks about the abode of the dead, or “the pit” so it seems likely he did actually die. If not though, the point remains. 

Bible prophecy is often pattern and not prediction. that means it establishes a pattern of events which will occur again in the future. Jonah’s three days and three nights of “death” are a pointer towards Christ’s own experience of three days in the grave. 

Similarly, Abraham’s sacrificing of Isaac is another picture. I’ve spoken before about this passage from Genesis 22, and personally believe it is a prophecy acted out by Abraham of what God would one day do with His own Son Jesus. 

We read in Genesis 22 that from the time when God gave the command for Isaac to be sacrificed, to the time Abraham arrived at Mount Moriah was precisely three days. 

Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

Genesis 22:3-4 (NIVUK)

In the Jewish mind, and so in Abraham’s mind, Isaac was essentially dead from the moment God had given the command. It was a three day journey, as we read above, until the events unfolded and Issac was returned to Abraham. So another son lost to “death” for three days. 

There is more we could explore, but it would and should take an entire lifetime to examine the Old Testament and unveil the prophecies which spoke of Christ’s death and resurrection centuries in advance. 

Many will tell you that you can’t prove God exists, or there is no evidence that the Bible is true, it’s just a personal matter of faith. Not true. A comprehensive study of God’s Word will show you that there is incontrovertible evidence of biblical truth. The more you study it, the more you will realise it is not only true, but the only real truth we can rely upon. 

Jesus died for you. Three days later He rose from the dead. Many witnesses saw it. You don’t have the luxury to ignore it or deny it. So what will you do with this truth today? 

Stones that shout for joy

Today is Palm Sunday, and the day where we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. It is called Palm Sunday because of the crowds who lay palm branches and their own coats on the ground for Jesus to ride on as He entered the city. Think of this as a sort of “red carpet!”

In the village where we live, a usual Palm Sunday would see a group from the church walking from the town hall through to the church – led by a locally sourced donkey! It is quite a sight to be seen, and the children love it.

This year, due to the COVID-19 situation, this won’t be going ahead. Instead, many churches around the country and the world will celebrate online via live streaming. I hope, if nothing else, this reminds us how fortunate we are to be able to meet in person.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is recorded in Luke’s Gospel.

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” say, “The Lord needs it.”’

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’

34 They replied, ‘The Lord needs it.’

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’

‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’

40 ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’

Luke 19:28-40 (NIVUK)

As mentioned above, our church are not able to meet this Palm Sunday. Our family had agreed to lead the prayers that day, so made a little video instead. My daughters danced in the background, waving homemade palm branches while I talked a little about Jesus’ entry into the city.

I pointed out that if we are ever in danger of missing an important point from the Gospels, then often the Pharisees come to our aid. In the video at least, I’m not sure I fully explained why – so will try to do a better job here!

As Jesus enters the city, the crowds begin to praise Him. They cut branches from the trees and lay out their jackets for Him to ride over. Verse 38 records the words they began to shout: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” This is a direct quote from Psalm 118.

When the crowds do this, the Pharisees immediately stand to attention and tell Jesus to rebuke His disciples. Why? Because they knew, as well as Jesus did, that Psalm 118 and these words in particular are Messianic. They know that the crowds are acknowledging Jesus as the King who was to come.

The Pharisees do not want anyone to recognise this. They don’t believe it themselves, and essentially consider it blasphemy. They are saying, “Jesus! These people are proclaiming you as the Messiah! Stop them!”

How does Jesus respond? By telling them that if the people refused to cry out, then the very stones themselves would begin to praise.

Palm Sunday is the fulfilment of a very specific prophecy from the Old Testament book of Daniel. In that, the angel Gabriel declares the exact day in which the Messiah would be presented to Jerusalem as King, and that day was this Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into the city. You can hear more about this in my message – Prophecy and Palm Branches which I will put at the bottom of this post. You can hear more of my talks in the Audio section.

While I was in Jerusalem a few years ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to walk the road that Jesus went down that first Palm Sunday. As we walked, I picked up a small stone from the ground which I have kept as a keepsake. Of course the stone itself was not there the day Jesus was, although that would have been nice, but it is a little reminder to me. If I do not praise God, then maybe that little stone might cry out.

When you are next out, doing your daily exercise, or the next time you take a turn around the garden, why don’t you also pick up a stone. You can put it somewhere that you’ll see it, and every time you do, take a moment to praise and thank God for His Son. Otherwise that stone might shout for joy instead of you!

Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem knowing full well where it would lead. Less than a week later, He would be nailed to a wooden cross and bearing the punishment for us all. That crowd which praised Him on the way in, would soon change their tune and shout “Crucify him!”

Remember why Jesus did it. It was for you and for me. I see Palm Sunday as the peak at the top of a roller-coaster – that moment where all seems to freeze before it races downwards the other side. Jesus is being rightly praised, but would soon plummet into the shame of a sinner’s death – undeserved. He did it for you.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ this Holy week.

Palm Branches and Prophecy

 

A (Prophetic?) Dream

I’m not particularly prone to dreaming, and when I do, I rarely remember them. Last night however, I had a very vivid dream. It concerned people I’d never seen and in a setting I wasn’t familiar with. When this happens, it could be prophetic in nature. I share it below in case it is of meaning to someone.

 

I was climbing up several flights of stairs with a group of people I didn’t know. Many of them were from various countries around the world. At a high floor, we went into something like a classroom. The tables were laid out in broad rows but there were perhaps only one or two of them.

It was a Christian meeting of some kind.

I looked out of the window, and saw people moving past on the street below.

Back in the room, a young man stood up and preached a sermon, but I have no recollection what he said. I got the impression it was his first time preaching.

Afterwards, the anointing was extremely strong and many were touched by the message the man had given. The group were discussing what they would do (individually) in response to the message.

I begin talking to a girl who had been moved to pay back a debt of around £12,000 which I believe was for a motorbike. She said that the group of people gathered here had been extremely supportive and she wanted to repay them. I think she referred to them as N.E.S. or N.E.B? Or something similar.

As we were talking, another woman took something from her hand and rebuked her for losing focus. The girl I’d been speaking to walked away, seemingly quite upset.

I followed her and began to give her words of prophecy.

“You are a consuming fire. But you are being smothered by those around you. They try to cover you in a tarpaulin to cut off the oxygen or fuel for the fire. They hope to contain the flames, but it only burns hotter inside of you. You must come out from under those who would smother you. God has put this fire in your heart for power and passion, and wants you to use it for His Kingdom.”

 

At this point, I woke up. It was so vivid that I had to write it down. As I say, I didn’t recognise any of the individuals in the dream, nor the place where we were. It could just be a random dream, or it could be something more.

If it means something to you, then I hope it is encouraging. If not, please ignore!

Stepping Into Prophecy

Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives–especially the ability to prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT)

I’ve been reflecting on the reasons I originally started this blog. Of course, it was partly to share the Bible with people and some of my thoughts on it. But it was also to explore the spiritual gift of prophecy.

It has slowly become clear to me that I do have a spiritual gift in this area, but it is also something I’ve had little opportunity to really step out into. This blog was a chance for me to exercise this gift. It has taken me a long time to identify this in me, and so I don’t want you to think I’m arrogantly claiming this or that. I’ve found it quite humbling, but also realise an unused gift brings no glory to the Giver.

So that’s what I’m going to do… It may seem a little odd at first, and I hope you will bear with me as I go. But first…

What is the spiritual gift of prophecy?

The word “prophecy” can mean different things in the Bible. There is the “Office of Prophet” both in the New and Old Testament, and there is also biblical prophecy, such as some of the book of Daniel, or Ezekiel or Isaiah.

What I am referring to here is the spiritual gift of prophecy, as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

It is not about predicting the future, although there may be an element of understanding things that are to come. Rather it is sharing God’s will with people. Perhaps that may mean a word of encouragement, or pointing them towards Jesus, or confirming to them something God has already been saying to them.

It may mean receiving words, pictures or visions from the Holy Spirit, and describing them to the person concerned. It can take different forms, but must always be done in love.

During a conversation with a non-believer, I was once asked about the gift of prophecy – “How is it any different to what a psychic does?” That’s an insightful question from someone outside the church.

The spiritual gift of prophecy differs from what a psychic or medium might do for a number of reasons. Firstly, ignoring any fraudulent psychics who are only seeking money, the main difference is the source. Psychics may be tapping into the occult, or demonic powers, whereas when we use the gift of prophecy, we are seeking God’s Holy Spirit.

Secondly, they differ in terms of the goal. A psychic or medium may be offering words of advice or giving direction in one way or another, but if the source is “wrong”, that is, demonic, then those words as nicely framed as they may be, will only lead to trouble.

The enemy comes only to kill and steal and destroy (John 10:10) and so we ought to be very careful.

The spiritual gift of prophecy is intended to encourage and uplift believers. It’s an opportunity to share God’s will and purpose with someone, and to support them in time of need. Put simply, it is an expression of love.

Should it be used to correct a believer?

There are times when a prophetic word may be a warning or rebuke to a believer, but that should only be done in certain circumstances. The authority of the church, or in marital or parental situations for instance. A pastor may need to correct a member of the flock (with love and care) or a spouse or parent may need to do the same thing.

That does not mean anyone with a word of prophecy has the right or authority to do so.

In this blog, I want to listen to what God is saying and share it. Prophecy is not more difficult than that. However, it is not my place to bring correction to my readers. I can’t easily establish a relationship with people reading the blog, and nor do I see this as a place of authority over believers, as a church family might be. You will not therefore find words of correction or rebuke here.

How will this work?

Good question, and honestly, I’m not entirely certain yet. It is my intention to sit quietly and seek the Lord in prayer. I’ll then write down what I believe God is showing me.

Please keep in mind that I am not perfect, but thank God He is! I may make mistakes, misunderstand or get things wrong at times. Don’t ever take something I say here and base a major decision on it! That would not be wise. Instead, please use it as confirmation or inspiration. Discuss it with Jesus and be sure it is right and right for you before you act.

I hope that what you read is both encouraging and uplifting. If it speaks to you personally, then please get in touch by leaving a comment or writing me a message.

 

I see a barren landscape, with rocky ground here and about. There is a single yellow flower sprouting up from the ground, and before my eyes it is starting to spread and multiply. Before long, the entire landscape is covered in bright yellows, pinks, reds and blues. The rocky soil that was there before is completely gone, covered up and good ground in its place. 

It feels to me that this is a picture of hope. Perhaps you are a Christian, alone in your situation (maybe at work?) and feel like that single flower in the middle of the wilderness. God encourages you to stand firm and hang on, because your faithfulness will birth other “flowers” and the dry, stony sand will be replaced with new life. 

You may feel the ground is too dry, the wind too strong and the conditions just aren’t right for you. You wish to leave, to find somewhere more comfortable, but God is wanting you to stay put. It may feel difficult right now, but He is strengthening you and before long you will not be the only one. Your faithfulness at sharing the Gospel will bear much fruit until God changes the entire landscape through you. 

I see a gold pocket watch on a chain. This could symbolise time, or the passing of time but perhaps it is a specific object of meaning to someone. Someone is clutching it tightly and I wonder if it means that time is running out in some situation? Or maybe it just feels that way.

God is never late or early, but will always be on time. He has not forgotten you and has not abandoned you. Time’s not up yet!

I have a picture of waves crashing against a sea shore. They are refreshing, cold but invigorating. This seems to be a time of refreshing for someone who needs it. You feel weary and tired, but the waves are the rejuvenating of your spirit by the Holy Spirit. He has come alongside you and is holding you up. He will never leave you nor forsake you. I’m reminded of Philippians 4:13 from the Amplified Bible which says:

“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”

God is likewise infusing you with inner strength. Don’t rely on your physical strength, as that can drain. Instead, draw on the Spirit who will never run dry or grow weary. You are able! 

 

Father’s Day

If you are a father, or if you know one, then I’d like to wish you a very happy Father’s Day!

I’ve uploaded a Father’s Day sermon (with a difference) that I gave a few years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

 

The Father’s Sacrifice