Lord was saying was, “If you want to know what God’s truth is concern ing My Messiahship, concerning the message I bring concerning salva tion, give God a willing heart.” Q . San Francisco, Calif. — “Can you please explain the gift of prophecy and its place in the church today.” A. In the Old Testament it was an office as well as a ministry. There were non-literary p rophe ts who, while their messages were important, yet they didn’t write any messages recorded for us in Scripture. The gift of prophecy indicated that a man was especially chosen of God. Strict ly speaking, a prophet was one who spoke God’s message. He was literal ly God’s proxy. In the New Testa ment, our Lord Jesus was the great est of all prophets. Prophecy, in some people’s thinking is restricted only to foretelling. But there is also the other dimension of foretelling. No tice I Corinthians 14:3, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and com fort.” Any ministry today which is prophecy in the New Testament sense, needs to include these three points: edification, exhortation, and consolation. Your minister, as he stands in the pulpit, is exercising the gift of prophecy. In this age proph ecy is preaching. Q . Pomona, Calif. — “Please give me the reference in the Bible as to the spirit and soul’s going back to God and the body’s returning to the dust.” A. There is more than one Scripture on this. The first part of your ques tion is answered in Genesis 3:19. The Scripture for the spirit and soul going back to God is Ecclesiastes 3: 21; 12:7. See also II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23. Q . Tacoma, Wash. — “How did the thief on the cross know anything 19
only for self. Anything that puts God in second place is a sign of car nality. Paul says, “I could not speak to you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal (babes in Christ).” These were in spiritual babyhood. This is a sad commentary on the life of a be liever. Thomas A. Edison said that he could’t allow himself to look at the Atlantic Ocean for it almost drove him crazy. He saw infinitudes of power which were unharnessed. This is also a sad condition to make an analogy for carnal Christians. Q . Wichita, Kan*. — “J am a Chris tian, have been regularly praying and studying my Bible, and, yet I seem■ to feel constantly depressed. Can you give me any suggestions as to what I should do?" A. It is difficult to answer such a question without knowing more of the background involved. Such things as a poor diet, bringing about obesi ty, can cause such unfortunate feel ings. Why not check with your doc tor? We are supposed to live above our circumstances as a life of vic tory in Christ. Jesus. We are more than conquerors! The Bible tells us, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” When one is depressed, he is usually think ing of himself. Keep your mind stayed on the things of the Lord. Think about the love of the Lord and the truths found in His Word. Trust Him for all your problems. Q . Turlock, Calif. — “In John 7:17 it says that if any man will do the Lord’s will, he will be able to know of His doctrine. Does this mean the various doctrines concerning the things of the faith?” A. It is a marvelous thing for a per son to determine to do the will of God. It doesn’t mean, however, that doing the Lord’s will might auto matically make one conversant with all theological matters. What the
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