Q4. Healthy Respect for Prophecy

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

[charisbarak]

They say that the gift of prophecy has ceased these days.

Healthy congregations who allow the gift of prophecy, are to have one person speak at a time; have an interpreter; and the others discern what they are saying-testing the words according to scripture.

[Jen]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Maybe it is threatening because it is unknown in many churches so rather than admit they despise or prohibit prophecy. We should desire prophecy that is from our Lord and not be frightened by the Holy Spirit but yield to Him. We should test the prophecy to be sure it is genuine from our Lord. Do not be misled. Now if I can just yield to Him myself by His power then that would be good. You know "practice what you preach".

There should be one person at a time. Prophecying can wait until the appropriate time. Also it should conform too or support scripture. Scripture is complete and it always points to Jesus. It never leads us away from our precious Savior.

"May all who live believe in You and sanctify Thy Name in truth."

God Bless

Jen

Romans 15:13

[haar]

Many people and some churches today believe that prophecies are no longer in existence and thus do accept/ believe any that might be genuine from God.

Paul instructed for orderlines where people prophesy in turns. He also instructed for the congregation to examine every prophesy to comfirm if it really comes from God and is in line with the Word of God.

[Lion of Grace]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Some churches believe that the gift of Prophecy no longer exists and some despise or prohibit prophecy because of false prophesy. I've seen prophecy used as a super spiritual hype for ministries that has done more harm than good and I think these types of ministries take away from true prophecy as a gift from the Holy Spirit to edify and build up the church. People become confused about what is genuine and what is not and tend to dismiss it altogether.

Paul gives these guidelines to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy:

Prophecy should edify and build up the church.

It should be done to strengthen the church.

Prophesying should be done in an orderly manner. (God is not a God of disorder but peace)

Every prophecy should not be taken as "Gospel truth". Two or three prophets should speak and the others should weigh carefully what is said. The group should reflect on what God is speaking to the church and if it aligns with scripture.

Genuine Prophecy will never trump scripture. Prophecy is judged by scripture.

We are not to despise prophecy, but once tested and proved genuine, we are to hold on to it.

[Delivered]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

I too have to wonder, "Why would any church or any believer want to "DESPISE" or to teach its congregation to "QUENCH" to "STOP" the working of the Holy Spirit"?

Whomever would do so would be quenching the "FULLNESS" of the Spirit to work in their congregation and in their lives, therefore they would find it harder to avoid all kinds of evil that come their way, they would find it harder to "REJOICE" in all situations.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

We are to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying; prophecy is to be tested making sure it falls in line with God's word, and not that of man.

When tested and found to be true we are to hold unto all that is "GOOD".

[JanMary]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

I think it is due to ignorance, unbelief, wanting to be in control, fear, not wanting to allow the Holy Spirit to function because "we have our schedule and agenda", and sadly, quite often He's not "in it or on it". ( A church goer said to me recently "we're trying to learn to accept the "unexpected...the Holy Spirit showing up in church." )

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

I Cor 14 is about order in the church. So:

Prophetic utterance must be given in love and in order (v1)

Prophecy should be given in the common known language and must be for the upbuilding, and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation of the church. (v3)

What is spoken is to be weighed and discerned by the listeners for truth or error, so that all may be stimulated and encouraged (v29-30)

The prophet is to be under the control of the Holy Spirit of God (v37) and is under the speaker's/ pastor's control and subject to being silenced as may be necessary. (v32)

We are all to earnestly desire and set our hearts on prophesying (to preach and teach and to interpret God's will and purpose). (v39)

[Craig]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy because they don't trust the prophet.

Don't quench the spirit, but discern or test what the prophet is saying for truth and application for that congregation. When speaking in tongues, one should speak another interprets for congregation. Prophecy should be a thing of order and respect not chaos.

[wjcargile]

Some churches believe prophecy has no place in their church. I have seen both, God sent prophecy. And prophecy came stright from satan,i.e lies and deception.

Prophecy should be kept orderly in the church. "He who prophesies edifies the church.

[Thanking Joan]

Churches despise or prohibit prophecy because they do not believe the Spirif of God or the person from whom it is coming. Every prophesy should be tested ,waited upon and disecerned in prayer by the congregation.

To keep the prophesy healthy in a congregation ,we must take heed to the guidelines Paul has listed in 1 Coirnthians 14

The prophesy needs to be weighed carefully when given ,and all wait and speak and discern and take what is good and see that there is peace resulting out of the given prophesy as God is god of peace and not disorder.

[t-c]

(1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

I think mostly because docturnally, they haven't been exposed to or have any experience with prophecy. Fear and distrust accompany these concerns, so they shy away form prophesy and do not promote people to share. We tend to dilike what we fear, and to stay clear of it. Church services today are usually time driven; so much time for music, prayer, testimonies, baptisms, and sermons, etc... not much time is alotted for the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

That they would be given (2 or3) and evaluated in an orderly fashion and that they should be tested and judged by scripture. If it survives testing and it's good, hold on to it, if it contains evil, stay away from it.

[elizabeth kerr]

I think some churches/Christians shy away from prophecy today because too many who make a public proclamation of what they claim is a prophecy from God do not follow the guidelines given in Scripture for prophesying today. They insist that their proclamation is the word of God equal to or superceding the Bible, and they refuse to accept any testing to see if it conforms to Scripture. As a consequence, many of us look at prophecies given today with unease, skepticism, and distrust. That is too bad because then we may miss a needed message from God.

[RD35]

Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

May be because people don’t think prophets do not exist anymore and are scared of being duped and of false prophecies.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Paul instructs us to use our gifts for building up the church and this includes the gift of prophecy. Paul says that two or three prophets should speak at a time and one speaks the others can weigh it carefully. Prophesying can be done in Gods time so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

[hanks]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14)

Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

I find myself not qualified to make any comments here. I have felt most uncomfortable when I have experienced it in a visting church. In my home church we do not practise it. We have the Word which is the absolute truth, and I do not think we need anything more. Besides this is all open to abuse.

[Raph]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14)

Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

Churches do sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy becuase of incidents where people interrupt each other and act as if they cannot control themselves, with the result that the service becomes disorderly.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

To keep prophecy in a congragation healthy, Paul gives the following guidelines:

1. Prophets should speak in turn.

2. The prophecy they speak should be reflected on to test its credibility.

3. After the testing,take that is good and leave that is evil.

[ann66]

Churches sometimes despise prophecy because of what can be reveal that is not of God.

The guidelines that Paul speaks about

1. prophecy decent and in order.

2. most tongues in interpeted.

3. If prophecy is done in evil stay away from it.

[Guitar Jim]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

Unfortunately these days there have been many instances in many churches where things get out of hand during a typical church service. I remember my first experience in a Pentecostal church. I sure picked the wrong church for my first experience. At some point in the service we were all singing a chorus and all of a sudden the piano player was just banging on the keys in a dischordant way and everyone except me was jabbering in tongues and some were keeling over. Then someone started yelling out jibberish . . in English . . . that was, I assume, the interpretation of what someone had said in tongues. If God had inspired that interpretation He must have been stoned! That church had massive problems, including but not limited to sexual immorality on the part of the pastor and other things that brought it into such disrepute that it ended up closing down. Such behavior was commonplace back then and really gave the whole Full Gospel movement a bad name. The end result was that the reformed churches forbade the speaking in tongues and many considered it to be of Satanic origin. Spiritual gifts are supposed to strengthen the Church, not tear it apart. The instability of some of the Full Gospel denominations seemed to be evidence that they got it wrong. Therefore to contain any possible problems a lot of churches simply don't let people exhibit their Spiritual gifts.

Some church leaders in some denominations consider the Roman Catholic Church to be not of God. No doubt their diefication of Mary, the worship of people no longer living on Earth, also called "saints", and the many other man-made things that often cancel out the Word of God in favor of useless rituals are at the root of that belief. Anyway, these leaders point to the Pentecostal movement within the Catholic Church as evidence that it isn't from God, but from man.

I'm keeping an open mind on that myself. Don't want to blaspheme the Holy Spirit after all. God can and does work in ways we can't comprehend.

Then there was the totally from left field "Toronto Blessing" where people would burst out laughing while the service was in progress. I've seen people running around with their arms out wide doing an aeroplane thing . . . while the pastor was preaching! Remember this Scripture? . . For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:29-33a)

That behavior and the tolerance of it was a doctrine of demons in my opinion. When we go to church, we go to worship the God who made us and the whole Universe. We MUST show Him respect!

I personally can't blame the churches that frowned upon the more flamboyant Spiritual gifts. But in doing that they do indeed limit the Holy Spirit's working within the church service for the edification of the body of Christ. Things have to be done in an orderly manner and proper respect must be shown to Almighty God.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Two or three at most are to prophecy and even then they must do it in turn, not all at once. There must be an interpretation of a message spoken in tongues. If not, the speaker should keep quiet. All common sense really. If we hope to attract more people to come to church, they have to feel welcome, not intimidated by a rabble mentality.

In addition, we are to test the prophecies made in church. They MUST line up with Scriptural teaching and not be contrary to it. If a prophecy is tested and considered false we are to ignore it. I'll add here that if false prophecy is a regular occurrence we need to really got on our knees before God and work out why.

[antonate]

chruches despise or prohibit prophecy if it does not flow from from the Spirit of God. every prophecy should be in accordance to the word of God and prompted by the Holy Spirit and not by human spirit or evil spirit than can bring discord and division in the church.

Paul encourages to prophecy led by God's spirit which can build edify and guide the congregation. also a unbeliver can truly repent for his sin and begin to worship God.

[Trusting God]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

Churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy, because they caused negative feelings, or is doctrinally incorrect.

What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

To keep prophecy healthy in a congregation everyone must be in harmony, unified, and in order. They must be led by the Holy Spirit who is building up the body of Christ. Everyone must wait for their own turn, because God is not a God of disorder.

The body of Christ must “put to the test” prophecies, but it does not replace Scriptures. Prophecies must be measured by the Word of God.

[blezed]

Churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy because some prophesized things that didn't happen or was incorrect. The guidelines that Paul gives to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy is everyone should be on one accord. Have an interpreter, test everything, hold on to the good and avoid every kind of evil.

[csreeves]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

Prophecy in these times is defined by the speaker and so much isn't from God so this fearfulness causes some churches to turn away. If you don't have love then it isn't prophecy

[Joeraja]

Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy?

I believe churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy due to their doctrines not believing in prophecy or  simply their inability to deal with it. Sometimes there are too many people who prophecy and it results in disorder. The people who prophecy also lead questionable lives. There are also conflicting prophecies, and the congregation gets confused. This leads many to be wary of prophesies.

 

What guidelines doe Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

First of all Paul says that there should be order in the church and that prophecy should be tested. There should be a critical examination of prophecies to ensure that it  is in agreement with the scripture and that it doesn't take us astray. We need to discern whether it is from God or from the individual.  Prophesies should encourage and build the church.

[Old Jerry]

I think that the reason that chur4ches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy is because they don’t think that there are any more prophets. They may thing that the only prophecy that went on is already in the bible and there aren’t any prophets available.

 

The guidelines that we are to follow are to weigh the prophecy given to the congregation against what the bible says. We are to meditate on it and make sure it is true.

 

 

[van]

Some churches despise or prohibit prophecy because of their doctrines and others don't feel comfortable about people prophecy within the church. Paul talked about the importance of prophecy with the church. Everyone needs knowledge. Prophecy is for the edification of the church. Paul also states that the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort and that's very important within the church.

[Commissioned]

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Corinthians 14) Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? What guidelines does Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy?

 

Churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy because of ignorance, lack of teaching on how to test and interpret prophecy.  The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in chapter 14 to weigh carefully what is said in prophecy.