Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Shift Hong Kong
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • STUDY
  • FAITH
    • All
    • Bible
    • Discipleship
    • Prayer
    • Sin
    • Spiritual Practice
    • Theology

    Don’t Let Fear Take the Steering Wheel

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 5)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 4)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 3)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 2)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 1)

    More of Him, Less of Me

    You’ve Got a Friend

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

    Home

    Episode 26: Election, Free Will, and Flowers

    God Is Calling YOU to Rest (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Before Christ Rose

    Our Misconception of the Body

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can Christians go to multiple churches?

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

  • LIVING
    • All
    • Identity
    • Mental Health
    • Purpose
    • Work

    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    Interview: Transformation from Pole Dancing

    The Power of Names

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 5)

    There’s Nothing Wrong With You

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 4)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 3)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 1)

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Our Misconception of the Body

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Home

    Episode 23: Why I changed my career

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

  • RELATIONSHIPS
    • All
    • Church
    • Dating
    • Family
    • Marriage
    • Singleness

    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    Dating for Jesus**

    A Short Letter to the Tired Single

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Home

    Episode 27: How do you find the right person? Questions on singleness, boundaries and friend zones

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can a Christian date a non-Christian, then convert him/her?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is cohabitation a sin?

    Before Saying “I Will”

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Need for Companionship

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 3)

  • CULTURE
    • All
    • Evangelism
    • Justice
    • Social issues
    Our Christmas Collection

    Our Christmas Collection

    You’ve Got a Friend

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

    Ethical Consumerism

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Home

    Episode 24: All about Crypto, NFTs, and the Church

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should Christians go to war?

    Home

    Episode 22: Enneagram Part Two

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

    Home

    Episode 21: Enneagram Part One

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Welcome to Shift Gear

    READY? SET… GO!

    READY? SET… GO!

    Home

    Episode 16: Cage homes and subdivided apartments, is this the reality of HK? // Ask Martin: Why does God elect some not to believe?

    Home

    Episode 14: How should we engage on social media? // Ask Martin: Would God’ve been more loving if He didn’t create anyone?

  • CREATIVE
    • All
    • Fiction
    • Inspiration
    • Poem
    • Satire

    12-STEP GRACE

    Interview: Transformation from Pole Dancing

    Our Christmas Collection

    Our Christmas Collection

    Dating for Jesus**

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Why

    In The Whisper, pt2

    How Do I Get Inspired?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

    Rejoice (Part 2)

    Rejoice (Part 1)

    Loss

    Celebrating Creativity

    Baptism Numbers Skyrocket After Installation of Waterslide in Local Church*

    What God Says About Me

    In The Whisper

    Reppin’ Jesus on Social Media – How to Stay True in a World of Haters

  • PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • STUDY
  • FAITH
    • All
    • Bible
    • Discipleship
    • Prayer
    • Sin
    • Spiritual Practice
    • Theology

    Don’t Let Fear Take the Steering Wheel

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 5)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 4)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 3)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 2)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 1)

    More of Him, Less of Me

    You’ve Got a Friend

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

    Home

    Episode 26: Election, Free Will, and Flowers

    God Is Calling YOU to Rest (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Before Christ Rose

    Our Misconception of the Body

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can Christians go to multiple churches?

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

  • LIVING
    • All
    • Identity
    • Mental Health
    • Purpose
    • Work

    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    Interview: Transformation from Pole Dancing

    The Power of Names

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 5)

    There’s Nothing Wrong With You

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 4)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 3)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 1)

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Our Misconception of the Body

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Home

    Episode 23: Why I changed my career

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

  • RELATIONSHIPS
    • All
    • Church
    • Dating
    • Family
    • Marriage
    • Singleness

    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    Dating for Jesus**

    A Short Letter to the Tired Single

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Home

    Episode 27: How do you find the right person? Questions on singleness, boundaries and friend zones

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can a Christian date a non-Christian, then convert him/her?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is cohabitation a sin?

    Before Saying “I Will”

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Need for Companionship

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 3)

  • CULTURE
    • All
    • Evangelism
    • Justice
    • Social issues
    Our Christmas Collection

    Our Christmas Collection

    You’ve Got a Friend

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

    Ethical Consumerism

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Home

    Episode 24: All about Crypto, NFTs, and the Church

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should Christians go to war?

    Home

    Episode 22: Enneagram Part Two

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

    Home

    Episode 21: Enneagram Part One

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Welcome to Shift Gear

    READY? SET… GO!

    READY? SET… GO!

    Home

    Episode 16: Cage homes and subdivided apartments, is this the reality of HK? // Ask Martin: Why does God elect some not to believe?

    Home

    Episode 14: How should we engage on social media? // Ask Martin: Would God’ve been more loving if He didn’t create anyone?

  • CREATIVE
    • All
    • Fiction
    • Inspiration
    • Poem
    • Satire

    12-STEP GRACE

    Interview: Transformation from Pole Dancing

    Our Christmas Collection

    Our Christmas Collection

    Dating for Jesus**

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Why

    In The Whisper, pt2

    How Do I Get Inspired?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

    Rejoice (Part 2)

    Rejoice (Part 1)

    Loss

    Celebrating Creativity

    Baptism Numbers Skyrocket After Installation of Waterslide in Local Church*

    What God Says About Me

    In The Whisper

    Reppin’ Jesus on Social Media – How to Stay True in a World of Haters

  • PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Shift Hong Kong
No Result
View All Result

5 Things about Prophecy that You May Need to Know (Part 1)

Carrie L. by Carrie L.
2021/05/26
in Prayer, Spiritual Practice
0

Prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12.10), but is often misunderstood or even avoided in conversations – “mysterious”, “supernatural”, “too charismatic” and “too abstract” are some of the adjectives that I have heard when some people describe their impression of prophecy. However, a lot of these impressions may stem from oversight of what prophecy means and what purposes prophecy serves according to the Bible. Let’s look at the 5 most frequently asked questions about prophecy.

 

1. Is prophecy fortune-telling?

No, the purpose of a prophecy is not just to foretell the future.

In the Old Testament, God would send prophets to advise or warn a king and his people about possible future events or consequences to their action/inaction. The prophecies, the human action (or inaction), and the consequences then become testimonies of God’s power, authority, and mercy. Gideon, Saul, David, and so many more Old Testament leaders were prime recipients of God’s prophecy, and their stories are powerful testimonies that we still read and learn from today.

In our present-day, prophecies can still exist, but they are not limited to advice or warnings given by specifically appointed prophets as in the Old Testament. God wants to strengthen, encourage and comfort His people, and He may do so by speaking through the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul encourages the Corinthian church to “pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14.1). Then Paul explains the main purposes of prophecy:

… the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. (1 Cor. 14.3) [emphasis added]

 

The original Greek for “upbuildling” is “οἰκοδομὴν”, which means building a home. Prophecies should lift up, strengthen a person, and ultimately build up the body of Christ. It is not a grand display of knowledge or foresight, not a tool to impress people, and definitely should not be used to hurt or discourage others. Based on Paul’s teachings in 1 Cor. 14:1-3, prophecies are not so much about foretelling the future but are for the purposes of strengthening, encouraging, and comforting God’s people.

 

2. Can I prophesize?

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists out a number of spiritual gifts, and prophecy is one of them:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Cor. 12.4-11) [emphasis added]

 

The gift of prophecy could be given to any of us, but we are all dependent on the Holy Spirit for it. If you want the gift of prophecy, you can ask God for it. As with other prayer requests, we will not know whether God will grant it to us nor when, but we should not quickly jump to the conclusion that “I am not qualified or made for this” for any gift that comes from the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is God who designs and decides who receives such gifts.

(Continue reading here.)

Carrie L.

Carrie L.

Formerly a lawyer, now a small potato working in the care group and young adult ministries. Enjoys journaling, cafe hunting and drumming. // Favorite book: Disappointment with God, by Philip Yancey

Related Posts

Spiritual Practice

Don’t Let Fear Take the Steering Wheel

by Bernice Chin
November 15, 2022
Spiritual Practice

More of Him, Less of Me

by Bernice Chin
August 16, 2022

© 2021 Island ECC – A Dynamic English Speaking International Church in Hong Kong

  • About
  • Island ECC
  • Contact
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook
Spotify
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Study
  • Faith
  • Living
  • Relationships
  • Culture
  • Creative
  • Podcast

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00