In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul gives a list of spiritual gifts that are bestowed upon the believer. In verse 8 he writes, “for to one is given…the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.” In Christian history, the word of knowledge has been closely associated with the teaching gift or gift of prophecy. For my purpose in this blog, I will focus on the revelation given to someone for a moment in time to reveal something previously unknown.
As I’m using the term, I would define it as a supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit, to know what God is saying or doing in someone else’s life. It is the whispering voice of God giving a person knowledge about the situation or heart of another.
Many years ago, Liz and I were struggling to decide whether to stay in southern California or move to Colorado. We were on the third day of a fast when a woman I had never met came up to me at a church staff meeting and shared with me that God had spoken to her about me (God had given her a word of knowledge). She then began to share with me knowledge that there is absolutely no way she could have known. She said to me, “I saw you standing on the Rockies. God has given you the Rockies. He has been speaking to you. It is March 1 and God is calling you to march.” I was shocked! I literally fell to the floor and wept. God had spoken! We moved to Colorado three months later.
Many times, while preaching I have felt the nudging of the Lord about someone or something. It has come to me when I’m least expecting it. But sometimes I have felt the need to say it out loud and as a result someone will tell me later that the description I gave fit their situation.
Charles Spurgeon at Music Hall
In his autobiography, the great preacher of the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon tells a story that speaks of the power of a word of knowledge,
“There were many instances of remarkable conversions at the Music Hall; one especially was so singular that I have often related it as a proof that God sometimes guides His servants to say what they would themselves never have thought of uttering, so that He may bless the hearer for whom the message is personally intended. While preaching in the hall, on one occasion, I deliberately pointed to a man amid the crowd and said, “There is a man sitting there, who is a shoemaker; he keeps his shop open on Sundays, it was open last Sabbath morning, he took ninepence, and there was fourpence profit out of it; his soul is sold to Satan for fourpence!”
A city missionary, when going his rounds, met with this man, and seeing that he was reading one of my sermons, he asked the question, “Do you know Mr. Spurgeon?” “Yes,” replied the man, “I have every reason to know him, I have been to hear him; and, under his preaching, by God’s grace, I have become a new creature in Christ Jesus. Shall I tell you how it happened? I went to the Music Hall and took my seat in the middle of the place; Mr. Spurgeon looked at me as if he knew me, and in his sermon, he pointed to me and told the congregation that I was a shoemaker and that I kept my shop open on Sundays; and I did, sir. I should not have minded that, but he also said that I took ninepence the Sunday before and that there was fourpence profit out of it. I did take ninepence that day, and fourpence was just the profit, but I could not tell how he should know that. Then it struck me that it was God who had spoken to my soul through him, so I shut up my shop the next Sunday. At first, I was afraid to go again to hear him, lest he should tell the people more about me; but afterward, I went, and the Lord met with me and saved my soul.” (The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Volume 2: 1854-1860)
A Holy Hunch
I have often called this the holy hunch gift. That’s how I think it works. It’s not a lightning bolt or thunderous voice, but rather a kind of feeling or sense about someone or something. As we step out and speak of it, God often gives more knowledge to fit the situation. I once had this feeling that a man in our meeting was holding back something—probably money—from the Lord. So, I spoke out that “there is someone in this room that is holding back something from the Lord. God has told you to give but you are resisting Him.” As I gave the message, I then had more clarity and said, “You are supposed to give it right now.” I knew who it was, but I didn’t point him out. I just left it at that. A week later he came to me and confessed it was him and as a result, he had repented and given the money to the Lord.
Let me encourage you to listen to the Lord’s voice and let Him speak to you for the benefit of someone else. Ask the Lord to begin speaking to you through that holy hunch and be ready to hear His voice. It will be a powerful benefit to others.
Pastor Steve
