{"id":32301,"date":"2024-08-21T22:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T05:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-15_13-29-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T11:21:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T18:21:09","slug":"acts-15_30-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-15_30-41\/","title":{"rendered":"The Purpose of Prophecy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 15:30-41 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 15:30-41.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 15:30-32 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a030-32:\u00a0\u00a0Sent by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, Judas and Silas join Paul and Barnabas on their way back to the church in Antioch.\u00a0 There, the prophetically gifted Judas and Silas\u00a0\u201csaid much to encourage and strengthen\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0the Christians in Antioch with their words.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0The purpose of prophecy in the church is always to encourage and strengthen the people in the church.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As Paul explains:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut everyone who prophesies speaks to people\u00a0for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort<\/strong>\u201d (1 Corinthians 14:3)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.\u00a0All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.<\/strong>\u201d (1 Corinthians 14:26)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHave you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and\u00a0everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening<\/strong>.\u201d (2 Corinthians 12:19)
\nIn other words, when a person with the gift of prophecy prophesies, it\u2019s about catching God\u2019s heart for people and communicating it to them with the goal of strengthening and encouraging them.\u00a0 Sometimes prophecy involves foretelling the future, that is, having insight through divine revelation about a situation that has not yet happened.\u00a0 At other times prophecy involves forth-telling the present, that is, having special insight through divine revelation about a situation that has already happened or is currently happening.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s foretelling or forth-telling, the goal of prophecy within the church is always to encourage and strengthen the church.<\/p>\n

Likewise, whether you consider yourself to have the gift of prophecy or not, make it your goal to speak words that build people up, not tear people down.\u00a0 Since our words have the power to bring life or death to others, use your words to strengthen and encourage others.\u00a0 As Ephesians 4:29 says, \u201cDo not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acts 15:33-34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 33-34:\u00a0 In your Bible you may find that verse 34 is blank.\u00a0 That is because verse 34, which traditionally read \u201cBut Silas decided to remain with them. Only Judas departed.\u201d, is not found in the earliest manuscripts of the book of Acts.\u00a0 It is most likely that a scribe tried to add this sentence in to explain why Silas is present again in Antioch in verse 40.\u00a0 However, verse 33 clearly states that more than just one of Silas and Judas (\u201cthey<\/em>\u201d) returned to Jerusalem.\u00a0 So there was no need for that scribe to add in the sentence that became verse 34.\u00a0 After all, Silas could have easily returned to Antioch later on.\u00a0 So this unnecessary addition of verse 34 was eventually caught and that is why verse 34 is blank.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the lesson here?\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to add unnecessarily to what Scripture has already said.<\/p>\n

Acts 15:35 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 35:\u00a0 While the prophets Judas and Silas came and went, Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch with the believers there.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 There are those \u2013 like Judas and Silas \u2013 who come with a momentary word from God for us and then go.\u00a0 But there are others \u2013 like Paul and Barnabas \u2013 who stay with us and who are a consistent presence in our lives.\u00a0 That in some ways illustrates the difference between a prophet and a pastor.\u00a0 A pastor may himself or herself have a prophetic gift which he uses when preaching, praying and spending time with others, but what a pastor does, which a prophet does not necessarily do, is a pastor maintains an ongoing presence among the people, like a shepherd stays with the sheep.\u00a0 That\u2019s what pastors Paul and Barnabas were doing for their church in Antioch.\u00a0 The prophets Judas and Silas came and went, but the shepherds Paul and Barnabas stayed.<\/p>\n

Prophets and pastors all have an important role to play in the church, but it is important to recognize that their roles are not the same.\u00a0 Sometimes one person can be gifted for both pastoral and prophetic ministry, as were Paul and Barnabas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 15:36-41 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them,
\n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.
\n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
\n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
\n41\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 36-41:\u00a0 One of the things I love about the Bible is its honesty.\u00a0 Here Luke details a real disagreement that two high profile leaders in the church had, so much so that they parted ways when it came to their next ministry trips.\u00a0 So who was right and who was wrong?\u00a0 In this case, I think I can see where Barnabas and Paul were each coming from.\u00a0 Barnabas, ever the encourager and the one who liked having everyone together, wanted to give John Mark a second chance.\u00a0 Paul, always focused on moving forward and not wanting to let anything get in the way of the mission at hand, didn\u2019t think he had time to waste dealing with someone who had quit on them before\u00a0(see Acts 13:13)\u00a0and might do so again.\u00a0 Without knowing any further details, it would be unfair for us to conclude who was right or wrong.\u00a0 In any event, from this we see that Paul and Barnabas had different approaches to ministry, different personalities, and different core values and this disagreement brought those differences to light.\u00a0 But they were still brothers in Christ, and they both ultimately had the same goal: to bring people to Jesus and to glorify God in the process.\u00a0 It goes to show that\u00a0in the kingdom of God there is room for \u2013 and in fact we need \u2013 different kinds of teams so that we can reach different kinds of people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank You Holy Spirit for the gift of prophecy by which You encourage and strengthen Your people.\u00a0 Thank You also that in Your kingdom there is room for different teams with different approaches all to work simultaneously for Your glory.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 15:30-41.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Acts 15:30-32 (NIV)
\n30\u00a0\u00a0The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
\n31\u00a0\u00a0The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
\n32\u00a0\u00a0Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses\u00a030-32:\u00a0\u00a0Sent by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, Judas and Silas join Paul and Barnabas on their way back to the church in Antioch.\u00a0 There, the prophetically gifted Judas and Silas\u00a0\u201csaid much to encourage and strengthen\u201d\u00a0the Christians in Antioch with their words.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32301"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32304,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32301\/revisions\/32304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}