1 Corinthians 14:22-25 

²²Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? ²⁴But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, ²⁵as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

Giving

One of the controversial biblical beliefs that millions of people struggle to readily accept is the giving of the tithes of God. One skeptic asked, “What about those people who have difficulty paying monthly bills, will God be glad to receive his tithes from people who have shortage of finances?” How do you answer that?

Listen: If we accept that tithes or 10% of income is a right portion of God, we cheerfully return his right share. God won’t force anyone to give his tithes. Returning the tithes of God is a transformational work of the Holy Spirit in our life as Christian. Returning the tithes of God, his portion is a practice of faith in him.

And the question: “Will God be glad to receive his tithes from individuals who have shortage of finances?” The answer is, “Christians, who return the tithes of God cheerfully without hesitation and pressure, sense peace in their heart.” We believe that God gladly blesses anyone who cheerfully returns his tithes.

Now, if you sense hesitation and pressure of giving 10% of your income to God, stop, pause and pray for increase of faith in the Lord. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit until you sense cheerful peace. God loves a cheerful giver. What do you think? Will God appreciate a giver who hesitates or pressured to give?

Returning his tithes is godly command. God won’t force anyone to obey him. Obedience to God is transformational work of his Holy Spirit in our life.

Together, let us reflect on what happened when there was drought in the land, and the Lord instructed Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:9-12, ⁹“Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” ¹¹As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” ¹²“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Food was very scarce because of drought. The widow was preparing for their last meal, and Elijah told her to give him bread. Anyway, the widow may have recognized Elijah as man of God when she said, “As surely as the Lord your God lives.” And she shared their supposed to be last meal with Elijah.

Let’s reflect on what happened afterward in 1 Kings 17:15-16, ¹⁵She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

The widow discerned that Elijah was messenger of God, and she obeyed.

So, how can we discern if preachers are messengers from the Lord or not? The spiritual gift of prophecy helps us understand correctly divine messages.

Prophecy is commonly understood as foretelling or prophesying future events, declaring or preaching divine truth. And before preachers preach, preachers had to correctly interpret a divine message from God to translate or explain it clearly.

That could be the reason Apostle Paul instructed in 1 Corinthians 14:1, ¹Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

The practice of spiritual gifts follows the way of love, how? Spiritual gifts are instrumental to experience and express love from God. The best spiritual gift to desire is prophecy. Why? Spiritual gift of prophecy helps us correctly interpret godly messages. It helps translate and explain clearly divines truth to understand clearly godly revelations. Pray and ask God for gift of prophecy instead of signs.

1.  Sign

²²Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 

Why did Apostle Paul not promote speaking in tongues of angels or foreign languages? Speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers and not for believers.

Speaking in tongues or foreign languages may edify the speaker but it won’t build up the church unless sensible translators interpret and explain what is spoken.

Seriously, we’re advised to desire the gift of prophecy instead. Why? The spiritual gift of prophecy is not limited to prophesying. Prophets are preachers of God who reveal his will to listeners. Carefully observe what it states in Ezra 6:14.

¹⁴So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

Prophets Haggai and Zechariah preached, and the Jews continued to build until they finished building the temple in Jerusalem. Interestingly, the elders of the Jews prospered. Some Jews may have prospered but the elders of the Jews may have seriously obeyed the preaching of Prophet Haggai and Zechariah.

The spiritual gift of prophecy enables us to discern and clearly understand a divine revelation from God, so that we gladly obey the Lord more diligently.

Fulltime preaching ministry is a calling, but all Christians are mandated to witness for Christ. To interpret correctly what God reveals is crucial to know exactly our calling, and we can follow the path that leads to his plan for us.

Do you know the will of God for you personally? How can we know the will of God for us? Prayerfully ask God to grant you the gift of prophecy, so that you can correctly interpret when he reveals his mission purposes for you. Spiritual gift of prophecy helps us discern when God reveals his will for us, our special calling.

How do you personally interpret what Ephesians 3:18-19 declares, ¹⁸Have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Jesus Christ carried all our sins when he died on the cross. His shed blood on the cross washed away all our sins. That mysterious demonstration of his love for us surpasses knowledge. No human intellect can totally explain how wide and long and high and deep in his love for us, that’s why only by faith, we believe it.

It’s the work of God through his Holy Spirit for us to believe in Jesus Christ. As we grow mature spiritually, we desire to testify how God transformed us. God had already prepared potential believers. So, wait for his divine signal before you witness for Christ so that you won’t be anxious. Christ reminds in Mark 13:11,

¹¹Do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Do you still remember the first time you heard the good news of salvation?

Maybe, you heard from a sermon or from a friend, but it was the Holy Spirit who spoke to you and inspired you clearly understand the good news of salvation.

The Holy Spirit himself inspired us to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Likewise, if we have opportunity to tell potential believers about the gospel of salvation, we prayerfully seek help of the Holy Spirit to speak through us.

  2.  Speaker

²³So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 

Anytime, anywhere, be prepared to speak and share precisely your belief. If you’re able to speak of what you believe particularly about Christ and explain in understandable language the gospel of salvation, what would observers say? Do you expect them say, “You’re out of your mind?” Surely, believers will believe.

Will they even think that you are blind followers? Skeptics may argue, but potential believers will seriously want to know more about Christ. Therefore, it is very essential that we could explain verbally what we believe in Jesus Christ.

Let us reflect on what Jesus Christ mandated in Matthew 28:18-20, ¹⁸All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Do you strongly believe that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ? So, how does such belief affect your behavior as believer? If Jesus Christ has all authority, it should inspire faithful obedience to him, right?

The obedience that Christ wants to see is for us to go and make disciples.

If we go and make disciples practically, we acknowledge that Christ has authority in heaven and on earth. If we go and make disciples, we reverently respect and honor of his authority. And Christ prepared potential disciples already. Agree?

To make disciples is an opportunity to practice faith in Christ, and we need guidance of the Holy Spirit to obey him faithfully. And as to which practical step we could make or which direction we could take, we prayerfully seek guidance of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the plan the Lord already prepared for us.

God prepared everything even before we’re yet to be born. Do you agree?

Parents

Responsible parents provide food for the family. And sensible children will help in household chores. There are times when parents are away. They send messages to their children to cook food for the family. Now, if children wait for parents to cook food for the family, it will be too late for everyone to eat. Right?

Unless it is necessary, parents won’t ask children to go and buy groceries they can cook for the family. They cook food from groceries available at home.

Similarly, the Lord had prepared potential disciples that we may disciple. How can we identify a potential disciple? Pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit and wait for his divine signal to proceed. While waiting for opportunity to disciple, we behave in a manner worthy as Christ’s disciple. Let’s reflect on what it advised in

Titus 3:8, ⁸Those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

This advent season, your relatives and friends may invite you to celebrate with them. Many people celebrate happy holidays while we celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Christ, his first advent on earth. Christmas is a time to testify of the love and grace of God that we personally experienced. How’s that?

Well, The Holy Spirit guarantees genuine faith in Christ. He empowers and inspires believers to witness for Christ and not remain secret believers. Have you received the Holy Spirit, yet? If so, you can never keep secret your faith in Christ.

3.  Secret

²⁴But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, ²⁵as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

If it is necessary, the Holy Spirit convicts believers to repent of all secret sins of the heart. He inspires believers to prophesy and preach the good news.

If “everyone is prophesying,” it shows that we correctly understood and clearly translate godly message. Prophesying is commonly understood as foretelling.

In this context “prophesying” is interpreting divine messages. So if we can correctly interpret a revelation from God and clearly explain it, potential believers may reflect and change their behavior if they understand what they heard.

When the Holy Spirit inspires, believers sense reverent respect of God. We reflect and evaluate if our behavior and attitudes are acceptable to the Lord or not. The Holy Spirit teaches us proper behavior, and we praise the Lord for that.

To prophesy is to correctly interpret divine truth and translate or explain it for listeners to understand clearly. That is exactly the complexity of preaching. Preaching divine revelation from God is instrumental for listeners to repent. Have you heard of sermons as if their secrets had been revealed to everyone else?

Invite

Many years ago, I was invited to preach at a particular church anniversary. I asked the pastor of the church, what topic or theme they want to hear. He told me, “Preach whatever the Lord instill in your heart.” Without sufficient knowledge about the situation in that particular church, I prepared a sermon prayerfully.

After the service and fellowship was completed and I was about to depart, the pastor of the church told me that some members of the church wondered if someone had informed me about a sensitive concern among the members.

It’s not isolated case. The Holy Spirit may convict believers to repent of secretive escapades. The Holy Spirit inspires interpretation of biblical passages that may relate to sensitive concerns. Together, let’s reflect on 2 Timothy 2:1-2, 

²The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Making disciples is biblical proof that we are disciples. The Lord prepared reliable people who will grow spiritually mature as disciples and eventually teach. Who are those “reliable people?” Reliable believers are sensible and seriously desire to grow spiritually mature. They are not simply random church attendees.

We gather regularly and listen to what Christ wants to transform in us. Sensible believers jot down or write messages that are significant to them.

Godly revelation that caused us to evaluate and change our behavior will stick in our mind, and God uses similar lesson when we talk about our faith in Christ.

What particularly do you expect whenever you attend worship services?

Attending worship services becomes more meaningful and relevant to our Christian life when the Holy Spirit convicts us of escapades we should avoid. No person is perfect while on earth. But, may God convict us of our favorite worldly escapade. May he transform and prepare us for opportunity to make disciple.

We pray that God empowers us to be more sensible to edify, build up and encourage each other to grow spiritually mature strongly. Amen!

May this Christmas, everyone has divine opportunity to witness for Christ!

><((‘> .. ><((‘> … ><(((“> tmec\2024 <“)))>< … <‘))>< .. <‘))><