The Ministry of the Spirit
In the closing section of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul—through the Holy Spirit, of course—gives us a series of brief admonitions for an overcoming walk with the Lord through this life.
For instance, in verse 16, he tells us to:
Rejoice always.
Then he adds in the next verse:
Pray without ceasing.
In verse 18, Paul writes:
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
And then, with that, he says in verse 19:
Do not quench the Spirit.
Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us—warning us not to quench His ministry in our lives. We looked at that last time.
It is with that specific ministry of the Holy Spirit in mind that he says in the very next verse, verse 20:
Do not despise prophecies.
The New American Standard Bible translates this as:
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Rejecting these utterances is the way a person can quench what the Holy Spirit wants to minister to them.
What Does It Mean to Prophesy?
Prophecy is really the primary gift of the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, after discussing the spiritual gifts and the supreme importance of love, Paul wraps up his thoughts by saying:
“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1)
It is a most wonderful gift given to the body of Christ. Generally speaking, there are two distinct aspects to the gift of prophecy:
Foretelling: Revealing what the Lord is going to do in the future.
Forthtelling: Speaking forth the truth of God through the Holy Spirit.
If you look at the Old Testament prophets, their prophecies were heavily centered around the declaration of God’s truth and God’s way, with an admonition to follow the way of the Lord—as well as giving glimpses of what’s to come. The gift of prophecy has been given to the church, given to the Body of Christ.
This prophetic word from the Holy Spirit can come to us in a variety of ways. For instance, it can come through a sermon, a Bible teaching, a home small group study, or your own personal time in the Word when God highlights something specific to you by the Holy Spirit. It can also come through a word from the Lord through a brother or sister in Christ. It can come out of casual conversation with the brethren when all of a sudden, something is said, and you realize: That is from the Lord, and it is for me. Prophecy is a word from the Lord however it comes to you, because God wants to speak to you—you are His child.
Why We Are Tempted to Despise It
So, the admonition here is clear: do not despise prophecies. However, this can be a touchy area because sometimes these words come in a way that leave us skeptical.
Many of us have met or have known people who seem to have an ongoing conversation with the Lord—where almost every other word out of their mouth is, “The Lord said this,” or “The Lord told me that.” They’re supposedly getting all of this information from the Lord on an ongoing basis. Some might even be bold enough to say, “The Lord told me that you should…” then telling you what you should do—saying, “It’s the Lord speaking to you, that’s why you should do this.” As time goes on, in so many of those cases, you discover that it definitely was not the Lord.
“She’s” a BOY?!
I remember when my wife, Joyce, and I were having kids. At one point, we had a boy and then a girl, when Joyce became pregnant again. Back in our day, there were no sonograms to check the sex of the baby; you just had to wait and see what came out. So When Joyce got pregnant a third time, I was hoping for another boy…but the Lord blessed us with a girl. So we had two girls. We sort of felt that was going to be our last one—but it didn’t turn out that way.
Lo and behold, Joyce got pregnant again. This was going to be our fourth child, and I thought, Oh wow, four kids. I prayed for “boy bookends”—you know, boy, girl, girl, boy—since this would surely be our last one. Well, it didn’t work out that way; we had another girl. So, at this point, we had a boy and three girls. I thought, Oh, I guess that’s it.
Well, lo and behold, Joyce got pregnant again! I was hoping, and everybody in the church knew I was hoping, it would be a boy this time. On two separate occasions, two different ladies—both of whom I had a lot of respect because of their love for the Lord—came up to me privately. They both told me, “Brian, I was praying for you and I know your desire for a boy, but the Lord clearly spoke to me that it’s going to be a girl, and I wanted you to be prepared for that.”
I accepted that the Lord ministers through His children, so I prepared my heart that number five was going to be another girl. I was in the delivery room when Joyce was delivering the baby, when I saw the baby coming out and said, “She’s coming now!” As out she came, I said, “She’s a HE!” It was a boy.
Those ladies, bless their hearts, felt that they had received that word from the Lord—but it wasn’t. That was not the Lord. God blessed me with a son. He even, after that, blessed me with another son. Joyce and I ended up with three girls and three boys, and what a blessing those six kids are to us to this day. But the point is, things like that can turn you off to prophetic utterances and people giving prophecies. You might have a tendency to just write them off, or ignore them.
Unlikely Instruments and Hard Words
So the Lord is saying here, the gift of prophecy has been given to the Body of Christ, it’s real, it’s true, it’s there—so don’t despise it! Be open to it, regardless of the context or the instrument that it may come through.
Maybe it comes through a very dry preacher. It could come from a brother or sister in the Lord, even when you know their life’s not together at the moment they’re talking to you, and all of a sudden they’re coming out with these things. You may be tempted to look at them and think, Really, Lord?
He can even use a brand-new babe in Christ to speak to you and you say to yourself, Oh, what do they know?
It’s like we’re told (this is not in the Bible, but it’s so true): the Lord works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He can use the most oddball and unlikely instruments. Think of how God spoke to the prophet Balaam through his donkey! If He can use Balaam’s donkey, He can use anyone, anytime He wants.
I might add to that that sometimes a word that hurts or offends you at first may often turn out to be the most healing.
I think of a pretty famous pastor who was a guest preacher at a particular church. He shared the gospel and spoke, and afterward, he was meeting people in the congregation. A family came up to introduce themselves: a middle-aged couple with a young adult daughter named Christina. The pastor looked at her and said, “Ah, Christina, you have Christ in your name. Is He in your heart?”
That kind of offended and hurt her, and she went away upset. But those words did not leave her. Those words forced her to take a serious look at her life and her faith. She realized that she wasn’t really trusting in Jesus Christ, and it led her to truly receive the Lord and commit her life to Him. It was a life-changing thing, that one simple statement from that pastor.
Keep an Open Heart
The Lord tells us that if we want to keep growing in Him, do not despise prophecies, because He wants to speak His truth into our hearts. Do not quench the Spirit in that way. The proper attitude of heart for your spiritual growth is to keep an open heart that is responsive toward the Lord.
However, right along with that admonition, Paul adds this cautionary statement in the very next verse:
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Christian, that is so important that I want to focus on that next time.
But in the meantime, walk by faith with Jesus. Keep a listening ear toward Him. He wants to speak to you for your spiritual growth, your life, and your relationship with Him. God cares about you, He cares for you. He is with you, so God bless you as you carry on in the love of the Lord that comes through Jesus Christ.
About Pastor Brian
Pastor Brian Larson ministered in Truckee, California, for more than 40 years, having moved there with his young family from Southern California in the summer of 1975 to pastor a denominational church in the area. He stepped out in faith in 1978 to begin a nondenominational fellowship in North Tahoe. By June of 1981, the small fellowship had moved to the high school auditorium in Truckee, and it was then that they became known as Calvary Chapel of Truckee. For more than 38 years, the emphasis of Pastor Brian’s ministry at Calvary Chapel of Truckee was simply on the building up of the body of Christ through the clear, objective teaching of the Word of God, the praise and worship of His Name, and diligent prayer. He firmly believed that as the body was fed and nourished in His Word, we would grow in His grace and love. In October of 2019, Pastor Brian stepped down as senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Truckee and soon after moved to Connecticut where he has continued ministering to the body of Christ through teaching engagements and through his non-profit ministry True To His Word.
