Pressing On

We begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 25.

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Psalm 29 of the Psalm books.

Psalm 25.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 7.

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To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

I trust in you continually.

Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my foes gloat over me.

Verse 1 to 7, we stand to sing to God's praise.

To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

I trust in you continually.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my foes gloat over me.

No one who sets his hope in you will ever suffer such disgrace.

But those who act with treachery, humiliating shame will face.

O Lord, reveal to me your ways, and all your paths help me to know.

Direct and guide me in your truth.

Instruct me in the way to go.

You are my Savior and my God.

All day, I hope in you alone.

Remember, Lord, your love and grace,

which from past ages you have shown.

Do not recall my sins of youth,

or my rebellious evil ways.

Remember me in your great love.

For you, O Lord, are good always.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, as we gather in your name today,

we are thankful for the reminder in these words that we have sung,

that you are a God who is good always,

and you are the one who is worth remembering in your great love.

And we pray, Lord, that as we worship you today,

that we will have you in mind in all things,

that we will be able to put away other distractions

that so easily come in,

that we will be able to just focus on you,

upon your word, upon your truth to us,

upon your mercy that is new each day,

and thankful for all the gracious thoughts that you have towards us.

We thank you for this day and a time to gather in worship.

We thank you for even this morning,

seeing the snow having cleared and the ice having cleared so much,

and thankful to be able to be out and about more safely as well.

And we just pray that you will continue to watch over us in the week ahead

and keep us safe and guide us in it.

We thank you for the Sunday school resuming today and the Bible class,

and just pray your blessing on all our young people and the teachers to us well,

Lord, that you will just be with us in these days

and help us together to grow in our knowledge of you,

to grow in the wonder of Jesus,

the one who came for us,

the one who is a savior for his people,

and the one who will come again,

the one who is with you even now,

and we await his coming,

not knowing when that will be, Lord,

but making ourselves ready for it.

Help us to do so.

Bless us, Lord, we pray,

as homes and families and as a community as a whole,

look down upon us today

and upon all your people who gather in this way,

and far and wide, Lord,

that your spirit would be poured out upon us.

So, look, be with us now.

Go before us.

Pardon our sins.

And all we ask, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Just a word to the young folks before we go out to Sunday school,

Bible class and tweenies.

It's good to be back together after a holiday time.

I hope you all enjoyed a good holiday.

It's nice to be back together.

But it's been quite a strange week for us this week

when all of a sudden it turned so cold

and the snow and ice came.

So we don't see it very often,

but it was there pretty much all of this week.

And it can be beautiful to look at in many ways,

but it can also be very dangerous.

People slip, cars slide in it,

so it can be very dangerous as well.

And that makes us thankful

when there are those who go out

to help us in these conditions.

And especially this past week,

thankful for gritters going out

and putting salt on the road

to try and keep the ice away.

And I don't know if you've ever seen it,

but in the last couple of years,

everything seems to go online.

And you get this map now that you can see of Scotland.

And you can follow gritters around.

You can see where different gritters are,

the lorries are,

and many of them now have names.

I don't know if you've seen this,

but many of the gritters have names.

I don't think they do it in our own island here

in terms of tracking them,

but maybe they've given them names as well.

But I was looking at some of the names that you see.

And here's a few of them

and see what you make of this.

And these are all names that you see

written on the lorry,

on the side or on the front of the lorry.

There was one that was called Control Salt Delete.

Another was called Grit and Bear It.

Ready Salted was another one.

Snowmer Simpson.

That was one of them.

Salt Disney.

Again, you can see how they're just playing on words.

Another one had I Want to Break Freeze.

And the last one I saw was Ready Spready Go.

And what you see is they're giving them these names.

And you see the whole idea behind it

isn't just that we have a laugh about it,

but what it does is it makes us aware of them.

It sort of shows us the important work that they're doing.

And it just makes us show an interest in it

because maybe before we just thought nothing of it.

The lorries were going out and doing their work

and that was it.

But it kind of highlights what they're doing

and the importance of it.

And it's all for our safety.

All the names that you see there,

they've got in mind that the work that they're doing

is to clear the way for us.

And it got me to thinking as well

how many names we see of Jesus.

Jesus has many different names in the Bible.

And they're all associated with what he's doing for us.

Just like the gritters go out and prepare the way

for us to go about safely,

Jesus came to go ahead of us

and to prepare the way for us.

And he was given more than one name.

He was given many names.

And I've just written down a few of the names

that Jesus has as well.

And they all speak to us about his power

and his authority.

Christ is one name that he's given.

That is the anointed one,

the one sent by God.

He's given the name Jesus

because that means he will save his people

from their sins.

He was called Emmanuel,

which means God with us.

He was called the rock

because he's the foundation of the church,

of our salvation.

He was called Redeemer

because he came paying a price for us.

He was called Shepherd

because he guides and watches over his people.

He was called the Lamb

because he came to give himself

as a perfect sacrifice.

So you see,

gritters are given all these different names

just to remind us of what they're doing,

the importance of them going before us.

But Jesus too is given many names.

But they are all reminding us

of the importance of remembering him

and what he has done for us.

That he is the one who goes before us all,

preparing a way for his people,

keeping his people safe,

and ultimately bringing them safely home.

So we're thankful that in conditions

like we had this week,

that there are so many people

who help to keep us safe and well.

We give thanks to God

for everyone who helps in these times.

But we thank God too

for the reminder that he is the one

who goes before us

and prepares a way for us.

Well, thank you for listening.

May God bless these thoughts too.

We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise

this time in Psalm 119

in the Scottish Psalter,

page 407 of the psalm books.

Psalm 119.

We're singing at verse 89,

page 407.

Singing the whole of this section together.

Psalm 119 at verse 89.

We'll sing from verse 89

down to the end of that section

to God's praise.

We stand to sing.

Thy word forever is, O Lord,

in heaven settled fast,

unto all generations.

Thy faithfulness at last.

The earth thou hast established,

and it abides by thee.

This day they stand,

as thou ordainst

for all thy servants be.

Unless in thy most perfect law

my soul's delight

have found,

I should have perished

when as my troubles did abound.

Thy precepts I will ne'er forget,

they quickening to me brought.

Lord, I am thine,

O save thou me,

thy precepts I have sought.

For me the wicked have laid weight,

me seeking to destroy.

But as I test him all he's true,

consider will with joy.

an end of all perfection,

here have I seen, O God,

O God.

But as for thy commandment,

it is exceeding broad.

We'll turn together to read God's word

in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5.

1st Thessalonians chapter 5.

You'll find it around page 1189.

We read the whole of this chapter together.

1st Thessalonians chapter 5 at verse 1.

Now concerning the times and the seasons,

brothers,

you have no need to have anything written to you.

For you yourselves are fully aware

that the day of the Lord will come

like a thief in the night.

While people are saying,

there is peace and security,

then sudden destruction will come upon them

as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman,

and they will not escape.

But you are not in darkness, brothers,

for that day to surprise you like a thief.

For you are all children of light,

children of the day.

We are not of the night or of the darkness.

So then let us not sleep as others do,

but let us keep awake and be sober.

For those who sleep, sleep at night,

and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

But since we belong to the day,

let us be sober,

having put on the breastplate of faith and love,

and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

For God has not destined us for wrath,

but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep,

we might live with him.

Therefore, encourage one another

and build one another up just as you are doing.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you

and are over you in the Lord,

and admonish you,

and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Be at peace among yourselves.

And we urge you, brothers,

admonish the idle,

encourage the faint-hearted,

help the weak,

be patient with them all.

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil,

but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the spirit.

Do not despise prophecies,

but test everything.

Hold fast what is good.

Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,

and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who calls you is faithful.

He will surely do it.

Brothers, pray for us.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Amen.

And may God add his blessing to that reading of his word.

We'll again engage in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Father, we do thank you for your word,

and we thank you for all the instruction it gives.

There is instruction there to discipline in the sense of admonish one another.

But there is also the sense of encouraging one another,

of being patient with one another.

And we thank you for all the variety that your word reminds us of,

that life isn't just a simple black and white in so many ways,

but that we have so many differences in life.

We are all made in your image, and yet we are all so different in ourselves.

We live in parts of the world which are so different in many different ways,

when we think of the extreme weathers that we see,

and we see the surroundings that we see around us.

And yet, Lord, we know that you are God and Lord of all.

And so we thank you for the variety in life,

but we thank you for the constancy that there is too,

that you are one who does not change,

that you are one God, and that there is one Saviour, Christ Jesus,

and that there is one Spirit who you have poured out upon your people.

And we thank you that in those we have that unchangeable Trinity.

We have God who is one and yet three persons.

And we pray, Lord, that we would know your power with us in that way,

the power that you are as God and Lord of all,

that as you speak, Lord, that you would give us ears to hear.

The Saviour who is Christ Jesus, that we would see him more and more,

that we would know him and love him and serve him.

And the Holy Spirit who you have given,

that we would seek not to quench that Spirit or to grieve it in any way,

but indeed to be stirred up by that Spirit, to love and to good works.

And we thank you for all the encouragement that you give us,

for every blessing that is ours in Christ,

and for your faithfulness towards us, that you are a God who remembers.

And we thank you for that each day, Lord, that you are promised to be with us,

that you meet us in all our different needs,

and that you are one who is faithful always towards us.

And help us, Lord, to live in light of your truth,

the truth that we have just read of, that you are a,

that the Lord Jesus will come again.

And the truth that we have read, that we are to be prepared for that time.

And that you would indeed bless us by your word and by your Spirit today,

that we would be encouraged all the more to seek the Lord while he may be found,

and to call upon him while he is near.

And we do thank you, Lord, for your church that you are building.

Even as we have reflected on the names given to Jesus, the one who prepares the way for us,

the rock was there, the one who is the cornerstone upon which the church is built.

And we thank you that you are indeed building your church.

And we pray for your kingdom to come in power.

For the church that you are building here in our own midst and in our town, Lord,

that you will continue to be the one who guides and who helps,

and who builds it to your glory.

That you would call people to yourself.

That sinners should be saved.

That your people will be built up here.

And we do pray, Lord, even in the week ahead,

that you will show us your Spirit and your will for us.

And we do pray for the meeting of the Vacancy Committee to that end

and this coming week on Tuesday evening as they gather.

And for all of us as a congregation that we would have that prayerfully in our minds at all times.

Seeking your will for us, Lord.

Seeking one who would come and minister, who would be called by you and shown to us by you.

That you would give us a united spirit to that end.

And that we would know the will of God in all of these things.

We do thank you, Lord, for all who help with preaching.

Not just here, but throughout our islands at this time.

Especially with the many vacancies that we are experiencing just now.

We thank you for all who are out proclaiming the gospel even at this time.

Many who have served you over many years in congregations

and who are now retired and yet still so willing to serve you.

We thank you for each one.

We thank you for those who are lay preachers too.

For those who have other work during the week

and who give time to prepare and to preach on the Lord's Day.

We thank you for everyone who you equip to that.

And we pray, Lord, that you will indeed build up others.

Call others to come and proclaim the glorious riches of Christ.

And to serve you even in the ministry, whether it be part-time or full-time.

That we would see your hand upon us, Lord, providing for us.

So remember our congregations.

Remember our people.

Remember our land at this time.

We do commit all our ways to you.

And just pray guidance and help and wisdom towards us as a people.

Remember all ends of the earth.

We see so much going on around us.

We see the wildfires in America and Los Angeles there just now.

And the devastation that's brought.

So many lives lost there as well.

And, Lord, it's hard for us just to imagine these circumstances

and how quickly it changes.

Lord, we pray for the fires to be quenched there and for lives to be rebuilt in the midst of it all.

We think too of lands where there is war in the Middle East and the Ukraine.

In many parts of the world, Lord, we know there are tensions and conflicts.

So many even hidden from us.

So many losing their lives day by day in the midst of it.

Not just those who are soldiers, but innocent people too.

Young people.

We do pray for peace in our world.

Thankful that you are a God who is able to do so much more than all that we ask or imagine.

Thankful that we have that power in prayer to come to you.

And to know that you are one who is able.

So, Lord, we pray that as your church, as your people, far and wide,

that you would hear our pleas towards you and have mercy upon us.

Remember us as a people here in our homes, in our families.

Remember those who are mourning and grieving at this time, whose hearts are sore.

Remember those who are unwell.

Remember those who are going through all kinds of trials and difficulties.

Lord, we know the needs are so many around us.

And we just pray, Lord, for your spirit, for your grace upon us, for your mercy to be with us.

And we do thank you, Lord, that in all things we can look to you.

For we know that if we look to ourselves that we are so weak and frail.

But in you we have one who is Lord and God of all.

Even as we think of Thomas of old, as he said,

unless he would see your hands and your side, that he would not believe.

And yet when he saw, he was so humbled.

And all he could say was, my Lord and my God.

We pray, Lord, that we would have these days when we, in all our doubts and fears and worries,

are able to see your power at work and just come humbly before you, saying, in all glory to you, my Lord and my God.

So may your will be done in all things.

And may you hear our prayers.

And may you pardon us for all our sins.

That's all we ask.

We ask in the precious name of Jesus and for his glory.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise.

This time in Psalm 52.

We sing Psalm's version, page 69 of the Psalm books.

Psalm 52, page 69.

The tune is Wetherby.

We're singing from verse 5 down to verse 9, the end of the Psalm.

But God will surely bring you down to ruin and disgrace.

He will uproot you from your tent and from your dwelling place.

There's a sense here of the judgment of God.

And yet at the end of the Psalm, we see the Psalm is able to give praise and glory to God.

But I am like an olive plant in God's house growing free.

I trust in God's unfailing love to all eternity.

We'll sing from verse 5 down to the end of the Psalm to God's praise.

Psalm 52, verse 5, verse 10, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing singing

Psalms 52:5

from your dead and from your dwelling place.

He'll snatch you from the land of life

and carry you away.

The righteous seeing this will fear,

then they will huff and sing.

This is the man who for his strength

on God did not rely.

He trusted in his wealth and power

to raise himself on high.

But I am like an olive plant

in God's house growing free.

I trust in God's unfailing love

to all eternity.

I'll praise you ever for your deeds.

My hope is in your name

And in the presence of your saints

I will extol your fame

Well, we can turn back to our reading

in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

We can read again at verse 19.

We're going to look at really verse 12

down to verse 22.

We can read again at verse 19.

Do not quench the spirit.

Do not despise prophecies.

But test everything.

Hold fast to what is good.

Abstain from every form of evil.

We looked at the first part of this chapter

a couple of weeks ago,

just before Christmas,

and we were looking at

how it speaks of

the coming of the Lord.

It was a time when so many

were thinking of counting down

to something significant.

Counting down how we often do

to different events

that go on in our life.

Whether we're thinking of Christmas

or something else in life,

we have a countdown towards that day.

But as we think of what it speaks of

in the beginning of this chapter

and the second coming of the Lord,

it's not a day we can just count down to

in that way

because it's not a day we know

when it will be.

And so there was the importance

of preparing ourselves

each day for that coming

of the Lord.

And we looked at it under three headings.

We had the awareness,

I think of being aware of the situation,

aware of the seasons,

and aware of the solution

in terms of making ourselves ready.

But it leads on to that,

another question,

in light of that,

when we think of the coming

of the Lord

and not knowing

when that day will be.

And the question would be,

well, what do we do in the meantime?

How do we live

in the meantime?

And that is what Paul addresses

as he goes on in this chapter.

He continues,

in light of the Lord's return,

as you see it,

as it goes on towards

the end

of the chapter,

in verse 23,

it says,

Now may the God of peace himself

sanctify you completely,

and may your whole spirit

and soul and body

be kept blameless

at the coming

of the Lord Jesus.

So,

at the end

of what we're looking at today,

it's speaking there

about the coming

of the Lord again.

And it's what we do

in the meantime,

how we prepare ourselves.

So,

Paul gives instructions

to us

in this section

in between

verse 12

down to verse 22,

how we are to live,

how we are to press on,

how we are to go forward.

So,

there are instructions

for our lives now,

but also instructions

in light of eternity.

And I read somewhere

this week

just how people

live their lives

differently

in light of life

and in light of eternity.

Some people will live

with that,

well,

life is short,

enjoy it,

that kind of attitude

towards things.

Life is short,

enjoy it.

Whereas,

more importantly,

we should look at it

this way,

eternity is long,

prepare for it.

It's not just a case

of life now.

Make the most of it,

enjoy it

as you want

to please yourself,

but in light of eternity,

which is long,

which is endless,

prepare for that.

So,

live your life

in that way.

But,

these two ideas

remind us

how often

we are pulled

in different directions.

How often

we have so many

things affecting us

and speaking to us

around us

that are pulling us

in these two

different directions,

especially.

It is that sense

of

life is short,

just enjoy it.

One way we're being

pulled in that direction

or other times

we're thinking of

eternity,

it is long,

prepare

for that.

What's more

important

to us?

Surely,

it is

eternity,

but we're pulled

in different directions

so often.

Just look back

over the last week

for yourself.

Beginning on Monday,

I'm sure we all

had plans

for different things

that we were going

to do.

But how did

these plans

work out?

Maybe you had

a list of things

you wanted to achieve

between Monday

and Saturday,

a to-do list

as we so often have.

And yet,

if you look back,

I'm sure,

like me,

you find that there

were many things

that you'd planned

to do at the start

of the week

that are still there

to be done

because something

has taken you away.

Your attention

has been taken away

to something else.

And sometimes

these things happen.

Interruptions come.

Distractions come.

There's nothing

we can do about them.

They're legitimate.

But other times,

we're distracted

just for the wrong reasons.

We think,

well,

this is important,

but I can go

and just procrastinate

and do something else

in the meantime.

I'll just put that away.

It's often the case

for us.

It can be like that

for things

during the week,

but what about

when we think back

to the last Lord's Day?

What you heard

last Lord's Day

was in the morning

or the evening.

Perhaps there was

something

that spoke to you,

something that

pricked your conscience.

and made you think,

there's something

I need to address

here in my life.

I need to prayerfully

look at this situation

in my life

and think,

how are things

going to change?

How are things

going to be different?

But did it happen?

Perhaps you're left here

with that sense of,

I need to look at this

seriously,

prayerfully.

But then there's

distractions.

You're pulled

in different directions.

Interruptions come,

distractions come.

And so it goes on,

the important things

are left aside.

And you become,

well,

life is short,

let me get this done.

And you forget,

eternity is long.

I need to prepare

for that.

The church

at Thessalonica

was a young church,

young believers,

young in the faith.

And as you read

through it,

you find

there were people

who were pulled

in different directions

themselves as well.

They knew

what they needed

ultimately was Christ.

And yet at the same time,

there were those

around them

who were pulling them

away from that

and pulling them

in different directions.

And so as Paul

is writing to them,

it's to encourage them

to have that focus.

And how to live

in light of the Lord's return,

how to live

in light of eternity,

is to have a focus

always on Christ,

to look to him,

because we're so easily

pulled in different directions.

And so I want us

to look at three things

from this passage today,

just to help us

to live in light

of the Lord's return,

enabling us to live

in light of

what our priorities

should be

with a focus

always on Christ.

The hymn

in Christ alone

it speaks at one point,

it says this,

as he stands

in victory,

since curse

has lost

its grip on me,

for I am his

and he is mine,

bought with the

precious blood

of Christ.

It speaks here

of since curse

has lost

its grip on me

as we're trusting

in him.

But sin is still there.

And that's the challenge

for us as we live

our lives.

Sin is still there.

And how do we seek

to live a more

Christ-glorifying life?

Well, in verse 19

into verse 21,

there's three things

there that we want

to see that helps us.

And Paul,

putting it in three I's,

if you like,

we have inflame,

ingest,

and inspect.

Three things

that we want to do

in life that will help us

live a life

that's more focused

on Christ.

And the first

is this inflame.

In verse 19,

it says,

do not quench

the Spirit.

So the opposite

in terms of

don't quench it

would be to make sure

that the Spirit

is giving life.

The Spirit is the fire

in your soul.

The one that is

guiding you

in life.

There is to be

obedience

to the Holy Spirit.

And that's

the first thing

that we want

to see here.

When we're pulled

in different directions,

it can be that

quenching effect

on the Spirit

because we know

the Spirit

is working.

When the Spirit

is speaking to us,

and yet we can

grieve the Spirit,

we can quench

the Spirit

by being disobedient.

And when you look

at how Paul

and Silvanus

or Silas

is another translation

and Timothy,

how did they end up

in Thessalonica?

Was this where

they were going to?

Was this where

they were aiming for?

No.

But they were led there

by the Holy Spirit.

When you go back

to the book of Acts,

it shows us more

of how Paul

came to Thessalonica

and other places.

And when he came

to Thessalonica,

it was in this way,

in Acts 16,

Acts 16:7

verse 7.

They were on

their journey,

they were making

their way,

but it says,

when they had come

to Mysia,

they attempted

to go to Bithynia,

but the Spirit

of Jesus

did not allow them.

You see,

the Spirit of Jesus

did not allow them.

So passing by Mysia,

they went down

to throw us.

And a vision

appeared to Paul

in the night.

A man of Macedonia

was standing there,

urging him

and saying,

come over to Macedonia

and help us.

The Spirit

was prompting.

The Spirit

was moving.

And they could have

just said,

well, no,

we're going this way.

But they knew

that would be

quenching the Spirit,

being disobedient

to the will of God.

And so they put

themselves

into the Lord's hands.

They followed

the prompting

of the Spirit.

Otherwise,

they would have

been disobedient.

They would have

been grieving

the Holy Spirit.

And so we,

in our own lives,

we so often

quench the Spirit,

I'm sure.

We all do it

at some point.

Because the Spirit

is working,

and yet we're

disobedient.

We go in a

different direction.

We're pulled

in different directions.

And we follow

our own feelings.

We follow

our own emotions.

We follow

our own desires.

All of these things.

And we're quenching

the Spirit.

Because the work

of the Spirit

is to fan

into flame

the life

that is in us.

the Spirit

was poured out

on the day of Pentecost,

as you see

in the book of Acts.

It's the power

of the church.

We are alive

in Christ

through the Spirit.

It is

the fire

that

is not there

when we are dead

in our trespasses

and sins,

as Ephesians

speaks about.

But by grace

we are made alive.

That fire

comes into

our soul.

And the Lord

puts this fire

in us.

But we are not

to quench

that Spirit.

We are to keep

it alive

and flame it

in our lives

and our hearts.

Somebody spoke

of it as

the wick

that burns

in oil

in this way.

Imagine a wick

that is placed

in oil

and then lit.

If the oil

runs out

the wick

burns.

But as long

as there is oil

the wick

doesn't burn.

See,

when you watch

the wick

in the oil,

it's the oil

that's burning.

It's not the wick.

But as soon

as the oil

is gone,

the wick

will soon

burn out.

So the person

said,

as long as

we are living

in dependence

on the power

of the Holy Spirit,

we do not

burn out.

But the question

is,

what's burning?

What's burning?

And that's

the question

that the people

in Thessalonica

had to face up to.

What was burning

in their lives?

What were they

feeding into

their souls?

What fire

were they

feeding?

In terms of

what direction

they were being

pulled in.

And being pulled

in different ways,

different directions.

It's pulled away

from the Word of God

just like pouring

cold water

on the fire

and it goes out.

And we can

experience that.

We can experience it

in our own lives.

We go away

from church.

We go away

from a place

where we enjoyed

good fellowship

or good preaching

or just a good spirit.

We go away

and yet so soon

afterwards

we quench that.

The fire just

seems to go out.

And sometimes

it's by our own

choosing,

our own making

the wrong decisions.

We don't feed

that flame

the way that we

should.

See,

there's two types

of fires

in life.

There's one

we could say

it's the essential

fire.

The fire

for our boilers.

The fire

in our fireplace.

The one that

gives off warmth

and heat

and keeps us

well and happy

at home

in that sense

and keeps things

moving along.

But there's another

fire that we see

that's destruction.

It's full of

destruction.

And we see it

in this past week

in Los Angeles,

the devastation

that a wildfire

can bring.

How these homes,

it's a horrendous

picture to see.

Hard to comprehend

the destruction,

the devastation.

Places just

wiped out

in no time.

And that's

the danger

with the fires

that we have

in life as well.

The fire of sin

that can so easily

just devastate

our lives.

Or the fire

of the spirit

that just keeps

us going.

But which one

is it that we're

feeding?

And which one

are you

extinguishing?

So Paul is

saying here,

do not quench

the spirit.

When the spirit

is working,

you know yourself

when it is.

Don't quench it.

Don't turn away

from it.

Don't let yourself

be pulled away

in a different

direction.

Seek the Lord.

Pour out your heart

to him.

Pray to him

to help you

along the way

and to keep

that fire

aflame.

to keep

that fire

burning

in your heart.

So do not

quench

the spirit.

You see

then in verse

20,

immediately

Paul says

then,

do not

despise

prophecies.

So again

we think

here,

what's he

saying to us?

Do not quench

the spirit.

Keep that

fire going.

But here

we think

of what we

ingest,

how we

ingest

something.

Do not

despise

the prophecies.

How do we

feed the fire?

Well we

feed it

by giving

it fuel.

If you

cut the

fuel,

the fire

goes out.

Simple as

that.

And so

we need

to

fuel

the fire

of our

souls

as well.

And what

he says

here is

do not

despise

the

prophecies.

What

were the

prophecies

that he

was speaking

about

here?

Well the

people would

be familiar

with the

prophets

of the

Old Testament

such as

we are

too.

Prophets

role was

to proclaim

the word

of God

that was

given to

them.

And it

didn't

matter

what was

given,

they had

to tell

the people

what they

needed to

hear.

But what

so often

happened

was as

they

proclaimed

these

words,

they were

hard words

for the

people and

the people

just pushed

it away.

They

despised

the

prophecies,

they

despised

the word

of God,

they despised

the prophets

themselves for

bringing this

word to

them.

And again

we see what

Paul is

saying here,

he's saying

do not

despise

prophecies,

do not

despise

the word

of God

because it's

so important

for you.

God spoke

in the Old

Testament

through his

prophets.

as we

come into

the New

Testament

we see

that in

the days

gone

past

he spoke

through

the

prophets

but now

he has

spoken

through

his

son

Jesus

Christ.

And so

as he's

saying

do not

despise

prophecies,

he's talking

here not

just about

the prophets

of old

but he's

talking about

Jesus

Christ

as well.

Do not

despise

his word,

do not

despise

him.

this is

the word

that has

been given

for you.

This is

the word

that has

been given

to the

church,

to the

people of

God.

And we

are to

hear

what the

word of

God

says.

But so

many people

just want

to push

this word

away,

despise

the word,

despise

Jesus

who is

the word

that became

flesh.

Push

him away.

But there's

a warning,

do not

despise

it.

Don't

live your

life in

that way.

Life is

short,

enjoy it.

Push

this away

because God

has given

his word

to us

that we

might

prepare

for

eternity.

We

have

the word

of God

but so

many people

only hear

part of

this word.

They focus

on just

maybe parts

of the

text.

What

does

Jesus

say

to his

people?

What

did people

so often

hear from

him?

Words

like,

in this

world

you will

have

troubles

and they

stop

listening.

Stop

listening at

that point.

Troubles.

I don't

want

troubles.

I just

want to

do things

my own

way.

Blessed

are the

persecuted.

Again,

stop

listening at

that point.

Persecution.

I'm going

to have to

suffer that

to follow

Jesus.

I want

nothing of

that.

Push it

away.

Despise

it.

Take up

your

cross.

Again,

it's just

like stop

listening at

that point.

There's

going to

be

hardship.

There's

going to

be

trials.

That's

not

for me.

I

despise

these

things.

So

instead

of

ingesting

it,

instead

of

taking

it

in,

they're

just

pushing

it

away.

But

by doing

this,

they're

not

seeing

what

God

has

given

to

us.

The

full

word

of

God,

the

full

prophecy

as it

were,

because

we

stop

listening

when

we

hear

the

hard

bits.

But

when

Jesus

says,

blessed

are those

who are

persecuted,

it doesn't

stop

there.

Blessed

are those

who are

persecuted

for

righteousness

sake,

for

my

sake.

And

he

says,

for

theirs

is the

kingdom

of

heaven.

And

you

miss

out.

You

listen

to

the

first

part

and

think,

I

don't

want

that,

but

then

you

miss

out

on

the

second

part.

Miss

out

on

the

kingdom

of

God.

In

this

world

you

will

have

many

troubles,

Jesus

said.

Oh,

I

don't

want

to

know

that,

I

don't

want

to

hear

that.

But

Jesus

says,

but

be

of

good

courage,

for

I

have

overcome

the

world.

So by

just

listening

to

parts,

by

pushing

it

away,

by

not

ingesting

it,

we are

seeing

just

half

the

story,

half

the

truth.

And

we're

not

listening,

we're

despising

the

prophecies,

and

despising

the

one who

is the

word

himself.

But

when it's

proclaimed,

we need

to hear

it in

all its

fullness.

When

you think

of Romans

8,

that

wonderful

passage,

it

speaks

of

so

many

of

the

trials

of

life,

but

yet

nothing

shall

separate

us

from

the

love

of

God

that

is

in

Christ

Jesus.

There

are

difficulties

along

the

way,

and

do

not

despise

the

fact

that

there

is,

do

not

despise

the

word

of

God

that

says

there

is,

but

instead

ingest

it,

receive

it,

be

thankful

to

God

for

it,

because

it

is

a

wider,

a

whole

truth

to

be

seen,

that

he

has

overcome,

that

nothing

shall

separate

us

from

that

love

of

God

in

Christ

Jesus.

So we

need to

hear

the

word

of

God.

That

is

what

prepares

us

for

eternity.

God

the

third

and

final

thing

I

want

us

to

see

here

is

it

says

in

verse

21,

but

test

everything.

Inspect,

look for

yourself

at this

truth.

As with

the Old

Testament

into the

New,

there was

a

problem,

same

problem

that

exists

today.

How

do

we

know

what

to

believe?

How

do

we

know

what

is

right?

Because

we

are

indeed

pulled

in

all

kinds

of

different

directions.

But

Paul

says

but

test

everything

and

hold

fast

to

what

is

good.

Abstain

from

every

form

of

evil.

In

Thessalonica,

as in

many

cities

of

Paul's

day,

there

was

the

place

at

the

gate

or

the

marketplace

where

information

was

shared,

where

people

gathered

and

everybody

had

all

kinds

of

different

opinions

that

they

would

hear

this

is

what

you

are

to

believe.

No,

this

is

what

you

are

to

believe.

And

that's

very

often

where

you

would

find

Paul

himself

going

to

the

midst

of

the

marketplace,

to

the

city

gate

where

the

people

were

gathered.

He

would

hear