Exhortations
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16–22
“Rejoice evermore,” 1 Thessalonians. 5:16.
Exhortations
What does it mean to rejoice evermore? You rejoice when you remember the great things, the good times and the blessings that God has poured into your life in the past that you can now re-celebrate with joy. Yes, the Lord is saying to you today, “Rejoice evermore.” Verse 17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Beloved, we need to upgrade our prayer life. Prayer needs to be in everything we do. As we wake up in the morning, we have God in our mind and we are communicating with Him.
Prayer is expressing and communicating your soul’s sincere desires to the Lord in every form and in every way you can. In your shower, talk to God; in your ride to work talk to God; when you are at home talk to God. Rejoice evermore and pray without ceasing is God’s counsel to you.
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18. This means, in whatever situation you are now in, give thanks for it. Give thanks for your life, for all that has happened to you, for all that is happening to you, and for all that will happen to you in Christ Jesus. And then He says, “Quench not the Spirit,” verse
Prayerlessness quenches the Spirit. A life without praise results in a quenched Spirit. Depression, forgetting the good things that God has done in your life, and dwelling on the evil things that you think are happening to you quench the Spirit. The exhortation today is that you do all you can to revive your spirit. Read the Word of God, pray, praise, remember His promises, and shout hallelujah.
Verse 20 says, “Despise not prophesyings.” The greatest prophecy is the book that is in your hand. The Word of God is a prophecy given to you from God, the Father Almighty, directed to you. When the Word of God comes to you, do not despise it. Do not think, “Oh well, I’ve heard that before.” I want to encourage you to take the Word of God as the enduring prophetic Word to you. We should say to ourselves, “I am going to read the Word of God as a letter from God to me.” I want to encourage you to commit to read the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. Encourage yourself; upgrade its value in your life in Jesus’ name.
Verse 21 says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Do not just believe statements you hear; prove them, and hold fast to that which is good. The Word of God, the Bible, has been proven to be true. That is why it is held fast by those who are wise. It is the number one bestseller of all time. The Word in it is true. Ignore what some people are saying against the Word. The Word works, brethren. Hold fast to that which is good and “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” verse 22. In the days to come, pray for the grace to abstain from everything that is not only evil, but has the appearance of evil. Let your communication be good. Let your fellowship, your companions, your friends, and everything you do be void and free from the appearance of evil. Let all things you do give glory to God.
Prayer Points:
I want you to pray with me and say, “O Lord my God, in your mercy flood me to the brim with your power and give me the grace to hearken diligently to these exhortations in the name of Jesus.” Lord we pray for the grace to obey your Word, to rejoice evermore, to pray without ceasing. We pray for the grace to give thanks in all things for this is the will in Christ Jesus concerning us. We pray for the grace not to quench the
Spirit, for the grace not to despise prophesying, for the grace to prove all things and to hold fast to that which is good. We pray for the grace to abstain from all appearance of evil.
Father God, grant us the grace to do all these things and love you more in the name of Jesus. Amen.
