1st Thessalonians 5 and this morning we'll be looking at verses 19 through 22 so just a couple of verses and So listen now to the reading of God's Holy Word 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 19 Do not quench the spirit Do not despise prophecies Test all things, hold fast to what is good, and abstain from every form of evil. Seek the Lord's blessing on this, his word. O gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks for your word. Your word is truth. And we just pray, Father, that as we come to this passage this morning, Maybe some confusion, there may be some challenge that we might have. And yet we pray that your spirit would lead us and guide us to find the truth, to be able to apply the truth even to our own hearts and our own lives as we seek to be faithful servants who bring you glory in all that we do. And so we just pray now for your blessing upon your holy word, that it would truly minister to each of our hearts, drawing us all closer to yourself. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. We confess and believe. that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testament are the only infallible rule for faith and life. That is, there are many other rules and standards in life that we may have to follow. So, for example, maybe there's rules and standards that you are put in place in your home by your parents. Maybe if you're in an institution or a workplace, there's different rules that you must follow. And then of course, even as you go about in society, the civil magistrate has also put various standards and rules and laws in place. But the scriptures are the only infallible rule. And infallible meaning perfect, fully and completely reliable and true. We know that over time, house rules can change, and institutions can change, and laws of the land can change. But the Word of God stands forever as a perfect standard. And as a perfect standard, whenever we come across a teaching, a doctrine, or a philosophy, we are to use the Word of God as the measuring rod by which we can determine whether something is true or not. Indeed, this is so critically important, especially in our own day and age, when there are a variety of teachings and movements that on the surface sound like they may be Christian. But as you closely examine them, they don't measure up to that perfect standard revealed in God's word. And sadly, there are a lot of Christians who fail to do this. who fail to kind of go through this exercise, and by failing to attest all things by the Word of God, they get led astray into scams, into false teaching, and into even cults and faulty movements. There's a great lack of discernment among many Christians today. They forget it seems Jesus charged through disciples in Matthew 10 where he says, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. He's sending them out into a dangerous world. And then he says, therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Well, it seems we understand the harmless as doves parts pretty well. But we tend to fail miserably at being wise as serpents and we're easily led astray. Whether it's through the airways, or on social media, or in various institutions, there are many spirits. There are many personalities, philosophies, psychologies, religious experiences, truth claims, and proclamations that come our way. They come our way all the time, and they offer us advice, they offer help, they offer counsel, they offer even financial security. And some of these may be good and true and helpful, but many are often scams and deceptions, even lies leading to destruction. And so the question we need to consider this morning is how do we sort through it all? How do we discern what is good and what isn't? How do we discern amidst all the garbage that's out there, if something is actually aligned with the Spirit of God and has revealed truth in His Word? How do we discern that so that we cannot be led astray, so that we can actually live our lives the way that God has called us to live? We begin to find an answer here in 1 Thessalonians 5. In our passage this morning, we're challenged to be open. To be open in heart and mind to the leading of God by His Spirit and His Word. But at the very same time, we must also be cautious. We must be cautious that we don't just gladly and blindly receive every single teaching and instruction just because it claims the name Christian. And so we need to be discerning. After the Apostle had given a series of things that we should do, he now gives two very strong do nots. Do not quench the Spirit. And do not despise prophecies. First, you want to consider the charge to not quench the spirit. There's some debate about what quenching the spirit refers to. Some claim that Paul is referring to the so-called charismatic gifts that, for example, the gifts of healings, the tongues, prophecy, and miracles that are mentioned, for example, in 1 Corinthians 12. And so the quenching the spirit in that case would be kind of shutting out the manifestation of these gifts. And of course, charismatics today and those who believe in the continuation of all these gifts beyond the New Testament age are going to use this verse to support their position. And so they would say here that Paul is saying, look, don't quench the spirit. That is, don't cut off the charismatic gifts of the spirit. Although such an interpretation may be possible if charismatic gifts are what Paul truly has in mind here. But as we closely examine this text, we see it isn't likely to be the case. And that for several reasons. First, Paul nowhere in his letter mentions the spiritual charismatic gifts. And it would certainly be odd for him now, at the very end of his letter, to just sort of throw this in there without giving some kind of further instruction or exhortation anywhere else in his letter. And second, even though prophecies are mentioned in the very next verse, as we'll see, it doesn't necessarily follow that Paul's referring to any of the other charismatic gifts here in verse 19. As we'll see later, there is actually a connection between, obviously, the Spirit and prophecies. But that connection doesn't necessarily have to do with the prophecy as a special gift but rather it has more to do with the content of that prophecy. And thirdly, even though Paul is likely writing to the Thessalonians from Corinth, where spiritual gifts became a significant issue, we need to be careful that we don't impose the Corinthian problem onto Thessalonica. Besides, at the time that Paul was writing 1 Thessalonians, the Corinthian problem wasn't even a problem yet. The issue with spiritual gifts wasn't an issue. That was something that had developed after Paul left Corinth. And so that's why he writes 1 Corinthians. He left, and all of a sudden he's hearing about all these problems that they're having related to these spiritual gifts. Well, when he's writing 1 Thessalonians, it wasn't a problem. He's there. He's teaching. and it's not an issue. And so if Paul isn't referring then to the charismatic spiritual gifts here, well then what is he referring to? Well, if we look at both the immediate and even the broader context of verse 19, the picture becomes very clear. And I want to tell you right now that this is kind of an example of how we are to study the scriptures, right? It's easy to read a verse and to take it out of context. But it's important to look at the immediate context, so what comes before, what comes after, as well as the broader context of the whole passage and the whole book. And so when we talk about discerning truth, well, this is how you do it. And we'll walk through that very thing here this morning. And so first we're going to look at what has come right before Paul makes this charge to not quench the spirit. Remember that right before this, as we've considered over the last couple of weeks, Paul was encouraging peace. He was encouraging peace between the leaders and the people, and the ministering of peace to one another, as well as living out the peace of God through Christ in our lives and in our worship. Well, according to Galatians 5.22, we know that peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit, against which there is no law. And so this gives us a hint. Next, if we look at the broader context of this verse, and specifically note what work of the Spirit Paul has mentioned already, well, we get more hints. And so back in chapter 1, verses 5 and 6, Paul says that the word of the gospel came in power and in the Holy Spirit, and that it was then received with joy of the Holy Spirit. Well, this led the Thessalonians to be examples to others in their faith and manner of living, because the spirit works in both the word going forth and also the spirit works in the one who receives the word. Noting here also, interestingly enough, that joy, Galatians 5, is another fruit of the Holy Spirit. Well then we come to a key text in 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 7 and 8, where Paul says this, For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us his Holy Spirit. Note here that Paul is saying, if you reject God's call and purpose to be sanctified and holy in your lives, well, actually you're rejecting God who gives his Holy Spirit. And what does the Holy Spirit do in the life of the believer? The Holy Spirit works holiness and sanctification in the life of the believer. And so the context Both the immediate context, the broader context, sheds great light then on what Paul says here in 1 Thessalonians 5 19. The Spirit's chief work in us is working holiness and sanctification as evidenced by the fruits of the Spirit. And this connection is confirmed even further in verse 23, which Lord will consider next week. But verse 23, Paul says, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The emphasis is on holiness. sanctification and the pursuit of holiness, which is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit in us is a key theme in first Thessalonians and the whole letter. That's all we've that's what we've been talking about. And so when we add all these hints together, we see then that the charge to not quench the spirit isn't talking about the charismatic gifts. But it's referring to as a caution to not prevent the work of sanctification and pursuit of holiness that the Holy Spirit works in us. Too often people get caught up in the gifts of the Spirit and they neglect what's more critical and essential, the fruit of the Spirit. which evidences holiness, righteousness, and truth, which is the very goal that the Lord, through Jesus Christ and His Spirit, has for all believers, that we would be holy. And so this sanctification is, again, especially evident in the display, again, not of the charismatic gifts, The charismatic gifts were given actually discriminately to a few. And Paul mentions that. He says, look, not everybody has these gifts. And of course, we hear people distorting that very thing. And they would say, well, if you're not displaying the gifts of the Spirit, well, you're not a real Christian. That's a lie from the pit of hell. The Word of God says That the charismatic gifts were given discriminately to a few, and that even we know for a particular period of time. But in the display of the fruits of the Spirit, it's the fruits of the Spirit that is given to all, to all believers. It's the Spirit's work in them. Galatians 5, Paul says, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Some of the very things which Paul has mentioned already throughout his letter. Displaying the fruits of the Spirit is what actually gives evidence of the Holy Spirit working in us. That we're being sanctified. That we're being made holy. That we're being made more like Christ. That's what we're not to quench. It's that work of the Spirit in us. The bringing forth of those fruits of the Spirit. And Paul uses the word here, do not quench. The word quench here refers literally to snuffing out of a flame or extinguishing a light. And of course, when we read through the scriptures, we see that the Holy Spirit is often referred to as a light or as a flame or as a fire that ignites, it shines, it refines, it cleanses, and even empowers. And Paul is here then charging that we take great care not to snuff out, not to thwart, not to block or suppress the work of sanctification which the Holy Spirit graciously desires to work in us. We have a question arises at this point. How is it, though, that we could possibly quench this work of the Holy Spirit and suppress its evident fruit. Well, there are several ways, and if you reflect over what we've considered over the last several weeks, Paul has already alluded to these ways in which we can quench the Holy Spirit, in which we can snuff out the growth of those fruits of the Spirit in our lives. we could refuse to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. That's refusing God's will for us. Remember, Paul said, that's God's will for you to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. If you would refuse to do that, you're refusing the will of God for your life. Not worshiping God, or not loving, or not living our lives in acknowledgement of His sovereign and providential care. Even denying the promise that all things work together for our good and God's glory can quench the work of the Spirit in us. We can refuse to live at peace with one another, refuse to be patient and long-suffering toward one another, and seek after our own interests before the interests of others. These refusals will quench the work of the Spirit. We could refuse to honor those in authority over us. We could refuse to be at peace with them, causing strife and disunity in the church. The leaders could refuse to love and respect those whom God has placed under their care. Again, this will quench the work of the Spirit. We could be unruly and refuse to do any work until the Lord returns. We're just kind of loaf around, not even desiring to spread the gospel as we've been called to do. But instead, we just kind of, we're going to be sponging off the generosity of others. We could be fainthearted and easily discouraged. We could be consumed by grief and refuse the comfort that's offered to us by the spirit of God through the word and through the ministry of encouragement from the body of his believers. We could be weak in faith and refuse to resist the temptations that face us daily, thus plunging us headlong into impure and immoral lifestyles. We could refuse to love our enemies and those who mistreat us and persecute us. Or we can even refuse to love one another, as God in Christ has so loved us. And so all these refusals that Paul has already talked about, all these warnings and instructions that he's given, if you refuse to do those things, if you refuse to heed the commands of Christ through His Apostle, well then you're going to quench the Holy Spirit. And you're going to diminish any appearance of holy and sanctified fruit in your lives. Which means you're not going to look very much like Christ your Savior. And we're called to strive in our lives by the grace of God to be Christ-like. And so instead of quenching the spirit, beloved, We need to fan into flames the gift which God has given us. And Paul even makes this charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 to basically fan this gift, you've received this gift, fan it into flames. Make it grow. Make it spread. Don't kind of try to quench it. Don't try to snuff it out. We ought to open our hearts to the work of the Spirit and allow the Spirit of God to have its way in us, teaching us, refining us, challenging us, stretching us, and chipping away at the remnants of the sin nature in us, so that we might be formed and fashioned closer and closer to that perfect and righteous image of Jesus Christ our Lord. Beloved of God, do not quench the Holy Spirit at work in you. Now, the second command that Paul gives is related. He says, do not despise prophecies. Well, what is meant by prophecy? Now, oftentimes when we think of prophecy, we only think of foretelling, right? That is someone that kind of prediction of future events. And although prophecy sometimes involves that for telling future events, in Scripture, whether it's in the Old Testament or the New Testament, really the one who was a prophet of God was actually primarily not just a foreteller, but a foreteller. That is, they spoke forth the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we noted before, prophecy was one of the charismatic gifts of the Spirit. But this gift had a particular purpose in the life and ministry of the early church. It was given so that the word of God might be proclaimed four to the people at a time when there was very little word that was written down. Before the New Testament was completed and compiled into one book, God spoke his revelation directly to his appointed prophets and apostles, who then proclaimed it to the people. Again, this gift was not given to everyone. And so with this understanding, then, we see that the preaching and the teaching of the apostles was actually them prophesying. And so when Paul and the other missionaries first came to Thessalonica and proclaimed to them the gospel salvation, they were prophesying. When they charged, exhorted, and encouraged them back in chapter 2, verse 12, to walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory, that is, to walk in holiness and truth, they were speaking to them prophecies. That is, they were telling forth the word of God and the will of God for their lives. And even now, What we're reading in this letter, the instruction and the exhortation which Paul is writing under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit, is a prophecy. And it's a declaration of God's Word that are not to be despised. And not only this, but even the faithful preaching and teaching of the elders, whom the apostles appointed in every church and in every city, they also spoke prophecies when they declared the Word of God. And because what they were proclaiming was God's revelation, it ought to then be heeded, and those prophesying ought to be honored and respected, which, of course, we know was maybe somewhat of an issue here in Thessalonica. Now, of course, today, we know that such direct verbal revelations have, for the most part, ceased, because we have the great blessing of having in our own possession, even in our own language, the complete canon of God's revelation to us. We have the Word of God, the Bible. Nothing else is to be added to what we have in this book. Nothing. It's complete. It's the fullness of God's revelation to mankind. Everything we need to know is found in this book regarding our faith and our understanding of God and how we are to live. But in the first century, they didn't have this blessing. And so when someone spoke the truth of God, it was to be received as such, and it was not to be despised. Now, we shouldn't take this to mean that God is now silent. Far from it. Because there's a sense in which we still hear the prophecies of God today. But these are not a new or direct revelation from God. Instead, it's through what He has given to us in His Word, either written in the pages of the Bible or faithfully proclaimed from His appointed preachers and teachers. Such prophecies, coming from the infallible Word of God, ought not to be despised. Now, He uses the word despised here. To despise is to reject, to scorn, to mock, to pay no attention to. They ought not to treat the revelation of God in such a way. As you look around, we live in a day and age where the Word of God is greatly despised. Some people are totally offended at just the public display of the Ten Commandments because it really ultimately reminds them of how far they fall short of God's glory and God's perfect standard. They don't want to see it. They don't want to be reminded of it. Or they take offense if you post a scripture passage on social media or if you walk around with a t-shirt that has a scripture passage or some spiritual quote on it. They mock the Word of God. They refer to it as just a bunch of fairy tales. At best, they might say, well, it's a good book. It's got moral instructions, but it's not really authoritative in any way. Well sadly, this despising is even a problem in the church. Even many in the church don't want to be challenged. They don't want to be tested in their faith or lives. All they really want is for their ears to be tickled and for their guilty consciences to be soothed. They don't want to be convicted of sin. They don't want to change how they live their lives. And so they take offense at the Word of God when it is faithfully proclaimed. Friends, we must be faithful to proclaim the whole counsel of God's Word, even if it makes us uncomfortable. And it's here that we see then the connection between the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the prophecies and the commands that we're to heed and pay attention to. The prophecies of God's Word and the proclamation of the gospel call us to obey Christ's commands, to seek after holiness, and to not quench the Spirit of God at work in us. Paul already has made this connection between the prophetic instruction and commands he gave and the sanctification of the Spirit works in us. Back in chapter 4, verse 2, he says this, what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. And so when we obey by the grace and strength of Christ, when we obey the command to abstain from immorality, the Spirit of God works God's will for us in our lives. And what is that will? It's sanctification, it's holiness, it's Christ likeness. So our call to, when we hear the commands of God, we obey them by his grace and the spirit begins to work in us, sanctification, holiness, and Christ likeness. And so we shouldn't despise such commands because they're for our good and ultimately also for God's glory. And so we should open our minds to the Word of God, both written and proclaimed, and we're to open our hearts to the Spirit of God, that the Word may be applied to our hearts, that we might be convicted of our sin, that we might pursue holiness by this power of the Spirit. But we need to consider one final point. Though it's true we are to open our hearts to the Spirit of God, we are to open our minds to the prophecies of His Word, But we aren't to be so open that we let anything in without discernment. And so Paul charges in verse 21, test all things. And we already noted that there are many spirits and many words that claim to be true, but aren't. On the one hand, we want to be open to God's leading. But on the other hand, we also don't want to be deceived and led astray. And so careful examination is meant to give us the balance. If the Spirit leads us and guides us in our lives, well then yes, we must follow. If God speaks to us through His Word, we must be ready to listen and obey. But we know that Satan can come as an angel of light. Paul warns the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11. And so we must be discerning and we must then test everything. And the word test here means to approve, to examine or refine. It's that refiner's fire where they are refining precious metals. I mean, to kind of put under the heat to determine its worth. Whether it's something that's pure and good or whether it's something that's spoiled and evil, we must put everything to the test. We ought to do this with every inkling of the spirit that we might have. We sense and with every teaching that we hear or read. And again, sadly, many people don't do this. They get lazy and they fail to do this and they are then easily led astray. But this is why Paul gives us this instruction, so that we aren't led astray, that we are to test everything. Now, how then do we test the spirit and the claim of truth that might be made? Well, there really is only one surefire way, and that's to be as familiar as possible with the real deal, with the truth. to know the Spirit and to know the truth of God's Word so well that you're able to spot a counterfeit with great certainty. In 1 John 4, John charges, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Same is true today. There are a lot of false prophets out there. claiming the work of the Spirit, claiming to declare the truth of God. Well, we need to put them to the test. And the best way to test the spirits is to know and to have first-hand experience with the one true Spirit of God. And John follows by giving an example test. He says, if the Spirit actually ends up denying Christ came in the flesh, well then that's a false spirit. But if it confesses Christ has come in the flesh, well, then you know it's a true spirit. And of course, one of the great issues that John was dealing with there was kind of an early form of Gnosticism, where they were denying that Christ had actually come in the flesh. But you're not going to be able to discern this and make this distinction. unless the Holy Spirit was actually first revealed to you and dwells in you and bearing witness to your own spirit through the evidence of that spiritual fruit. And so we're to do the same thing for any teaching, for any proclamation that claims to be true. Again, the best antidote to false teaching is to know the truth of God's word as thoroughly and as completely as you can. This is why we're encouraged to regularly read the Bible and to study it, to meditate on it, to even commit it to memory, if you're able to. Because the Word of God has been given to us and passed down through the ages as that only infallible standard that we have. In Acts 17, we see an example of this. The Bereans were commended. because they heard the preaching and the teaching of Paul. But they didn't just say, oh, OK, well, this sounds good. We're going to believe it. They didn't just take his word for it. No, they they look to what they knew to be true. They knew the scriptures of God to be true. In this case, they looked into the Old Testament to see if what Paul was saying was true. And lo and behold, They discovered that yes, what he was declaring to them was revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Paul was speaking God's truth. And so our examination of the spirits and truth claims should be very careful and thorough. But what do we do then with the results that we might discover? So you hear a teaching and you determine by comparing it to the standard of God's Word, what is whether it's good and lines up with the scriptures or whether it is contrary to the scriptures. What do you do? Well, it's quite simple. As Paul notes here in verse 21 and 22, hold fast to that which is good and true and leads to sanctification and holiness in accordance to the word of God. Hold fast to the truth and cling to it with every fiber of your being. Don't let it go. But then there's something else, right? And not just if you discover the truth, hold on to it, cling to it. But if you discover error leading to godlessness, well then abstain or shun and turn away from every form of evil. Stay away from that which leads away from the revealed truth of God and leads away from the fruits of the spirit and leads away from sanctification and holiness. Whatever causes suffering, strife, and sin is evil and should be shunned." So, you hear the teaching, or you see a video clip, you go to the Scriptures to see if these things are true, and then you either embrace it, if it's confirmed to be true, or you shun it and turn away from it, if it ends up being evil. Beloved God, this is the way we're to worship God, and this is the way that we're called to live our lives by the power of the Spirit, and according to the truth of God's Word. We must be discerning in these things, or we're going to be led astray. And whether it's teaching and instruction offered to you at school, at work, on social media, or even from this very pulpit, test it all. Hold it up to the perfect standard of God's holy word, the Bible. If it passes the test, good. Hold fast to it and obey it. But if it falls short, turn away from it and shun it. And so we can rejoice and give thanks, then, that Christ who is the perfect wisdom of God has given us the gift of His Holy Spirit and has given us the gift of the truth of His Word to lead and guide us to be discerning. He's given us the perfect standard so that we may be thoroughly equipped to discern truth from error. Indeed, God graciously reveals this wisdom to His people, to us. He reveals it even to those who would even now confess the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because if you trust in Christ and in His Gospel as revealed in the Bible, then the Spirit of God will enable you to discern the spirits and to discern the truth. He is not going to lead you astray, but He is going to guide you to what is true. and good, and right, and holy, all to the praise of God's glorious name. Let's pray. O gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks to You for Your Word, and Your Word is truth, and it is our only and infallible rule for faith and life. Lord, there's many cautions in your word about taking away or adding to it. And yet we see that there are many who would take away from your word, who add to it, who strive to corrupt it and pass it off as in alignment with your revelation and your will. Lord, in our wicked world, we know that there is much deception, there's much false teaching, many false prophets, even as there were at the time when Paul was writing these words through the Spirit. And so we pray that you would give us discernment, that you would give us the work of the Spirit, that we would be bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and that we would truly be wise as serpents. That we would especially know Your Word as You have revealed it. That we would feed upon it daily, that we would meditate upon it, study it, commit it to memory, so that it's always there, ready. That we might test the Spirit, test the teaching, so that we can discern what is true and what is error. And Father, we just pray then that You would enable us by Your Spirit to not quench the Spirit. To not despise the prophesying of Your Word, but to know what is true, and to embrace it, and to welcome it. That our lives would truly be changed and transformed, so that we would become more and more holy. That we would become more like our precious Savior Jesus Christ. Father, we would just rejoice and give thanks for your blessing in these things. We pray that your spirit would work these truths in each of our hearts, drawing us all closer to yourself. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.