For Mature Audiences

Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, "Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." Do you see it?

I have spent the majority of my life in churches where the gift of prophecy was nonexistent. At least in practice. Typically, when someone talked about prophecy it had nothing to do with a word from the Lord for today but always revolved around future events. I realize that this is a controversial topic among some believers. They actually think that the prophetic gift ceased when the Bible was canonized. However, there is no valid reason to believe that any of the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. Therefore, it is important that we know how to handle these gifts when they manifest among us.

I really don't want to spend our time together discussing the validity of the gifts as much as I want us to look at the way in which this New Testament letter instructed the church to handle the prophetic.

#1 - Don't Despise the Prophetic
I have witnessed this first hand. I have heard the scorn of church members directed toward those who operate in the prophetic. They either do not appreciate the gift, believe in it, or they hold the gift of the prophetic under the same scrutiny as the "office" (if you will) of a prophet. The prophetic gift is different. Regardless, we are instructed to not despise prophecies.

#2 - Test Everything
Here is where we often fall short. Where the church as a whole needs to demonstrate some maturity. How we handle the prophetic says a lot about our depth. The writer of this epistle envisions overseers of the church (those men and women who were mature in the faith) taking a prophetic word and holding it under the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. Praying about it. Seeking greater understanding. Have you ever asked yourself who are those within your church that would be able to actually test what is taking place?

#3 - Hold On to What is Good
You have to read the instruction in its entirety. Part of our problem in seeing the continuity in thought is the way that many of our Bibles break up this portion of Scripture. "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." It's found in the encouragement to not quench the Spirit that we find the admonition to not despise prophecies. Then most of our Bibles have a verse break that comes in before we read to test everything and to hold fast what is good. An unfortunate break. Hear this as plainly as I can paraphrase it:
Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies but test them all; holding on to what is good in them.
***Which, by the way, is EXACTLY how many of the most conservative Bible commentaries explain these verses***

Can you see it now? When you place the prophetic under scrutiny you must hold on to what is good in what has been uttered. In other words, you have to allow for human error. We have to realize that even people operating under the power of the Holy Spirit can get it wrong from time to time. I don't think we get it wrong in what we see as much in how we interpret what we see and/or hear. This requires a maturity that many churches have quite honestly not allowed us to grow into. They ignore, shut down, and/or demonize those who operate prophetically. We've labeled these people as a part of the granola crowd (you know...the fruits, the flakes, and the nuts). And in so doing, we have quenched the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

I realize that this may seem like foreign soil to most people. We either assume that when someone has a "word from the Lord" for us that we are supposed to swallow it hook, line, and sinker. Or we shut them down all together. Maybe not verbally but mentally. The proper way for us to handle any and all prophetic words is to test them. Test them against Scripture. Test them against the witness of the Spirit in our own life. Test them against the promises of God to us personally. Glean the good things and discard the rest.

Remember that the prophetic in the New Testament is meant to strengthen, encourage, and comfort the hearer. You can find this in 1 Corinthians 14:3. A valid gift that should be in operation within the church to edify the body. Just another the way that the Lord want to move in our lives to conform us into the image of His Son.

Before we shut down anything we should ask ourselves this question: Am I quenching the work of the Spirit in my life?
The mature among us know how to glean what is good and let the rest fall. Learning to discern the Lord in all things. Trusting that the guidance of the Holy Spirit is MUCH stronger than any deception that would try to creep in. Remember that Jesus said that we would know His voice. And there are those among us who hear is voice in many different ways, seeking to give expression to what they have seen, heard, and/or felt. May we allow the Holy Spirit to move freely among us.

Enjoy the journey!