The Walk of Faith

Q: What does the Bible say about the return of Christ?

The Bible teaches that Christ will return suddenly and unexpectedly, bringing with Him those who have died in faith. The return of Christ is a foundational doctrine emphasized throughout Scripture, particularly in passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The Apostle Paul assures believers that those who have died in Christ will be resurrected and united with those who remain alive at His coming. Paul states that Christ will descend from heaven with a shout, and believers will meet Him in the air, confirming the hope and comfort found in the promise of resurrection and eternal life.

Q: Why is the resurrection of the dead important for Christians?

The resurrection assures Christians of eternal life and victory over death, thus providing hope in the face of loss. The resurrection of the dead is crucial for Christians as it affirms our faith in Jesus Christ's victory over sin and death. In 1 Thessalonians 4:14, Paul writes, 'For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.' This promise of resurrection provides profound comfort, assuring believers that death is not the end. Instead, it leads to eternal communion with God, which is the heart of the Christian hope.

Q: How do we know that God will save us?

We know God will save us by His promise and the finished work of Christ on the cross. Salvation is assured through God's promises and the work of Christ. The Bible teaches that God has not appointed believers to wrath but rather to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). This emphasizes that salvation is not based on our works but on Christ, who died for us. The assurance lies in the character of God, His covenant promises, and the completed work of salvation which Christ achieved on the cross, confirming that all who trust in Him will be saved.

Now, open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians
again, and back in chapter 4, my message will be taken from
the 5th chapter, but back in the 4th chapter, beginning with
verse 13, Paul is talking here about the return of the Lord
Jesus Christ. and the resurrection of the dead.
And he says, I would not, but I would not have you, brethren,
to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, those who are already passed on, who are dead. We have a number of this congregation
who, believers in Christ, who are asleep. that you sorrow not
even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, and we do, even so them also whom we have
taken out here to the cemetery and buried their bodies, which
sleep in Jesus, will God bring with Christ. In other words,
they're with Christ now. Our Lord said to the believing
thief, today you'll be with me. His body was died on that cross
and they put him in the grave, but his soul, see the body returned
to the dust from which it came, the soul to God who gave it.
Paul said to be absent from this body is to be present with the
Lord. So when Christ comes again, those whom to whom we said goodbye
will come with him, with him. For this we say unto you, verse
15, by the word of the Lord. This is by the word of the Lord.
It's not what I think or you think, it's what God says, that
we which are alive, if Christ should come today, well, some,
many of us who believe and we are alive and we remain under
the coming of the Lord, shall not The word here is prevent,
that word is precede. Them which are asleep, those
brethren and sisters who've died, we're not going to go to glory
before them physically in our bodies. For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, with the trump of God, and they'll rise first.
They'll rise first. we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, that is,
in our glorified bodies, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words." What words? Well, comfort one another with
the promise of his coming the promise of our resurrection,
the hope and confidence that our friends and loved ones who
have died are with Christ, they're with him in glory, and when he
comes he'll bring them, they'll come with him, and their bodies
will be raised, body and soul, and together in a moment, in
a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed, for flesh and
blood can't inherit the kingdom of God. So we'll be changed and
caught up together with them and we'll always be with the
Lord. Now comfort one another with these words. But now watch
how he starts chapter 5. But of the times and seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I write to you. Now to write and preach to believers
that our Lord will come and that the dead will be raised and that
we shall be changed into his likeness and caught up together
with them in the air to forever be with the Lord. That's necessary.
And that comforts and that encourages. But to write or preach about
the time of his return and the seasons, and isn't that what
a lot of preachers are trying to do? 1990 or year 2000. certain seasons of the year,
certain signs of the times, and certain dates on the calendar
when Christ is coming. Paul said to write about the
time of his return and the seasons and signs is not necessary. There's no need for me to write
those things to you or preach those things to you, because
in the first place it'd be pure speculation to satisfy curious
minds. who would rather be taken up
with the unanswerable than that which can be answered. They'd
rather be taken up, a lot of people would rather be taken
up with the mystic than with the master. And that's deadly. That's deadly. And I refuse to
fall into that. No man knows the day, nor the
hour, nor the season when Christ will come. Our Lord said that. He said, only my Father which
is in heaven. Angels don't know. If we had a guest speaker this
morning, he was Michael the archangel, he couldn't tell you when Christ
is coming. I'd rather he wouldn't tell me anyway. Had you, I want
that to be in the hands of Him who worketh all things out for
His glory and my good. But, verse 2, for yourselves
know, look at verse 2, you know perfectly well, You know this. You know that the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night. If a man knew when
a thief was coming, he'd step and wait on him, wouldn't he?
And he wouldn't be a thief. You see, I know some things about
the return of the Lord. I do. Number one, I know He's
coming. He said, I will come again. And I'll tell you this, Brother
Coon, If this old heart stops beating this morning before I
get through with this message, and I fall in the floor dead,
He has come for me. He has come. He has come. And I know perfectly
well that He will come. He will come. He said He'd come.
The angel said to the disciples, this same Jesus which is taken
up from you in the heaven shall come. And I tell you this, he's
going to come unexpectedly. That's what it says. You know
that his coming will be like a thief in the night, taking
the world of unbelievers by surprise. But I tell you this, his coming
will not take believers by surprise. They don't know when, but they
know he will come again. They don't know when, but they
know he's coming. Our Lord will return. He will
return. You yourselves know that that
day cometh quickly, unexpectedly, as far as the world is concerned,
as a thief in the night. Verse 3, For when the people
of the world shall say peace and safety, our peace and safety
and security is in Christ. So this is talking about the
world here. When the world shall say peace and safety, They promised
themselves ease and prosperity and good health for years to
come. And I tell you, that's a characteristic
of a whole lot of us, isn't it? That's a characteristic of a
whole lot of us. I don't imagine that we would carry on maybe as we do if we
really expected this to be our last day on earth. I just don't
imagine. But we say, the world says this,
peace and safety, be at ease, soul take thine ease, you have
many goods laid up for many years, many years, the world says that,
peace and prosperity, good health and suddenly, sudden destruction
cometh upon them. Like a woman who's carrying a
child, she knows that child's going to be born. She knows that
the day is coming, but it still comes suddenly. It still comes
in the middle of the night. It still comes in the early morning.
It still comes when she really is not maybe ready or expecting
it. It's just there. And this is
one of the problems of the people of this world. They know they're
going to die. They know that there's an accounting,
they know there's a judgment, they know there is an end to
this, but they just go along their way. Right now it's peace
and safety and ease and good health for years to come. Brother Woody Thompson was buying
property in West Virginia for some gas company. They were putting
the line through West Virginia. And he called on an old gentleman
that was 86 or 87, and he had just planted a whole
bottom of acreage, acres and acres of trees, and they were
about two feet high, Woody said. And Woody wanted to put a pipeline
through some of that, and he said, no, I can't do that. He said, do you realize in 20
years what those trees are going to be worth to me? He's 86, ain't he? Going to reap
them when he's 106. But that's us. That's us. And he says, and suddenly, suddenly,
death and destruction. Scripture says, he that being
often reproved, and hardens his heart. shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy. You see, there's no calling on
God after God called you. There's no calling on God after
God called you. Look at verse 4 and 5. But you,
brethren, you believers, you're not in darkness, that that day
when Christ comes or when God calls should overtake you as
a thief, are you? We're not in darkness. The natural
man is in darkness about spiritual matters, but we're not in darkness.
He says we are, verse 5, we're children of light. God has shined
in our hearts. The God that said let there be
light has shined in our hearts to give us the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. We're not of the night.
We're not in darkness. We're children of light, we're
children of day, we're not of the night nor of darkness. We
have a knowledge of the character of God, don't we? Of the nature
of sin, of the person and work of Christ, who he is, what he
did, why he did it, where he is now. We have a knowledge of
those things. No reason for that time or that
day to overtake us as a feast. Because we're expecting it. You
know, I preached last Sunday or recently on one of the marks
of the elect of God. The gospel came to you in power. You became followers of us and
the Lord. You became examples. You became
witnesses. And you what? The last one? You're
waiting for His Son from heaven. I'm not going to overtake you
as a thief. You're not of the darkness, you're
children of daylight, of the light of God. So he says in verse
6, now watch. Therefore, since we are not of
darkness, since this day will not overtake us as a thief, since
we're children of the day, therefore let us not sleep as others do.
Let's watch and be sober. What is this sleep? What is this
sleep? Is this talking about slumber. No, it's talking about
this. Let's don't live in a drowsy,
indifferent frame of mind in reference to these matters like
others do. Let's don't do that. Let's watch
and be sober. Let's don't become, in a few
moments he's going to talk about people who are drunk. Let's not
become drunk with materialism and drunk with luxury and drunk
with the things of this world and consumed with the cares and
concerns of this world. Let's put a watch on our hearts.
Let's put a watch on our faith and our fellowship. Let's remember, according to this light that
he has given us, that we are temporary citizens of this world,
aren't we? with temporary citizens of this
world. We're just passing through. I
want you to turn to Philippians a moment. I was thinking about
this yesterday. I was thinking a little bit about
the days that are ahead, what may be in store for me, for some
of you. And Paul said this, and this
is one of his last epistles. He said in Philippians 4 verse
11, not that I speak and respect and want, I have learned in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased. Do you? Some of you do. I know
how to do without. I know how to be abased. I know
how to live closely. I know how to do without things
that some of us think we have to have. I know how to be abased. I know how to abound. What's
he talking about, I know how to be abased and how to abound?
He's talking about, I know what it is to do without. I know what it is to have to
work with my hands. I know what it is not to know
where the next meal perhaps is coming from. I know what it is
to be abased, to be despised, to be hated, to be ridiculed,
to be unpopular, to be whatever, abased. And I know how to abound. I know how to be in good company
and well-received and prosperous and happy and well-fed and all
these things. Of course, everybody knows how.
No, I know how to do that and still walk with God. That's what
he's talking about. I know how to do that and not
complain or be overly excited. He said, I know how to be abased
and be content, and I know how to be abound and not put any
stock in it. Isn't that what he's saying?
And not give it any credit at all. That's what he's talking
about there. I know how to be abased and I
know how to be abound. Everywhere and in all things
I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, and to abound
and to suffer need. And I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me in either state. It doesn't really
matter. What does matter is my relationship with Him. That's
what he's saying here in verse 6. Therefore, we're temporary
citizens and Christ is at the door. Life is rapidly coming
to an end. I'm going to be with Christ.
These days are so short and brief. Therefore, verse 6, let's don't
sleep, let's don't live in indifference, let's don't sleep, let's watch
and be sober, verse 7. Now watch this, they that sleep,
sleep in the night. And they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. What's she talking about? Well,
usually, now back here, I know some of you men work 11 to 7
or 3 to 11, you sleep daytime and nighttime too. Back here,
he's talking about people who sleep, sleep at night. That's
when people sleep. People don't sleep in the daytime,
they sleep at night. People who get drunk, they get drunk at
night. There's a sleep associated with
what? Darkness. Drunkenness is associated with
what? Darkness. Alright, now watch this. The
reference here is to those who forget God in a sleep of indifference. See that? And those who sleep,
sleep is associated with what? Darkness. And indifference to
God is darkness. Darkness of sin. A man or woman
who is indifferent to these things is in darkness. And drunkenness
is to be taken up with frivolity, and spiritual drunkenness is
to be taken up with the carnality and materialism of this world. And that's associated with darkness. Do you follow what he's saying?
He's saying in verse 7 here, those that sleep, sleep in the
night because sleep is identified with darkness. And those that
are drunken, taken up with frivolity and foolishness. That's associated
with night, darkness. And people who sleep in reference
to these obvious things of God, just life, salvation, heaven,
hell, death, judgment, eternity. People who are indifferent and
have no interest in those things are in darkness. They're in darkness. And people who are foolishly
And in giddiness, taken up with the world and the flesh and these
temporary soap bubbles and sand castles, they're drunk. What's
a drunk man? A drunk man's a foolish man.
Get reason with a drunk man, he hasn't got any sense. You
might as well not even talk to him, he's foolish. And that's
what he's saying, and that's usually associated with the dark.
And we don't, that's not for us, we're children of the day.
That's right, verse 8. But let us, who are of the day,
be sober and serious, putting on three things, the breastplate
of faith and love, and for a helmet hope. Faith, hope, and love. Faith, hope, and love. Guard
against this indifference. Guard against this drunkenness.
And be sober and alert and watchful. Watchful. But verse 9, God, verse
9, God has not appointed us to wrath. God has not appointed
us to incur His wrath, is what He's saying. Thank God He hasn't. But God has appointed us. He
has chosen us. You know, I told a preacher one
time, I said, you don't have to preach a sermon on election. Just start teaching the Word
of God. You'll run into it. You'll run into it. Just go verse
by verse. This is where it said, God, these
children of the light, children of the day, God's not appointed
us to incur His wrath. He's not appointed us to that
day of sudden destruction and wrath. He has appointed us to
obtain, obtain mercy, salvation, redemption. And I'll tell you
another thing. You don't have just to select
a topical sermon and preach on the blood of Christ. It'll jump
out at you in every chapter. How has He appointed us to obtain
salvation? Not by our works, but by our
Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is in Christ. It's
of Christ. It's through Christ. It's by
Christ. Well, how did He accomplish that salvation? He died for us.
That's how He accomplished it. He bought it. He purchased it.
He died for me. He died for us. For whom did
he die? Us. Us. I hear people say, well, you
know, God says, God's not willing that any should perish. The Bible
doesn't say that. The Bible doesn't say that. Oh,
yes, it does. Oh, no, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. The Bible says God is longsuffering
to usward to usward, to the us. He hath delivered us. He died
for us. God is longsuffering to usward,
and not willing that any should perish, but that all of us should
come to repentance, and us will, as always, and paid by his grace. He died for us. That whether
we're awake when He comes or asleep when He comes, it doesn't
matter. It really doesn't matter. I hear
all these preachers trying to figure out whether we're going
through the tribulation, whether we're going through this, that,
or the other. What difference does it make whether we're awake
or whether we're asleep? Listen. We're going to live together
with Him. That's it. What a day that will
be. What a day when my Savior I shall see, when I look upon
His face, the one who saved me by His grace, when He takes me
by the hand and leads me through that land. Oh, what a day, what
a day that will be. That's what it's all about. It
doesn't matter, does it, Cecil? Whether He comes today or whether
He comes a hundred years from now, it doesn't matter. whether
I wake or whether I'm asleep, I'm going to be with Him. Is
there anything, is there anything that compares with that? Is there
anything as important as that? Is there anything that would
even touch that? That's what he's saying here.
Now sleep, indifference, callousness, callousness is associated with
darkness and drunkenness. The frivolity and foolishness
and the things with which men are so concerned, that's darkness
too. But oh, set a watch on these
hearts, faith, hope and love. All right, verse 4, verse 11,
comfort yourselves and edify one another even as you also
do. Now watch this, this is so interesting right here. I'm going
to read verse 12 and 13 together. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly
in love, for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves."
Who's that talking about? These that labor among you, these
who are over you in the Lord, and these who admonish you. They're
faithful preachers and pastors. That's who they are. And the
first thing he says about these, and I'm going to deal with this
a little bit, because most of you are excellent in this area
right here, but this tape goes all over this country. And we'll
deal with this in a minute. First of all, he says these people
labor among you. They labor among you. Now, no
honor or respect or esteem is due unto a lazy, idle preacher. God's preachers labor. They labor
in prayer. They labor in the Word. They
labor in the study. They labor. There's no honor
or respect or esteem due unto a preacher who compromises the
Word of God. And these men labor among you. They labor with you in the Word. This is not a one-man ministry.
It's God's ministry, and we're all part of it. And these labor
among you. Now watch this. And they're over
you in the Lord. They're over you. What does that
mean? It means just this. They're not
lords over you. They're leaders. They're not
owners, they're overseers. That's what he calls them, overseers.
And in Christ, they have the leadership. They're over you
in the Lord, in the things of the Lord. Like a father in the home, like
a superintendent in the plant, like a teacher in the classroom. They have certain authority.
Obey them that have the rule over you, as those who watch
for your souls. They're over you and the Lord.
And they're under shepherds. Now, and I thought this, on this
particular point, a person that has to be told that over and
over again, don't tell him anymore, you're wasting your time. In
other words, there's a father in the home, and if he has to
keep insisting that he has the leadership, forget it. Isn't
that right? Because that comes by love and
respect. It comes by an understanding. And then it says, they admonish
you. They admonish you. Now, I know
the word can be read, they teach you, they warn you, they reprove
you, they exhort you. But a better word is, they establish
you. They establish you in Christ. A faithful preacher or pastor
who labors who labors in the word, who labors among you, who's
recognized as an overseer and a leader, God's recognized him
and people recognize him, follow him as he follows Christ. Those
people will be established. That's right. They'll be established. They'll be established firmly,
permanently in the Lord. That's right. to be established. Well, what about my relationship
to that pastor? Well, it says, first of all,
in verse 12, know them. Know them. What does that mean? Well, it's two-fold. First of
all, it's recognize them for what they are. Acknowledge, that's the word. Know them is to acknowledge them
for what they are. Respect them for what they are.
They're teachers of the Word of God. They're instructors in
the things of Christ. Know them. That's the reason
when we have several men here who teach and preach, and we
made them elders. It's not that they're any better
than the other men in this congregation, or any smarter than the other
men in this congregation, or any more in love with Christ
than the other men in this congregation, but they're recognized and known
as teachers and preachers for what they do. They're acknowledged. When we make them elders, we
acknowledge them. We're knowing them. That's your
job. We're acknowledging it. We know
it. We respect you for the gift God's given you. We don't put
you on a pedestal and worship you or anything like that. You're
a man just like we are. But we know you for what you
are. See what I'm saying? That's what
you are. That's your guilt, brother Roach.
You're an elder. God's given you that guilt. We
know it. We acknowledge it. We respect
you. We listen to you. That's right. That's what he said. Know them.
Know them that labor among you and over you in the Lord. Now,
verse 13, and esteem them. Esteem them. I was standing in a church door
one day several years ago. And I was in another town. I
wasn't here. I was in another town. And a
lady I've known for many years, she and her husband, they've
never been established anywhere. They've bounced here. They fall
out with this preacher and they go over here and they fall out
with that and they go over here and they fall out with that and
go over here, you know. And she came to hear me. I've known her
for years, she and her husband. She did most of the talking.
And they came in the door and here was this fellow standing
between them. in a dark suit, you know, here she on one side,
him on the other. And they walked up to me and
they said, we want you to meet our little preacher. I said,
well, how do you do? Our little preacher. And that's
the way they esteemed him, too. That's just exactly right. No
esteem. No esteem. It says here, esteem
them how? They're highly. They're highly. Why? Because they're perfect for their
work's sake. Huh? For their work's sake. I tell you, the authority of
that man standing on the corner with the badge is in the badge. Isn't it? The judge sitting on
the bench He doesn't carry that authority when he's out mowing
his grass and throwing grass over the neighbor's side yard.
But he's the judge and it's your honor because of who he is and what
he represents. I'm telling you the truth. Some
folks don't learn very well, but I'm telling you the truth.
It says here, esteem them very highly. How? In love. Genuine
love. Why? For their work's sake. And if you can't do it where
you are, go where you can. Because you're going to have
to be established. That's right. And he says, and
be at peace among yourselves. And, he's not starting a new
thought here now, and, he's even talking about the pastors and
preachers. And he said these men labor among you, they're
over you in the Lord, they admonish or establish you as God leads
through them, and you are to know them, recognize them, make
yourself known to them. Put yourself before them to be
taught and led, those who labor in the Lord. Esteem them. They
are highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace,
yes sir, what she said, be at peace among yourselves regarding
the ministry. And don't find fault and disagree
and take offense over trivial matters and try to turn the hearts
of people away from that pastor. That's what he's talking about,
be at peace. And I say this to all the folks around the country
that may hear this message, who have a pastor, who have a preacher
that's doing his dead level best to preach the gospel. Know him,
esteem him, and be at peace. Don't become his enemy. That's
right. Don't stir folks up where they
won't hear them, you know. That's dangerous. That's deadly.
That's deadly. That's dangerous. Be at peace
among yourselves. Don't try to set folks against
the cook who serves the table and make them go off and starve.
That's awful. And verse 14, now watch this. We exhort you, brethren, Now
this is not the pastor's job altogether, we exhort you brethren,
all of you, and you do this here, you do this here. Now the minister
of the word, the minister of the word is primarily that of
the pastor and the elders, but the general ministry and care
of the church rests on all of us, does it not? Well, sure it
does. It rests on all of us. And brethren,
I want all of you, don't leave it up to the pastor to warn them
that are unruly and walk disorderly. You do it. You do it. Don't leave it up to the pastor
to warn those who are divisive and unruly and out of the doctrine,
against the teaching. You do it. Isn't that right? Brethren, I exhort you. And then
secondly, he says, you comfort. Comfort the feeble-minded. As
I said, the way we use that word is not the way they use it here.
The way we use it means you're a little bit off, you know. But
that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about the
faint-hearted. Comfort the faint-hearted. that are frightened, and there
are folks that are afflicted, and there are folks that are
discouraged, and there are folks that are broken-hearted, folks
that are down, lift them up. Don't leave that up to the preacher.
You do it. Lift the fallen. Comfort the
faint. Support the weak. You see a need? Meet it. Get together and meet it. See
a need? Pray about it. Find out what
God would have you do. And you be patient toward all
men. Be patient with everyone. Keep
your temper. I saw a sign the other day in
somebody's house. Give everybody a piece of your
heart, not a piece of your mind. That's good, isn't it? Be patient. Patient toward all. And see that
none of us render evil for evil unto any man. Let's don't get
evil. That's not of God. That's not right. Seeking revenge.
That's not right. Follow that which is good. But
ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and among
those that are out yonder. Now let's move on. Watch this. Now I know a lot of people take
these separately. Rejoice evermore. Pray without
ceasing and everything give thanks. And that will be alright. Rejoice
in the Lord and always again. Be happy. Be happy. Rejoice. Always rejoice in Christ. Pray. Live in an attitude of
prayer. Pray about everything. Talk to
the Lord God. You know, prayer is not a form. Prayer is not just an organized
effort. Prayer is communion with God. walking with God like Enoch of
old. It's communion with God. It's just knowing that He's in
charge and we're His child and He never leaves us and never
forsakes us and He's always with us and things that happen, happen
for our good and His glory. We're just in that state of mind
all the time. It's like if you're on a trip
with somebody. Gerald and I made a trip together
the other night. and riding along three hours
together. Well, we talked some, we were quiet some. And Doris
and I will take a trip and we may not speak for two hours,
hour and a half, and then we'll talk. But I'm always aware she's
there. And I may not talk out loud to
God all day, but He's there. And I'll talk to Him when I want
to. And when He wants me to, Does that make sense? That's
praying without ceasing. That's communicating without
ceasing. And that's communicating without words. And when you're
riding with a person in a car, you may not be speaking to them,
but you're always aware of their presence. And that's praying
without ceasing. I'm aware of His presence. I
just know that's right. And in everything, give thanks.
Now watch this. This is the will of God for you. That in everything you give thanks?
Yeah. And that you pray without ceasing and that you rejoice.
This is the will of God concerning you. These three things right
here. Rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks. That's the will
of God. Now watch this. Quench not the Holy Spirit. What's
the word quench mean? I've got to finish this because
we're going to have some questions. Quench. What does the word quench
mean? It means to extinguish. It means to suppress. Now, there's
no man living who can suppress the Holy Ghost. There's no man
living and no army of men who can extinguish the person of
the Holy Ghost. He works when he will, on whom
he will, the way he will, and effectually as he will, he cannot
fail, but staying in the context. The grace of love and faith and
hope and kindness and joy and rejoicing, these are, and this
is the fruit of the Spirit, is it not? Don't suppress that fruit. Let it come out. That's what
he's saying. Quench not the Holy Spirit. That's
what he said. You've got, as a child of God,
a duty, a duty to do these things, the walk of faith. to encourage
one another, to support the weak, to comfort the faint-hearted,
to warn them that are unruly, to be in faith and hope and love
and kindness and rejoicing and praise. And don't you suppress
that now. Don't you extinguish that light. That's right. Come on. Walk with
God. Let the joy come out. And verse
20 says, despise not prophesying. Now let me get on something here.
I know that preaching and preachers are disgusting and tiresome words
in this day. Preachers, oh my goodness alive,
they're just the most bunch of nothings that God ever let live
nowadays. That's right. Preachers and preaching A man said to me one time, I
won't go to church anywhere. I said, I don't blame you. I wouldn't
either. If I had to listen to what you have to listen to, I
wouldn't go either. A bunch of clowns and a bunch
of ignoramuses. But let me tell you something.
Let me tell you something. Preaching is still God's way
to save His elect. Preaching is still God's way
of revealing the truth. God has chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them, not the preaching of foolishness,
but what men call foolishness preaching. And God has his faithful
preachers. Among all these clowns and conmen
and con artists, God has his faithful preachers. Find out
where one is, or where two or three are, and go hear them.
Don't despise preaching for their sake. Don't despise prophesying
and preaching for the sake of those that are trying to make
a living out of it. Isn't that right? Don't fall out with all
of us because, in other words, there are plenty of crack doctors,
but you better find you a good one when you get sick. And verse 21 says, and prove
all things. How do I prove these preachers?
By the Word of God. Try the Spirit. Prove all things
by the Word of God. And when you prove it, hold fast
that which is good. Don't let it out of your grasp.
Don't let anything happen to it. When you find, let me tell
you, when you find God's message, and God's messenger, and God's
people, and God's gospel, and God's way, hold fast to it. You know what he's saying? Don't
despise preaching now because of this mess, but prove it by
this. And when you prove it, Jim, grab
ahold of it. Grab ahold of it. And abstain
from all appearance of evil. I know this is avoid all appearance
of evil context, but if you stay with the context, It's this way,
when you hear preaching that does not appear to be right or
wrong. You know, you run into preaching
like that. It's not what they say, it's what they don't say.
You run into preaching like that. And there's maybe doubt and suspicion
in your mind. Avoid it. Avoid it. Avoid it. That's right. Don't be hasty
to swallow anything. I warn people about this all
the time. Be careful, something new in
religion comes along or some new person preaching or saying
something comes along. Wait, don't swallow. You'll be like a big mouth bass
now and you'll find yourself hooked. Just because a piece
of meat floats by doesn't mean it's good to eat. Better be careful.

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The Walk of Faith

What does the Bible say about the return of Christ?

Why is the resurrection of the dead important for Christians?

How do we know that God will save us?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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