New Covenant - the Gifts of the Spirit -Part 4 — Zac Poonen

New Testament Prophecy Builds Up the Church

So the Holy Spirit poured out on all mankind. It doesn't say here in verse 17 your sons and daughters will do miracles. No. But it does say here your sons and daughters will prophesy. And that's another word which is completely mistaken.

In the Old Testament prophecy was mainly foretelling the future. Mainly about the coming of Christ and about things that were going to happen to Israel in the future etc. But in the New Testament prophecy is not foretelling the future at all.

1 Corinthians 14 3 says prophecy is speaking forth the Word of God to build up the body of Christ, to encourage and challenge, rebuke, comfort, build up the body of Christ. You never read of any other type of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14.

Agabus and the Limits of Predictive Prophecy

Now we do read in the Acts of the Apostles about one man called Agabus. He was a rare among the prophets who did say something about the future. In Acts 11 he said about there's going to be a famine. In Acts 23 he prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem.

But in both those cases he never told people what to do. In New Testament prophecy even if somebody tells the future he never tells anybody what to do. He never said there's a famine so you fellows should send money.

No, no, no, no. He knew where to stop. He didn't say to Paul you're going to be bound so don't go. He never said so don't go. Then he would have been a false prophet. False prophets are those who tell you what to do.

False Prophets and Personal Direction

Very simple guideline by which to find out false prophets. You never find a New Testament prophet telling another person what to do. In the Old Testament they did. The kings would come to the prophets, tell us what to do.

Hang on he's saying come back after a couple of days I'll tell you. He tells you must do this. But there's not a single instance in the New Testament of a person prophesying and telling another person what to do.

If the Christian Church had only understood this they'd have been saved from so many calamities. So many people are being told whom to marry and whom not to marry by self-appointed prophets. Where to go, what to do, what house to buy and what job to take.

Christianity is in the Old Testament and these are false prophets because there is no such prophet today in the New Testament who can tell you what to do. You know why? I'll tell you why. Hebrews chapter 8.

The New Covenant Gives Direct Knowledge of God

He's saying in the days are coming verse 9 when I will make a new covenant. Hebrews 8 verse 8. I will make a new covenant and this will not be like the old covenant verse 9 because in this covenant verse 11 they will not teach everyone his fellow citizens saying know the Lord or know the Lord's will.

For all will know me personally from the least. Least means a little child to the greatest saint. Even the little child can know God personally as a father. That's why it says all can prophesy and that means the sons and daughters Acts 2 .17 when it says your sons and daughters will prophesy it doesn't mean they'll go around telling other people what to do like you see in a lot of charismatic circles.

A lot of people say somebody prophesied over me that this is what I'm going to do. I say brother are you in the old covenant or the new covenant? And don't believe all these prophecies. The Bible says we are not to despise prophesying but we must judge prophesying.

Very clearly it says that in 1 Corinthians 14. And you know we can have a completely wrong understanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit if we don't understand the new covenant. That's what I'm trying to say.

Men and Women Prophesy in the New Covenant

And the other thing I want you to see is in the Old Testament it was very rare for a woman to prophesy. There were some rare cases like Deborah and Huldah in the book of Jeremiah and book of Kings and in the book of Judges.

But mostly it was men. But in the new covenant men and women can prophesy. And what is prophecy? 1 Corinthians 14 .3 they can speak to the edification of the church to build up challenge and courage. When a church lives in the old covenant they will not allow the women to share anything.

They'll think the men are superior. The multitudes of churches like that. And I think a lot of us here have been under the old covenant for many years. In fact many of our churches live in the old covenant.

Our own churches. They think they're in the new covenant. They're not. Do you allow the women to prophesy? You know there we can understand the hang-ups that brethren people have and Pentecostals have and Charismatics have.

We have a culture that holds us back from the freedom of the Holy Spirit. We think we are free. We're not free. We're bound by traditions as much as the Pharisees were bound. And Jesus found it so difficult to deliver people from the traditions of the Pharisees.

And I tell you he finds it difficult with a lot of Christians today. So what suffers? God's work suffers. So I want to encourage you sisters to claim Acts 2 .17 and learn to prophesy. The only thing the Bible forbids that a woman can't do is to teach and to have authority.

Prophecy Is Distinct from Authoritative Teaching

To have a position as an elder. Teaching is authoritative. See like what I'm doing right now. Prophesying is different from teaching. They're two completely different gifts. Prophesying is to encourage people, to build them up.

Teaching is authoritative, giving direction to the church. Eldership is giving direction to the church. You're a blessed husband if you got a woman, if you got a wife who can prophesy. I feel sorry for a husband who shuts his wife's mouth and prevents her from prophesying.

You're going to be the loser. I would say that. You are going to be the loser. Fifty percent of your life will be cut off from direction from the Lord because God gave you somebody to prophesy. You won't listen because of culture and tradition.

Dreams, Visions, and the Spirit’s Guidance

Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. Now I understand that to mean that God will speak to us through supernatural means. I don't think there's much difference between dreams and visions.

The point is that God can speak to us when our minds are sort of resting in a supernatural way, warning us. You read right in the big book of Matthew in the first two chapters of God warned people don't go that way, don't go that way, through a dream.

And we must be open to that. These are some of the blessings coming to the Holy Spirit. And again it says, verse 18, I tell you my men and women, verse 18, will prophesy. Why in the world does God say that twice?

In verse 17 and verse 18, the women will prophesy, the women will prophesy. God's trying to break this power of tradition but he doesn't succeed with many people. That's why I've always encouraged you folks, be open.

Openness to Spiritual Gifts and the Freedom of the Spirit

Let the Holy Spirit come upon you and put something on your heart that can bless the church. Now don't say I'm a woman. Well, if you're an old covenant woman, okay. But you're welcome to enter the new covenant if you want to.

God won't force anybody. Do you know that God doesn't even force people to go to heaven? Tell me, which is more important, to go to heaven or to prophesy? Well, you surely know, go to heaven is more important.

But God doesn't even force people to go to heaven. Where in the world he's gonna force you to prophesy? He's not gonna catch you by the neck and say, come on, prophesy. You've got to be open to go to heaven.

You've got to be open to prophesy. And if the people in your church don't allow you to do that, you pray that God will give you other openings somewhere else. Your church will miss the blessing. But you can be a blessing somewhere else.

When you visit somebody's home or somebody visits your home, you can bless them. You can't be hindered. You can't keep a good woman down. I believe we really need to be open. It's one of the things in the new covenant where many people have missed out.

Avoiding Extremes in Women’s Ministry

And of course, some have gone to an extreme. They've gone right off on a tangent. And we have women pastors and leaders and Bible teachers and all that type of stuff. That's one extreme.