The Spirit of Prophecy, by Pastor Michele Garcia
Pastor Michele’s sermon about the spirit of prophecy defines the basics of what prophecy is to God and to man. It takes a look into the book of the prophet, Zephaniah, and what that meant for the nation of Israel, as well as, what it means now for us, today.
A prophet is God’s human instrument used by Him to deliver His messages to mankind. The heart of every prophet’s message is to point to Jesus. Revelation 19:10 states “For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.” All prophecy is according to God’s timing.
Throughout the history of Israel, prophets have been key in delivering God’s Word to His people to urge them to remain faithful to Him and to remind them of what may happen if they do not. The Old Testament if filled with prophetic words and warnings for the Israelites to honor God above all else. Even during the division of the nation of Israel, into the Northern Kingdom of Israel/Ephraim and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, God sent His prophets to be His mouthpiece to both.
From notes taken from the book, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, by Norman Geisler, the three chapter book of Zephaniah, has a theme centered around the vindication of God. Zephaniah’s prophetic declarations to Judah would prove that the coming judgment on them and the surrounding Gentile nations would be correct. There are three main messages in Zephaniah: retribution, repentance and redemption, which were critical for the people of Judah to hear. These same messages also apply to us presently.
Retribution means payback. Chapter 1 of Zephaniah describes the judgment God will bring on Judah and other Gentile nations, for pursuing other gods. For Judah, it means an impending captivity. God is the only One who is able to judge the nations, in the past, present and future. He is the only judge over the hearts and souls of men. It is not our place to bring retribution to this world. Our place is to pursue the higher way of love, forgiveness and intentional acts compassion towards each other.
Repentance means to go in the opposite way; turning from our way to God’s way. The second chapter of Zephaniah is a call to repentance. In verses 1-3 he implores Judah to “seek the Lord.” This applies to us right now. Because of Jesus, we have access to Papa God and repentance can always be right now. We don’t have to wait for time and a perfect sacrifice.
Redemption means to buy or win back. Chapter 3 of Zephaniah, reveals how God will fight for Judah and how the tongues of other nations will be silenced. Zephaniah 3:17 NIV states “The Lord Your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” This is Papa God’s heart for Judah and for us today! We are all worth being fought for! We are all worthy of being redeemed!
