The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, May 16, 2010

Sunday after Ascension: 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion

Hearing the Word of God #4:

“Using the Prophetic Gift”

1 Corinthians 14:26-33b, 36-40

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you that after you ascended to the Father you gave gifts those who believe in you; show us now, by your Holy Spirit, how to use the gift of prophecy, that we might rightly hear and share the word of God today and so build up and encourage your Church.  Amen.

Introduction

This is the last sermon in our mini-series, “Hearing the Word of God” as a follow-up to our prophetic weekend with Isabel and Ivan Allum last Fall.   We have looked at “How We Hear God Speak to Us”, “Acting on What We Hear”, and “The Purpose of the Prophetic Gift.”   With these teachings as our base, today we will proceed to look at “Using the Prophetic Gift.”

We will begin by looking at Paul’s “Prophecy 101” course in 1 Corinthians 14.   In the last sermon, we looked at the first half of the chapter and saw that the purpose of prophecy is to build up the church and to bless unbelievers.  In the second half, we will see how the prophetic gift is to be exercised in the congregation.   We will then look at following-up words of prophecy that have been received – both personally and collectively – at the Prophetic Conference last Fall and elsewhere.

Prophecy 101

For many people, using the gift of prophecy today raises all sorts of anxieties.  People know all too well about the danger of excesses and there are concerns about things “getting out of hand” during worship.  As a result, Christians down through the ages have tended to structure worship so much that anything unplanned or spontaneous is virtually impossible!  But that attitude could also be seen as extreme!  Paul shows us a better way in the second half of chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians.  Worship in his day was quite a bit more flexible:  “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word, or instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation” (1 Corinthians 14:26).   Now, down through the centuries the development of an order of service or liturgy can be seen as Spirit-led and very beneficial – as I would strongly argue – but not to the exclusion of spontaneity and freedom.   But how are we exercise the gifts of the Spirit that we would see as more “dramatic” such as tongues and prophecy when we gather as the church?  We can look to this chapter for principles and practicalities in the use of the prophetic gift in worship.

1. 1. Principles: I can see here at least four principles in the use of the prophetic gift – attitude, character, caution and common sense.
   1. Attitude: the first principle is a right attitude.  In the last sermon we saw that the prophetic gift was to be used to build up the church: “Those who prophesy speak to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort…so that the church may be edified…” (verses 3, 5).  “All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church…so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged” (verses 26, 31).   The person who prophecies must have a servant heart – he or she is not there to impress others with their spirituality but in humility to share the word they are receiving from God for the benefit of all.  Isabel Allum shares in heir book how she had misused the prophetic gift to her personal advantage: “I wanted recognition and knew the gift I had would give it to me, so I prophesied out of pride.”[1] Our attitude in using the gift is to be one of servanthood and humility.
   2. Character: underlying a right attitude is the godly character of the one who prophecies.  Paul has already stressed the importance of a loving heart when it comes to exercising spiritual gifts: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing” (13:2).  “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts specially the gift of prophecy” (14:1).  Love, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), is a prerequisite for using prophecy, the gift of the Spirit.  Again, the Allums have a word of caution: “Many people think that receiving a calling from God and having it revealed, endorses their current character.”[2] Godly Character is much more important than gifting or calling.[3]
   3. Caution: caution is also to be exercised in how we treat the prophetic word itself: “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said” (verse 29).  In the first sermon in this series we spoke of ways of testing to see if a word is from God or not: Is it in accord with Scripture?   Does it build up the Church and receive the support of leadership?   Does it bring wholeness to my own heart?  and, if predictive, Does it come to pass?  This job of testing is the responsibility of the whole church – Paul says “the others” should weigh the word carefully – not just clergy!  We are to use wise caution.
   4. Common sense: having laid the foundation of right attitude, godly character and wise caution Paul moves on to the principle of common sense.  So often, people forget that God has given us minds and sensibilities that are to be used in good measure!  Just because something seems more “supernatural” does not mean we ignore all practical considerations.  So Paul speaks of not going on too long – “If a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop” (verse 30), “prophesying in turn” (verse 31), and self control – “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (verse 32).  He says that “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (verse 40) because “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (verse 33).

So, the principles in the use of the prophetic gift are right attitude, godly character, wise caution and Spirit-given common sense.

Before going on to practicalities, you may have noticed that verses 34 and 35 were omitted in our reading – the uncomfortable words that “women should remain silent in the churches” (verse 34).  This was deliberate.  Why would Paul contradict himself in this passage when he has already spoken about women prophesying or praying out loud in chapter 11 in his discussion on culturally appropriate dress restrictions?  Elsewhere, Acts 2:17, quotes the prophet Joel’s prediction of the age of the Spirit when “Your sons and daughters will prophecy” and there are many female prophets spoken of in Scripture.[4] So why would Paul tell women to keep silent in church?   Various interpretations have been given but the best explanation is that these words were not in Paul’s original letter at all but marginal notes added by a later scribe which subsequently got included in the text itself.[5] The evidence for this is that these verses are in two different locations in various early manuscripts thus indicating that they were inserted later.  Plus, verse 36 follows very well after verse 33.  Paul definitely envisaged women prophesying in church!

1. 2. Practicalities: from the principles in the passage we can extract some practical points for the exercise of the prophetic gift here at St. Aidan’s.
   1. Timing: keep it short.  Experience has shown us that the longer you go on, the more danger you have of adding your known thoughts.  You are called upon to share what you have heard or seen but not necessarily to interpret it.  You are called to exercise self-control and deference to others.
   2. Testing: check it out.  Because receiving a word doesn’t automatically sanction your Christian maturity, if the exercise of the gift is new to you or you are new to the congregation (less than six months in the parish), before sharing in the wider body you need to check it beforehand with a mature Christian or one of the clergy.  You can also do this if you feel awkward about sharing out loud.  You should do this if you feel the word is for a specific individual – particularly if the word has a negative tone.  You are called to submit to the judgement of others.
   3. Trying: step out in faith! If God is giving you words or pictures please do not keep them to yourself – share them.  Remember that God is giving you them for the benefit of the wider body – you are not “showing off” a superior spirituality.  Begin in situations where you feel comfortable such as sharing with another trusted individual or in a small group.  Then, with practice, you will feel more comfortable in a more public setting.  Don’t worry if you make a mistake – God can fix up mistakes – others are there to correct you.  If you keep quiet, you will not err, but no one will be blessed.  You are called to step out in faith and use the gifts God has given you.

I want to close this section on the principles and practicalities in the use of the prophetic gift with a very balanced word from Bishop David Pytches, one of the early leaders of the charismatic movement in Anglicanism.

One of the obvious concerns for those wishing to promote the practice of prophecy in the Church is the naiveté and gullibility of certain church members.  They take everything, including themselves, so seriously.  In a healthy church people do need to have a good laugh at themselves sometimes.  The task ahead is a serious one and the Lord must always be taken seriously, but Solomon was so right – when he said that ‘a merry heart doeth good like a medicine’.  A church will never grow in prophetic gifting where there is no space for some humour when mistakes occur as they inevitably will.  No man or is woman is infallible – certainly not a prophet.  We have met a number who have been greatly used of God in prophecy, but we do not know of one who has not been wrong about a prophecy at one time or another.[6]

Paul’s closing verse sums up well his course on Prophecy 101: “Therefore, my brothers sand sisters, be eager to prophesy…But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (verse 40).

Following-up Prophetic Words

In closing we will move on to following-up on the prophetic words we have received as individuals or as a parish.

1. Personal Words: in terms of words to us as individuals, the Allums emphasized that Christian prophecy is not fatalistic.  Things will not automatically happen – be they good or bad.  For example, becoming a Christian in the first place is not automatic just because Jesus died for us – we have to receive him into our hearts and live out the life in the Spirit he gives us.  In the same way God calls us to act upon what we have received as a word of prophecy – whether it was last Fall or on another occasion.  Here is how you can do that:
   1. Listen: first, spend time with God and listen again to the word that was given you – there may be sections you have forgotten or could not absorb earlier.  Recognize the different types of word that have different functions: the major types are first, affirmation – who you are and how God sees you and second, what God can do with you if you let him.
   2. Explore: then check out with a trusted leader how you can explore your word of prophecy.  For example, the members of the Prophecy Conference Organizing Committee are available – Ken and Nancy Turnbull, Linda Stokes, Jan and Laird Jones, Maureen Forbes, Ellen Spencer, Joy Unrau or me.
   3. Share and encourage: take advantage of opportunities to share and encourage one another in discipleship – in your small group or form a small group to encourage yourself and others in pursuing God’s call on your life.
   4. Step-out in ministry: we are saved to serve; God wants to empower you to go out and minister.  For example, if your prophecy spoke of mission – get into a mission situation at home or abroad; if you were told you have a pastoring gift – put yourself in a place to exercise the gift such as in a small group or become a pastoral visitor; if it was in setting captives free from bondage – get involved in healing or counselling ministry; if it was that you are prophetic – exercise it as I have shared.  Linda Stokes is looking at setting up a prophetic training group in the Fall.  Search out possibilities, get training and step out in faith.
2. Parish Word: the same principles for applying the prophetic word to individuals apply to the prophetic word we received as a parish.  I have duplicated it with headings added by Jim Holland and copies are available at the back of the church.  In line with 1 Corinthians 14:29, Vestry set up a group to weigh carefully what we heard and copies of the evaluation are also available.
   1. Cautions: the group followed David Pytches’ approach and recognized that, gifted as Isabel is, not everything came out perfectly!  We found some of the Scripture references were misquoted and certain phrasing could lead to misinterpretation if not taken in context.  Examples of this were “death of our enemies” and promises of material blessing.  Holding Scripture alongside the prophetic word was seen as a way of avoiding any misunderstanding.
   2. b. Content: although there was much more, the focus of the prophetic word was the three-fold blessing God has for us as a parish:
      1. i.      First Blessing – the Wisdom, Revelation, and Knowledge of God.  This wisdom will benefit the wider secular community, including those in government.
      2. ii.      Second Blessing – the Well of Provision.  God will remove poverty from us so that we can provide for the needs of the wider community and other churches and the nations.
      3. iii.      Third Blessing – Peace in the Land, Peace in Your Lives.   This was originally styled as “freedom from enemies” – those who would discourage and detract us from our course of mission.  Healing will flow from us to areas of oppression and captivity.
   3. Fulfillment: there is so much to be explored in the word to us and I will touch briefly on two areas – provision for ministry and freedom from distraction.  We believe the highlighting of these blessings for St. Aidan’s is to refocus and point us in the direction of mission beyond ourselves. As a congregation, we have been provided for in abundance (financially, individual giftedness, missionary desire) and this is to be used in the service of others – in our immediate community of River Heights, the wider city of Winnipeg and the province as a whole. Words given to individuals during the conference expanded that sphere of mission to include the wider world.  The amazing reversal of our financial situation from deficit to surplus in the last three months of 2009 was nothing short of miraculous.  The number of parishioners serving abroad recently in long-or short-term mission has been the largest in many years.  People have been coming forward with new mission initiatives which are dovetailing with one another and beginning to gel.  Mission teams, local outreach, church planting training and our school expansion are part of a renewed vision for St. Aidan’s that is arising.

In terms of freedom from distraction, in recent years we have been experiencing welcome favour in our diocesan community.   However, pressure upon us from the wider church is still with us and we are doing all we can, through our involvement in the Anglican Communion Alliance, to diffuse the situation and call the church back to its orthodox roots.  Your prayers and giving and the presence of three of us from this parish at the upcoming General Synod are part of that effort.  How that desire for peace with orthodoxy will be received is not in our power.  But our prayer is that we will have deliverance from distraction, whatever the outcome.

Something changed last Fall – we believe God has been moving us by his Spirit in fresh ways. This is in accord with the word spoken not only by Isabel (“Three Blessings or Wells”) but also with other words (“water of the Spirit flowing out”; “unstopped wells”) received by members of the parish over the past year.  God is transforming a “dryness” many of us have felt and the prophetic words we have received have been both a confirmation and a call upon us from God.   We have been encouraged and strengthened.

Conclusion

Prophecy is for the upbuilding of the Church and the instructing and comforting of individuals.  However, in all of this we do not focus on ourselves nor even our mission but on God and his love and intentions for us.   As we continue to look more deeply into the meaning and exercise of the prophetic here at St. Aidan’s, my desire is that all of us will be able to hear and receive God’s word to us in new and fresh ways through whatever means he chooses.  I close once more with Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.  Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  Be open to hearing God speak to you today.

Prophetic Word to St. Aidan’s Church

From Isabel Allum – November 1, 2009, 10:00 AM Service

With headings inserted by Jim Holland

Asked the Lord

This morning, at the beginning of the service I asked the Lord what he would like to give you or tell you or share with you. I asked him to show me his heart for you and what would you like to share with them and the Lord has given me two things to release to you and to impart prophetically over you as a church.  What he would like to share with you and this is what I heard him say:

Scriptures

He gave me a couple of scriptures for you and then I will release it prophetically over your lives and it is 2 Chronicles 7, when the Lord came to visit Solomon, on one of his two visitations and he said, this is what the Lord told me to tell you,

From 2 Chronicles 7

“I have heard your prayer and I have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.  When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or command locusts to come and devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.  I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be here forever and my eyes and my heart will always be here”.

He has Heard You – a Lot of Repentance (Past)

And what the Lord told me with this is “he has heard you” and you have been asking the Lord with a good heart and a proper heart, there has been a lot of repentance in this house on behalf of your lives, on behalf of the city, on behalf of the community, on behalf of the country and on behalf of the world, you have been crying out to the Lord and he wants you to know he has heard you and his heart has been moved by you and by the attitude of your heart and the repentance you have shown before him.

Future

Out of this place repentance will come to the world and this will become a place where people will come to seek him, I didn’t know what Ivan was going to speak on today, I got this before he spoke and the Lord is going to make this place a place for repentance for many, where people will come to find the Lord, to find repentance, to find restoration, and those who pray and ask the Lord among you, those who come in and seek the Lord in this place and you, the people in this house, will be heard. You are heard by God. And many will come and walk in on their own seeking those encounters with the Lord in this house because he listens here.

Favour Upon You

There is a favour upon you and we know the Lord hears us everywhere, it’s not that he doesn’t unless we pray here, that’s not what I mean, but there is a favour given to you for the presence of God to dwell in this house, his heart to dwell, a manifestation of his presence. There are many places where he is but like Ivan was saying, the manifestation of his presence is what makes the difference. And God has chosen to do that with you.  And I saw people coming in from the streets, walking in to repent in this house, to humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, and healing, restoration and changes will come and this community will be touched through you because you have been seeking God on their behalf, so there is going to be a great impact for the community and even not just immediate community but also for the province out of this place.

You Must Think Bigger

You must think bigger because your influence is not just for this place and it is going to be as far as province wide.

Other Visitation to Solomon

I also heard the Lord say he is going to release upon you, in his other visitation to Solomon, the manifestation of his two visits to Solomon are going to be manifested here.

Second Manifestation

And the second, the other manifestation, the other visitation of God to Solomon was when God came to ask him “what would you like me to give you?“

Solomon’s Attitude Emphasized

And Solomon asked with a right heart, he asked with a heart to please the Lord and I heard the Lord saying you have asked him as a church and as pastors and as people in this house, you ask him with the requests that have pleased his heart.  But you ask him what he wants to do here and that has moved him tremendously.

So I heard the Lord saying he will release upon you the three blessings that he gave to Solomon will be manifested here.  And everyone, every household represented in this house will receive an impartation of this and those who visit will be touched by it too.

Three Impartations

1) Wisdom of God

And the three impartations, three blessings God gave Solomon:

the first one of course we know was wisdom and understanding.

To St. Aidan’s

And the Lord says I will release a well of wisdom in this house that’s going to be heard from far and wide

-          and it will release such fame of the wisdom of God that people just like the queen of Sheba will come to this house:

• to hear, to learn, to receive, even people from government and politicians:
• will hear of the wisdom of God that dwells in this place says the Lord and they will come
• and seek wisdom in this house and
• you will speak to them and bring direction even to those who lead the government.

2) Well of Provision

There’s also going to be the well of provision in this house, the Lord released to Solomon financial provision, everything beyond understanding and the Lord says:

Remove all Poverty

I will remove all poverty from this house, he will remove poverty from the families in this house.

Purpose  – To Meet Needs

But he will also release into this place and out of you:

-          Provision to meet the needs of the community and

-          To meet the needs even of other churches and other congregations.

In times of need

-          You are going to become lenders, in a time of need, in a time of famine

-          you are going to have abundance like when God blessed the land of Egypt through Pharaoh.

-          You will receive abundance

• to give to the land of Egypt and also
• to bless the people of God.

Further Abundance

I saw you taking provision and I saw crops growing and I saw cattle multiplying and I saw the gift of multiplication is going to come to people in the workplaces, to people at home, whatever you do, people with their own business you are going to prosper tremendously, double the work is going to come to you than to your neighbours or to others, even if you are in the same field you will receive double the blessing and double the provision:

Purpose – To Meet More Needs

-          because the Lord will use that

-          so the needs of many will be met.

I saw

-          the hungry being fed,

-          clothing,

-          houses being built for people to live

Out of what the Lord will give you to

-          bless the people and

-          provide for them.

-

3) God Removed All God’s Enemies, Peace in the Land.

The third blessing God gave to Solomon is God removed all his enemies, peace in the land.  And what I heard the Lord saying is he will give you peace, there’s going to be peace in your lives and peace in this house.

Enemies Will be Removed From You

As a church enemies will be removed from you, opposition will be removed from you, I just heard a trumpet blowing in heaven, opposition is going to be removed from you.  Your enemies will die, corporately.  You’re going to see that happening but you will live in peace, there is a peace that is going to come and scripture says that: “Solomon had no enemies as long as he did what the Lord said”, in the end he blew it but that was his problem, but as long as he did what the Lord said he had peace.  And what I heard the Lord saying, the third well that will spring open in this house is a well of peace and rest.

The Enemies to be Removed

And you will find:

-          People with demonic oppressions,

-          Clinical depression be set free.

You will see:

-          Peace in your lives and in the lives of those who are tormented by lack of peace,

-          people who have insomnia and who have problems, can’t sleep, can’t rest will receive rest and peace.

-          Healing will flow out of here for those areas of oppression and captivity.

As the Lord releases this upon you, the Lord is releasing the three wells and he’s releasing this impartation, he’s releasing this favour. But:

Effort is Required

You are going to have to dig them out and work in maintaining the wells flowing.  And I believe you are a good investment to the Lord.  I have seen this with (?Ken?) that you are a good investment to the Father therefore, he is entrusting you with this.

I heard the Lord saying there are many others in this area, in this part of the country, who have been wanting those things to be released to them but the Lord has held it back because they would misuse it.

More Giving

But the Lord says he has found you to be people that you will

-      Not keep it to yourselves, and you will

-      Not hide it but you will:

• Release it,
• Share it and
• Give it.

It’s because of that he will anoint these three wells to open up and people will, the land will change as long as those wells are flowing out of this place.

St. Aidan’s Church

Prophecy Review Group

Report to Vestry – February 18, 2010

The Prophecy Review Group (Illa Barber, Amy Blanchard, Brett Cane, John Dean, Les Kovaks, Joy Unrau) was struck at the November 2009 meeting of Vestry and we met three times: Dec. 12, Jan. 9 and Feb. 6.  Our mandate was to examine the word of prophecy given by Isabel Allum at our 10:00 a.m. Sunday service on Nov.1 during the Prophecy Conference.  John Dean and Jim Holland both contributed submissions which we examined, along with members’ experiences and observations of the whole conference and all was considered in the light of Scripture and what God seems to be doing amongst us at this time.

Our conclusions are as follows:

1. Something changed last Fall – we believe God has been moving us by his Spirit in fresh ways. This is in accord with the word spoken not only by Isabel (“Three wells”) but also with other words (“water of the Spirit flowing out”; “unstopped wells”) received by members of the parish over the past year.  God is transforming a “dryness” many of us have felt.
2. The Allum’s prophetic ministry was that of the “Seer” – discerning what God is and will be doing amongst us – as individuals and as a congregation.  The words received (individual and corporate) were both how God sees us (words of affirmation of his work within us, of his gifts to us and of his love for us) as well as directions for his calling upon us in the future.
3. The three “blessings” (wisdom/understanding; provision for ministry to others; peace) are indeed what we have been experiencing recently (from the beginning of October on) and point a way to move ahead in the future which is consistent with God’s general provisions promised in Scripture for his Church.
4. The highlighting of these blessings for St. Aidan’s is to refocus and point us in the direction of mission beyond ourselves. As a congregation, we have been provided for in abundance (financially, individual giftedness, missionary desire) and this is to be used in the service of others – in our immediate community of River Heights, the wider city of Winnipeg and the province as a whole.  Words given to individuals during the conference expanded that sphere of mission to include the wider world.  As a healing church we have been “saved to serve” and to bless others. We believe God is calling us to be ready and willing to be used by him in new areas of ministry without unhealthily overextending ourselves..
5. There were concerns over the manner in which the message was communicated to us by Isabel.  Care must be taken to ensure that language and wording used not imply infallibility, and that Scripture be accurately quoted and rightly applied, leading to encouragement to take up the cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts. It was agreed that any misconceptions that may have arisen from the promises of removing all poverty and of doubling the financial blessings to us all should be addressed.  There are differences to be recognized between how prophecy is exercised in the Old Testament and the New.  The widespread use of the term “prophecy” can be unhelpful and misleading and we recommend use of the expression “Word from the Lord”, only after careful consideration, recognizing that there is a variety of ways in which the Lord communicates to us – above all, true “words from the Lord” will always be consistent with a proper interpretation of Scripture and confirmed by the Holy Spirit through the discernment of the wider Body.
6. Four sermons after Easter will explore the nature of prophecy today and how it is to be exercised and received under the theme, “Hearing the Word of the Lord.”  This will include matters raised in section 5 above.

We have concluded that our task of reviewing the prophetic words is completed and a new opportunity for mission and service for St. Aidan’s is beginning.

Respectfully submitted,

The Prophecy Review Group

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[1] Ivan and Isabel Allum, Your Destiny. (Highlands Publishing, 2007), pg. 63.

[2] Ibid., pg. 51.

[3] Ibid., pg. 52.

[4] E.g. Deborah (Judges 4 & 5); Anna (Luke 2:36-38); Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:9)

[5] See Gordon Fee.  The First Epistle the Corinthians. New International Commentary on the New Testament.  (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), pgs. 699-708.

[6] David Pytches, Prophecy in the Local Church. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1993), pg. 1.