Handling Prophecy is the theme for our reflection. Handling is the manner of treating, using or dealing with something. Prophecy is God’s message, promises or plans about the present or future delivered through a prophet or one inspired by the Holy Spirit. Handling prophecy means the manner we treat, use or deal with God’s message, will or plans in our lives. We shall deliberate on the fact that handling prophecy enables us to understand God’s plans and purpose in our lives. In other words, handling prophecy gives meaning to events happening in our lives and helps us understand God’s will in such events.
Beloved in the Lord, handling prophecy enables us to understand God’s will, plans and purpose in our lives. Prophet Joel’s prophecy to the Israelites was meant to ignite hope and restoration among a people who had hitherto disobeyed God and had suffered famine and Spiritual drought. Joel’s prophecy came in to assure the Israelites of all generations regardless of gender and class that God will Spiritually empower the nation to see, understand and speak His will and Word through diverse means. “And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29). Many decades after, we see Peter handling the prophecy of Joel in a manner that makes it relevant or significant to Jewish Christians who had experienced the outpowering of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Peter made reverence to Joel’s prophecy to establish the fact that the Holy Spirit is available to anyone who is saved through Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:21). Again, Peter handles Joel’s prophecy in a manner that enables his audience to understand that the Church of Christ is united by one Spirit, therefore, regardless of our generational differences, sex and social class God has fulfilled His promise of pouring His Spirit for the edification of the Church. Peter gave relevance to Joel’s Prophecy when he quoted Joel saying ““‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18).
Beloved in the Lord, as believers, preachers and teachers of our time, we are greatly encouraged to diligently study the Bible or Scripture and also handle Biblical prophecy in a manner that brings continuity and consistency in God’s plans and will in our lives. Matthew is well known for handling prophecy in a manner that resonates with his Jewish audience or readers. He uses prophecy to establish the fact that Jesus is the much anticipated Messiah or Saviour of Israel. Mattew for instance in Matthew 4:12-17, wrote that “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In other words, Matthew used Prophecy to demonstrate that Jesus is the light and the Jews who are in spiritual darkness have seen Jesus, the light through His preaching of the Good News. Again, Jesus rightly handled or used prophecy to demonstrate the fact that He is the fulfilment of Scripture when He said to the disciples “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). Dear friend in the Lord, the prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures were handled and made relevant by New Testament writers in their time or era, Biblical prophecy is still relevant in our time and it is the duty of preachers and believers of our time to continually handle prophecy in explaining the signs and events of our time which God had spoken through his chosen servants and ultimately through Jesus Christ. It is important to note that handling Biblical Prophecy in our teachings and preachings will enable us to appreciate God’s plans and will in our lives in the 21-Century.
In summary, we have deliberated on the theme, “Handling Prophecy” We have underscored the fact that handling prophecy enables us to understand God’s plans and purpose in our lives. In other words, handling prophecy gives meaning to events happening in our lives and helps us understand God’s will in such events. Shalom.
PRAYER
1. Let us pray and thank God for His faithfulness to us through His prophecies and promises in Scripture.
2. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to grant us the wisdom to discern and effectively handle prophecy to the edification and benefit of the Church.
3. Let us pray for the continuous outpour of the Holy Spirit on the Church so that we can work together to preach the Gospel and win more souls for the Kingdom of God.
Almighty God, help us through the power of the Holy Spirit to effectively and faithfully handle Your spoken and written Prophecy so that we may continue to experience Your glory in our lives. Amen
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