Jul. 17, 2022

The Importance of Prophecy 17 July 2022 – Pastor John Custer 

Introduction - God knows everything.  This is a part of His nature.  As we become more like Christ, knowing more and more will be part of our nature also.  It is not healthy, nor is it God’s plan, for the Christian to be blissfully ignorant of God’s doings in the universe.  Don’t confuse being “simple concerning evil” (1 Cor 14:20) with just being “simple.”  

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. NASB

The Scripture above was spoken to God’s people in the Old Testament, pointedly to Israel. Israel and Judah were two separate kingdoms at this point. They had just been through a time of prosperity and were on one of their typical forget-God-worship-idols phases.  As backslidden as they were, God still took time to inform them, through His prophets, of what he would be doing in their lives, their two countries, and the world.  This was critical information necessary for their survival.   

Amos 3:7 - Does a bird ever get caught in a trap that has no bait? Does a trap spring shut when there’s nothing to catch? When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the LORD has planned it? Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.  NLT

The prophets and what they teach are alive and well in the New Testament church!   Some of what we need to know for the sake of our family, our church, our city, and our country is already printed in the Bible and just needs to be interpreted and taught.  Some of what we need to know is yet to be spoken from the mouths of local prophets.  Prophets are much more localized in the church age.  In the Old Testament, they were sent to kings and priests with an emphasis on national guidance.  In the church age they are dispersed throughout the world amongst the vast number of congregations making up the church, to help guide the church into maturity.  

Conclusion -

1 Corinthians 14:31 For you can all prophesy one * by one *, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; NASB

This is so important a function that God wants each of us to learn to prophesy; it is is not limited to prophets only.