If Only All the Lord's People Were Prophets

Devotional

Day 1: Unlicensed Prophets in the Camp

When God’s spirit rests on two men who never showed up for the tent meeting, Joshua demands Moses stop them. Moses instead declares a radical vision: What if all God’s people prophesied? The Spirit refuses to be boxed by human systems, igniting holiness in unexpected places. This challenges our love of order while reminding us that credentials matter less than God’s “yes.” [31:51]

So Moses went out and told the people the Lord’s words. He assembled 70 men from the people’s elders and placed them around the tent. The Lord descended in a cloud, spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and placed it on the 70 elders. When the spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but only this once. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the second named Medad, and the spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they hadn’t gone out to the tent, so they prophesied in the camp. (Numbers 11:24–26, 27)

Reflection: When have you witnessed God’s Spirit working through someone “unqualified”? How might your assumptions about who’s “allowed” to serve limit your ability to celebrate God’s surprises?

Day 2: Candy from the Spirit’s Parade

The Holy Spirit tosses gifts like parade marchers hurling candy to children—generous, indiscriminate, delightfully excessive. Paul lists tongues, healing, prophecy, and more, but the real shock is this: every gift exists for the common good. Your peculiar ability isn’t yours to hoard—it’s grace meant to nourish the whole flock. [44:08]

A demonstration of the spirit is given to each person for the common good. A word of wisdom is given by the spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same spirit, faith to still another by the same spirit, gifts of healing to another in the spirit, performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of tongues to another. (1 Corinthians 12:7–10)

Reflection: What “candy” has the Spirit thrown you lately? How could sharing it—even awkwardly—meet a hidden need in your community?

Day 3: Sheep Solving Crimes, Saints Serving Communities

George’s sheep solve murders not by becoming human, but by being fully sheep. Likewise, the church thrives when we stop mimicking others and lean into our God-shaped quirks. Your unpolished, “sheepish” gifts—when offered boldly—might heal wounds you never noticed. [47:11]

We were all baptized by the one spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek or slave or free, and we were all given one spirit to drink. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (1 Corinthians 12:13, 21)

Reflection: Where do you feel pressure to “fit a mold” in serving others? How might embracing your “sheepness” instead unleash unexpected grace?

Day 4: Manna Boredom and Spirit Hunger

The Israelites grumble about miracle food, craving Egypt’s meat over God’s provision. We too dismiss the Spirit’s daily bread—forgiveness, shared meals, quiet prayers—as “boring.” But what if manna sustains us precisely because it’s ordinary? [38:48]

The Israelites said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4–6)

Reflection: What “manna” have you been taking for granted? How might receiving it as gift—not routine—change your capacity to hunger for holiness?

Day 5: Beavers, Bread, and Boundless Grace

God is a shepherd, a lamb, a beaver, and bread—defying every box. Like sheep puzzling over a church building, we’ll never fully grasp the Spirit. Yet this mystery fuels our mission: we’re licensed not by titles, but by the God who feeds us grace. [48:01]

You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:27–28)

Reflection: What “unlicensed” act of love is the Spirit nudging you to attempt this week? How might doing it—even clumsily—mirror God’s playful, boundary-breaking heart?

Sermon Summary

Pentecost sets the stage, but Moses and Paul do the preaching. Moses faces a tired, cranky people in the wilderness who are done with manna and ready to revolt again. God answers by sharing the load. Seventy elders stand at the tent, the cloud descends, and the Spirit rests on them. Then the surprise. Eldad and Medad, not at the tent, start prophesying anyway. Joshua wants a shutdown. Moses wants more of it. “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, with the Lord placing his Spirit upon them.”

Paul adds the church’s blueprint. The Spirit says Jesus is Lord and then spreads gifts all over the place. Wisdom here, knowledge there, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, interpretation. One Spirit. Many gifts. One body. Many parts. All of it, Paul says, is a demonstration of the Spirit for the common good. So the text itself pushes in two directions at once. God loves decent order. God also delights in holy surprises.

Presbyterians know the gift of order. Licenses matter. Guardrails keep sheep out of ravines. Robert’s Rules can be mercy. There are people who should not be in a pulpit, and sober processes protect real congregations. Yet Moses refuses to police what God is pouring out. Eldad and Medad are not mistakes. They are provision. Community need becomes their credential. The Spirit gives where the Spirit wills.

Paul’s candy parade lands the point. Gifts fly like sweets tossed to kids. “You get a gift, and you get a gift,” yet none of it is for hoarding. The body needs every part, even the parts no one planned on. Grace stays one step or a thousand steps ahead, never far, always near, right where God wants it to be. So the flock learns to live with two truths. Do things decently and in order. Then leave room for the Shepherd who is also a Lamb, who builds beaver dams and is made of bread. Let the sheep solve a mystery or two if it saves a life. On Pentecost, licenses look like this. Jesus is Lord. The Spirit is moving. The church steps up and prophesies.

Key Takeaways

1. The Spirit outruns human licensing The Spirit lands on Eldad and Medad outside the tent, ignoring the sign that says authorized personnel only. Moses refuses to yank them offstage, because God is not threatened by gifts that bloom beyond the file cabinet. When the Spirit is moving, control is not the same thing as faithfulness. Fear of the unplanned can become fear of God. [41:29]
2. Gifts exist for the common good Paul’s catalog is exciting, but his anchor is quiet and firm. The point is not thrill or status but the upbuilding of saints and the healing of neighborhoods. A gift matures when it feeds someone else. If it isolates the giver, it is still half-baked. [45:01]
3. Order and freedom need each other Joshua wants a shutdown, and CPM-type work shows why boundaries matter. Yet Moses blesses holy disorder, and Paul insists on one body holding many parts. Structure without breath becomes brittle, but breath without bones collapses. Wisdom learns to keep both. [43:50]
4. Community need is real authorization Eldad and Medad are not in the right place, but they are God’s timely answer to a hurting camp. Need clarifies vocation when titles lag behind. Where the Spirit meets a gap, a call often appears in someone not on the list. Pay attention to the gap. [45:18]
5. Pentecost calls for bold action Pentecost is not only a memory of wind and fire. It is a standing order to step up with the gift already given. Sheep that act like sheep can still change a town when the Shepherd leads. Prophesy today, in the language your neighbors can actually hear. [48:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:44] - Pentecost and a red Sunday
[30:44] - Skipping Acts to chase the Spirit
[31:29] - Readings from Numbers and Corinthians
[31:51] - Spirit on the seventy elders
[39:58] - Eldad and Medad start prophesying
[41:03] - Moses refuses to shut them down
[42:14] - Why licenses and limits still matter
[43:50] - Decently and in order with Robert’s Rules
[44:08] - Gifts tossed like parade candy
[45:01] - For the common good, one body
[46:05] - Grace just beyond understanding
[46:51] - Sheep of God’s pasture
[48:20] - Step up and prophesy today

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Numbers 11:24-29 (ESV)
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (ESV)
No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Observation Questions

In Numbers 11, Eldad and Medad prophesied outside the tent. What was Joshua’s reaction, and how did Moses respond differently?
According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, what is the ultimate purpose of spiritual gifts?
The sermon compares the Spirit’s gifts to “candy tossed to kids” at a parade. What does this analogy suggest about how God distributes gifts? [44:08]
What reason does Moses give for not stopping Eldad and Medad from prophesying (Numbers 11:29)?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Moses’ response to Joshua (“Are you jealous for my sake?”) challenge our assumptions about control and authority in spiritual matters?
The sermon argues that “community need is real authorization” for using spiritual gifts. How does this idea align with or complicate Paul’s emphasis on “decently and in order” in 1 Corinthians 14:40? [43:50]
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists diverse gifts but insists they come from “one Spirit.” How does this unity-in-diversity reflect God’s vision for the church?
The sermon mentions a movie where sheep solve a crime despite being “unlicensed.” How does this story parallel the tension between human structures and the Spirit’s freedom? [47:11]

Application Questions

When have you seen someone exercise a spiritual gift in an unexpected or “unlicensed” way (like Eldad and Medad)? How did it challenge or enrich your understanding of God’s work?
Paul says gifts are for the “common good.” What is one gift you’ve been given that could meet a specific need in your community right now? How might you step into that? [45:01]
The sermon warns that “fear of the unplanned can become fear of God.” Where do you feel tempted to prioritize control over openness to the Spirit’s surprises in your life or church?
Moses celebrated Eldad and Medad’s prophesying even though it broke protocol. Is there a situation where you need to choose between “order” and “freedom” in serving others? What fears or hopes shape that choice?
The movie’s sheep saved lives by acting despite confusion. What “unplanned” need in your neighborhood or relationships might God be calling you to address, even if you feel unqualified? [47:29]
How can you cultivate both gratitude for orderly structures (like church processes) and readiness to embrace the Spirit’s unexpected movements?

Sermon Clips

45s

#GiftsForTheCommonGood

“``And you get a gift and you get a gift and you get a and you get a gift. All the gifts, buried as they are, still all serve one purpose. As Paul said, a demonstration of the spirit is given to each person for the common good. The gifts may be given to individuals but they all serve the community. Even poor old unlicensed El Dadd and Medad got gifts. They got the gift of prophesying because their community, the Israelites, needed Eldad and Medad to prophesy. That was all the license the spirit needed. It's what the community needs.”

42s

#SpiritGivesGifts

“The Holy Spirit has bestowed gifts on us like parade marchers throwing candy to kids. And you got a gift. And you got a gift. And you got a gift. And trust all our gifts are licensed. I mean, let's be real here. The people of this congregation, myself included, are often as much El dad and me dad as we are Paul or Moses or Joshua or even the bratty teenage cattletail. Frankly, we are sheep, or as the psalm says, God made us. We belong to God.”

41s

#HolyBeyondLabels

“Now obviously, I'm having fun with this passage, but it does present a serious dilemma. God's spirit cannot be contained by human categories. Holy happens whenever and wherever and however holy happens regardless of licenses. And yet it isn't just that holy happens without a license. There's an awful lot of unholy out there that also happens without a license or worse yet, even with a license sometimes. The world needs licenses. The world needs limits. The world needs beaver dams.”

43s

#FlockStepUp

“Both they and their flock grew in wisdom and grace. The sheep detectives movie has a happy ending and so do we, the flock of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodstock. We all got gifts. We all got licenses. At least we all got the only kind of license that counts. Granted, it's not a flame of fire over our head and frankly, I'm grateful for that. Whatever form your particular gift takes, our church needs us to step out, step up. Woodstock needs us to step up.”

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First Presbyterian Church, Woodstock, IL This sermon · AI assistant

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If Only All the Lord's People Were Prophets

Devotional

Day 1: Unlicensed Prophets in the Camp

Day 2: Candy from the Spirit’s Parade

Day 3: Sheep Solving Crimes, Saints Serving Communities

Day 4: Manna Boredom and Spirit Hunger

Day 5: Beavers, Bread, and Boundless Grace

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

If Only All the Lord's People Were Prophets

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