Compelled

This little piece of an article by Ben Paisley, along with a great conversation I had with my pastor today further convinced me of Jesus' heart for the lost...read on...Peter

There is something else to consider as we look for the Levites' role in evangelism: In 1 Chronicles 25: 1 we find that "David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals." These were Musicians and Singers who were to prophesy? Before we jump to the conclusion that this was some mysterious, future-telling skill set to music, let's consider a couple of basic passages. In understanding prophecy we should first note that the word simply means "to speak a divinely inspired message". Prophecy is simply communicating the heart and will of God to people. Revelation 19:10 says it this way, "the spirit of prophesy is the testimony of Jesus". In other words, the essence of prophecy is exploding the reality of Jesus into the world. Sure, there is future vision and mystical insights to prophetic communication, but the foundation of the work is simply making God clear. There is no better place to see this than in 1 Corinthians 14. After we are all encouraged to pray for the gift of prophecy we are told in verse 3 that "everyone who prophesies speaks to men". I had always assumed that this prophetic gift was for believers--but hold on--after a chapter of illustration Paul makes it very clear for us in verses 24 and 25. "But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" Is this not evangelism?! Is prophecy not for unbelievers?! If we prophesy the lost will see God clearly! To the point, some of the Musicians and Singers were set apart for the work of prophesying: making God known to believers and unbelievers!