 okay everyone welcome and let's start the class let's pray before we get into today's discussion and Shri Radha would you please pray you can't oh so I can't give my mic also then maybe we will ask somebody from the online batch to please lead in prayer okay so can anyone kindly unmute and pray please are you able to hear me yes Nina we can hear you gracious loving father thank you so much Lord for this day and for giving us this time to come to you and to your feet Lord even as we learn about the prophetic Lord in this class we pray Holy Spirit that you will open our eyes of understanding that we may understand all the wonderful things that there are in this gift we can't pass to Nancy and each one of us Lord that we may grow and draw closer to you even through this time of learning and teaching in Jesus name we pray amen thank you Nina we are now in chapter 8 and we're looking at some practical aspects as far as the use or operation of the gifts of the Spirit are concerned so the first section here says spiritual gifts need to be stirred up and as we understand in any beverage you know when we put maybe a spoon of sugar it needs to be stirred up for the taste to actually be there so similarly when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are activated in us okay we also need to stir it up then it flows better where do we get this thought from Paul wrote to Timothy in first Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14 he said do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership so he is reminding him that if Timothy does not use the gift that he has then what does it what does that reflect as neglect okay not using the gift is neglect okay now Paul again he writes to Timothy in second Timothy chapter 1 verse 6 where he says therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands so is there a possibility to neglect the gifts that we already carry this could be with regard to the gifts of the Holy Spirit it could be with regard to any other gifts that God has given us we could neglect so you know that's a danger that we must be aware of and he says stir up the gift what is stir up stir up as we said you know to to cause it to come alive or if we want to use a better phrase like kindle the rekindle the fire okay the fire is very low but what happens when we put you know some more wood then we just put some more fuel it kind of stirs up and the fire becomes brighter and stronger so in the same way when it comes to the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit we must not neglect it what is neglect neglect is treating it lightly like only sometimes we think of the gifts sometimes we use the gifts most of the times we are not bothered we are not intentional about the operation of the gifts then it remains in the shelf right we all know we have gadgets that maybe we bought thinking oh we are going to use it we'll use it a lot and then we put it in the cupboard if you don't use it for many many many weeks and months it may even lose its capacity or it may lose the you know the power with which it can work if you're using it regularly so it's very similar for us we may carry the capacity to prophesy but because of neglect what happens is the ability to prophesy can even diminish okay now why do we neglect what do you think are some of the reasons we neglect the operation of the gifts of the Spirit especially prophecy why why do people neglect it yeah fear is one of the main reasons because we are afraid of making mistakes so then we never try only so fear is one of the main reasons second could be ignorance we don't understand the importance of it and so we don't operate in it so fear and lack of understanding these two can be the main reasons why people are neglecting when we neglect the gift is not strong in us is it there yeah maybe we have seen it activated okay we have received it baptism in the Holy Spirit we have received the gift but it's very small it's tiny it's the fire is just a little bit it's burning it's not strong so we got to make it strong how to make it strong all these things when we overcome the aspects that cause us to neglect so we overcome our fear we increase in our knowledge okay and we could also say that many times when we operate in one of the gifts it can stir up other gifts okay this is I think there's no scripture and verse to to confirm that but in our personal experience we see that so let's say we want to move in the prophetic we want to release words of knowledge when you start praying in the spirit okay when you start praying in tongues some most of the people at least I've heard this from most people that a prophecy flows better when you're praying in the spirit so you take time to stir up one gift another gift begins to flow in a stronger way so that's also one of the ways to stir it up so we've got to stir it up and not neglect the gift okay so that means we should all take any opportunity that we get to prophesy it's good you know you take that step and start to move in it so that's the way to make it stronger but if we say that yeah ten years ago once I prophesied I have the gift it's true we have the gift but the gift is not strong anymore okay so regularly we must operate in the gift if there are any questions you just stop me I'll stop and answer but I'll keep going on even online batch please do ask because these are very practical topics that we are discussing next spiritual gifts can be activated and imparted just now we read Paul writing to Timothy isn't it the gift that was given to you by the laying on of hands so what does that refer to transfer or the new word that we are also fascinated by impartation you know impartation can happen because Paul is talking about impartation in fact when he writes to the Roman Church he states that you know I want to come to you so that I can impart a gift to you Romans 1 verse 11 let me read it out he says I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established so this tells us that gifts can be imparted so if there is somebody who's carrying that gift by faith they can impart those who desire remember Paul said desire when we earnestly desire we can pull and receive the impartation of the gift okay and we studied all other aspects about what measure it will be transferred in you can't become like that person so many things but it's true that gift can be imparted okay then we can also activate the gift activate means see when the Holy Spirit comes baptism of the Holy Spirit we receive the Holy Spirit baptizes us and he carries all the gifts isn't it but then in as we journey with the Lord these gifts begin to show up one by one or we use the term activate we probably went for prayer or we heard a teaching on prophecy and the prophetic gift in us got stirred up and it got activated meaning it started working at that point so can the gifts of the Spirit be activated yes okay they can either become operational the very moment we are baptized in the Holy Spirit it's possible most of the time people speak in tongues but along with tongues maybe they can manifest prophecy also or any other gift also so they get activated and we've already seen as far as the Old Testament is concerned that even if gifts are there even if you know let's say the grace of God is there on somebody to be a prophet training is needed guiding is needed equipping is needed that is why the school of the prophets was established so here is our understanding gifts can be imparted gifts can be activated but there is a need for developing the gift or maturing the gift fine so we as we are trained we become if we consider prophecy particularly when we are trained in the prophetic operation of the prophetic will become more effective will become more accurate and we use the term flow right meaning without any hindrance we are just able to operate like that smooth we can operate in the prophetic but to go to that level or we are simply using the term maturing of the gift maturing of the gift or developing of the gift it's going to take some time it's going to take some practice it's going to take some learning okay so these are all realities in scripture for us so gifts can be imparted activated but they need to be developed and matured okay next we release spiritual gifts through faith this is quite clear we see the scripture from Romans 12 verse 6 what it says having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us let us use them if prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith so we've received the gift or we've received the grace of God various graces all of us have different different capacities measures of the grace of God now when it comes to the exercise of the gift of prophecy especially you know Paul is saying let us prophesy in proportion to our faith so if faith is little we'll prophesy a little if faith is little bit more we'll prophesy a little bit more if faith is great we'll prophesy much more so then what should we work on to prophesy more faith yeah so when faith becomes stronger and stronger then one is able to what we are saying flow in the operation of the prophetic alright so we've got to remember that that we should not forget this that faith is what will drive the release of the gifts of the spirit okay because what could happen we can start in faith then maybe once we reach a certain level if we start depending on other things you know like we just say okay no you have to do it like this this technique this procedure we move from faith to becoming very you know what can I say more flesh in the flesh trying to put it forward in the flesh make it stronger through your flesh it won't work so when we start the journey in faith we should keep the faith maintain the faith keep moving forward in faith okay so faith is so very important and the gifts will operate through faith okay now let's what is the opposite of that if there is no faith I'll just make this one statement let's say if there is no faith or less faith the opposite is true prophecy will not operate freely okay so that also is a challenge we said fear can stop us but also lack of faith can stop us when it comes to moving in the gift of prophecy yes Anand you wanted to state something hmm which one yeah yeah yeah fleshly thing could be fleshly efforts I think more of you know the attitude that we carry maybe like when we let's say operate in the gifts of the spirit and then we get a lot of affirmation from the people okay so it can also happen that you know I I think of myself as okay I'm somebody I can do this I'm doing it well and I'll continue so that I'm switching from faith to self dependence that's more of a fleshly attitude where I because of my past experience all I'm doing right now is okay I'm at a level right now the gift will anyway operate and you know I I'll just go ahead with it and my dependence on God can also shift so it's very subtle when we come to a little more stable place it's very subtle all these small little things like self dependence or the you know the approval of the people that becomes very important for us so when let's say you go for a meeting then people will expect oh this pastor is coming they are so prophetic they are so powerful in the prophetic so then we start to think I have to like it has to manifest so if I'm not making the waves you know in a given meeting the other thing pastor is very boring or you know the spirit is not operational anymore but what if you don't get prophetic words what will you do you know then we switch to flesh we can start to say something you know like calculated guesses we can do that God will bless you God will because now your your reputation is at stake people are watching you okay but this is all very difficult when you're in those places no really you're like okay who am I trusting in you you've got to and maybe you may walk out of that meeting with people saying I'm not that powerful next time we should call somebody else it's okay no problem don't switch to the flesh got it so it's like that turn and very subtleties from fate suddenly you can switch off to something else yeah yeah if they are if there's a reaction on their face then we say our good you're hitting the point but maybe not maybe not yeah so all these things no it's but we learn we learn and we'll we faith means dependent should always be on God always beyond God sometimes we are very accurate but we don't find any response so we'll see later even it is operation in the gifts of the spirit or any ministry gift being strong in who we are in Christ is so foundational because nothing can shake you if you're strong in in who you are in Christ you know as a child of God if people reject you as a minister also it's okay I'm a child of God you know that is my greatest thing so that security in Christ we need to establish that because you see like the approval of people is it's like the waves of the sea once it'll rise once it'll fall you can't depend on it yeah okay so some things like that is it is it clear does it make sense okay fine okay so here in our notes we are touching upon some basics of the gift of prophecy I'm on page 130 and what are they first basic thing about prophecy what would you say if I tell you okay tell me something basic about prophecy reference very good very good okay I think classes course is over but good good this is the main thing that we have to say okay this is the basic of prophecy prophecies to strengthen to encourage and to comfort the people and we all all believers can move in this basic or simple gift of prophecy but of course in the prophetic we have things like correction direction judgment which generally we would say somebody who's in the who's who has the grace gift or somebody who's in the office of a prophet will operate at that level okay so that is one thing yes prince office no no no no so it's one thing below office of prophet okay next one is all can prophesy so how do we validate this there's a passage in our notes from first Corinthians chapter 14 they've selected verses here and as I read each verse I'll explain so first Corinthians 14 verse 1 it says first you love desire spiritual gifts but especially that you may prophesy and we've already stated that this statement is for everyone so if love is for all believers desire that you may prophesy is for all believers clear verse 5 Paul says I wish you all spoke with tongues but even more that you prophesied so what does he mean I wish that all of you spoken tongues I wish that all of you prophesied so he also has this understanding that everybody can prophesy verse 24 but if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in he's convinced by all he is convicted by all see that all all all so if all prophesy he doesn't say only those who are in the ministry grace gift or office prophesy because only they can prophesy right but he says all prophesy meaning even the simple believer can prophesy so once again you see you there are three at least three scriptures usually we need a minimum of two scriptures that are saying the same thing there are three scriptures now let's look at the fourth one 31 for you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged so he's bringing in order to prophecy so imagine in a situation where all want to prophesy this whole class wants to prophesy okay online everybody unmutes all of you all of you start prophesying so as a teacher I say hey wait wait wait I know all of you want to prophesy please do it one by one I'll call you know roll call okay now Nina you you do it and Anand you do it and you know Jack can you do it so order he's establishing order and he's saying verse 31 all can prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged so there is a fourth passage that is saying all all verse 39 therefore brethren desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak with tongues so he's encouraging the operation of the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues he says don't stop people from doing this let them prophesy let them speak in tongues okay next let's look at another very very practical thing about prophecy we prophesy in part so first Corinthians 13 verse 9 it says for we know in part and we prophesy in part so think of it this way you know we all are aware of a jigsaw puzzle and we put pieces of that puzzle together to get the full picture but when we are starting the game okay we have no clue what this is about it's only when we put a few pieces together that we get an idea when we prophesy it's like that sometimes we as believers have an expectation that a prophet will probably know everything you know sometimes we are scared to go near the prophet oh my goodness he'll know everything what I did what I ate what where I went to so you're so scared to even like you just crossed from that side but that's not true even prophet will not know everything and many times when people prophesy it's in that moment of experiencing the anointing so if you go back and ask we go back and tell someone I've also told people pastor you remember you said this I said okay okay they won't remember also because they said it when they were praying and they they also don't recall how many things they've said about how many people so it's all in part we prophesy in part we know in part so we prophesy in part so if we go with an expectation let's say some prophet has come and we are going there and we are saying lot today if you tell me everything okay everything that I'm going to do you have to tell God will be like what is this how everything I can tell in one you know prophetic meeting it doesn't work like that or suppose we are ministering and we say God I'm gonna pray I'm gonna lay hands on this person you should tell me everything about this man it can't happen God can only reveal small little parts here and there okay but whatever it is we can faithfully release it okay maybe one thing we came to know two things three things that's not our worry accuracy right effectiveness effective communication so that that person is blessed they apply correctly our focus is more on that so we won't be able to tell everything to everyone and that way if you want to impress people know like wait I'll prophesy now forget it you can't you can't do the whole thing all the time sometimes yes I know some prophets you know they may they may tell so much and it feels like who they've read my whole life story and they've shared it but even if they say so many things it can't cover everything okay so that is another fact that we must settle in our minds let's move on all prophecy must be judged so remember we stated Paul brought order to the prophesying and said do it like this do it one by one you know and when an unbeliever comes better that you prophesy than speak in tongues because he won't understand what you all are saying so he brought order in first Corinthians chapter 14 in that order in verse 29 he says let two or three prophets speak let the others judge okay let two or three prophets speak now those who are listening he is inviting them to judge the prophetic word it sounds like how can you judge when God is speaking you know how can people judge isn't it but we'll understand this in its proper manner again he writes to the Thessalonian church Paul first Thessalonians 5 verses 19 through 21 he says do not quench the spirit do not despise prophecies test all things hold fast what is good earlier he said judge now he's saying test after you test take what is good leave what you don't want so our understanding is when we prophesy it is possible that some parts of what are being spoken are not pure okay how do we get this is the gift pure yes okay genuinely when we hear from God that is pure that is powerful and when we communicate it in the right way it will impact the life of the people but what happens is because we are human beings if we are not careful if we are not you know well practiced sometimes our own thoughts and ideas will it will kind of color the prophetic word okay like I'll tell you something very silly we are praying there are lots of people you've gone there for the first time you see one person with suit boot you just imagine he's a rich man okay and then you start prophesying you know you are your company God will he'll say sorry I don't have any company I don't have any car you're like oh really I thought you look quite rich but that's my own bias it's not God speaking or you look at another person they look so poor and you're like okay God will meet your needs I'm actually a millionaire oh really how I'm so sorry because that's your own bias my own bias about people so the human biases also sometimes get activated and our thoughts our ideas so we release them in the name of prophecy which Paul knew and that's why he's saying it's okay don't worry you speak whatever you need to release you release it to the best of your ability it's always safer when there are other believers who can judge they can judge and say what you said about this about their future that is correct but what you said about you know what they're going through that is wrong okay because they can identify the biases because of people's own thoughts and ideas so that means all prophecy needs to be judged even if somebody says thus says the Lord you know you are going to do this you are going to receive it why because we just saw in first Thessalonians 5 it says do not despise prophecies meaning we will not neglect it somebody said something okay praise the Lord you know I'll receive that but I have to wait because I need to test it I can't act on it immediately got it so then I'll pray and I'll say Lord give me confirmation this this person is saying that I have to go into full-time ministry you give me confirmation wait on the Lord judge it right slowly we may get the confirmation God will speak to us then it makes sense to take the big step you say okay fine I and God has spoken to me many times I'm sure that he wants me to quit my job and go into full-time ministry I will do it okay the moment we hear a prophet say something when we act on it then we are not judging it we are not testing it got it that can be very dangerous because as we've said gift is pure vessel may be impure no matter how much how strong they are in the Lord we don't know right like what biases they carry maybe it's their own thought we don't know maybe they've seen us as a very good believer strong in the Lord and their desire they are speaking God is calling it a full-time ministry how do you know I can't make my life decision based on what a prophet is saying or you know brother is prophesying so nice when they prophesy do not despise prophecies take it and usually what we say is put it on the shelf okay keep it on the shelf and trust God for confirmations say okay Lord now you speak to me you confirm so that is what judging is then when we wait on the Lord excuse me and God confirms then act on it now we may also understand that some parts of what that person said are not true okay so I remember this right after my you know like my higher studies I had my own ambition for my career so then I had something in mind and at that time I was working in the community health department and I was going wanting to go into that community health field in a certain way and once I had gone for one meeting and those people knew who I am and what I have done and what I want to do and all that so then one brother he started prophesying and he started saying all kinds of things about how you know he's seeing me wearing a white coat going into the villages and this and that and I'm gonna do this I'm gonna do that like basically in the area of community health but now that I see my life it's so different from what he said yes so for some part I did that I did that for some part but then the whole story changed okay now imagine if I had held on only to that and when God is leading me in other ways like full-time ministry this and that I say no no no you know that brother told that Tony has to happen but there was no he was the only person who said that I didn't have any other confirmation but when it came to you know full-time ministry I had lots of confirmation so then what did we see there test all things hold fast to what is true that means some things have to be discarded okay so then I just discarded it I said okay fine you know leave it maybe that's not God's plan for my life I will embrace what God wants for me because that's where I will thrive okay sometimes it's a hard choice that you make but okay if that's the best that's the best we'll take it so we can discard you know certain words that have been spoken now the next one is that prophesying when we prophesy we are in control okay we have about three minutes left so maybe I will pick it up in the next class I'll give us a little bit of time to ask questions based on what we have discussed till now if there are questions let's take it up otherwise we can close okay quite clear great fine then let's just pray and we will wrap up I want to request one of our online students to please pray today faster shall I pray yes yes Jacken please pray father God thank you Lord thank you for this time Lord God where you have been teaching us Lord God from your word Lord father each of us desire for the gift of this prophecy Lord God father help us Lord God to understand why you are giving this gift to each of us Lord God and help us to truly follow your heart Lord God father we pray Lord God that you have chosen already Lord God and you've already set apart Lord God for this gift Lord God and for the office of the prophet Lord God we pray Lord God whomever you choose Lord God we will be diligent in what you have called us to do Father God and every word what you're teaching us Lord God help us Lord God to buy the Holy Spirit's power Lord God grave it engraved in our hearts of God so that we will live that life that you've called us to live of other God the purpose that you've called each of us to live every part of what you're teaching us Lord God maybe be led by the Holy Spirit Lord God teachers or God in Jesus mighty name we pray amen amen thank you Jacken thank you everyone remember to stir up the gift okay we'll discuss further on Friday thank you bye