Don't Be Jealous For My Sake

Today’s Bible readings are Numbers 11:24-13:33, Mark 14:22-52, Psalm 52:1-9, & Proverbs 11:1-3

Numbers 11:26-29

²⁶ Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”

²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!”

There is such wisdom in this reply. Moses saw the great value in others being anointed with the Holy Spirit & using that anointing to build up the body. Moses was not intimidated by another’s anointing. He knew who he was & what his role was. He was not afraid to let others operate in their anointing either.

This is one of the things that can really hinder a church; insecure leaders. Some want to hold others back from growing in their anointing out of fear that it will lead to more people following somebody else. Moses did not have that fear. He knew what God had called him to do. He knew that part of his calling was to let others grow in their calling.

This is what makes the church work at peak performance. Things ALWAYS work best when every member of the body is yielding to the Holy Spirit & using the gifts that He gives to build the body up for the glory of God. The reality is that is the way God intended it to be. He wants us all to prophesy as He leads us by His Spirit. He has given each of us an anointing.

1 John 2:20

²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

This is a word for the church. It is spoken to every believer. We can all prophesy by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul encourages us to.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy. ² For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. ³ But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. ⁴ A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

⁵ I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.

I want to remind you that LOVE is still our greatest aim, it is what we should be perfecting most diligently, BUT let’s not make light of the fact that we can & should all desire to prophesy.

1.      It builds up the church.

2.      It brings comfort to the hurting.

3.      It encourages those who are struggling.

4.      It strengthens those who are weak & those who are strong.

Every church could use more of all of the above; prophesying is the way that it comes. I want to challenge each of you readers to begin to desire the ability to prophesy. Some of you have had times when God filled you with a Word during a worship experience but you kept it to yourself because you didn’t know what to do next. I want to encourage you in a few things to settle some of the uneasiness in taking that first step to prophesy.

1.      Know that it is from God.

2.      If you are nervous about what your pastor might think, go to him in advance & let him know that God has gave you a word. If it is in the middle of the worship set go ahead & interrupt your pastor to let him know.

3.     Share with your pastor the word that God has given you. See if it bears witness with his spirit. NOTE:  As a pastor, I want you to know that I do not know of a pastor who would be angry or offended by this approach. It shows great respect & submission to a pastor’s leadership to handle it in this way.

4.     Once you know you have a release to speak the word than prophesy with all of your heart.

We need a revival of the gifts in our churches today. They are what will bring back the supernatural. The gifts are in us each if we will open up to the Spirit’s leading. By all means, don’t hold back for my sake. I agree with Moses!

Pastor Richard Schlotter