381. Is the Gift of Prophecy Still Valid? (Pastor Chai)

This is a post quoted from Pastor Chai’s Facebook.

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I sometimes receive emails or text messages from people, claiming to have received a prophecy from God concerning me. However, some of these messages are vague and could be interpreted in countless ways. Others seem to be intended to manipulate me.
In the New Testament era, prophecy is given to build up the church. "Prophets speak to encourage, comfort and strengthen people.” (1 Corinthians 14:3)

I have had three experiences that I believe were genuine prophecies from God.
The first experience happened when I was invited to become the senior pastor of Houston Seoul Baptist Church. I was hesitant to accept the call due to the low Korean population in Houston. I was worried that the job would be to simply manage the church rather than lead people to Christ. Then a sister who I believed had the gift of prophecy said she had a dream about me. She envisioned me fishing in a small pond, catching an abundance of fish. She was surprised that so many fish could be caught in a small pond, but when she looked closely, she realized the pond was connected to the ocean through a channel. Her message gave me the confidence that there were many souls to be saved in Houston, so I accepted the call.
The prophecy turned out to be true. During the 20 years I served as the senior pastor of Seoul Baptist Church of Houston, I baptized 2,342 people, even though the number of Koreans in the city was only about 20,000. Some of those people were international students from Korea attending university in Houston, medical doctors or professors on exchange programs, and people sent by their companies to work for Houston branch offices for a limited time. The small pond represented Houston, and the vast ocean symbolized Korea.

The second experience happened when I was being urged to host a seminar on house church. I was not a well-known pastor, nor was Seoul Baptist Church a well-known church then. I was hesitant to host, fearing that it would not attract many attendees. Then I attended a revival in Toronto, Canada where, at the end of his talk, the speaker asked pastors to stand up if they wanted to receive a prophetic word. When it was my turn, he said he saw in his mind a picture of a busy train station where a lot of railroads merged. He asked me if that picture meant anything to me. After hearing this, I felt God was speaking to me about the seminar, promising that a lot of people would come.
And that prophecy turned out to be true. A large number of pastors and missionaries from around the globe attended the seminar, and house churches sprang up in North America, Korea, and Australia. Now the house church has spread to multiple mission fields, and house church seminars are offered by indigenous churches for indigenous pastors in more than ten countries.

The third experience happened last year, when I posted a message on Facebook to mark the third anniversary of my wife's passing. I expressed my regret for not loving her enough and not being grateful enough. I titled the message ‘I'm so sorry, my love’. A pastor left this comment: “When you meet your wife in heaven, she will say, 'I understand everything, so don't feel sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't understand you. If you have any pain in your heart because of me, forgive me.’”
The tone and manner of the message were so like my wife's that I felt these words were divinely inspired to comfort me.

Some people believe that the gift of prophecy ended with the completion of the New Testament, but there is little biblical support for this claim. I believe that the gift of prophecy is still valid today, and I hope church members encourage, comfort, and strengthen each other through the word of the Lord.