3RD AUGUST, 2021

PASTOR OLUBI JOHNSON

DESPISE NOT PROPHECIES

1Thessalonians 5:19-21 (KJV)
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

The scripture instructs us not to despise prophecies.

Why would we have a tendency to despise prophecies?

We could despise prophecies because of imperfections we know in either the prophetic vessel or message, or both.

For instance, Elisha curses little children that were making fun of him, calling him ‘bald head,’ and bears come out of the woods to kill the children (2Kgs. 2:23-24). Elijah also calls fire from heaven to kill soldiers sent to arrest him (2Kgs. 1:9-14).

Now, we know from the Lord Jesus in the New Testament that God did not really approve of these things (Lk. 9:54-56), yet he honoured the word of His servants.

David was also a great prophet who, sadly, also committed adultery and murder (2Sam. 12:9), but that does not do away with the accuracy of his prophetic utterances as recorded in the Psalms.

In the New Testament, certain brethren prophesied to Paul not to go to Jerusalem (Acts. 21:4). However, their message was not very accurate. Later God sends a developed prophet called Agabus, who prophesied the difficulties Paul would face in Jerusalem (Acts. 21:10-14).

God did not say Paul should not go to Jerusalem, as God had said Paul would suffer many things for His sake and bear His name before kings, as he was destined to do before Caesar in Rome (Act. 23:11; 9:15-16).

We need to understand that the gift of prophecy is a supernatural utterance from God through imperfect human vessels, so some times, part of the message may be corrupted, and the vessel may also have glaring imperfections.

This, however, does not do away completely with the authenticity of the prophecy.

So Paul tells us not to despise prophecies, but rather to prove or test the prophecy, and hold fast to only that part of it which is good: the part of it that is in agreement with God’s Word and character as revealed through the written Word (Isa. 8:20 ).

James 3:17 (KJV)
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

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