The Work of the Holy Spirit and Prophecy

1
The Work of the Holy Spirit and Prophecy

• 1Thessalonians 516-22

Presented by Bob DeWaay July 9, 2006
2
Three Imperatives That Describe The Spirit
Enabled Life

• 1Thessalonians 516-18
• Rejoice always pray without ceasing in
  everything give thanks for this is God's will
  for you in Christ Jesus.

3
Three Imperatives That Describe The Spirit
Enabled Life

• These are community activities, part of the
  corporate life of the church.
• These are the fruit of a Spirit filled life, not
  something we produce in ourselves.
• Those who are born of God have great joy in
  serving Him together, in prayer and thankfulness.

4
We Should Never Suppress the Work of the Holy
Spirit

• 1Thessalonians 519
• Do not quench the Spirit

5
The Work of the Holy Spirit

• To cause us to be born again (John 36, 7)
• To empower believers to overcome sin (Romans
  813)
• To carry the true children of God along from
  death to life and ultimately to glory (Romans
  811-14)
• To intercede through and for believers (Romans
  826, 27)

6
The Work of the Holy Spirit

• To testify of Christ (John 1526)
• To teach and guide us into the truth as taught by
  Christ (John 1426 1613)
• To convict the world concerning sin,
  righteousness and judgment (John 167, 8)
• To empower believers to testify about the truth
  of the Gospel of Christ (Acts 18 433)

7
What is Quenching the Spirit

• Anything that discourages and hinders the work of
  the Spirit as described in the verses we just
  studied, is to quench the Spirit.
• Revival is when a church collectively encourages
  and participates in the work of the Spirit as
  described in the same passages.

8
What is Quenching the Spirit

• To replace worship music about Christ, atonement,
  the blood, and Gods attributes with music that
  is man centered and designed to entertain is to
  quench the Spirit.
• To replace bold gospel preaching about the person
  and work of Christ, repentance and faith with
  enticements designed to attract the unregenerate
  is to quench the Spirit.

9
What is Quenching the Spirit

• To replace the study of the Holy Spirit inspired
  Bible with man made programs and discussion
  groups is to quench the Spirit.
• To replace the God ordained means of grace by
  which the Holy Spirit works to change lives with
  man made counseling theories and programs is to
  quench the Spirit.

10
What is Quenching the Spirit

• To ignore the teachings of the Bible about the
  qualifications and role of church leaders and
  instead consult worldly management theories for
  guidance is to quench the Spirit.
• To design a church with the goal of pleasing the
  world rather than convicting the world of sin,
  righteousness and judgment is to quench the
  Spirit.

11
True Prophecy is Not to be Treated with Contempt

• 1Thessalonians 520
• do not despise prophetic utterances.

12
Prophecy in OT

• 1) Prophets warned about the consequences of
  Israels sin and declared various disasters to be
  specific consequences.
• 2) Prophets predicted the future, especially as
  it related to Israel and Her Messiah.
• 3) True prophets brought forth true implications
  and applications of the Law, faced law breakers
  with their sin, and brought encouragement to the
  faithful.

13
Prophecy in NT

• 1) In New Testament Jesus is the Prophet, Priest
  and King. All of the offices of the OT theocracy
  are taken on by Jesus. Therefore only Jesus and
  His authoritative apostles can declare cause and
  effect.
• 2) God could raise up a prophet like Agabus to
  predict the future, but such a prophet would have
  to meet the criteria of Deuteronomy 18 and be
  inerrant. He has not raised up anyone like that

14
Prophecy in NT

• Jesus and His Apostles gave us the inspired,
  authoritative words of God like Moses did under
  the Old Covenant.
• 3) In the NT, all believers have the Holy Spirit
  and may prophesy, bringing out valid implications
  and applications of Jesus law and the New
  Covenant. (Acts 217, 18 1Corinthians 1431)

15
Prophecy in NT

• The role of prophecy in the NT is to bring out
  the implications and applications of Gods
  authoritative Words given by Christ and His
  Apostles.
• The implications and applications of Gods Word
  bring comfort and encouragement to obedient
  believers, rebuke to straying believers and
  warning to unbelievers.

16
Prophecy in the Church

• 1Corinthians 143
• But one who prophesies speaks to men for
  edification and exhortation and consolation.

17
Prophecy in the Church

• 1Corinthians 1424, 25
• But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an
  ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he
  is called to account by all the secrets of his
  heart are disclosed and so he will fall on his
  face and worship God, declaring that God is
  certainly among you.

18
What it Means to Despise Prophecy

• The most important prophetic utterance of all is
  the preaching of the terms of Messianic salvation
  and consequences of rejecting those terms.
• To despise prophecy is to dismiss the value of
  declaring the terms of the law and the gospel in
  order to bring the conviction of the Holy Spirit
  to bear on the lost.

19
What it Means to Despise Prophecy

• True prophecy in the mouth of any believer is to
  speak true implications and applications of Gods
  word.
• Therefore to despise prophecy is to refuse to
  allow the Lords flock to speak the truth and
  make applications of it to the church. This also
  is to quench the Spirit.

20
Prophecy Must be Put to the Test (Greek
dokimazo_)

• 1Thessalonians 521
• But examine everything carefully hold fast to
  that which is good
• 1John 41
• Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
  the spirits to see whether they are from God
  because many false prophets have gone out into
  the world.

21
Prophecy Must be Judged

• Prophecy is judged by objective standards (i.e.
  is the claim a valid implication or application
  of Biblical truth)
• A Common Error Judging the subjective by the
  subjective.
• A Common Error Judging the objective by the
  subjective.
• No person or teaching is ever exempted from
  testing.

22
Embrace What is Proven Good Reject What is
Proven Evil

• 1Thessalonians 521, 22
• But examine everything carefully hold fast to
  that which is good abstain from every form of
  evil.

23
Application

• Do Everything Paul Taught in this Passage

24
(No Transcript)