When
I picked up A Jewel of the Kingdom by Cho Larson and
began reading, memories surfaced of earlier days. I remember my mentors pressing me to ask God
for the desire to prophesy. I remember
feeling intimidated, studying Scripture and asking God to use anybody but me to
prophesy revelations of Him. I remember
witnessing flawed vessels who created chaos in Christian meetings. Over the years, I grew less ambivalent. My pendulum swung from “this is crazy” to “I
can’t live without it.”
What
exactly is this gift of prophecy? How do
I know if this gift of the Holy Spirit is for me? What is the purpose of this gift of prophecy?
The
gift of prophecy is the kind of gift that has to be ministered in the correct
Scriptural order. What is that
order? What do I look for in judging if a prophecy is the real thing before I embrace it?
The author addresses all these questions and much more.
A
healthy church allows the gift of prophecy letting God’s spirit produce awe in His people, building them up and strengthening them and sometimes convicting them of sin.
When this gift is abused, do I shy away and
think that prophecy is not necessary? I cheat myself when I neglect its
importance. Reading this book helps me to be less fearful of making a mistake. I'm encouraged to
embrace a loving God and his gifts so that I can love Him back and serve Him
with a passion knowing God uses flawed people for His purpose.
The
book lays out the checks and balance system for Christian believers in a group setting that allows the
gift of prophecy. When believers are
accountable, hidden sin cannot stay hidden!
It’s beautiful when we understand God's order.
I
find it inspiring to reflect on Jesus making his bride beautiful with treasures
that are spiritual. Author Larson writes
that we should desire this gift of prophecy, to wait for it, and to adhere to
Jesus Christ.
The
author’s writing style made it easy to read.
His confidence and boldness as a teacher got my attention and I sat up
straight learning and enjoying the journey of this teaching of the wonderful gift
of prophesy. You will too!
