Click here to download in pdf format.
Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (4-9-2001 Framsden Baptist Church)
The worship of the church is a two-way conversation. God speaks to us, and we speak to God. We have already dealt with the latter, now going to consider how God speaks to us, which in practice should always come first. Going to leave “Quench not the Spirit” to the end, going to start with dealing with prophecies, and how to treat them.
There were various offices in the early church. The most
important were the apostles. They were the close companions of the Lord, with
Him throughout His ministry. They were eyewitnesses of the resurrection, and
received the special inspiration of the Holy Spirit. One of the criteria for a
gospel or letter’s acceptance into the New Testament canon was that it was
written by one of the apostles or from the apostolic circle.
The second most important were
the prophets, who received direct message from God about particular situations
in the church, words of encouragement or warning to particular churches or
individuals. The early church was very weak, and therefore needed special divine
support. Several forth-tellers are mentioned in Acts – Agabus, Judas,
Silas, Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:9,10; 15:32). Sometimes they were also
fore-tellers, as with the Old Testament prophets.
The prophet’s role was especially important at the very
beginning of the early church. It was so helpful to have word from God about
particular situations, because the New Testament was not written, the first
Gospel (Mark) probably came 30 years after Jesus lived. The teaching of the
apostles, and the prophecies of prophets, was the foundation of the Christian
church. But the situation is different now – we have the written Old and New
Testaments – the complete Word of God. So there is no need for apostles and
prophets today. These offices have ceased.
Charismatics believe the office
of prophet continues. This is a controversial matter, but even allowing for this
possibility, the emphasis should be above all on the supremacy and sufficiency
of Scripture. Any alleged prophecies today would need to be checked by
Scripture.
But many feel modern equivalent
of prophecy is preaching - true preaching which explains and expounds and
applies God’s Word to the situation we are in. Some would interpret this verse
as saying simply “Do not treat God’s Word with contempt”. Listen, obey,
practice, pray the message home, and dwell on how it applies to your life.
Evidently the Thessalonian church had rejected some prophecies, so Paul tells
them to listen and obey anything from God. So today, we must not treat lightly
God’s Word.
Then Paul goes on to develop this principle.
Christians are not to be gullible, but wise, sensible,
discerning. This applies when we hear sermons and read books, have callers on
the doorstep, hear religious broadcasts, hear people speaking as Christians, and
giving Christian truths. Paul tells us to test it. Weigh it carefully, think it
through. Is it right and true and to be obeyed?
dokimazete
is the word for testing metals to see if they are genuine. Most early
Greek commentators say Paul was influenced by an unwritten saying of Jesus “Be
approved moneychangers”, i.e. testers of coins.
But what tests do we apply?
Firstly, is it true to the teaching of the Bible? The people of Berea carefully
examined what Paul preached to see if it was true (Acts 17:11). Then secondly,
is it right about Christ, that He is both God and man? Every spirit that
acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every
spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God (1 John 4:1-3).
Thirdly, is it true to the Gospel about salvation, that it is of grace through
faith (Galatians 1:6-9)? Beware of another gospel. Fourthly, test the character
of the speaker; be especially aware of strangers because you do not know them. By
their fruit you will recognise them (Matthew 7:15ff). And fifthly, does
their message build up and encourage people in their faith, convict of sin, give
awareness of God, lead to peace and love?
So, is this sermon, book, door-caller right, true, genuine? Above all, does he exalt Jesus, and make the relationship to Him the most important thing? Does he urge me to trust, obey, surrender and submit to Jesus as Lord and Saviour? Result – hold on to the good, and avoid every kind of evil.
Here is the key verse for the whole section. It links
what was said previously with the present message. We cannot obey these commands
without the Holy Spirit. It is He who inspires the prophets and preachers, and
who opens our eyes to good and evil.
Now Paul tells us not to put out
His fire. Everyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit, the third person of
the Trinity. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong
to Christ (Romans 8:9). He gives us new life, and His gifts cause the fruit
of Christ’s character to grow. He stirs us up to rejoice, pray and thank. He
inspired the Word, and speaks through it to our consciences. So, since He is at
work in our lives, we must not put out His fire. We must listen to what He says
and obey.
sbennute
means to “put out light and fire”, which is very appropriate since
the Holy Spirit is portrayed as fire (tongues of fire on each one on the Day of
Pentecost, Acts 2:3). Fire gives light and warmth. We quench Him when we do not
respond to Him, when we do not let Him burn and shine within us. We can do this
in many ways – not letting Him have His way in our lives, not surrendering to
His will, wanting our own way, resisting His will and clinging to our sins, not
acting or praying when He prompts us. Often we put out the fire by discouraging
others. Young Christians, full of zeal and fire and enthusiasm – they may be
immature and make mistakes that will be gradually corrected, but there is life
and zeal there and they get things done. If older Christians pour cold water on
their efforts, they will lose heart.
The History of the Christian
church is sadly full of incidents of the Spirit’s fire being quenched by
rigidity, instructions, clerical dominance and formal religion. The Puritans,
the Reformers, the early Methodists, the Salvation Army, the Faith Mission, have
all grown out of protests over the established church putting out the Spirit’s
fire.
On an individual level, many Christians are in the state they are today – lifeless, cold, unenthusiastic, lethargic – because they have quenched the Spirit’s fire in their own lives. There is need for heart searching here.
