MEMORY SCRIPTURE
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith
Romans 12:6
God works through the gift of prophecy to speak His mind to His people, whether through foretelling or forth-telling, but we must beware of false prophets sent by Satan to scuttle God’s programme among us.
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS
Mon. 20: Desire Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 14: 1)
Tue. 21: Desire The Gift Of Tongues (1 Cor. 14:2)
Wed. 22: Desire The Gift Of Prophecy (1 Cor. 14:3)
Thurs. 23: Desire To Edify Yourself And The Church (1 Cor. 14:4-5)
Fri. 24: Desire To Use The Gifts Appropriately (1 Cor. 14:6-9)
Sat. 25: Desire To Edify Christ’s Body (Eph. 4:12-13)
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS
God desires to speak His mind to His people, even today, hence His gift of Prophecy to the Church.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: DEUTERONOMY 13:1-3; 1 SAMUEL 10:5; 19:18-24; 2 KINGS 4:1 2; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:10; REVELATION 19:10
We thank God for His unending blessings in His Word. The previous lesson exposed to us the mystery and necessity of the interpretation of tongues. We pray that the knowledge and blessings God has deposited in our hearts and lives will remain
permanent in us, for our constant spiritual growth. Amen!
This week, we are saddled with the topic: THE GIFT OF PROPHECY. Here, God is set to reveal to us truths about both the gift of prophecy and the School of Prophets. The gift of prophecy and the office of the prophet as well as the school of prophets are not foreign to both the Old and New Testaments as well as in contemporary times. For instance, 1 Sam. 19:18-24 talk about the sons of the Prophets, i.e. students who assembled to worship, pray and study for needed knowledge and skills. The biblical
prophets were both foretellers and forth-tellers.
Historically, the establishment of Bible School or School of Prophets is for the people with the divine calling. On 27th March, 1952, the first Bible Training Institute of our Church was established at Ede. It moved on, and in 1979, all the Bible Training centres were fused together at Ile-lfe under the first principal, Pastor Busuyi Faloye. The School of Prophets and Evangelists was subsequently established at Ilesha by Prophet/Evangelist D. O. Babajide. However, there had been efforts at some local levels to make people undergo tutelage, before this time.
May we receive enough to fill our hearts and spirits for our growth and walk with Him till He returns. Amen.
LESSON OUTLINE
- THE GIFT OF PROPHECY
- THE SCHOOLSOFPROPHETS
LESSON OUTLINE
THE GIFT OFPROPHECY (Deut. 13:1-3; 1 Cor. 12:10; Rev. 19:10)
…to another prophecy…
1 Cor. 12:10
A) Rev. 19:10: God’s promise of outpouring His Spirit in the last days shall result in His people prophesying (Acts 2:17)—the gift of Prophecy. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of prophecy (cf. Rev. 22:8,9) who imparts the prophetic gift to believers.
B) 1 Cor. 12:10 (cf. Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:11): Grk. prophéteuo means to speak publicly, or to speak of something before it happens (cf. Deut. 34:10). The gift of prophecy is a special ability to speak forth God’s message.
C) God’s prophets have been operating from the beginning. Read Gen. 20: 7; Num. 12:6; Deut. 18: 15; 34: 10; Acts 2: 16,17 for OT prophets. The NT(New Testament) also mentions people with this gift (Matt. 11:14; Lk. 1:67; Acts 13: 1; 15:32; 21:8-10). These were moved by the Holy-spirit (1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:20,21) and they spoke and/or wrote divine messages to people (cf. 2 Chro. 20: 14, 15; Jer. 51:60,61).
D) The absence of prophetic instruction in the Church is too inimical (cf. Prov. 29: 18; Lam. 2:9). Hence, God has given us 2 kinds of prophets: Foretellers, predicting the future (cf. Acts 11:28); and Forth-tellers, instructing and encouraging the people (cf. Acts 15:32; cf. 1 Cor. 14:31).
E) Judas and Silas were prophets (Acts 15:32) but weren’t church leaders. A person can exercise the gift without being a church leader. Anyhow, no one can choose to be a prophet on his own. God’s Spirit does the selection (Deut. 18:15; Acts 7:37; Rom. 12:6).
F) Deut. 13:1-3: The test to know true prophets should include agreement with the Bible (Isa. 8:20; cf. Mal. 3:6), the witness to Jesus as the Lord and Saviour (1 Jn. 4:1-2), fulfilled prophecy (Jer. 28:9), and fruits produced (Matt. 7:20).
THE SCHOOLS OF PROPHETS (1 Sam. 10:5; 19:18-24; 2 Kgs.
…you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.
1 Sam. 10:5
A) 1 Sam. 10:5: Since Prophet Samuel’s days, God’s prophets formed groups (Schools of Prophets) where younger prophets were mentored by more seasoned ones, sometimes called the “fathers” (2 Kgs. 2:12; 6:21), as they lived and served the Lord together.
B) 2 Kgs. 4:1,2: Some of these sons of the prophets were married, while others were unmarried (2 Kgs. 4:38; 6:1,2). They supported the prophets in their duties and could replace them. They most likely read up on the law and history of Israel.
C) Identified Schools of Prophets: in Gibeah (1 Sam. 10:5), Ramah (19:18-24), Bethel (2 Kgs. 2:3), Jericho (2:15), Gilgal (4:38), and other places (2 Kgs. 6:1). Their numerical strengths varied: about 50 in Jericho (2 Kgs. 2:7) and 100 in Gilgal (2 Kgs. 4:43).
D) These young men lived on agriculture (1 Kgs. 19:19), freewill aids (1 Sam. 9:7-8; 2 Kgs. 4:42), and construction (2 Kgs. 6:1-7).
E) Though the Bible never mentions a divine directive for creating these schools, they were valid means of carrying out God’s order to instil the law in His people (cf. Deut. 4:1,9; 1 Sam. 12:23), just like the Bible schools and seminaries today (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).
F) When compared to the wicked Jews, the prophets-in-training were a glaring contrast. They revered God ‘s Word, lived a morally upright life, fervently worshipped, served God, completely rejected idolatry, were submissive, and prepared themselves for ministry.
G) Gehazi was a drop-out from Elisha’s school of prophets (2 Kgs. 5: 15ff). This is a lesson to all renowned and forthcoming prophets and other ministers (cf. Matt. 27:3-10; Acts 1:12ff).
LESSONS DERIVED
- The gift of prophecy is one of the ways God communicates His mind to His people.
- The establishment of Schools of Prophets affirms the need for adequate training and equipping of aspiring ministers and leaders.
QUESTIONS
- Describe the gift of Prophecy.
- What were the major roles of the Schools of Prophets? Compare that with what is obtainable in Bible/Ministerial training centres today.
