Proverbs 25:11 teaches:
A word spoken in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Another translation reads: A timely word well spoken is like golden apples served on a silver tray.
Think of the first bite of a delicious golden apple that is perfectly ripe with just the right amount of firmness and sweet to the taste, dipped in honey. If you've ever had the opportunity to enjoy this favorite Jewish treat, when you eat an apple dipped in golden honey, it immediately brightens your eyes and invigorates you. This might help us begin to understand how this verse is describing the feeling of receiving encouragement. It brightens and refreshes our souls. A couple of key ideas are lost in translation. First, the word for apple actually comes from the word for breathe or to be blown. Obviously, it refers to apples being blown out of trees by the wind, but in the Bible breath or wind represents the Holy Spirit. Also lost in translation is the idea of setting wheels in motion. It is the Spirit of God who is moving, like the wind, breathing out words of encouragement and setting things in motion. A word of wise advice, godly counsel or encouragement can get things moving in a positive direction and make a tremendous difference in a person's life.
Proverbs 15:23 reads: A person finds joy in giving an apt reply. How delightful is a timely word. Both the giver and the receiver of encouragement are blessed through the action. God pours into our lives so that we can pour into the lives of others. And these words we use to minister to each other with are powerful. Isaiah 50:4 declares: The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples to know how to sustain the weary with a word.
Proverbs 15:23 reads: A person finds joy in giving an apt reply. How delightful is a timely word. Both the giver and the receiver of encouragement are blessed through the action. God pours into our lives so that we can pour into the lives of others. And these words we use to minister to each other with are powerful. Isaiah 50:4 declares: The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples to know how to sustain the weary with a word.
Jesus called the Holy Spirit our Comforter. This word, paraklete in Greek, means to come alongside and is also translated as counselor, advocate, guide and helper. But in return for the comfort we receive, we are meant to comfort others.
He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction... (2 Corinthians 1:4)
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 teaches us that God chooses to speak to us and to speak through us into the lives of others through special words of knowledge and wisdom.
A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge through the same Spirit.
Isaiah 11:2 describes this Spirit:
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Strength, the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear (Reverence, awe, respect) of the Lord.
A Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit and has been taught God's word is 10 times more qualified to offer counseling and support than a Harvard Ph.D. who is an unbeliever. In fact, a highly educated person full of what the world calls wisdom could be very dangerous. 1 Corinthians 3:19 boldly declares: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God....the Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are futile. In ancient Babylon, Daniel and his 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (aka: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) were indeed found to be 10 times better than the wisest, most highly trained and educated men in the world through the Spirit of God. It was this same Spirit that gave Solomon wisdom. And now, WE have this Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:3 teaches us how to minister to each other with the words we speak through the Holy Spirit, and more importantly it teaches us how to allow God to speak through us into the lives of others.
The one who prophesies speaks to people for their Upbuilding, Encouragement and Consolation.
In this case, the word prophesy refers to Spirit-led ministry, speaking the words that God wants us to speak. That means being sensitive to God's leading, listening as He speaks to our hearts and obeying His guidance. Let's take a closer look at these 3 words:
UPBUILDING
This word, oikodome, describes strengthening and building someone up, promoting their Christian growth in wisdom, happiness, holiness. It is comes from combining 2 construction words that describes building a house. When we use our words to build others up, we are building and strengthening God's house, the church, and adding to His household. It can describe removing sluggishness to help get someone moving and doing work for the kingdom of God. It can also describe removing and relieving sadness or depression. When we show people a purpose for their lives, or help them discover God's purpose, it gives them something to live for and strengthens their hearts.
ENCOURAGEMENT
The word for encouragement, paraklesis, comes from the same word that describes the Holy Spirit as our comforter, counselor, advocate, guide and friend. This word can describe encouraging someone or delivering an exhortation that calls for positive action. When someone has been knocked down, we can offer words of refreshing, while encouraging each other to get back up and get going about the work of building God's Kingdom.
CONSOLATION/COMFORT
We can calm, console and offer solace to those who have been let down and hurt by this world. We offer, paramuthia, comforting words of faith and hope for the future to those who are in grief.
FAKE WORDS
In the same paragraph where words of wisdom and knowledge are introduced, the spiritual gift of Discernment, or discerning of spirits is mentioned. Remember that Satan knows the past but only God knows the future. I have seen prophetic events where the "prophet" at the center of attention on stage brought tears by revealing sensitive, deeply personal information about a person's past--usually revealing pain and hurt. They used this revelation to gain credibility and make it seem as if God had revealed it to them and the audience was sucked right in under their sway. But Satan knows those things too. It is true that Jesus revealed detailed supernatural knowledge of a person's past in the Bible and He did it to offer salvation to the woman at the well--but He did it PRIVATELY. The only other time I can recall anyone besides Jesus doing something like that was when the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that Ananias and Sapphira were lying about their past and they were killed. But the disciples never ministered prophetically by telling individuals about their past. No where is this taught as an evangelistic tool. When I see one who claims to be a prophet "reading someone's mail," so to speak, it looks like divination or soothsaying to me and I immediately wonder if they have a familiar demonic spirit revealing such things to them, or if they have cheated.
Modern prophets are sometimes given the name of people to pray for before prophetic events. Well, you can learn an awful lot about a person from google, social media and other means--including demonic spirits. While it is true that God could reveal something about a person's past to us in order to minister to them and begin the healing process, we must remember that only God knows the future and He has forgiven our past and wants us to forgive others. He is interested in healing and comforting, not bringing up old pain and garnering fame for the man on stage. If a person's chief "ministry" is reading a person's past, I am always deeply skeptical. True prophetic ministry, or ministry though the Holy Spirit, is all about healing and moving forward.
We need to be diligent about discerning whether the Holy Spirit is operating through someone, or if that person is under the influence of a deceitful spirit. Here are some ways that God DOES work through people.
We need to be diligent about discerning whether the Holy Spirit is operating through someone, or if that person is under the influence of a deceitful spirit. Here are some ways that God DOES work through people.
WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE, WORDS OF WISDOM
REAL Words of Knowledge or Words of Wisdom are ways that God speaks to us and through us and they will always be in complete agreement with the Bible. Sometimes the Lord helps us to understand a difficult passage of Scripture, urges us to share the gospel with someone, or helps us know what words will bring comfort to a person in crisis. He calls us to witness. He nudges us to minister to someone by providing food, clothing, shelter, transportation or giving us a burden to assist them in some way. He brings relevant passages of scripture to the forefront of our memory to help in various situations. He supernaturally helps us to understand the needs of a person and enables us to fill their need and minister to them. He gives us specific words of confirmation, encouragement and instruction for people. He uses us to call the gifts and talents of others into action. He can lay a person or situation on our heart to call us into prayer at any time day or night. He also guides us to know just how to pray for specific people and situations so that we know how he wants to heal and work in their lives, sometimes even revealing the root of a problem so that healing can occur and so that the hearers of the prayer are comforted. He gives us the wisdom and ability to guide people through hard times with wise counsel and advice. He enables us to teach others and show them the way through life's trials. He partners with us to comfort others in their sorrows, ease their troubled minds and provide them with solace.
CONCLUSION
When God gives us messages of knowledge and wisdom, He empowers us to be HIS messengers to draw others to salvation, to Himself. He is the one who does the healing. He allows us the privilege of giving others real and lasting hope, restoring their joy and helping them find freedom through Jesus. He gives us the grace gift of being helper, guide, advocate, counselor, comforter and friend to others, just as He has been those things to us. The word minister comes from the word diakonos, which is the word for serving tables. When we minister through the Holy Spirit, we should remember that we are serving others, thinking of our words as Golden Apples and we should serve them up graciously, as if on a beautiful silver platter.
CONCLUSION
When God gives us messages of knowledge and wisdom, He empowers us to be HIS messengers to draw others to salvation, to Himself. He is the one who does the healing. He allows us the privilege of giving others real and lasting hope, restoring their joy and helping them find freedom through Jesus. He gives us the grace gift of being helper, guide, advocate, counselor, comforter and friend to others, just as He has been those things to us. The word minister comes from the word diakonos, which is the word for serving tables. When we minister through the Holy Spirit, we should remember that we are serving others, thinking of our words as Golden Apples and we should serve them up graciously, as if on a beautiful silver platter.
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