Growing in Spiritual Gifts
I Corinthians 14:1
Let’s turn to I Corinthians 14. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. I Corinthians is on page 960 in the Bibles we are passing out.
What God does in saving us is amazing. Think about it. Because of Jesus’ death for your sins, God reaches down from heaven and gives you a new heart which trusts and loves Jesus; He forgives you for all your sins; He clothes you with Jesus’ righteousness, so from now on He responds to you as perfectly righteous; He adopts you into His family and becomes your Father; and He gives you the Holy Spirit – who makes Jesus’ presence real to you, and who gives you spiritual gifts.
This morning we are going to talk about spiritual gifts. Here’s why they are so important. Friday I read a blog from a pastor in Idaho. A woman in his church was being aggressively recruited by the leader of a cult that led people away from Jesus. People in his church had reached out to her and talked with her and prayed for her. But no matter what they did, she became more and more convinced to follow this man into the cult.
But one morning this pastor was reading 2 Peter. He came to the verse that talks about false teachers with eyes full of adultery who seduce unstable people. And as he read that verse a thought flashed into his mind. At that moment he knew that the cult leader had seduced this woman and was sleeping with her as a way to draw her into the cult.
So he made an appointment with this woman. He gently asked if she was sleeping with this man. She broke down weeping. She prayed and confessed her adultery to Jesus, and received His love and forgiveness. And as she did that she was set free from the deception of that cult.
That’s a perfect picture of why spiritual gifts are so important to us here at Mercy Hill.
Here at Mercy Hill we believe God is still working through the supernatural gifts listed in the New Testament, and we are committed to pursuing these gifts biblically when we gather Sunday mornings, when we gather in our home groups, and as we follow Jesus during the week.
So this morning I believe God wants to call all of us to a fresh pursuit of spiritual gifts. And so I am going to teach on spiritual gifts, then we’ll have time for some questions, and then we will take some time to ask God to work in our midst by His gifts.
Let’s start with I Corinthians 14:1 --
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
So what spiritual gifts are we to desire? We can see what gifts Paul has in mind by looking at I Corinthians 12:7-10 –
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit [that’s probably where the Holy Spirit spontaneously gives you wisdom or knowledge that you could not otherwise know],
9 to another faith by the same Spirit [that’s where the Holy Spirit suddenly gives you certainty about something He is about to do], to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy [we’ll talk about that in a moment], to another the ability to distinguish between spirits [sensing if something is from the Holy Spirit or from an evil spirit], to another various kinds of tongues [that’s speaking or praying in a language you’ve never learned], to another the interpretation of tongues.
So Paul calls all of us to earnestly desire these gifts – and especially to earnestly desire prophecy. So since Paul focuses specially on prophecy, that’s what I’m going to focus on for the rest of our time this morning.
What is prophecy? There’s at least two crucial truths to understand about prophecy.
First, prophecy involves a revelation from God. You can see that in vv.29-31. This is the clearest verse I have found in which Paul defines prophecy. Look at what he says –
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged …
Notice that v.29 talks about “prophets speak[ing],” and v.31 talks about how “you can all prophesy.” So these verses are all talking about prophecy. But in v.30 Paul does not use the word prophet or prophecy. Instead, he uses a phrase to describe what happens when someone receives a prophecy – “if a revelation is made to another sitting there.”
So prophecy involves receiving a revelation from God. It does not mean that you think of something that would be helpful to share with someone. That’s a beautiful thing to do, and God will work through that – but it’s not prophecy. Prophecy is not where you think of something to share; it’s where God spontaneously brings a thought into your mind.
Here’s Wayne Grudem’s definition of prophecy:
Prophecy is telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind. (Systematic Theology, p.1049)
That’s what Douglas Wilson experienced. He was reading a verse, and God spontaneously brought to mind the thought that this woman was sleeping with this cult leader – and God did that so she would be freed from the deception.
Second, prophecy must be evaluated by Scripture. Throughout church history you can read about groups that believed in the gift of prophecy, but then were led away from Scripture by what they thought were prophecies. But genuine prophecy will never lead us away from Scripture. And one way we can tell if a prophecy is genuine is if it is in sync with Scripture.
You can see that in I Corinthians 14:29 –
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
How do we weigh a prophecy? By comparing it to God’s Word. If a prophecy contradicts God’s Word, it’s not from God.
So prophecy involves receiving a revelation from God. And prophecy must be evaluated by Scripture. So with that in mind, read I Corinthians 14:1 again –
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
So why should we earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy? This word “earnestly desire” is a very strong word in the Greek meaning “strive for, desire, be very concerned about.” Think about how you feel about food when you are hungry. That’s how we should feel about spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.
But why? Why should we earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy?
First, because we love people. One reason we desire prophecy is because we are pursuing love – because we love people. Think about your home group this week. What if while at home group God spontaneously brought something to mind that when you spoke it brought someone great encouragement or consolation?
Or what if while at work this week God spontaneously brought something to mind that when you share with someone who does not yet know Jesus, opens their heart to trust Jesus?
So one reason we earnestly desire prophecy is because we love people.
Second, because God gives these gifts in response to earnest desire and prayer. You can see that in v.13 –
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret.
Why should he pray for the power to interpret? Because God answers prayer! There’s a connection between desiring and praying for spiritual gifts, and receiving spiritual gifts. All else being equal, the more we desire and pray for prophecy, the more we will experience the gift of prophecy.
Third, because Paul commands it. This is reason enough. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands us to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.
How should I share a spiritual gift? Let’s say that in a few moments when we are asking God to bring us spiritual gifts God suddenly brings something into your mind. You were not trying to think of something to share. But God just spontaneously brought something to mind. So how should you share it?
I would encourage you to share it humbly and tentatively. Don’t say “Thus saith the Lord.” That’s only for Old Testament Prophets and New Testament Apostles. Instead say: “I think maybe God is saying this. I think Jesus brought this into my mind. I think Jesus wants me to share this.”
And one last question – how should I receive a spiritual gift? Let’s say someone comes up to you at home group and says they think God told them that you were supposed to move to Southern California. How should you receive that?
You should thank them, and then tell them that you will lift that up to the Lord in prayer. And if that really was from God, then God will make it clear to you. You should never do something just because someone else shares a prophecy with you. Because if that was really from God, then He will make that clear to you.
And if you pray about it, and you get no sense that God is saying that to you, then you can just ignore it. No problem.
Any questions?
Now let’s have a lab. To set the stage for this, read 1 Cor 14:1 again –
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
The reason we pursue spiritual gifts is for the sake of love. Think of it. Someone over on the other side of the room this morning might be struggling spiritually, and the Holy Spirit could give you a prophecy that will profoundly encourage them. So – for the sake of love – earnestly desire all the gifts, especially prophecy.
Let’s do that now. Let’s pray and ask for God to bring His gifts to us Then let’s wait and listen and see if God spontaneously gives you a revelation of something. It could be a Scripture. It could be a truth. It could be a vision or a picture.
If God doesn’t give you anything – that’s fine. You’ve fulfilled your responsibility. If He does – go ahead and share it. Let’s do that now.