1 Cor 14 “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.² For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one^[a]understands, but ^[b]in his spirit he speaks mysteries. ³ But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. ⁴ One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. …  however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue….³⁹ Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy”

Because of the extreme disagreements on the gift of tongues, we often miss the discussion of prophecy in this chapter.  Both here and elsewhere, we are instructed to EDIFY others in the church. One of the ways this is done is through the gifts of prophecy.  This passage is one of those puzzling ones where we are to earnestly desire to prophesy. So what is prophecy? In our current day, we think of prophecy as ‘foretelling,’  but our founding pastor has mentioned in the past that it is actually ‘forth-telling.’  Grudem (a continualist, for those who aren’t aware) defines prophecy as “telling of something which God has spontaneously revealed to us.”  Preachers often experience this while speaking in the pulpit, where they are prompted that someone in the congregation has to hear a particular message.  This sometimes causes them to toss their prepared sermon in favor of a more direct answer to this revelation.  So the question is, how do we who aren’t preacher supposed to seek this gift?  Personally, I believe this is all part of walking in the Spirit, or as we discussed last night from Romans 13, putting on of Christ.  As we spend time in prayer, worship, and in the word, we become more in-tune with the Holy Spirit, and He is able to reveal to us things that we have no way of knowing.  We also need to be practiced in sharing these revelations, and I think we practice this by sharing what God is currently revealing to us personally in prayer and study.  I, like Paul, eagerly desire that you all prophesy.  May we all listen to the Spirit, and willingly share what we hear.