24th July, 2022
Minister: Pastor Joshua Akinsusi
Acts 2:17-18
To prophesy is to magnify or exalt God by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4,8-11). God has given us His Spirit and He desires that everyone of us should prophesy. We should not just stop at speaking in tongues, we are to go further into prophesying which is another manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Every time the Holy Ghost comes upon a man, we will speak in tongues and prophesy, thereby magnifying God (Acts 10:46;19:6).
It is God’s desire for every man to prophesy (Numbers 11:24-29). It is majorly for those who have believed; a sign that God is in their midst (1 Corinthians 14:21-22,31,39).
To prophesy is not to foretell or predict; this is what makes people enter into witchcraft. Prophesying has been bastardized because people have made prophets their road maps.
Prophecies are not to judge or criticize people.
They are not to manipulate people. People have been pushed into error as they do not have the ability to know what is right or wrong by themselves until they meet prophets. Hindrances to Prophesying include:
• Fear: When one is not sure of what he wants to say, he will draw back.
• Lack of Appropriate Values (1 Thessalonians 5:20)
• Ignorance (1 Corinthians 12:1)
• Environment (2 Kings 3:15). Sometimes, environments hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit. This is why worship is important; prophesying is said to have a strong alignment with songs.
• Wrong motives (e.g. showmanship)
• Bad character: Ill-mannered prophets cannot be taken seriously.
The following facilitate prophesying:
• Being conscious of it and having the right knowledge.
• Desiring and coveting it (1 Corinthians 14:1,39)
• Having faith for it (Romans 12:6)
• Having God’s word dwelling richly in us (Colossians 3:16)
• Valuing it (1 Thessalonians 5:20)
In summary, it is important to understand that the motive for prophesying should always be for edification (1 Corinthians 14:12). Worship is a very good way of engaging the Holy Spirit. Prayers, psalms, hymns and songs are also channels by which we can engage the Spirit of God.