ACTS CHAPTER 11:27-29, “How
God Speaks To His Church”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In the last two studies of
the book of Acts we saw how the Lord was moving in breaking down the cultural
barriers that existed in the early church in the lives of the Jewish brethren
towards those who were non-Jews, or
Gentiles.
1.1.1.
If the first study, we saw
first of all how that the Lord moved in a powerful way in the life of Peter to
cause him to go to the house of Cornelius, the Gentile, and how that Cornelius
and his household became the first Gentile Christians of the early church.
1.1.1.1.We observed how even though the Lord had commissioned the early church
to take the gospel to the whole world that because of the prejudices and
preconceptions of the Jewish brethren none had even stepped inside a Gentile’s
house or eaten with a Gentile
1.1.2.
However, even though
Cornelius and his household had come to Christ and the church leaders in
1.1.2.1.1.We saw how in the early church that the Jewish believers had begun to
allow God to remove all of the barriers that existed between them and Gentiles
for God was removing their prejudices and preconceptions, and they were
allowing the love of Christ to be perfected within them
1.1.2.1.1.1.Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Tim. 1:5 that the goal of their instruction
was that the people would have love from a pure heart, “5 But the goal of
our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere
faith.”
1.1.2.2.We saw that this church in
1.1.2.3.We saw also that for the first time in the book of Acts that as a
result of the dispersion of the church from Jerusalem due to persecution, that
the church for the first time began an organized and focused attempted at
reaching the world for Christ
1.2.
Then, in chapter 11 verse 27
we noticed that in the midst of this great revival that was going on in the
city of Antioch that some prophets came down to the church.
1.2.1.
So, then in the book of Acts
we see another first occurring, for there appears the first ‘prophets’ who are
mentioned as being in the early church
1.2.2.
I felt then with these prophets coming on the
scene that it would be good for us to take some time and focus on the subject
of, ‘How God Speaks to His Church’, which we will do today
2.
In Old Testament times the
Lord worked through prophets exclusively in speaking to His people
2.1.
In the Old Testament times God’s people were directed and exhorted by
those who had the gift of prophesy.
Through these men of God whom God called to lead His people, the Lord
spoke to His people. In fact, when we
speak of God’s revelation of Himself to man, most Christians think of the Bible
(New and Old Testament). However, the
scriptures aren’t the actual revelation of God to man, rather they are the
record of God’s revelation to man, for that revelation actually came to and
through God’s prophets.
2.2.
When a man who was a prophet
spoke from God, God’s Word was recognized or confirmed by His people
immediately as being inspired by Him and they were expected to be obedient to
that Word. However, those who were not
in tune with the Lord did not accept God’s Word of prophesy and obey it.
2.3.
That Word of God spoken to the people could consist of the ‘fore-telling’
of future events as well as the ‘forth-telling’ of God’s mind and heart
regarding a certain decision, situation, truth, etc.
2.4.
Calvary Chapel pastor Ken Ortiz says that the Hebrew word for ‘prophesy’
was ‘nabe’ which means, “to bubble forth as from a fountain”, and the Word of
God bubbled forth through the prophets to God’s people because the Holy Spirit
within them inspired that Word. This was
different than how the pagan religions viewed prophesy for to them it was to
interpret an abstract or difficult thing.
2.4.1.
As a result of the Word of God spoken through a prophet there would be
great conviction to God’s people, and this conviction sometimes was a
conviction of sin when the prophetic word would be a revelation of sin in a
person’s life.
2.5.
The people did not have scriptures available to them as we do today, and
therefore they were very dependent upon seeking out a prophet if they wanted to
hear from the Lord about something.
2.6.
There was a standard set up in God’s Word as a test for one who claimed
to be a prophet. The Word which he spoke
must come true, as Moses wrote in Deut. 18:20-22, “20 ‘But the prophet who shall speak a word
presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he
shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 “And you may
say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’
22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come
about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”
2.6.1.
Note that the one who gave a prophesy that did not come to pass was
commanded to be put to death. So, this
must have caused many to pray very carefully before they gave a prophesy that
they believed was from the Lord.
2.6.2.
We in the church need to realize the importance of this test of prophesy,
for had not the Word of God spoken through the prophets and recorded in our
scriptures been 100% accurate, then we would not be sure what parts of the
scripture we could trust to be true, and which ones we could not trust.
2.7.
In Deut. 13:1-5, there was also the warning that just because something that someone
prophesied came to pass did not mean that the person was sent from God, for if
that person also taught that you should go after other gods, then the Lord was
putting you to the test to see if you love Him with all of your heart, “13:1 “If
a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a
wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to
you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us
serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that
dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall
follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments,
listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 “But that prophet or that
dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion
against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed
you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord
your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.”
2.8.
Throughout the scriptures, Old and New Testament, there are tons of
warnings to ‘beware of false prophets’, for throughout history there has been a
tremendous number of men and women who have been false teachers and false
prophets. This is seen clearly, for
instance, in these warnings by Christ, one by the apostle Peter, and one by the
apostle John:
2.8.1.
Matt. 7:15, “15 “Beware of the false prophets, who
come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.””
2.8.2.
Matt. 24:11, “11 “And many false prophets will
arise, and will mislead many.””
2.8.3.
Matt. 24:24, “24 “For false Christ’s and false
prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if
possible, even the elect.””
2.8.4.
Matt. 13:22, “22 for false Christ’s and false
prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to
lead the elect astray.”
2.8.5.
2 Peter 2:1, “2:1 But false prophets also arose
among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will
secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought
them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”
2.8.6.
1 John 4:1, “4:1 Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many
false prophets have gone out into the world.”
2.9.
In the various Old and New Testament warnings there is one theme that is
consistent throughout them, and that is that false prophets and teachers all
have a motive of greed. There is always
a money trail somewhere that could be followed:
2.9.1.
Pastor Ken Ortiz speaks of a document written about 100AD in the early
church that is called, “The Teaching Of The Apostles”, and in this document it
warned against the prophet who asked in a vision for money or for a meal. The document says that the people were always
to provide hospitality for a prophet for one night, however if the prophet
asked to stay longer without working, then he was to be considered a false
prophet.
2.9.2.
In the church today, when we see a man or a women who claims to be a
prophet, man of God, televangelist, etc., and if he/she makes considerably
above the average salary in money per year, then we do not need to consider the
matter any further, this person is not sent from God and we must not listen to
the supposed prophetic word which he might bring to us.
2.10.
There were even some ‘women prophetesses’ mentioned in the Old Testament times, such
as Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4) who was a
judge, Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)or even Ana (Luke 2:36) who was in the temple when the baby
Jesus was brought in.
2.11.
At the period of time that we are in here in the book of Acts, AD 45 or
46, the Jews believed that prophesy had ended or been shut up for 450 years,
and that God had not spoken to His people since the prophet Malachi.
3.
In the New Testament we see that in the list of the
spiritual gifts given to people in the church that there is the ‘gift of
prophesy’ listed
3.1.
In 1 Cor. 12:4-11 is one of the three listings of the spiritual gifts that the Lord gives
to those who are believers in the church, and if you are a believer in Christ
you have been given at least one spiritual gift, “4 Now there are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same
Lord. 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all
things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the
one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another
prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various
kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and
the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually
just as He wills.”
3.1.1.
Note here that the gift of prophesy is one of the spiritual gifts listed.
3.1.2.
I mentioned earlier in our study that each of the three lists of
spiritual gifts found in the New Testament is different, therefore I don’t
think that we in the church can be too dogmatic in defining exactly what each
of the spiritual gifts are that God might gift a believer with.
3.2.
The first person in the early church mentioned with the gift of prophesy
is here before us in this chapter, the man named ‘Agabus’. He is mentioned in this chapter (Acts 11)
giving the prophesy of a famine that would come upon the land, and then again
in Acts 21 he is seen prophesying that the man who owned a certain belt (the
apostle Paul) would be imprisoned and given over to the Gentiles.
3.2.1.
Agabus was a true prophet of God, for he passes all of the tests for a
true prophet, and both of the prophesies which he gave came true.
3.2.1.1.There were a few famines in
the land in those years under the reign of Claudius according to the Jewish
historian Josephus, and
3.2.1.2.We know from the book of
Acts that (as Agabus describes) the apostle Paul was in fact imprisoned by the
Jews but then he was sent to
3.3.
There are others with the gift of prophesy mentioned in the book of Acts,
and in fact we see that women in the New Testament church can be gifted with
the gift of prophesy.
3.3.1.
In Acts 21:9 we read that Phillip had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses in
the church.
3.3.2.
In 1 Cor. 11:5, the apostle Paul exhorts the women of
3.3.2.1.In that day in
3.3.2.2.Some women in the church
today believe that Paul’s exhortation is for all times, and thus they have the
conviction that they should wear veils in church, and if a woman wishes to wear
a veil in the church that is certainly fine and her prerogative.
3.4.
In 1 Cor. 14:1,4-5, the apostle Paul wrote that we Christians ought to desire spiritual
gifts but especially to prophesy because as he explains in the chapter, the one
who prophesies edifies the church, and this edification of the body of Christ
is of pre-eminent importance, “14:1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual
gifts, but especially that you may prophesy… 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.”
3.5.
In the New Testament we see in operation that, as in the Old Testament,
the gift of prophesy operated both for the ‘fore-telling’ of future events, but also
and more prevalently the ‘forth-telling’ of God’s mind and purposes.
3.6.
The apostle Paul wrote about how the gift of prophesy operates in 1 Cor. 14:3, “3 But
one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and
consolation..”
3.6.1.
Edification:
3.6.1.1.The church needs to be built
up and equipped in its faith for the work of service, as Eph. 4:11-12 teaches us, “11 And
He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and
some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work
of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”
3.6.2.
Exhortation:
3.6.2.1.To exhort someone is to give
Biblical counsel to apply regarding a specific decision or situation in his
life.
3.6.3.
Consolation:
3.6.3.1.The gift of prophesy is also
used to comfort those who are hurting and lacking in hope and assurance that
God is in control of every situation in their lives.
3.7.
Some examples of how God uses the gift of prophesy in the church:
3.7.1.
Scmetimes in the church God gives us a prophetic insight into a person’s
life and we are used by God to tell the person about something that they need
to deal with, and yet no one has told us anything about that person prior to
gaining this insight from God.
3.7.2.
From the many comments that I get from people after my teachings, I know
that God has used me to speak to issues and areas in a person’s life that were
nowhere to be found in my notes nor in my recollection of things that I said.
3.8.
The gift of prophesy should not be confused with the office
of a prophet, for many may have the gift of prophesy but not many will be
called to serve in the capacity of the ‘office’ of a prophet
3.9.
We want to look at what the New Testament teaches
about how the gift of prophesy is supposed to be used
3.9.1.
In 1 Thess. 5:19-22, Paul gave us some very important guidelines to follow regarding the use
of this gift which teach us that we must have balance in how that
we deal with the use of this gift, “19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise
prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that
which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.”
3.9.1.1.We must not
quench the Spirit
3.9.1.1.1.We are not to disallow this
gift nor squelch the use of it for fear that something bad might happen if we
let God out of the box, so to speak.
3.9.1.1.2.When someone gives a
prophetic word we must judge what has been said in order to know that it is
from the Lord:
3.9.1.1.2.1.Just because someone says
they have a Word from the Lord for us, it does not mean that we must obey that
Word blindly. Rather, we must pray and
seek the Lord about whether or not the Word is in fact from the Lord, and if
God does not give us confirmation we should not follow that word.
3.9.1.1.2.1.1.For instance, a few times I
remember guys telling a girl that God told them that the girl was going to be
his wife, and the girl saying to the effect, “That’s funny God didn’t say
anything to me about it!”
3.9.1.1.2.2.We must seek the Lord as to
whether or not the word we have received contradicts known scripture more than
anything else, for God does not and in fact God ‘cannot’ contradict His own
Word.
3.9.1.1.2.3.We must seek the Lord as to
whether or not the word contradicts the known character of God, for James wrote
in Ja.
3:17-18, “17 But
the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full
of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose
fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
3.9.1.1.2.3.1.Many years ago I was sitting
in a Denny’s Restaurant in Phoenix, AZ having a discipleship Bible Study with a
believer from my church and a woman came into the restaurant and yelled out
this condemning prophesy against everyone in the restaurant telling us that
because we were such horrible sinners that God was going to destroy us all with
a flood. There was no grace, no love, no
broken hearted appeal for us to repent in this woman’s prophesy, and thus I
knew that this was not from God because it contradicted God’s nature. The police hauled her off jail after the
restaurant manager called them.
3.9.1.1.2.3.2.A friend told me that one
night he was visiting a church and during the church service a young man stood
up and said, “Thus saith the Lord, just as Moses led all of the
animals onto the ark and just as Moses waited on the Lord in the ark… (there
was a big pause, then he proceeded), Thus saith the Lord I maketh a
mistake!” Then he sat down.
3.9.1.1.2.3.2.1.The church busted up
laughing at the well-intentioned but confused young man because God doesn’t
make mistakes, and thus this prophetic word wasn’t from Him.
3.9.1.1.2.4.Pastor Chuck points out that
if a prophesy contains things in it which do not match reality, then you do not
need to worry for it is not a prophesy that is from God.
3.9.1.1.2.5.If the prophesy does not
come true then it was not from God, and the person who gave it is a false
prophet.
3.9.1.1.2.5.1.I am shocked that in the
church today there are so many people who are running around claiming to be
prophets, and yet no one is holding them to the Biblical test for a prophet of
whether or not their prophesies come true ‘ALL’ of the time.
3.9.1.1.2.5.1.1.I received an email just
this week from a watchdog discernment type of ministry that said that this one
well known televangelist had given a prophesy before the start of 2000 saying
that all kinds of horrible judgments and economic woes were going to come upon
the world during 2000, and that if people didn’t give to his ministry that they
were going to be judged in these judgments.
Yet, we know that none of those things came to pass, and so therefore
the email rightly told us that this man must of course be considered a false prophet.
3.9.1.1.2.5.1.1.1.Note also that not only did
this man use this false prophesy to get money out of God’s people, he has for
some time made mega bucks on the ministry, and thus he should just for that
reason be considered a false prophet.
3.9.2.
Paul wrote some good principles to follow regarding how the gift of
prophesy is used in 1 Cor. 14: 29-33, “29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let
the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is
seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so
that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are
subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in
all the churches of the saints.”
3.9.2.1.A person does not get
possessed by the Holy Spirit and therefore does not know what he is doing, for
the his spirit is subjected to him
3.9.2.2.God is not a
God of confusion, but of peace, therefore in the church we must not let the use of the
gifts of the Spirit be used in such a way as to cause an atmosphere of
confusion.
3.9.2.3.If a revelation is given to
a man who is seated while another is speaking, then let him keep quiet so that
that there will not be confusion.
4.
VS 11:27-29 - “27
Now at this time some prophets came down from
4.1.
Joel prophetically recorded in chapter 2 about the time when the
Messiah comes that, ‘your sons and daughters will prophesy’, and here for the first
time in the book of Acts we have mention of the gift of prophesy being active.
4.2.
Luke writes of this prophesy of Agabus in a sort of ‘matter of fact’ kind
of way rather than sensationalizing it.
4.3.
In the New Testament times, the ‘primary expression of the gift of
prophesy’ was ‘forth-telling of the word of God’ (that which is already
revealed by God), rather than ‘fore-telling the future’ as these prophets were
gifted and used.
4.4.
It is
interesting that the church accepted as authentic this prophecy of Agabus that
there would be a great famine in the land, and that as a result of hearing it
they were even willing to send relief to the saints which were in
4.4.1.
The church
did not blindly follow the words of Agabus, but rather there was a prompting by
the Holy Spirit that these words spoken were from God and true, and then there
followed a spontaneous determination of each of them to send a gift of relief
for the church when as yet no famine had yet occurred.
4.4.1.1.Note that Agabus did not tell them what their response
to this famine should be, rather it was the Holy Spirit who led them to do what
they did.
4.5.
The
‘agape’ love of God causes and requires reciprocation on the part of God’s
people towards each other:
4.5.1.
This is seen
here in this story so dramatically, for finally the Jewish brethren who had
come to Antioch preaching the gospel had gotten rid of their Jewish bigotries
against Gentiles and accepted them as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ,
and now these Gentiles reciprocate the love of God and send a generous donation
of money to help those in the Jewish mother church in Jerusalem.
4.5.2.
In Col.
2:2, the apostle Paul wrote to the church about how in the body of Christ our
hearts become ‘knit together in love’, and later in the book he writes
about the ligaments that hold the body together, and this work of God in the
body of Christ in knitting our hearts together in love occurs as we learn to
reciprocate the love of God one to another.
4.6.
The church in
4.7.
Josephus
records that there were a few famines in that part of the world during the
reign of Claudius, and one in AD46 was very severe in
4.8.
In three
different places in the New Testament, Paul arranges for relief money to be
collected for the church in
4.9.
The church in
4.10.
We Christians
ought to be challenged by the selfless and charitable character of the church
in
4.10.1.We ought to live our lives like the early church
lived, so that if any has a need we see if we can meet that need.
4.11.
One thing
that I want you to notice here in these verses in Acts is that the believers in
5.
CONCLUSION:
5.1.
God wants us to desire to have spiritual gifts and
especially the gift of prophesy, and so let’s pray and seek Him for these gifts
for ourselves
5.2.
Let’s pray that we always be discerning for there will
always be many who will come into the church who are false teachers and
prophets
5.3.
Let’s be
careful not to quench the Holy Spirit and disallow the exercize of the gift of
the Holy Spirit in our body life together, however let’s also be careful always
to judge any prophesies that are given and test the spirits to see whether or
not they are from God
5.4.
Remember in all things that God is not a God of
confusion
5.5.
Let’s be careful to grow in and be rooted in God’s
love, and walk in love in all that we do, and lets learn to reciprocate the
love of God with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ