Well, once again, may it please
Almighty God to bless us as we meditate in the first epistle
of Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, and this evening we'll
read verses 20 and 21. The first epistle of Paul to
the Thessalonians, chapter 5, and reading verses 20 and 21. not prophesying's prove all things
hold fast that which is good well Paul was writing here to
the church at Thessalonica and of course the Word of God writes
to us and speaks to us And here the Apostle is directing them
to not despise prophesying. And as we think of that we should
realise that of course prophecy existed right from the beginning
in Genesis when the Lord graciously prophesied about what would occur,
that the seed of the woman would bruise Satan, indicating quite
clearly the wonderful way of salvation. And of course that
prophecy came to pass many years later. And that of course was
not the only prophecy. And people may have said, oh
well, firstly we don't understand it, secondly we don't think it'll
happen, and therefore tended to mock it and not take notice
of it. And yet here the Word of God
tells us to despise, not to despise, prophesying. And as you and I
read the Old Testament, we will find again and again a prophecy
with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ, that one and glorious
Saviour, the one who came into this world for that great and
sacred purpose to save sinners. And therefore, as we do read
sometimes very clearly, shown us sometimes not so clearly,
but nonetheless we are told here we are not to despise prophesying. And so it was so to the Church
of Thessalonica. And therefore as we read the
Word of God and we should look really to see what things are
prophesied as we read it, there is so much instruction in the
Word of God. And how quickly we easily pass
over parts and don't read them carefully enough. Especially
perhaps we might say the prophets, we might think of Jeremiah, we
might think of Ezekiel, and we may think well they're not very
interesting and we'll quickly pass over them, but in actual
fact there are many texts which point to those things which are
to come to pass, which have come to pass, and which will still
come to pass. And of course, even in the book
of Revelation that we read, there's so much prophecy there, much
difficult for us to understand. But we should not think where
it's irrelevant, because every word of God is pure. Every word
of God is relevant. And we should take it to heart
and read it, ponder it, and pray that our understanding might
be granted. so that we see glorious truths
which are there hidden in the great word of God. And so the
apostle says here, despise not prophesying. And then he goes
on to say, prove all things. Well, we are to prove things
in our own life, in our own experience. And it's wonderful to know when
God does, inextricably come and speak to us. And such words often
have to be proved. They don't just suddenly appear.
And we have to prove them by experience. And so the Lord comes
and instructs us and guides us. They are great truths. And therefore
to realise that these words in the Bible need to be proved and
they're to be proved and that we can prove them in our own
personal experience and know therefore that the word of God
is true and it has a personal application to our very souls
and when that is so how wonderful it is how strengthening it is
to prove the truth of God and we would desire that this may
often be so. This great test, as it were,
proving the truth of God's word. And so here we are encouraged
today, just like the church as God has been down through the
ages since this was written and before. And we're told, therefore,
prove all things. And it is so strengthening to
prove the truth of God in our own life, in others life, And
in those prophecies which are to be fulfilled and those which
have been fulfilled, there is great need to rejoice in the
glorious work of God. And then the apostle moves on
and says then, hold fast that which is good. Why is that written? Why is that spoken? Very simply
because the tendency is to cast such truths aside and to ignore
them, and yet you see they are again strengthening. When the
apostle wrote to his son Timothy, the many words of gracious wisdom
he wrote in those two letters, but in the second letter He wrote
in the first chapter, verse 13, Hold fast the form of sound words
which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ
Jesus. Grand and glorious truths, as
the Apostle says here. Wonderful it is which thou hast
heard of me. And we've heard, have we not? the truth of God in the epistles
in the Gospels and we are to hold fast those truths because
thy word is truth and that's why the Apostle is keen here
for the Thessalonians to hold fast that which is good we don't
want to hold fast that which is evil The devil is very active
and he will bring many thoughts into our minds which are not
good, they're evil. We need to get rid of them. But those things which are good,
those things which concern our God, those things which concern
our salvation, they're necessary and they're good and therefore
we should Hold them fast. You know what that is? It's a
good picture, isn't it? You know, if you hold something,
you know, if you hold something lightly, it can very easily be
blown out of our hand. But we are to hold it fast. And in the things of God, we
are to hold those truths fast, especially those words which
God has spoken to our heart. And you know whether the Lord
has spoken to your heart. And the devil will probably say,
that's not worth remembering. That's not worth anything. That's
why we have a word like this. To hold it fast. That which is
good. Don't listen to the devil. He'll
tell you it's too small, it's irrelevant. Doesn't matter. If
God has given it, my friends, hold it fast. What a great blessing
it is. to hold it fast. When the apostle
goes on and writes to the Hebrews in the fourth chapter in verse
14 etc. he says some wonderful truths
and it's good to hear the truth of God to hold these things fast. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest, who is that high priest? the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, think of that. He sits in
glory there now today to intercede for us. We have, he says, a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. You see, if God has enabled us
to make a profession of his name. And bless God if it is so. We're
not to despise it. We're not to cast it aside. We're
to hold it fast, realizing it emanates from the good hand of
our God, who's dealt with us in love to our souls. Oh, hold
it fast. And he goes on, for we have not
a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of
our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are
yet without sin. You see we may think well nuns
no one's tempted like I am, no one has to face all these difficulties
like I do. Well here we have these gracious
words to encourage us. This high priest Yes, but we
have not an high priest which cannot be touched. This high
priest is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That needs
taking in, doesn't it? To think that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Saviour, was tempted like you and me.
There are many things in this world which we're tempted by
Perhaps you and I are different, we are different, and the devil
knows what to tempt us with. Something that might not be a
temptation to one, is to another, and vice versa. But remember,
the blessed Saviour understands, because He was tempted in all
things like as we are, but one great difference, yet without
sin. And he goes on, let us therefore
come boldly, we can tonight, we can, by the grace of God,
come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. And as we come sometimes,
needy sinners, we find grace to help in those time of need. And then just finally one last,
Reference which we read in the Revelation chapter 3 and the
Lord says this behold I come quickly And that was written
2,000 years ago Still true today Behold I come quickly hold that
fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. To think there's a crown of glory
laid up for us. We don't want to despise, therefore,
God's work. We want to hold fast that which
we have. Realize it's been given to us by none other than God himself
and we are to hold it fast. Well may we be encouraged by
these words this evening to not despise prophesying and to prove
all things and to hold fast that which is