The Gifts of Tongues, Prophecy, and Healing | 1 Corinthians 14

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good to see you. As you just learned, we need to make some room for Easter next Sunday. That's exactly why I'm speaking on the gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing. We're going to clear this place out, make some space for some other people.

For the past eight weeks, we've been in a series on the Holy Spirit. The reason we've spent eight weeks talking about the Holy Spirit is we truly do want to be a Spirit-led church. No series on the Holy Spirit would be complete without a discussion on the controversial gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing.

Some of y'all are like, "Finally!" The place where we are ending is the place you wish we started, because the entire series you've been like, "I just need to know if we're going charismatic, because if we're going charismatic, I am going to go somewhere else." Others of you are like, "If we're not going charismatic, I need to know that so I can go somewhere else." That's great. That's awesome, and I can't wait to give this talk today.

I'm actually really excited about it, and I can't wait to jump in. Before we do, it feels like something we should pray for. So, I just want to invite you really quickly to pray for yourself. Just take a moment and say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then I want to invite you to pray for the people around you and say, "God, would you speak to them this morning?" Then would you pray for me and ask God to speak clearly through me to you on a difficult topic.

Lord, we give today to you, and I pray that we would leave here unified together. Bless this time. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you're at Watermark for the first time or if you're not a Christian, if you're just exploring the faith, here's how we got to where we are today, talking about what we're talking about. We believe there is amazing news, and the good news is Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead in order to save us…save us from hell, save us into a real and enjoyable relationship with God, and save us into a family where we have brothers and sisters in the faith.

We believe every time we get together on a Sunday morning it's like a family reunion. God has come to live inside of us through the presence of his Holy Spirit. So, God living inside of us actually empowers us and gifts us with what, we would say, are supernatural abilities to serve one another. These abilities are known as spiritual gifts.

If you were with us last Sunday, we unpacked 14 different spiritual gifts God has given people in this church for the purpose of building up and serving this church, yet there are a few more gifts that are considered controversial gifts. So, we just want to talk about it this morning. These gifts are specifically the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of prophecy, and the gift of healing.

I think it's important to acknowledge from the beginning that there's actually a spectrum of belief when it comes to what we're going to call today the charismatic gifts. That's actually a bad label for these gifts, because the Greek word charismata, which is where we get the word charismatic from, just means gifts of grace.

All of the spiritual gifts are gifts of grace, yet we're going to refer to them as the charismatic gifts this morning just so we all know what we're talking about. There's actually a spectrum of belief. Some people want to act like there are only two options. Either you're charismatic or you're non-charismatic. If you're a non-charismatic, you might believe the only two options are either to be faithful or to be crazy.

For the people who are charismatic, that means they are off the rails theologically and that they agree with and affirm every YouTube video out there of people losing their ever-loving minds and collapsing on the ground and entire churches, all at the same time, acting like they're singing along to the soundtrack for The Lion King. "Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!" Do we have an interpreter? I just… Anyway… I don't even know where I'm at now in my message.

So, that would be the non-charismatics, but then you have people who have more of a charismatic bent to them, and you might see the only two options as being free or being shackled. I just want you to know there are actually more options than that. There's actually a spectrum of belief when it comes to these gifts. I want to identify five different positions regarding these charismatic gifts, and I want to invite you to listen and see where you land.

The first position is what we will label ceased without exception, which means the charismatic gifts have totally and completely ceased, and those who believe in and practice the gifts are either deceived or under demonic influence. The second position is ceased with exception, which means the charismatic gifts have ceased except on rare occasions, especially in unreached or hard-to-reach places.

The third position is the active but rare position, where you believe the charismatic gifts haven't ceased. They continue, but God only seems to give them on rare occasions, especially in unreached or hard-to-reach places. The fourth position on the spectrum is active with care, which believes the charismatic gifts haven't ceased. They continue. God gives them to people in the church, but if they are practiced, it must be with a lot of care and for the edification of the body.

Then the final position on the spectrum of belief is active without restraint, which believes the gifts haven't ceased. They continue. If you don't have them, something is wrong, and we should practice them without restraint in the church. The freer we are, the more spiritual we are. So, I just want to invite you to evaluate where you are on that spectrum of belief. Which position would you most identify with? Then answer this question: How did you get there? What in your life has shaped your understanding of these charismatic gifts?

For many of you, it was just your upbringing. This is how your parents raised you, and you've never deviated from that. Others of you have swung to the other side of the spectrum because of how your parents raised you. You've reacted to that. Others of you have your favorite speaker or your favorite pastor who has spoken emphatically about these in one way or another, so you believe what you believe because of what that speaker believes.

Wherever you land, let me encourage you. You want your position to be driven by and informed by the Scripture. Now, here's the reality. Of those five positions, there are actually three positions that have very solid biblical foundations, and then there are two that clearly go beyond the bounds of Scripture. Do you know which two go beyond the bounds of Scripture? Let me put the five on the screen again for you to see. Just look.

Which two go beyond the bounds of Scripture? It's the two on the ends. It's the ceased without exception and the active without restraint. How can I say those go beyond the bounds of Scripture? Well, the reason I would say that is if you hold the ceased without exception position, it's going to require you to speak with a confidence the Scripture just doesn't provide. If you're not careful, you're actually going to be dismissing some works of the Spirit, at best, or you will be ascribing some works of the Spirit to demons, and you don't want to be there.

The other position that goes beyond the bounds of Scripture is the active without restraint. Why would I say that goes beyond the bounds of Scripture? It's because in 1 Corinthians 14, there are actually very specific instructions regarding how to practice gifts in the church, so to do it without restraint will require you to completely ignore instructions from Scripture on how to operate with certain gifts.

The reality is scholars give strong biblical support for the three middle positions, which are different positions. Two of them would say the gifts have ceased. One would say the gifts are active. So, these are very different positions, but what I love is there are people who hold different beliefs yet love one another.

Here's what I want you to know. If you are a non-charismatic and think all charismatics are crazy, I want to make sure you know that people like John Piper and Wayne Grudem, who has written the gold standard Systematic Theology book that's on every pastor's shelf, and D.A. Carson, who many consider to be the most respected New Testament scholar of our day… All three of those people hold the active with care position.

If you're a charismatic, what you need to know is someone like Tom Schreiner holds the ceased with exception position. Tom Schreiner is one of the most respected New Testament scholars of our day. He is one of my favorite commentators to read. What I love is that Tom Schreiner actually served on the elder team at John Piper's church, even though they share different beliefs regarding a private prayer language. These people can love each other.

Tom Schreiner actually dedicated his book on spiritual gifts to John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and Sam Storms, even though they have different beliefs. And that wasn't as a shot at them; it was due to their friendship. The reason I'm even telling you this is there are theological truths we must hold tightly, and there are other theological truths we must hold delicately.

When it comes to the charismatic gifts, my encouragement is to hold these gifts delicately, and anytime you engage in conversations about these things, it is best for you to be humble and charitable. What do I mean by humble? I mean you hold the understanding that you could have gotten it wrong.

I love that Tom Schreiner, truly one of the greatest New Testament scholars of our day, in his book on spiritual gifts says, "I could be wrong." Isn't that amazing? So, don't speak emphatically on something you honestly can't speak with complete, 100 percent confidence on, because I don't know that the Scripture completely gives it.

Be humble, and then charitable. What do I mean by charitable? I just mean you respect the fact that other people have biblically informed positions on these matters. So, here's how I think I can be most helpful to us today. For the three middle positions, I want to identify where there is agreement and where there is disagreement and how each position supports it biblically. Okay?

Let's start with the gift of tongues. What's interesting is when you talk about the gift of tongues, the debate or controversy really is not centered around whether the gift of tongues has ceased or is still active. That's not what the debate is about. The debate about the gift of tongues is about whether the Scripture allows for different kinds of tongues.

So, let's start with where there is agreement. Where there is agreement is around the understanding that in the Scriptures there are at least some passages, specifically in the book of Acts, that when you're talking about tongues, you are talking about known human languages that the speaker does not know but is able to speak, and the hearer is able to hear it in their native tongue.

So, we are talking about human known languages that are unknown to the speaker and known to the hearer. Where do we get this from? Most prominently, we get it from the book of Acts, chapter 2. It's the day of Pentecost. It's when the Spirit of God comes upon the church. Many of you know the story. Listen to what it says in Acts 2:4-6.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language."

This is where there is wide agreement. There is wide agreement that tongues in the Scripture are known human languages that were spoken by people who didn't know the language. This scene in Acts, chapter 2, is this beautiful reversal of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10. It's the clear display of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and it's a clear declaration that the gospel is for all nations.

As I've already mentioned, scholars really don't debate this. That's not where the controversy is around tongues. Whether or not God still gives people the ability to speak in known human languages… People aren't necessarily debating that. If anything, there are stories about God doing this out on the mission field, and when you hear a story like that, most people aren't quick to be like, "Well, that never happened." No, it did happen. Okay, fine.

Even in charismatic churches, there isn't this major argument for God still giving people in the church the ability to speak a known human language. The controversy is whether Scripture supports the idea of a different kind of tongue. Where people will get the idea of another tongue besides a known human tongue is 1 Corinthians, chapter 14. Listen to what the apostle Paul says.

He says in verse 2, "For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit." Some people have heard that and said, "That seems to be talking about a different type of tongue…not a known human language, but a different type of language no one can understand. There's mystery in it, and the only one who can understand that is God."

First Corinthians 14:4 goes on and says, "The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church." The idea there is there are people who are speaking in a tongue in the church in Corinth, and that language is unknown to anyone else, so the only person who can be built up by it is the person speaking it.

Then verse 9 says, "So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air." Some scholars believe a tongue is being talked about here that is unintelligible. No one can understand it, so it's just like you're speaking into the air. You're only speaking to God.

This is where the real debate is, because people like John Piper and Wayne Grudem believe 1 Corinthians 14 is talking about a different kind of tongue, that in addition to human languages, there can be utterances or unintelligible vocal sounds that do not conform to a known human language, but there are utterances understood only by God or by someone to whom God has given an interpreting ability. These tongues might be referred to as a private prayer language.

This might surprise some of you. This is actually the predominant view among scholars writing on 1 Corinthians 14. That's not a fringe view; that's actually the predominant view. Then, on the other hand, one of my favorite New Testament scholars, Tom Schreiner, and others hold the view that even in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul is still talking about known human languages.

In the context of chapter 14, what Tom Schreiner and others would argue is it's not that Paul is arguing for a different type of tongue than was found in Acts 2; he's arguing for different circumstances than Acts 2. In Acts 2, there were people present who spoke different languages. In 1 Corinthians 14 in the church of Corinth, there aren't people there who speak a bunch of different languages, so they would argue the reason the tongue isn't understood or is unintelligible is simply because no one understands it and there's no one there to interpret it.

Some of y'all are like, "Just tell me which one is right." Here's what I want you to see. Scholars from both positions, honestly, give compelling arguments. So, where do I stand? Well, a lot of it is how I was raised. I was raised in a church that believed the gift of tongues had ceased and it was strictly known human languages, and I went to a seminary that taught the same thing. I've had little exposure to people praying in a private prayer language.

Tom Schreiner's explanation of 1 Corinthians 14 has been really compelling to me, yet in all of my study, more than ever, I can acknowledge that what I have known could be wrong. It could be. I can at least say I can definitely see how godly scholars whom I respect interpret 1 Corinthians as referring to a private prayer language. I can at least acknowledge that, and I can see there are good biblical grounds to believe this.

I have friends who have told me they have a private prayer language, and when they've told me that, my automatic response has not been to discredit it or disprove it or to disbelieve it. You're like, "So where do you stand?" Here's what I'm trying to say. This is something to be held delicately. This is where I stand.

First, we should not divide over tongues, especially if we're talking about the three middle positions. Now, if we're talking about the fringe position where we're talking about the gifts of the Spirit being active without restraint, that's problematic. If we're talking about the fringe belief that the gifts have ceased with zero exception, that's to be avoided. But when we're talking about the three middle beliefs, we should not divide over tongues.

I remember one of my good friends in seminary was being discipled by a very prominent pastor, a well-known, prominent pastor whom people all over the nation love. I remember my friend telling me this prominent pastor told him emphatically, "We do not break bread with tongues." His point was, "We do not support, we do not befriend, we do not partner with, and we do not share meals with people who believe in the gift of speaking in tongues."

I would just say that is unnecessarily divisive and really sad. I love the fact that the two people who have written what I would consider to be the most helpful books on this subject are Gregg Allison and Tom Schreiner. Do you know where they both work? They both work at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where multiple people on Watermark staff have gotten degrees, and one of them was a professor there for 10 years.

One holds the belief that the gifts are active with care, and another holds the belief that the gifts have ceased with exception. That's a beautiful display of unity in the midst of diverse belief. We should not divide over tongues. So, I'll just say this. As elders, we believe the nature of tongues is not a hill we will die on.

Just follow me on this. If you get on our website and find out what we believe, we have two statements. We have a statement that catalogues our core beliefs, and then we have our full doctrinal statement. Our core beliefs are seven core beliefs that are hills we will die on. They are nonnegotiable. You have to affirm those core beliefs if you're going to be a member here. In our full doctrinal statement, we acknowledge that our position at Watermark is that tongues are known human languages, but that's on our full doctrinal statement.

That's not included on our core belief statement. Why? Because tongues is not a hill we should die on. I tell you this just to say it should be possible for people to hold all three middle positions and be members here at Watermark. That means people who believe tongues are only known human languages as well as people who believe tongues can be a private prayer language should be able to be members here, if we're talking about the three middle positions.

The next thing I would say is, at Watermark, a private prayer language should be kept private. If you believe you have a personal prayer language, what we're saying is we would ask that you let that private prayer language remain private and not bring it into what we're doing right now, the corporate gathering.

You might hear that and say, "Well, that feels like you are outright disobeying 1 Corinthians 14:39," which says, "So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues." You might read that and be like, "You are forbidding tongues." Let me tell you why we would ask you not to bring that private prayer language into the corporate gathering.

You have to remember the goal of spiritual gifts. What's the goal of spiritual gifts? It's to build up the body. First Corinthians 13 tells us these gifts should be fueled by love. When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, the spectrum of beliefs concerning tongues didn't exist, but it does now. Here at Watermark, we have people who hold different positions, so to bring tongues into the corporate gathering would cause unnecessary division.

Then you have to remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:27-28. "If any speak in a tongue…" He doesn't say when but if. "If any speak in a tongue…" He gives very specific instructions. He says, "…let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God."

Paul is very specific. He's like, "Look. If there's not an interpreter, you don't do it. And if you do do it, there's a process. Only two or three people total should do it." This is why it's unbiblical… For example, when I was in high school… Imagine this. I went to a church that believed the gifts had ceased and tongues were only known languages. We went on a mission trip to England, and we were in this big church. The pastor got up and was like, "And now let's all speak in tongues."

I looked at my youth pastor. He was like, "Oh my gosh. If you have a shot, take me out. This is the worst." It was this moment where everyone in the church was invited to speak in tongues. That is unbiblical because it's completely ignoring the instructions Paul has given. So, what you need to understand is here at Watermark, with the amount of people we have here and the fact that it takes 50 minutes for us to turn the campus over in between services…

The reason I tell you that is our services aren't conducive to having only two or three people, one at a time, and then you have an interpreter, and we need to go through all this. It's not conducive. I tell you that to say if you believe you have a private prayer language, we would ask that you keep it private.

Then the third thing we would say about tongues is tongues aren't for everyone. The reason I say that is there is this belief in more charismatic or Pentecostal spaces that you should seek a second blessing from the Spirit. People refer to it as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. People in Pentecostal circles would say it is something that takes place at a different time than your conversion.

Here's what this looked like. I did college ministry for close to a decade, and I would see these college students who desperately wanted to speak in tongues or they had leaders at their church who were saying, "I really want to pray for you to receive the gift of tongues," and then it wouldn't happen.

It caused this stress, and people felt like they were deficient in their faith, because the belief was, at some time after conversion, you're going to have this second experience where the Spirit is going to come upon you in a new and fresh way that enables you to speak in tongues. So, every genuine Christian, at some point, is going to get a second blessing of the Spirit and speak in tongues.

That's why girls came up to me at Breakaway and said, "Is it true that I need to speak in tongues in order to truly be saved, to know I'm saved?" because it's this belief that if you are a Christian, at some point, the Spirit is going to give you more and you're going to be able to speak in tongues. I would argue that is unbiblical.

That is taking a story or two from Acts that was a special moment in history and generalizing it to today. You have to wrestle with what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29-30. He just asks questions. He says, "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?"

The assumption is that the answer to every question is "No," because he has just given this long explanation that we're like a human body, and not everyone is an ear and not everyone is a foot. We all have different gifts to serve the body. Paul's point is not everyone is going to have the gift of tongues. We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at conversion for all believers and is not something that needs to be sought post-conversion.

So, that's tongues. We've talked about where people agree. Everyone would say they are known human languages, but the disagreement is in regard to whether the Scripture makes a case for a different type of tongue. What I'm trying to help you see is there's good biblical evidence for both beliefs, so it's not something we should divide over.

Now let's talk about prophecy. What are we talking about when we talk about prophecy? I like Wayne Grudem's definition. Here's how he defines prophecy: "Prophecy is the reception and subsequent transmission of spontaneous, divinely originating revelation." Let's take a moment to digest that. Let me read it one more time, just process it word by word.

It's the reception and subsequent… After you receive it, what do you do with it? You transmit it. So, you receive it, and then you share it. It's the transmission of spontaneous (meaning, it comes in an instant), divinely (meaning, it's coming from above) originating revelation. It's revelation. This is where we need to clear up some confusion, because some people equate prophecy with preaching.

People have said, "You know what? The gift of prophecy is just preaching. It's just truth-telling. Anytime someone gets up and preaches, they're prophesying. They are just telling the truth." I would say the Scriptures would say prophecy is different than preaching. Someone can exercise prophecy in preaching, but it is not the same as preaching. How can I say that? Well, let me give you a few truths about prophecy.

First, prophecy and teaching are different gifts. First Corinthians 12:29: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?" Paul draws a distinction between teaching and prophecy. Secondly, prophecy reveals something hidden. Preaching is the teaching of the revealed Word of God. Prophecy reveals something that is hidden.

That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries…" Mysteries. This is not a mystery. There are some things in this that are mysterious or hard to understand, but this is not a mystery. This actually makes known the wonderful mysteries of God. Prophecy understands mystery, something that has not been revealed.

Next, prophecy is usually a spontaneous revelation from God. An example is in Acts 13:2. "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said…" The Holy Spirit just interrupted, revealed. "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, finally, prophecy is often encouraging. First Corinthians 14:3: "On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation."

So, that's what we're talking about when we're talking about prophecy. Honestly, there's pretty wide agreement on that, but let me tell you where there's disagreement. The place where there's disagreement regarding prophecy is around the question of…Is prophecy in the New Testament the same as prophecy in the Old Testament?

When you look at prophecy in the Old Testament, prophets were speaking the authoritative Word of God, which meant anytime a true prophet spoke, everything they said was true, and it was coming straight from God and was delivered to people. If anything the prophet said wasn't true, the prophet was to be put to death.

So, the question is…Is prophecy in the New Testament different than in the Old Testament? Some people believe prophecy shouldn't be viewed any differently in the New Testament. Some would argue the reason authors in the New Testament warn against false teaching and encourage people to recognize false prophets is because prophecy hasn't changed between the Old and the New Testament.

A key passage for people who believe prophecy hasn't changed and people who believe the gift of prophecy ceased after the first century is Ephesians 2:19-20. It says, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone…"

Why is that such an important passage? Because there are certain scholars who would say prophets in the New Testament played an authoritative role in the establishing of doctrine for the church alongside the apostles. So, when Paul says they were built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, he is saying true prophets have helped shape the doctrine for the church, which means that for there to still be prophecy, which is considered the authoritative words of God such as in the Old Testament, that means prophecy has to be taken as just as important as the Bible, yet the Canon has been closed, and it's not to be added to.

So, that's the argument. Prophecy hasn't changed. Prophets helped build the foundation and doctrine of the church, so if someone is still a prophet today, then the words they speak must be taken as the authoritative word from God, coming from God, which puts them on equal par with the Bible itself, yet the canon of Scripture is closed, but to say there are still prophets is to say there is more truth God wants to reveal to his people and that the Bible isn't sufficient. That's what some people would argue.

There are other people who believe New Testament prophecy is different than Old Testament prophecy. They would say New Testament prophecy doesn't carry the same weight as Old Testament prophecy. They would say New Testament prophecy isn't to be taken as the authoritative Word of God in terms of being on the same level as the Bible; therefore, New Testament prophecy can be mixed with truth and error, since we are fallible human beings, which means you could speak a word of prophecy and not have to be put to death for it if it wasn't exactly true.

Where do you find any evidence for that in the Scripture? Well, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 says, "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." This is an interesting passage, because it says, "Do not despise prophecies…" That is interesting, because in the Old Testament, prophecy was supreme. It was the authoritative Word of God. Now there are people in the New Testament who are despising it and downplaying it and not revering it, and Paul might be saying prophecy has taken a different place.

Then he goes on and says, "…but test everything; hold fast what is good." What Paul might be saying here is "Hey, you need to test prophecy in the New Testament. And you know what? The stuff that is true you should hold on to, and the stuff that isn't true you should not hold on to." So, it might be that he's implying that prophecy can be mixed with truth and error.

Then you have 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. "Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part…" That could mean the prophecy is incomplete or imperfect. "…but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away."

Paul is saying the partial prophecy won't pass away until the perfect comes. Well, what is the perfect? There is pretty good consensus now that the best explanation of the perfect is the second coming of Jesus Christ. So, people would argue that the gift of prophecy hasn't ceased because the second coming of Christ has not occurred.

So, which one is right? Here's what I would say. Do you know what I love? I've told you where there's a disagreement. Let me tell you where there is agreement. Where there's agreement is that God often speaks to his people through his people. Even Tom Schreiner, who believes the gift of prophecy has ceased… Listen to what he says. This is so helpful.

"We should not, however, conclude that what happens in charismatic churches today is demonic. It is better to characterize what is happening today as the sharing of impressions rather than prophecy. God may impress something on a person's heart and mind, and he may use such impressions to help others in their spiritual walk. It is a matter of definition; what some people call prophecies are actually impressions, where someone senses that God is leading them to speak to someone or to make some kind of statement about a situation.

The difference between cessationists [those who believe prophecy has ceased] and continuationists [those who believe it continues] is in some ways insignificant at the practical level when it comes to prophecy, for what continuationists call prophecy, cessationists call impressions. As a cessationist, I affirm that God may speak to his people through impressions. And there are occasions where impressions are startlingly accurate."

So, where do I stand? I'll just tell you where I stand. I believe the Bible is the final and ultimate authority, the ultimate authoritative Word of God. It's the final Word of God, yet whether you want to call it prophecy or impressions, I firmly believe God uses his people to speak to his people, and I believe that here at Watermark we can be an even greater encouragement to one another than we already are.

Here's what this could look like. Let me encourage you with a few things. First, I want to encourage you, especially in the context of your Community Group, to pray for and listen on behalf of one another. Pray to God and listen to God on behalf of one another. Secondly, test anything you believe you hear with the Scripture. Listen to God on behalf of people in your Community Group, people in your life, and then test what you hear with Scripture.

Thirdly, share humbly with one another, knowing you're a fallible human being. This is where we have to be careful. Some of it's just choosing the right words, but when you say, "I have a word from God for you," don't assume the person you're sharing that with knows that you know you could be wrong because we're all fallible human beings. Fourthly, evaluate what is shared with you with the Word and in community. This is why it's so important to remain tethered to the Word of God and to process in community.

Let me just tell you what this would look like for me. I want to tell you about a time recently where I listened to the Lord. Whether you want to call it prophecy or impressions, that's up to you. I'll just tell you it didn't turn out, but I believe I did what I was supposed to do. A very close friend of mine asked me to be praying with him. He was seeking to discern whether he was supposed to uproot his family and move or not.

So I began to sit with the Lord. I just sat with the Lord, and I asked the Lord, "Is there anything you want to say to me that you want me to share with my friend?" I sat with the Lord, and I processed. As I was listening to the Lord, I believed there were two things I heard. One was the word nomad, that they had been moving around, and there were places they stayed that weren't even their home. Then the second thing I believed I heard was come home.

He's originally from Dallas. They were living in a different state. I felt like the Lord was saying, "Come home. Your home now is not your real home." I felt like I heard that from the Lord, yet I didn't just call him immediately and say, "Here's what I think I heard." Instead, I sat on it for a few days. I went back to the Lord. I was like, "Is this what you want me to share with him?" I felt like what I was supposed to do was to call my friend and share this with him.

So I called my friend, and here's how I positioned it. I said, "Hey, look. I have sat with the Lord, and here's what I believe I heard, but I could be wrong. I'm going to share this with you, but as I share it with you, here's what I want to encourage you to do. I want to encourage you to take it and to pray through it and to process it with your spouse, process it with friends, to determine whether it is truly from God or not."

So I shared it with him, and guess what they're doing. They're staying put. They're staying where they live now. Yet my friend was overwhelmingly encouraged, and he felt so loved to know I was spending concerted time seeking the Lord on his behalf. He wasn't mad at me. He wasn't discouraged, but he took what I shared with him as what it was. It was something I believed I had heard from God, yet it's possible that it wasn't completely true.

We can be an encouragement toward one another. We have to be careful. When we step into someone's life and say, "I have a word from God, and this is what you need to know, and this is what you need to do" with no caveats, especially people who are less mature in their faith who don't know to take it and process it and pray through it and evaluate it, it can be destructive, yet it can be really encouraging.

There have been times in my life where people have come to me and said, "I feel like God wants me to encourage you in this way," and it has been exactly what I've needed in the moment. It's almost surreal the timing of God putting them in my life for that encouragement. That's prophecy. We haven't even talked about healing, but let me just say this. Do people still have the gift of healing today or not? Some say, "Yes." Some say, "No." In the end, the application is the same.

God is healer. We should pray fervently for God's healing work in people's lives. We should do that collectively as a church. We should do that in our Community Groups. We should pray to God who is healer for him to heal, all the while knowing there are times God miraculously does heal, and there are times he doesn't, but we can hope and trust that one day he will finally heal you and me when Christ returns to make all things new.

So, let's close up this entire eight-week series. What do we do with it? First, let me just encourage you. Don't confuse being passionate and Spirit-led with being charismatic. I've heard people say… They look around at the Night of Worship, and people are raising their hands. They're like, "Oh my gosh! We're turning charismatic." That's called passion and freedom in worship, not going off the rails. We want to be a church that is marked by the Spirit. We want to be a church that is biblically informed about the Spirit. We want the Spirit's work in our lives.

Secondly (this plays off of last week as well), if you are a follower of Jesus Christ… Don't miss this. If you're tuned out, I need everyone tuned in right now. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit is in you, and the Spirit has gifted you to build up this body. Some of y'all were concerned last week when I said serving is no longer a requirement for membership. Let me be clear. When I said that, I was in no way saying that serving is now optional or just a strong suggestion.

What I was alluding to was an operational decision that was made about three years ago that our staff would no longer be using valuable work time to administratively monitor each person's service, but membership here at Watermark matters. Serving is absolutely an expectation, and it is a privilege as members of one another in Christ. When you signed the membership covenant here at Watermark, you were committing to see this place as a family and as a body you belong to. You were committing to serve, and you were committing to build this place up, because the Spirit has gifted you to serve.

I was so encouraged. My Community Group had a great conversation about our gifts and how we can use them. I know many of you have been having those conversations as well. If you weren't here last Sunday, go back and listen to it. Keep seeking the Lord, figuring out how he has gifted you and how he wants to deploy the gifts he has given you to build up this body. We need one another.

Then, finally, it's the Holy Spirit who awakens us to the beautiful realities of Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here this morning, and you've been hearing this talk on tongues and prophecy and healing, and this has nothing to do with that, yet you sense God is inviting you into a relationship with him. Maybe you came into this place not knowing Jesus Christ, yet something in you is calling out to you, saying, "Come to me."

That's the Spirit working in you, revealing to you that you need a Savior. Jesus Christ is the one who left heaven, came to earth, and gave his life. He died and rose from the dead so we could experience complete forgiveness of our sins and be brought into a right relationship with God. Your next step is to call out to God in prayer and in faith and to invite Christ into your life. Let's pray together.

Lord, I recognize that I have zero control over whether every person in this room heard every word I said. This is one of those talks where it's going to be so easy for someone to just pull one sound bite and decide why they disagree with everything that was said. Lord, I pray against division in this place. I pray that where Scripture is firm we would be firm. Where Scripture isn't 100 percent clear or where there's flexibility, Lord, we want to hold things delicately.

So, whether it's believing that the gifts have ceased with exception or believing that they're active but rare or believing that they're active with care, Lord, I pray that we would be a place where we can love one another, we can care for one another, we can operate with humility, and we can be charitable toward one another.

More than anything, God, I pray this would be a place where gifts are deployed and your body is built up and that it would all be for your glory, Lord. If there's anyone here this morning who doesn't have a relationship with you, right now, by the power of your Spirit, would you introduce yourself to them, God, and may they respond to you in faith. We need you and we love you. In Jesus' name, amen.