ABUNDANT LIFE

1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

(1 Thessalonians 5:16–28, NLT) “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss. I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

1. GOD’S WILL FOR YOU.

a. “Always be joyful.”

b. “Never stop praying.”

c. “Be thankful in all circumstances.

2. GOD’S WORD TO YOU.

“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.”

(John the Baptist in Luke 3:16, NLT) “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

“Do not scoff at prophecies.”

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open up the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” – William Temple, Nature, Man, and God

“Test everything.”

a. The Scripture test.

b. The Jesus test.

c. The grace test.

d. The character test.

e. The edification test.

We test everything to hold to the good.

3. GOD’S WORK IN YOU.

a. “Stay away from every kind of evil.”

b. Daily pray this prayer.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, NLT) “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

GOD WILL MAKE THIS HAPPEN.