Learning When To Speak

It was about five years ago the Lord spoke to me in a Sunday school class. He said,

“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace”

and,

“And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”

At the time there was a frenzy over an issue in the class, and I too was frustrated because I had a point I wanted to get across, but the Lord spoke to my spirit with this passage. I want to tell you, that was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, to be quiet when I wanted to speak.

God is not the author of confusion. We do not all need to speak. Too often we are ready to speak our mind on an issue when we should shut-up. Let me tell you, that Lord told me that day to shut-up. Many of us are not ready to heed the warning of the preacher who says,

“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”

Why is this so? First of all, let us consider what we say. Many of us speak giving our interpretation of scripture. When we do so, we need to be careful for it is not the words of men we deal with, but rather, the word of God. Let us not be foolhardy therefore in what we speak and that we are being respectful with how we handle it. Let us consider what we say to be a true representation of what God himself says. Although there is room for discussion, let us not give into the spirit of “speaking our own mind,” or from the spirit of “encouragement for group discussion” about a matter which may only provide the teacher with a verification to get a point across. If the Holy Spirit is doing the teaching, whether group discussion or not, learning will take place. Successful group discussion in and of itself is not a seal the Holy Spirit is working or that people are learning what God wants them to learn. Not all classes with group discussions are truly spiritual in their structure for this reason. Consider that a teacher whether Pastor, elder, or just a teacher or speaker may themselves speaking out of the flesh and needing feedback for his own self-esteem or applause, or, the people themselves may be speaking only that which they think is right and it provides a carnal means of acceptance for them as well as an outlet for pouring forth their thoughts. How would we know the difference as a pastor or the body of Christ when listening in such a case?

Secondly, our speaking out may only serve to build up our own flesh, even when using scripture. It can “puff us up.” Our knowledge of biblical things is not of itself a sign we are doing something spiritual. What is our motive. Does it evolve out of our own carnal tastes, attitudes, and views about God’s word. If our sentence begins with, “I think-” then we should be careful what it is we are thinking. God is not interested in what we think, not that thinking is wrong. Notice, the subject in the scripture above is not about us. It is about God, and others. Is God and his words being glorified and are others truly being edified? The first two scriptures, though not about speaking out in general, does fit in principle. Based on this scripture, I have made it a practice to not speak out unless specifically prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak out, and then not in these cases:

• If I have previously spoken out in the class that day,
• if two other people have spoken out before me already in that class.

Though not speaking as a prophet, I am certainly qualified in the Body Of Christ to say no to the impulse or urge to speak out, and I am not condemned for it.

This is not a law, but I find it works well with me. I do not want to force an opinion which may indeed be an opinion. Many times I will wait and pray several times about a certain thing I feel compelled to speak. By then there may have already been two who have spoken. That is enough for me. I can speak for the Lord, or I can be quiet for the Lord. The spirit of the prophets, (so to speak), are subject to the prophets. I only want to speak when prompted by the Holy Spirit.

“There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world,

and none of them is without signification”

and,

“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts,

seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church”

In times past I may have spoken out of my own flesh, spoken from a point of view of the world or even worse, and sometimes not even known it until later. Now, I regret such speaking because it was for the wrong reasons. From these verses we can see it should be for the edification of another. What does the voice I speak out with signify? Does it signifiy my speaking for Christ, or for myself?

Many of you may recognize these verses from I Corinthians as being from a section dealing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, tongues, and prophesying. I chose these verses because they deal with the issue of speaking out in church and how it can be used from a carnal means as well as spiritual. Let us consider the gift of speaking in general and apply what we know from how this church spoke and Paul’s challenge for them to speak for the edification of others and for God.

If we want to be true to the word of God, then each of us must find how and when God wants us to speak and not just speak for ourselves.