The Speaking Gifts - How to speak words of Life - Pt 3 - Prophetic Encouragement.

GREET EVERYONE-

GOOD MORNING LOVED ONES

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

Our Vision:

We Desire see every follower of Jesus well equipped and fully deployed on the mission of Jesus.

What mission? - This questions leads us to articulate His mission for His church in a simple way.

Our Mission:

Is to engage people into a multiplying relationship with Jesus!

INVITE

3- Welcome Home 10-6 - App for that

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2-Small Groups - Intersection of Relationship, Food, The Word and Mission.

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Open it to 2 Timothy 2:22-26 today as we Continue in our current Series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit where we will be navigating the Speaking Gifts and How the Holy Spirit uses God’s spirit filled, super natural church to Speak word of Life in every conversation we have.

PRAYER OVER SERIES

is and has been that as we are Exposing What God says, through the scriptures about the Speaking Gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given God’s people;

My prayer is We would become more and more and more a people who speak words of life to a lost and dying world. Especially in the season we are in and will be for several months.

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

My Prayer over this mornings message is that we would become a people who use the New Testament Gift of Prophecy To Encourage, Consul, and to BUILD UP. Which is what the New Testament Gift of Prophecy is all about.

This is what Scripture tells us in

1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV

3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

What the Scriptures Just said is that The Speaking Gift of New Testament Prophecy in the Church, two of the ways that works out up building and encouragement.

So my prayer is that we would become profetic encouragers and up-builders in this way.

In this season and in every season, but especially this season, we as the Church would do what God said To His people through the Prophet Isaiah. That Crissy read for us this morning.

ENGAGEMENT –

Ever been to a dinner party and some one there decides to take a conversational hand grenade and Toss it our into the middle of the dinner table and the dinner erupts into this crazy huge argument?

Ya know - your at a dinner party and all is well.

There are 5 or 6 couples. and you guys know each other pretty well and you've been hanging out for a few years and among this group there is one person - One guy - seems to be a guy - that is extremely opinionated to one end of any subject.

Like there in every conversation, no matter what the subject, he has an opinion that he usually wants everyone else to agree with?

and during one of these dinner parties, this one guy, gets board with the current conversation and decides to throw out a hand grenade in the middle of the table and it all goes down hill from there.

And if it goes far enough what happens is party ends early and friends leave hurt, mad, disappointed and income cases enemies.

and the Hand grande that he throws out there is one of two things -

Politics and or Religion.

Ever tried to have one of these conversations on Social media?

Same effect I think- BOOM!

TENSION

Ya know, I was raised catholic, and as a catholic I was taught that a persons own belief system was not my concern that it was between them and God.

And that My belief system was not anyone else concern that that was between me and GOD and no one else had permission to speak about it to me.

I was also raised with manners - Yes Maam - No Maam pleas and thank you. Hold the door for the ladies. Standing when the ladies came in and went out and all that.

And one of the lessons I learned was that when invited to a dinner party we just don't discuss Politics or Religion.

It’s a Rude thing to do.

When we take that experience of a blown up dinner party - The lessons from our family and the thoughts that religious discussions are rude and none of our business into our relationship with Jesus.

It leaves us in an extreme conflict, and in a lot of cases Lost on how do we actually make disciples from among the lost, advancing the Gospel, seeing lost people saved, Following the commands of Jesus, when our experience and our upbringing tell us not to.

So How do we do that?

How do we enter into the conversations about Jesus?

Especially when some of those very same attempts that have brought upset feelings at dinner parties and our mothers said it was none of our business?

But ya know we have something that everyone needs.

We have the cure for cancer, the cure for death, the solution to reconcile any Human to God and we even have a mandate from the creator to Go and share it!

How is do we do this?

What is the framework by which we can be used by God so God can open the heart and call people to faith.

I believe that part of that answer is Through the New Testament gift of Prophecy where we do as Paul says the new testament gifts is used for - Encouragement and Lifting up.

what we might, might be able to call Prophetic Encouragement!

You might be thinking: Pastor, that sounds pretty cool but why did we read Isaiah this morning? What does Isaiah have to do with speaking words to other people that Encourage and Build up?

Well lets look at it for a moment and see what Isiah Tells us and see if we can brings something to our time and framework of Conversations.

BACKGROUND -

Isaiah - An Old Testament Prophet - These are the guys who were able to hear Directly from God - Speak to God’s people or the Leaders of God people and Isaiah is probably the biggest Prophet of them all.

He was God's messenger about 700 years before Jesus and Spoke the very words of God to the Leaders of God’s people.

4 of them to be exact.

He spoke the very words of God to the Kings if Gods people for a little over 54 years. All while God’s people were suffering under the wrathful judgement of God that was being fleshed out in the Assyrian Captivity.

The Book of Isaiah covers those 54 years and in the letter as a whole there are over 100 predictions about Jesus that have already come true.

Here in the last part of the Book - Isaiah is speaking the words of God, to the people of God, about the coming salvation done by God, for God’s people who will be rescued from the very enemy of God and God’s people by the very hand of God himslef.

UNPACKING

Watch what Isaiah says:

Isaiah 62:10 (ESV)

10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people;

build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples.

Now there are some very specific things that Isaiah is referring to here when He says these things - Gates and Highways and Signals.

In General terms this is what He is saying -

Go through every obstacle - Go through the gates, Go through any and every entry point.

Go through and Prepare a way for the people to Go -

Make it wide and easily accessible as a Highway. - Build up the Highway

Make sure on the path to this way there are no obstacles in the peoples way. - Clear it of Stones

Lastly - Show them the way to Go - Lift up a signal over the people.

That is what Isaiah was saying to them.

God is saying the same thing to us today.

Over come every obstacle, enter into any entry point

prepare a pathway to Jesus from our life, our words and our actions.

Open the path to Jesus very wide. Like a highway

Make sure there are no obstacles on the path to jesus and lift up Jesus to everyone.

This is what Jesus says about lifting him up.

If he is lifted up he will draw all men to himself.

And these words of Isaiah are directly connected to the call of the Gospel.

You see our job when we are living a missional life is to simply point people to Jesus by representinig him and making him known in wrord and deed. This makes access to Jesus easy!

Look at verse 11

Isaiah 62:11 (ESV)

11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth:

Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes;

behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”

This is exactly what Isaiah is saying to the people of God who at the time he said that was under captivity if the enemy of God people and everything God stood for.

Isaiah is saying BEHOLD - YHWY has proclaimed to the end of the earth.

Behold your salvation comes.

Isaiah is pointing people to jesus some 700 years before Jesus shows up.

Watch what God calls his children who have yet to be saved and set free from the oppression of the enemy of God and Gods people.

The people who Isaiah is speaking the very words of God to are still in captivity.

and watch what the future is for them -

Isaiah 62:12 (ESV)

12 And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord;

and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

You see loved ones there are people right now in our culture that seem so far away from God and yet the plans that He has for them is that ONE day They will be called The Holy People and They will be called the Redeemed of the Lord and They are sought after and they are no forsaken.

But the question for us this morning is: How do we do that?

How do we speak life into a lost and dying world that is seemingly getting so dark?

If we look to the New Testament - Jesus and the Apostles will help us know how.

SO in 1 Cor 14:12

1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV

12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul says to us all Since we are and really should be eager for Manifestations of the Holy Spirit what we are to do is to put our minds and our effort into being excellent in building up, adding to the church.

And there is by implication in these three chapters of 1st Corinthians that we are to use the Spiritual gifts to accomplish it.

And through the Gift of Prophecy by speaking words that are encouraging and up-building the Holy Spirit through once again the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Ephesian church gives us the framework for the content of the words in our conversations that are Prophetically Encouraging and Up building.

APPLICATION

So how do we apply this?

YA know - AS the time and the seasons continue to Go by with each passing season it seem like it is getting harder and harder to do Just that.

Paul tells Timothy in His letter some very personal frameworks as to how Timothy needs not only to conduct himself but how to encourage others in how they conduct them selves.

Watch what He says:

2 Timothy 2:22–26 ESV

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

VS22

Flee youthful passions - Youthful passions - nother words run away from thinking like a child or a teenager.

But Pursue - Chase after - Run after - righteousness - Especially the Righteousness of Christ.

Chase after Faith - Trust in God Chase after that -

Chase after Love. This kinds is the Total love - God kind of Love.

Chase after Peace.

Pau then says - DO it together with others who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.

VS23

Have nothing to do with - In other words “Stay away from” Ignorant Controversies -

This is an interesting set of words - Ignorant - this word goes beyond just -uninformed - This words means anything which reflects a lack of formal training -

and Controversies - is to express forceful differences of opinion through debate or by despite without the goal of seeking a resolution.

Stay away from these things WHY?

Because they only result is a quarrel - The word Quarrel means a”a serious fight”

Then Paul Turns to What jesus Followers must be characterized as -

VVS24 -

The Lords Servant - That is everyone who has been saved by grace through faith - Born again New Creatures in Christ - Regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

We must not be fighters - We must not be Quarrelsome -

This is what Jesus said In the Sermon on the Mount - Blessed are the Peacemakers for they will be called the Sons of God.

And then He moves into what our lives are supposed to e mark with - How we are to represent Christ and make Him Known.

Kind to Everyone-

Kind to some?

Kind to only those we love and carefore?

Kind to only other church members?

Kind to only the people who are kind to us?

Nope kind to everyone

We are to be able to teach -

Jesus says Teach as part of our making disciples -

The Writer of Hebrews says: By now some of you ought to be teachers. So jesus followers are to be able to teach.

Patiently Enduring Evil - and you know that is difficult - What Paul is indicating here is not only evil of our culture but also evil perpetrated against us.

I read this short missional biography a while back of this man who was called by god to give up His suburban living sife and move to the gang infested public housing projects of New York City.

He lived there with an open door policy - No locks on His door and always open and available to anyone who wanted or needed to visit.

He moved in with an apartment full and in a few short months He was reduced to the bare necessity of stuff -

When his TV was stolen - Just taken while he was at the grocery store - His response to the neighbors who not only said :your tv was stolen but also identified the thief - His response was - “They must have needed it more than I did.”

In further conversation in this short biography was that he constantly and continually was purchasing new bibles - becasue His would always get stolen and He wanted to get the word into everyone hands.

What a Picture of enduring Evil.

Lastly - Paul writes that the Servant of Jesus must Correct opponents with Gentleness?

And to what End? to What End are we to flee youthful passions - To what end are we to chase after righteousness - Chase after Faith - Chase after love and Peace?

What reason do we stay away from ignorant controversies?

To what end are we to be peace makers - Kind to everyone - Teaching others with patience - And endure evil?

That God may grant them repentance - Repentance that leads them to the Truth - Repentance that leads them to Jesus who is the Truth.

That they may come to their senses and watch Escape the Snare of the Devil after their captivity.

THIS SEASON IS PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT THAT MOST OTHER SEASONS

What is very interesting is I think there are 2 things that we go through as a country that can really bring the worst out in people.

and it is so sad to see and hear other people especially other who claim Christ participate in the crazy bitter filled, corrupting, clamors slanderous and malicious conversations of our culture and it is even sadder to me when I find myself participating in them as well.

In other words it is so sad when the Church is not acting as the living breathing reality of being the body of Christ.

Because the two things that we see that happen in our culture that have this tenancy to bring out the worst in people are

1. some national attention grabbing tradgety -

A police officer uses deadly force and there are accusation of Race and it gets national attention - Or some political figure does something illegal and there is no attempt to prosecute - Or someone does something heinous and it gets national attention.

The Second thing -

2- Elections season

We all have seen the sadness of brokenness in the larger church with political division destroying unity and even our Gospel witness.

Seems like Every election season brings the same opportunity for Satan to wreck havoc again.

As the Body of Christ (who is the church?)

we must stand firm on the Word and against Satan.

So how do we live out the Word of God in this politically charged season.

We passed out to you this morning a card that look like this.

Here are some reminders as to how we can set our minds on Him who is the only on able to change it all.

WE must remember OUR only King and our first love - We serve Jesus and Him only - We do not and cannot be caught up in serving one political party. We must be kingdom minded not America minded.

Me must remember our ONLY Home

Heaven is our home - We are exiles here and are called to live as exiles. Our country is not our home and there fore the people we dis agree with on policy cannot take our home away from us - Heaven is our home and we are exiles.

WE must remember our Only Mission - Ambassadors OF Christ - Ambassadors live in foreign countries and advocate constantly and continually for their home country.

Remember our only Enemy - People who disagree with us politically or on policy are not our enemy - We only have one of those.

WE must remember our only Power - Our weapons are prayer and the Gospel. It is only by prayer of Gods people that God takes up and entreats on behalf of God’s people and it is ONLY the Power of the Gospel that can change hearts and transform culture.

WE must remember our calling to be bondservants of Christ - American rights are not Christian Rights. We give up our rights to defend the rights of others, WE lay down our lives and our pursuit of life, liberty, comfort convenience safety and security for the sake of the Gospel and the salvation of others.

WE must avoid political rhetoric and stand for Biblical Morality.

WE must not be caught up in the virtual world of social media - Disciple making face to face hand to hand - Hearts are rarely if every changed by debated on social media.

WE must also remember that we are the Solution - We represent Christ and make Him known to the world by what we advocate and what we do as a solution not by what we rail against. When we are the church and impact our cultural problems by stepping in to the darkness and not stepping away!

Loved ones - Let this be our course - Let this be the Change the Gospel makes on our lives.

In this season and every season - Let us speak with Prophetic Encouragement building up the church by being the church in every way and in every season -

Sharing the Gospel in word and in Deed.

PRAYER TEAM