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It was good singing. 
I know some of you will be 

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thinking of another word there, 
the word beautiful. 

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Well, we can describe the Word 
of God as beautiful as well, 

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couldn't we? 
Amen. 

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We're going to turn this morning
in our Bible reading to 1st 

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Thessalonians chapter 5. 
Now we're coming near the end of

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our studies here, First 
Thessalonians chapter 5, and 

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we'll read again from verse 16 
to the end. 

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OK, just a couple more sermons 
and Thessalonians will be 

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finished. 
First Thessalonians chapter 5, 

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verse 16. 
Let's hear the Word of God 

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reading, of course, from the 
King James Bible, 1st 

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Thessalonians 5, verse 16. 
Rejoice evermore, pray without 

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ceasing in everything, give 
thanks, for this is the will of 

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God in Christ Jesus concerning 
you. 

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Quench not the Spirit, despise 
not prophesies, prove all 

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things, hold fast that which is 
good, abstain from all 

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appearance of evil, and the very
God of peace. 

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Sanctify you holy. 
And I pray God, your whole 

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spirit and soul and body 
preserved blameless unto the 

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coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithfulness He that calleth 

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you, who also will do it. 
Brethren, pray for us. 

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Greet all the brethren with an 
holy kiss. 

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I charge you by the Lord that 
this epistle be read unto all 

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the holy brethren. 
The grace of our Lord Jesus 

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Christ be with you. 
Amen. 

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And we know that God will bless 
to us this reading of His own 

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infallible and very precious 
word. 

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This morning. 
May we welcome you in the Lord's

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name. 
And we want to say how delighted

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we are to see all of you. 
And for those who are visiting 

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with us, maybe for the first 
time or maybe the second. 

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Amen. 
Now this morning we are 

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continuing with our series of 
expository sermons in the book 

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of First Thessalonians. 
And today my text is in First 

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Thessalonians chapter 5, and 
we're in verses 20 to 22. 

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It reads as follows. 
Despise not prophesying, Prove 

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all things. 
Hold fast that which is good. 

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Abstain from all appearance of 
evil. 

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Now have entitled The Message 
The Touchstone of Truth, and 

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it's teaching. 
In these 3 verses, you've got 4 

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but weighty exhortations from 
the Apostle Paul. 

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Remember, these words are 
written to a young church 

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navigating itself in a world of 
confusion, persecution, and 

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spiritual claims. 
These three verses, of course, 

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are not isolated sayings, but 
they're part of a closing series

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of rapid fire royal commands. 
Each one of these royal commands

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press upon the believer the 
necessity of living by the grace

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of God and a vigilant, sober 
stanfast discerning Christian 

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life. 
You see, when I read these 3 

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verses, one word screams out 
from these 3 verses, one word 

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seems to be written over them, 
and that word is discernment, 

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discernment, discernment. 
You see, that is something 

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that's missing today, even 
within the Protestant and 

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Reformed Church, and it's 
definitely something that's 

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lacking. 
Many of us, sadly myself 

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included, were gullible and 
we're naive. 

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So the apostle here is speaking 
to the whole church, not just to

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the scholars, not just to the 
ministers only, not just to the 

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elders, but to the church young 
and old, the Church of men and 

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women. 
Every born again believer is 

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responsible to think and to test
and then everything by careful 

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examination under the authority 
and sufficiency of the Holy 

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Scriptures. 
See, let me tell you, true Bible

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believe in Christianity is not 
anti intellectual. 

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True Bible believe in 
Christianity is not passive. 

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It is not gullible. 
It is not careless. 

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It is not naive. 
It's not a cynical rejection of 

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all things. 
No Bible believe in Christianity

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involves a careful and a 
cautious commitment to that 

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which we rightly call the 
touchstone of truth. 

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You see, this morning I want you
to understand this. 

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There is a standard by which all
claims, all ministries, all 

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teachings, all preaching, all 
doctrine, every sermon written 

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and spoken, all opinions of men,
all philosophies, all religions 

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must be proved by. 
And that standard is the 

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infallible and errant Word of 
God. 

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And these 3 verses especially 
are needed in every age, and 

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I'll tell you, they're needed in
our day more so than ever. 

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Today. 
Like in days past, error often 

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disguises itself as the truth 
and even believers, folks like 

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us, without the Spirit of God 
and without the grace of God, 

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maybe LED astray. 
If we fail to exercise 

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discernment, we need to examine 
what we hear and what we read. 

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And that's what these 3 verses 
are about. 

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So I have entitled it The 
Touchstone of Truth and it's 

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teaching. 
Now there's four things here 

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very quickly. 
One, the proper regard for 

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prophesying. 
Look at the text in verse 20. 

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Despise not prophesying. 
Now let's try and consider the 

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meaning here. 
What does that mean in the New 

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Testament context? 
We're going back to the 1st 

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century. 
Prophesying included revelatory 

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as well as declarative elements.
In other words, there was a 

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foretelling and a fourth 
telling. 

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And at the formation of the New 
Testament church at its 

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foundation, God did grant 
extraordinary gifts to the 

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church. 
The gift of tongues, the gift of

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healings, the gift of the words 
of knowledge, the gift of 

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revelations. 
Now we call these same gifts, 

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and these same gifts served as a
temporary and a foundational 

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purpose. 
In Ephesians 2 and 20, Paul 

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writes that the church is built 
upon the foundation of the 

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apostles and the prophets. 
Now, how many times is the 

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foundation laid? 
Well, it's laid only once. 

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It's not repeated over and over 
again. 

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We've just put in the footings 
for the church months and that 

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will only go in once. 
Think of a foundation of a house

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only goes in once. 
Now I believe when the Canon of 

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scripture was completed, the 
need for these same gifts for 

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giving us revelation ceased. 
The writer the Hebrew says in 

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Hebrews chapter 1 verses one and
two, he declares God hath in 

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these last days spoken unto us 
by his Son. 

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And I believe that the finality 
of Christ's revelation is now 

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inscripturated in the Word of 
God. 

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The Free Presbyterian Church 
believes and affirms in the 

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cessation of the same gifts, not
because God has grown weaker, 

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but because His revelation is 
complete. 

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The sufficiency, the supremacy, 
and the authority of the Holy 

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Scriptures leaves no room for an
ongoing revelatory prophecy. 

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Now I know that others disagree 
with me, and they are at liberty

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to do so. 
We believe in liberty of 

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conscience and freedom of 
speech. 

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And I think of some very dear 
brothers and sisters who are 

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part of the Pentecostal church. 
But hear me out. 

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I'm going to ask this question. 
You see, modern speaking in 

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tongues, What does it consist 
of? 

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It consists of babbling in a 
nonsense syllables, not a 

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language. 
But the New Testament gift of 

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tongues was a same gift, for the
speaker could speak clearly in a

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translatable foreign language 
that the speaker had not 

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learned. 
So let's say I met a man from 

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China and he could only speak 
Mandarin Chinese, and I didn't 

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know Mandarin Chinese, and the 
Spirit of God came upon me and 

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helped me to speak fluently in a
language I hadn't learned in 

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Mandarin Chinese to communicate 
the truth of the gospel to him. 

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That's what was happening in 
Acts chapter 2. 

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That was what was happening in 
the House of Cornelius. 

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We'll ask another question. 
You've heard reports of examples

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of miraculous healings, but not 
one report in the 20th or the 

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21st century compares to the 
healing ministry of the Lord 

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Jesus. 
The blind see, the lame walk, 

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the deaf hear. 
The lepers are cleansed, the 

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dead are raised. 
It's not there folks. 

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It's not happening. 
Even in Pentecostal churches 

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where they say they've got the 
same gift of healing, for 100 

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years there's been fraudulent 
and spirit spurious claims but 

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no reported of miraculous 
healings like in the ministry of

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the Lord Jesus. 
We'll go further. 

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Where's the prophetic revelation
from God today? 

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Nothing that is practised his 
practise with the sufficiency 

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and the accuracy and the 
authority of those who proclaim 

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the New Testament gift of 
prophecy. 

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And I will give illustration 
after illustration, but let me 

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just give one. 
You've heard the name John 

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Piper. 
John Piper had a woman come to 

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him when his wife was in the 
hospital. 

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His wife was pregnant with her 
fourth child. 

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And this woman knocked on the 
door and announced, Mr Piper, 

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I've got a word from God for 
you. 

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I've even written it down. 
Now think of it a word from God.

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God told me to tell you this. 
Here's what she told them. 

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Your wife's going to die in 
childbirth and a baby girl is 

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going to be born. 
Now that was spoken about by 

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John MacArthur in his book 
Strange Fire in Page 241 to 242.

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John Paper went in from that 
woman at the doorstep. 

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He closed the door nearly his 
study and he wept and he wept 

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sore because John Paper is one 
of those who believed in a word 

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from God prophetically, that 
that's how God speaks today. 

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But let me tell you this, it 
doesn't come to pass. 

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That's the test. 
What actually happened is this. 

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Some weeks later he shouted for 
joy because his wife was spared 

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in childbirth and she gave birth
not to your baby daughter, but 

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to a baby boy. 
So where was this so-called word

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from God? 
When someone says the Lord told 

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me to tell you this, or the Lord
gave me a vision, or I had a 

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dream in which the Lord showed 
me this, or I have a word of 

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knowledge for you, or the Lord 
wants me to tell you this, treat

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that with great caution because 
all that is spoken and all that 

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is shared must be tested. 
It must be evaluated by the Word

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of God because it can be 
erroneous. 

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The speaker can be mistaken. 
The Bible says in Isaiah 8 and 

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20 to the law and to the 
testimony. 

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If they speak not according to 
this word, it is because there's

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no light in them. 
Suppose I'm sitting in a 

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restaurant down there in 
Belfast, right? 

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And someone comes up to me and 
says, hey, reverend, you like a 

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bargain. 
Now we all love a bargain. 

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00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,120
You love a bargain, don't you? 
I've got a wee bar of gold here.

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And he takes it out of his 
pocket and he says, look, this 

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is worth between 4 and 5000 lbs.
It's a Troy ounce of gold. 

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00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:52,560
I don't know what weight that is
in your hand. 

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00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,640
Not very Bighamshire, but it's 
worth 4 or 5000 lbs. 

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00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:59,440
If you give me £100, I'll give 
you this here. 

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00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,400
Now there's another book in my 
study by John MacArthur called 

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Fool's Gold and I'm wise enough 
to know if someone offers me a 

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00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:11,080
bar of gold that's worth four 
and a half, £1000 and they're 

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00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:15,320
only looking £100 for it, Sammy,
then I know that there's 

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00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,920
something fishy here. 
You see, that's the picture. 

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00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,720
What should I do? 
I would say to the man, let's 

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take the bar of gold and we'll 
go into Lund's Jeweller shop 

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00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,360
here in Queens Arcade and we'll 
ask them can you test an 

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00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,400
authenticate that this is real 
gold or Fool's gold? 

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00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:36,640
Let me tell you another little 
story. 

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See, it's possible to be 
deceived. 

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00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,120
That's what I'm worried about, 
right? 

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00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:49,600
There's a man called Aben 
Johnston, and he was a very 

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00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,080
wealthy man. 
I would love to have met him, 

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00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,080
but he didn't come to this 
church. 

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But I'll tell you, he was 
investing in precious gemstones.

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00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,800
He spent $3,000,000 on a blue 
diamond called the Streeter 

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00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:08,640
Diamond that Sam Walden, the 
founder of Walmart, won in a 

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00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:13,440
poker game. 
He spent another on 2.7 million 

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00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,480
for a collection of diamonds 
called the Russian Blue 

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00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:23,840
Diamonds. 
He spent 17 million in a 

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00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:29,160
collection of diamonds called 
the Sylvia Walton Collection. 

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00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,000
She was supposed to be Sam 
Walton's daughter. 

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00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:39,520
Over a period of time, he 
invested $83 million. 

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00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:47,160
Wow, 83,000,000 He invested in 
precious gemstones and one year 

220
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:53,080
later, one year later, he found 
out he'd invested his money in 

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fake diamonds. 
They were all worthless. 

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00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:00,920
Sam Walton didn't have a 
daughter named Sylvia. 

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00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,680
In fact, he didn't have a 
daughter at all. 

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00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,359
And he sued his Florida based 
jeweller, a man by the name of 

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Jack Hanson. 
The FBI arrested Hanson for 

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00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,880
fraud. 
And in the year 2000, that's 

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what, 26 years ago, he was 
sentenced to 40 years in gaol. 

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He's still there. 
He was ordered to repay 

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00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:29,080
$78,000,000 to this man, Aben 
Johnston. 

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But I don't think the money was 
ever paid certainly to that 

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extent. 
Now, what was Aben Johnson's 

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00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,800
problem? 
He took the gemstones at face 

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value. 
He didn't exercise discernment. 

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00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,320
He should have had the 
desirements examined by an 

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00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:54,160
expert. 
He lost his fortune. 

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And you see, let me pick that 
up. 

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That's serious deception, isn't 
it? 

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That's what we call fraud. 
But there is such a thing as 

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spiritual fraud. 
You can be deceived about 

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eternal life. 
There are religious truths being

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propagated by spiritual con 
artists. 

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00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,120
And what's at stake is the 
eternal destiny of the souls of 

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00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,080
men. 
And of course, Satan is good at 

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counterfeiting, and Satan can 
make error look like truth. 

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That's the meaning here. 
The meaning is despise, not 

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prophesying because it's easily 
to be deceived very quickly 

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00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,320
here. 
So what is prophesying primarily

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in the broader sense, it refers 
to the faithful proclamation of 

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the word of God. 
We call it preaching. 

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00:18:55,440 --> 00:19:01,000
When you think of going to 
prophecy, you go in the sense is

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to declare something to expound 
something to to foretell to to 

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proclaim the Holy Scriptures. 
John Calvin said by prophesying 

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I understand the preaching and 
interpretation of Scripture 

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whereby the churches edified. 
Therefore, the command is clear,

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00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,560
do not despise the preaching of 
the Word of God. 

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00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,800
Do not treat it lightly. 
Do not grow cold toward it. 

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00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,440
Do not harbour bitterness in 
your heart toward it. 

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00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,840
Do not sit under it critically 
without a spirit of humility. 

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00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,120
Now you've heard me saying many 
times, I know we're visitors 

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00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,760
this morning, but I want to 
repeat this 27 years. 

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00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,120
I'm not here to bully anyone, 
but I want you to understand as 

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00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:51,240
a church you should thank God 
for a minister today because 

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00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:56,000
many churches don't have one and
would love to have a minister. 

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00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,840
Secondly, you should thank God 
for a gospel minister, one who 

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00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:06,760
preaches the gospel because 
there's some occupying pulpits 

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00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,680
who don't preach the gospel. 
And that's a fact in Northern 

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00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,560
Ireland, and that's one of the 
things that's wrong with the New

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00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,000
Testament church here in 
Northern Ireland. 

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00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,800
The third thing is you have a 
minister who not only preaches 

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00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,880
the gospel but seeks to be 
faithful to the blood in the 

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00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,120
book. 
These 27 years I've sought to 

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00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,520
preach the personal book of 
Christ, present the doctrine of 

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00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,440
Greece, uphold the covenant of 
redemption. 

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00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:43,760
I do not deny the sinlessness of
Christ. 

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00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,480
I don't advocate and support the
introduction of the Alpha 

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00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,960
course, I certainly don't 
promote homosexuality or 

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00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,920
transgenderism, and I don't 
approve of contemporary 

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00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,680
Christian music like practised 
in Hillsong or Bethel in the 

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00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,800
United States of America or any 
other church in the United 

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00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:13,350
Kingdom. 
God is their judge to their own 

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00:21:13,350 --> 00:21:16,080
master. 
They'll stand or fall to their 

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00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:17,720
own master. 
They'll give an account. 

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00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,960
But you also have a minister 
here, not only who occupies the 

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00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,320
pulpit, who is a gospel 
minister, who's faithful to the 

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00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:29,640
blood and the book, who who who 
stands by the doctrinal purity 

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00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,360
of the personal word of Christ, 
but you also have a minister 

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00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:34,240
here who's a love for your 
souls. 

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00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,160
And I can say that truthfully, I
love all in this congregation. 

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00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,520
My heart and soul is in this 
work. 

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00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,640
I'm here because God has called 
me here. 

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00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:50,800
Now why has God called me here? 
Well, the Lord alone knows we 

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00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,120
have to ask the question 
despise, not prophecy. 

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00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,040
And that's a danger in 
evangelical Reformed churches 

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00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,360
that there's the preaching of 
the word is despised. 

295
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,240
Now why is it despised? 
Because there's a careless 

296
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,200
rejection of that word in heart 
and mind. 

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00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,920
Because that word confronts sin.
Because that word doesn't suit 

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00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:16,880
someone, doesn't make them 
comfortable, It hurts them. 

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00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,680
But a sword is meant to hurt 
fleshly. 

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00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,960
Preference. 
Some prefer trinkets over truth.

301
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,440
Doctor Paisley used to say 
sermonettes produce 

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00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,200
Christianettes. 
See. 

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00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,760
Think of Jeremiah. 
Jeremiah 6 and 10. 

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00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,480
The word of the Lord is unto 
them a reproach. 

305
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,520
They have no delight in that. 
In other words, they didn't 

306
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,640
receive the word with delight, 
but but the godly man. 

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00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,600
But his delight is in the law of
the Lord and his Lord of the 

308
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:57,920
meditate day and night. 
In Second Chronicles 36 and 10 

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00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,880
we read they mocked the 
messengers of God until the 

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00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:08,720
wrath of God arose. 
You see, to despise prophecy is 

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00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:14,120
not merely to ignore the 
preacher simply because you do 

312
00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,760
not like him, therefore you 
don't listen to him. 

313
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:25,720
But to despise the preaching is 
to ignore the messenger of God 

314
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,960
to your soul. 
To despise preaching is to 

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00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,800
disregard the voice of God 
speaking in and through his 

316
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:39,200
word. 
And you see, once you begin to 

317
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:44,040
neglect and despise the 
preaching of the word, the 

318
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,240
reality is there's a problem 
with your heart. 

319
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:51,480
It's a lack of appetite. 
It's a lack of knowledge, 

320
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,080
Spurgeon said. 
Nobody ever outgrows the 

321
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,200
Scriptures. 
The second thing I want to say 

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00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,160
very, very quickly, if you look 
at the text, prove all things. 

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00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,600
Here's the persistent 
responsibility of proving. 

324
00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:10,320
Not only is that the proper 
regard for prophesying, but 

325
00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,400
there has to be the persistent 
responsibility of proving. 

326
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,080
Prove all things. 
Now here's the balance. 

327
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,240
We are not to despise 
prophesying, but neither are we 

328
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,680
to swallow everything 
uncritically. 

329
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:29,600
The word prove means to test, to
examine, to scrutinise, discern.

330
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,240
As I've said, Bible believing 
Christianity is not anti 

331
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:37,880
intellectual. 
We are commanded to examine and 

332
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,720
evaluate and test and think 
everything that we hear, 

333
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,960
everything that we read. 
The example of the Bereans, Acts

334
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,360
1711, they search the scriptures
daily whether these things were 

335
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,000
so. 
Did you know that Paul's 

336
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,560
preaching was tested? 
They heard Paul preaching. 

337
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,880
Could that be right? 
And they searched the Old 

338
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:04,440
Testament Scriptures not out of 
belief or out of unbelief, but 

339
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,600
out of a revelation for truth. 
You see, to be discerning 

340
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:13,480
requires an evaluation and an 
examination. 

341
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,840
And that evaluation and 
examination must be tested in 

342
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,520
the light of the Holy 
Scriptures. 

343
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:26,440
The Bible is our sole infallible
guide, the inerrant, sufficient 

344
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:33,320
supreme guide for determining 
truth and discerning error. 

345
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,720
We have to guard the Church from
false doctrine, from counterfeit

346
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,320
spiritual experiences, from 
emotionalism without truth, from

347
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:48,040
man's centre teaching. 
Remember, even Satan can 

348
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,200
misquote and misuse the 
Scriptures. 

349
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:53,160
Matthew 4. 
He quoted the scriptures to 

350
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,160
Christ but twisted its meaning. 
The Lord Jesus responded not by 

351
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,320
rejecting the scriptures, but by
rightly interpreting it. 

352
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:06,800
Prove all things requires one 
knowledge of the Word. 2A 

353
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:11,720
Dependence of the Holy Spirit, 3
Humility of heart, 4A Love for 

354
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:18,520
the truth, 5A Fear of God and 6A
love for Christ. 

355
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:26,040
You see, if even the Apostolic 
teaching of Paul was examined by

356
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,040
the Holy Scriptures, how much 
more must modern preaching be 

357
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,960
tested? 
Can Christians be deceived? 

358
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:36,000
Yes. 
Think of fool's gold. 

359
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,520
Think of strange fire by the 
late John MacArthur. 

360
00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:44,800
Genuine people can be misled. 
Even the South. 

361
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:52,760
Even Abian Johnson, the man who 
bought the gemstones that turned

362
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,480
out to be fake, spent $83 
million and lost his fortune. 

363
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,880
You think of the woman 
prophesying to John Piper? 

364
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,160
Was that woman wrong? 
Absolutely. 

365
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:04,800
Was that woman totally 
insensitive? 

366
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:10,320
Absolutely. 
See every purported prophecy. 

367
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,520
Listen to me carefully. 
Every dream, every vision, every

368
00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:19,640
pronouncement or word of 
knowledge, if it contradicts the

369
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,760
Scriptures, it's wrong. 
The Bible says thy shall not 

370
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:26,320
steal. 
So if you go out and steal, 

371
00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:28,720
you're breaking the law of God. 
The Bible says thy shall not 

372
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:33,080
kill, You go out and kill. 
Cold blooded, premeditated 

373
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,960
murder. 
That is breaking the law. 

374
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:36,920
The Bible says thy shall not 
commit adultery. 

375
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,560
You go out and commit adultery, 
you're breaking the law of God. 

376
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,920
The Bible says remember the 
Sabbath day to keep it holy. 

377
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,480
And those who profane the 
Sabbath, they're breaking the 

378
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,680
law of God. 
See, Jesus said, take heed that 

379
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:54,240
no man deceive you. 
Paul said in Ephesians 4 and 14,

380
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,080
he warned of being tossed to and
fro and carried about by every 

381
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,640
wind of doctrine. 
It's not what the false cults 

382
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,680
are doing. 
The Mormons, the Juve witnesses 

383
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,840
think of the false religions 
that are blossoming in Northern 

384
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:13,560
Ireland, Buddhism, Islam. 
You see, the possibility of 

385
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:18,880
deception is real not because 
the truth is weak, because we 

386
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,040
are often careless and I believe
there needs to be awakening 

387
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:30,640
within grassroots Protestant 
loyalist communities and a call 

388
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,240
for them to repent and return to
the House of God in the day of 

389
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:41,160
God to receive the word of God 
has found in the book of God. 

390
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,880
We should be praying to that in 
and that's what our state of the

391
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:46,880
nation prayer meetings are all 
about. 

392
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,360
You think of a bank teller. 
He learns how to detect 

393
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,040
counterfeit money, not by 
studying fakes, but by knowing 

394
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,560
the genuine article intimately. 
And as a Christian, you should 

395
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:02,080
know Christ richer, better and 
fuller than ever you have from 

396
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,640
the day of your conversion. 
You should seek to know your 

397
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,320
Bible. 
You should measure all and every

398
00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,560
teaching that you hear against 
the word of God. 

399
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,040
I say to you, reject all that 
contradicts the Bible. 

400
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,520
Embrace the great truths of the 
Bible. 

401
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:24,040
Embrace this fact that the Bible
doesn't contradict itself. 

402
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,560
People think it does. 
Oh yes, there's difficulties to 

403
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:36,560
be reconciled, but recognise 
that sincerity doesn't equal the

404
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,080
truth. 
We live in a day of online 

405
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:44,320
sermons, a day of podcasts, a 
day when people put on Facebook 

406
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:45,840
posts and say anything they 
want. 

407
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:51,040
A day of endless opinions, a day
of urgence. 

408
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:56,920
I've got a command from God for 
you or to prove all things. 

409
00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,200
Remember what we read in the 
Scriptures, beloved, Believe not

410
00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:02,640
every spirit, but try the 
spirits, whether they are of 

411
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,400
God, because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. 

412
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:08,520
Hereby know ye the Spirit of 
God. 

413
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,920
Every spirit that confesseth 
that Jesus Christ has come in 

414
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,960
the flesh is of God. 
And that's a confession of the 

415
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:17,480
great doctrine of the 
incarnation. 

416
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,440
That's a confession of the 
virgin birth of Christ. 

417
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,240
And if Jesus Christ is God 
manifest in the flesh, then 

418
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:29,320
you've got to ask not only who 
came, but why did he come? 

419
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,280
And the chief answer, of course,
he came to offer himself a once 

420
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,520
and for all sacrifice for sins. 
But this man, after he'd offered

421
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,920
one sacrifice for sins forever, 
sat down in the right hand of 

422
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,920
God very quickly. 
Just give me a few minutes. 

423
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:47,040
The personal reception of 
perseverance. 

424
00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,880
Notice this text. 
It says hold fast that which is 

425
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,640
good. 
You see true discernment. 

426
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,440
It's in this text. 
It's not an end in itself. 

427
00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,880
Once truth is recognised, it 
must be received, it must be 

428
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:05,000
regarded. 
It has to be embraced and held 

429
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,160
firm and held fast. 
Whole. 

430
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,240
Fast implies effort, vigilance, 
perseverance. 

431
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:17,920
Truth is not to be admired from 
a distance, but truth is to be 

432
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,720
accepted with delight and 
conviction in the heart. 

433
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:26,320
Timothy was told this and Second
Timothy 113 hold fast the form 

434
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,400
of sound words. 
Why? 

435
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:34,200
As we finish, truth has been 
constantly challenged in every 

436
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:40,240
generation of the church. 
Secondly, our hearts are prone 

437
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:47,840
to wander, many hearts of a love
for what is new and novel. 3 The

438
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:54,720
world pressurises us to 
compromise and change, depart 

439
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,600
from the truth. 
Fourthly, you've got the 

440
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,160
subtlety of the devil. 
It comes as an Angel of light 

441
00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:06,760
and to hold fast then against 
this background of truth being 

442
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:11,240
constantly challenged and our 
hearts prone to wander and the 

443
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,960
world pressurising us to change 
and compromise, and the subtly 

444
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,000
of the devil is an engine light.
We're whole, we're told. 

445
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,240
Hold fast the form of sound 
words. 

446
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,320
And what does it mean? 
It means that we lay hold of the

447
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,040
truth. 
We'll receive it to our hearts. 

448
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,520
We will love the truth. 
We will live it out. 

449
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,960
We'll be loyal to the truth. 
We'll refuse to dilute it. 

450
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:39,240
We'll stand to defend it. 
Solomon said buy the truth. 

451
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,840
That's what he told his children
and sell it not. 

452
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,640
Do you know why? 
Because it's not yours to sell. 

453
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,200
Because the Bible says sanctify 
them through thy truth. 

454
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,720
Thy word is truth. 
And one final thing as we finish

455
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,840
the practical requirement of 
purity. 

456
00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:01,840
Notice verse 22. 
Abstain from all appearance of 

457
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:03,480
evil. 
Here's the final command. 

458
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,240
Paul presses these truths into 
life. 

459
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,640
Now it's not enough to discern 
truth. 

460
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:14,640
You've got to be disciplined. 
You've got to decide that you're

461
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:20,040
going to live right. 
Think of the the subject of this

462
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,760
that will freeze. 
Abstain from all appearance of 

463
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,320
evil. 
That means the word abstain 

464
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:31,400
means keep away from distance 
yourself from deliberately. 

465
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:37,280
Think of the scope here. 
Oh, avoid all that's clearly 

466
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:41,760
sinful. 
Avoid all that resembles evil. 

467
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:48,240
You see, we're not to to walk 
and the Cliff face thinking how 

468
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:54,520
close we can get to the edge. 
We're to keep a distance from 

469
00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,680
the Cliff face. 
Our hearts are weak. 

470
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:02,200
Sin is deceitful. 
The devil is busy. 

471
00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:07,480
Our witness matters. 
We're called abhor that which is

472
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,360
evil. 
This has nothing to do with 

473
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,800
legalism. 
This is about living a holy life

474
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,000
unto God. 
This is having the fear of God 

475
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,040
in our heart. 
This is having a a love for 

476
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:19,719
Christ. 
Think of a father and child 

477
00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,000
relationship. 
What does the child want to do? 

478
00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:26,080
To live to please their Father 
and our heavenly fathers in 

479
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,520
heaven. 
And we should live to please 

480
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:31,080
Him. 
And we should avoid that which 

481
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:38,760
feeds sin. 
We should avoid that which dulls

482
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:44,960
us spiritually. 
We should avoid that which takes

483
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:50,440
us away from the Lord. 
Abstain from all appearance of 

484
00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,280
evil. 
Here's the proper regard for 

485
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,600
prophesying. 
Despise it not. 

486
00:34:56,159 --> 00:35:00,280
Here, of course, is the 
persistent responsibility of 

487
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,480
proving. 
Approve all things. 

488
00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:07,000
Here, of course, is a personal 
perception of perseverance. 

489
00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:12,240
Hold fast that which is good. 
And here's the practical 

490
00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:17,000
requirement of purity. 
Abstain from all appearance of 

491
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,040
evil. 
May the Lord take these few 

492
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,680
thoughts this morning and bless 
them to your heart as I have 

493
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,400
tried to open up this passage of
Scripture once again.