If You have the Ability to Prophesy—Speak Out

Prayer – God, You have chosen Your own people throughout time…beginning with Adam and Eve…and on down through Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and of course, You, Jesus. You came down and spoke to them—especially to Moses. Thank you for allowing even me to be part of Your family. It is all about choice…Your choice above all others. You gave the Holy Spirit to Moses and now to each of Your believers, in a way unlike the seventy elder. We’re not prophesying—at least not most of us…nor does the Holy Spirit leave us. 

So Moses went out and reported the LORD's words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. Numbers 11:24-25

 

Meditate. Consider The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and now.

 

Moses was a chosen servant of God. Any child who goes to Sunday School knows how Moses was saved when his mother placed him in a basket in the Nile River and the Pharoah’s daughter found him and raised him as her own child. He ran away from Egypt after killing an Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew worker. The next significant occurrence in his life was when God spoke to him from a burning bush, calling him to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. Moses obediently led the Hebrew people to the Promised Land, although due to their disobedient nature it took forty years. Moses hung in there and stayed with those defiant, yet liberated slaves.

 

Does the Holy Spirit rest on you as it did on those elders? Only those with the gift of prophesy can truthfully serve the Lord in that way.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:3-8

Everyone’s gifts are different. Several years ago, my Bible Study group took a spiritual gifts test and it was amazing that between the twelve of us we had all the gifts of the Spirit. Considering warnings from Jesus…don’t be deceived…It occurs to me that prophesying without the Spirit would be considered false prophesying. So, be discerning about any prophesy that you hear. Rely on God’s word to back up any teaching or prophesy. If you have the gift of prophesy, speak up. If not—don’t speak.

 

Is this a gift from God?

Verses of Salvation ~ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10

 

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

Several years ago we toured Israel and while in Jerusalem we shopped at a little herb shop in the old market. That’s where we picked up some Za’atar that our tour guide had served with food. Yum. It can be used by sprinkled over a variety of foods: salads, avocados, scrambled eggs, yogurt, hummus, pizza, French fries, or chicken. It can even be sprinkled over a flat piece of dough, covered with olive oil and baked to make a popular Levantine flatbread called manakish.  Enjoy it on just about anything—it just brings out the flavor of the food without being overpowering or too salty. 

Za’atar Spice Mix

1 tablespoon​ roasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup ground sumac

2 tablespoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons dried marjoram

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon coarse salt

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until just golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Coarsely grind sesame seed in food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Combine sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram, oregano, sumac, and salt in a bowl and stir until well combined. Keeps six months, if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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