- From the Editor -
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (I Thessalonians 5:21)
Our text says, “Prove all things;...” Once you prove all things, “...hold fast that which is good.” So first, “Prove all things;...” Prove has at least three definitions. To prove is to put something to the test of faith. The test of faith in the Christian life is the test of obedience. I’ll make that clear in a few moments, but it means to put it to the test of faith. If you remember Malachi 3:10, God said, “...prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” That promise relates to God getting the tithe, the first 10% of my income. He said, “Prove me.” Just put it to the test of obedience and you’ll find out what God says is absolutely true. You cannot outgive God. I’ll pour you out a blessing there will not be room enough to receive. Before I’ll ever know or experience that, I have to prove it, put it to the test of faith, not the test of skepticism. I’m to take God’s promises and put them to the test of faith. To prove means to illustrate the correctness of something. In other words, to set forth the facts to convince somebody of the truth of a certain thing, to illustrate the correctness of that thing. Then to prove means to put forth indisputable evidence to where there are no questions left unanswered. All doubt is removed. So I’m supposed to illustrate the correctness of the Word of God. I’m supposed to put the Word of God to the test of faith. I’m supposed to put forth indisputable evidence for a lost and dying world that everything God says is absolutely true. We have something to prove and He commanded us in this verse, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” If something does not bear up under the test of the Word of God, then I’m not to hold on to that. I should let go of that. What measures up to the Scriptures, what is right doctrinally, I’m to hold fast to that, but I’m supposed to examine it. The acid test to everything in the Christian life is the Word of God. I’m going to find out whether something is right or wrong, not by how many people are doing it, or what famous preacher propagates it, but I check it with the Word of God. If it doesn’t measure up to the Bible, I’m not going to hold fast to that. It’s not right because some guy says it’s right or because a lot of people are doing it. It’s right because God says it’s right. You and I need to get a grip on the reality that Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I change not;...” God doesn’t change. Psalm 119:89 says, “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” It’s not going to change. It’s settled. The Bible is not a fluid document that changes with the times. By the way, somebody needs to tell the crowd in Washington, neither is the Constitution. Those are concrete principles that were set in place to protect the people from an oppressive government. They just came out from under King George in England, didn’t like what they were experiencing and established a document to protect them from the same kind of tyranny. When they ignore that document, there will be no liberty. When the people of God ignore the authority of the Word of God, there won’t be any spiritual liberty either. They will self-destruct and fade into oblivion as time passes. We are in great jeopardy because people today have all these new ideas. I don’t need something new. I have the truth and the truth is as old as God. I don’t need some new idea, some new principle. I’m not against some promotion or idea that I can use apart from the Bible. I’m talking about new ideas that conflict with the Bible, or they think improve upon what the Bible says. There are no such things. We have something to prove according to I Thessalonians 5:21. We see the Biblical usage of the word, and I will give you a few examples of each usage, then we’ll come back and talk about some things that God commanded us to prove. When it comes to putting something to the test, I already mentioned Malachi 3:10 where He said, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” God said, Prove Me. Put Me to the test. It’s not the test of skepticism. It’s the test of faith. He said, “Obey My command and see if it doesn’t work out like I said it would. Just try to outgive me. It is impossible to do so.” God will be debtor to no man. In Luke 14:19, in response to an invitation to the great salvation supper, the word is used in a lame excuse the guy made, but nevertheless you get the usage of the word. He was invited to the great salvation supper. He said, “I bought five oxen and I go to prove them. Have me excused.” You mean you are going to buy them and not know if they will plow, not know if they can stand up straight? You might ought to find that out before you sink the money. This guy is making a lame excuse, but in spite of that we find the Biblical usage of the word. He said, “I bought five oxen. I’m going to see if they will plow. I’ve got to prove them, try them out, and see if they will do what I bought them for, so have me excused.” At the feeding of the 5000 in John 6:5 Jesus asked, “...Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” He didn’t ask that because He didn’t know. Verse six says, “And this he said to prove him:...” He wanted to see what the response would be, what his expectations were, how much faith he had. Where are we going to find bread to feed the multitude? How are we going to do this? It says in verse six, “...for he himself knew what he would do.” He asked the question to get a response to find out whether this guy really believes I’m able to do anything, whether he really has any faith, whether he is anticipating anything or not. In I Timothy 3:10 concerning deacons it says, “And let these also first be proved;...” Don’t take a novice and put him in there just because he is a nice guy. There are some requirements and things that ought to be proved before he is in that position. You understand that deacon is not even a position of authority. It’s a position of servitude. In Acts 6, when they sat guys apart to do those things that deacons do, it was to wait on three tables, the Lord’s table, the table of the preacher, and the table of the poor, those folks that weren’t being ministered to in the daily ministration, so that the men of God could give themselves to prayer and the to the ministry of the Word. But in spite of the fact that it is not a position of authority, God still demands that there are some things that ought to be in order before they fill that role, before they have that honour. God said it is an honour to hold that title. Even though it’s not a position of authority, it’s an honourable position. It is a position that people get in and sometimes it is a disaster for them and everybody else, but He said, “And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.” Put them to the test. Check some things out. Give them some time. Let them grow in the grace of God. Make sure they are holding the line on things, that they will represent the Lord well in their service, then let them fill that role. He is talking once again about putting them to the test. Give them some time. Let them take the test and see if they pass. Then concerning provocation in the wilderness, God talks about the children of Israel proving Him. In other words, He told them what would happen. Judgment was going to fall, but they didn’t believe Him. He said, “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.” (Hebrews 3:8-9) He said that they experienced 40 years of judgment, 40 years of hardship as a result of putting Me to the test. I told them how it was going to turn out. They wouldn’t take my word for it. They pressed on in sin and proved Me. In other words, they put Me to the test and found out what I said was so. Let me explain something to you about God. What God says, God does. He does not make idle threats. Anything God says, you can take it to the bank. It is certain. When God says a certain thing brings judgment, you’d better believe Him. Don’t put Him to the test. Don’t assume you are the exception to the rule. Make sure you take God at His Word. So the Bible tells us first of all that we are to prove some things, or put them to a Biblical test. Put them to the test of the Word of God. Put them to the test of faith, which in essence is the test of obedience. Then there is something else that the word prove is used for, and that is to demonstrate correctness. Ecclesiastes 7:23 says, “All this have I proved by wisdom:...” This is Solomon, the wise man. He said I proved all this by wisdom. I’m not just telling you what I think. I proved this by wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to see things through the eyes of God. In other words, the wise man is a man who sees it like God sees it. A lot of people think they are smart if they have a lot of education, but they are not wise. You don’t get wisdom out of a book. The Bible says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5) The Bible says, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 3:15) So the Word of God is a source of wisdom and prayer is a source of wisdom. Walking with wise men will make one wise according to Proverbs 13:20. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” So wisdom is important. If I don’t see it clearly, if I don’t see it like God sees it, I have a distorted view. I would strongly suggest if you are driving down the highway with a distorted view, maybe your wipers aren’t working in a heavy rain, you ought to get off the road before you crash and hurt somebody you don’t want to hurt, somebody you’d never intentionally hurt. The Bible tells us then there are some things that we are to prove in the sense of putting them to the test. There are some things that we are to prove in demonstrating the correctness of them, but I only do that if I am operating on God’s standard by the wisdom of God. I take the truths and put them in order and prove that they are correct. They do work. I have to check everything by God’s measuring stick. If I’m going to demonstrate the correctness of it, the source is the Word of God. In Isaiah 55:8-9 He said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” I need to get on the same page with God. The only way to do that is to get into the Book that is the mind of God. This Book is the mind of Christ. It is the mind of God. God put in print what He wanted us to know. I assure you He has not changed His mind. So what He put in print is still valid. Whatever was wrong is wrong. Whatever was right is right. Whatever was sin is sin. God has not changed at all. In Ephesians 5:8-10 the Bible says, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” The Holy Spirit never will lead me contrary to the Book that He breathed. I’ve had people say, “The spirit led me.” Well, which spirit? The Holy Spirit is never going to violate the Word of God. The Spirit of God breathed it and He is not going to go against what He said. Don’t decide what is right or wrong by some “spiritual experience.” We do have a Bible. There are people who have spiritual vertigo. What does that mean? They are flying upside down a thousand feet low about to hit a mountain, but they think everything is all right. They feel pretty good about it. You’d better check the instrument panel. You’d better test it with the Word of God because how you feel is not always how it is. How the Bible says it is, is how it always is. He tells us that we are to prove things with the Word of God and to set forth the correctness. Then we are to set forth indisputable evidence. There is a world out there that is lost in their sin. They have been lied to repeatedly by the world and mocked Christianity in their presence. In Acts 9:22 the Bible says, “But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.” In other words he took the Old Testament Scriptures like Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, he took those Scriptures and proved indisputably beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Christ that was prophesied in the Old Testament. He fulfilled every detail of the prophetic picture that was painted of Him. I mean 300 prophecies during His lifetime, 33 prophecies on the day of His crucifixion fulfilled to the finest most minute detail, not one detail left out. That couldn’t happen by accident. If we had used all these walls and put one to whatever power we could put on these walls with zeros, it would be an astronomical figure and still wouldn’t be enough for all that stuff to accidentally come to pass in one day. It couldn’t happen, not by chance. It had to be the hand of God. It was the fulfillment of prophecy. It was what God promised. Paul set forth the indisputable evidence that the accusers couldn’t argue with it. He proved that what they were going against was a fact. On the other hand Paul’s accusers came against him and accused him of many things, but in their case they didn’t present indisputable evidence of his guilt. In Acts 24:13, Paul is standing before Felix. His accusers had come and leveled their accusation and Paul just gave his defense and said, “Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.” He said, “Where is the evidence? They are accusing me, but they have presented absolutely no evidence. The evidence is contrary to everything they accuse me of.” In Acts 25:7 when he is before Festus the Bible says, “And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.” Do you know why they couldn’t prove it? There was no evidence. It was a mere accusation. Do you know what amazes me? This is off point as far as the theological end. It amazes me what people are willing to believe because some dingbat put it on the internet. Somebody that won’t identify themselves, won’t even tell you who they are, will attack a person and malign and slander them, and people will believe what they said, not even knowing for sure who said it and they’ll be against somebody based on an accusation. You are really brilliant, if you buy into that kind of stuff. It amazes me what people are willing to believe. Of course, they want to believe the worst about everybody, but the reason is you judge everybody by the level of your own character, so if you want to judge everybody and think the worst, probably the worst is true of you. Because you think everybody is what you are and they would do what you would do. That’s not a good thing when you think the worst with no evidence. When nobody gets the benefit of the doubt and you automatically believe everything negative said, that is a bad sign concerning your personal character. The Bible says we are to prove all things. I’m to put it to the test, the acid test of the Word of God to see if it is true. Then I’m to put the truth to the test of obedience and watch God fulfill it. Then I am to put forth indisputable evidence for a lost and dying world to prove the substance and reality of real Christianity. First Samuel 17:39 says, “And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.” He was going into the valley to face a 9’ 9” tall giant. That guy’s spear head weighed 25 pounds. That would knock a pretty good hole in you! David is about to go into the valley of Elah and he lays aside Saul’s armour and sword that were far advanced to his shepherd’s sling and those five smooth stones, but he said, “I haven’t proved this. I’m not going into battle with something that I haven’t put to the test, that I don’t know I can get the job done with.” He said, “I did kill a lion and a bear with a sling and stone. So I’m going to go to battle, not with the best weaponry available, but with what I have proven and what I know I can use and succeed with. In II Corinthians 13:5 the Bible says, “...prove your own selves...” Remember who he is talking to here, some carnal Corinthian people with a lot of problems. They were fleshly, carnal people, not doing the will of God. He said to them, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;...” He said, “I don’t know if you are saved or not, but you sure don’t act like it. I can’t see in your heart, but you don’t act like you are saved. Maybe you ought to examine yourselves. It’s not up to me. It’s up to you to examine yourself.” Just because you went through the hollow motions and repeated a prayer doesn’t automatically mean you are saved. You have to trust Christ and experience the miracle of the new birth. I watch some people’s attitude toward the Word of God and you use all the right language, but there is no evidence beyond that. Maybe you ought to examine yourself. If you think the Bible is a joke, maybe you are missing something. Maybe nothing real has ever happened even though you know the words. That’s what Paul was telling these people at Corinth. He said, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves...” Put yourselves to a Biblical test. Prove the substance of your salvation. Set forth a testimony that shows it to somebody else. Put the evidence on display. He said you’d better check it with the Word of God first. Then you’d better examine yourselves. Notice he said to examine yourselves, not to examine everybody else. We are much more prone to examine everybody else. Paul was certainly in doubt of these people. He used that language in a different passage. “I am in doubt of you.” Because these people were not setting forth the evidence, not conducting themselves as a Christian is supposed to. Paul said, “I can’t see in your heart, but I’m in doubt of you.” He said, “It’s not my job to examine you, but if I’m going by the evidence, it doesn’t look good. Maybe you ought to examine yourselves and check it out. Prove yourselves. Put yourself to the Biblical test and make sure that what the Bible says salvation is, is something you have.” Remember in II Corinthians 5:17-18 He promised, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,...” If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. When I got saved, I was a bouncer in a barroom, but when I received Jesus Christ as my Saviour, what is promised in II Corinthians 5:17 took place. I didn’t reform. I got transformed. I didn’t suppress the flesh. I got a new nature. I became a new creature in Christ. I experienced the miracle of the new birth. This was not religious activity and suppression of my sinful desire. God took that desire away and gave me a new one. The things that I used to run from, I ran to. Before I didn’t want to talk to preachers. I didn’t want to go to church. Why didn’t I want to talk to preachers, and why didn’t I want to go to church? Because I was lost and I didn’t want to hear it. But when I got saved, all that changed. I was the first guy up in the morning, reading my own Bible, headed to church, excited about it, couldn’t wait to hear what was going to be taught and preached that day because it was food for my soul and I had a hungry soul. I just got born into the family. It was a thrill to me. Everything was brand new and exciting. So when Paul talked to these people, he said, “Prove yourselves.” He said, “I don’t see that spiritual appetite. I don’t see any transformation. I don’t see the results of II Corinthians 5:17.” Second Peter 1:3-5 says that you have become partaker of the divine nature. He said, “No evidence of the divine nature. It looks to me like the old nature is still ruling.” Titus 1:16 talks about some people. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” That’s pretty strong language. He said that they know the language. They profess that they know God, but everything about them says they don’t, every thought they have and every direction they go. So I’m to put God to the test of faith. When I called upon the Lord Jesus to come into my heart and forgive my sin, He did what He promised and I experienced a transformation. I can go back to that and prove it by the Word of God. There is more evidence than just the Bible saying it. The transformation actually took place. When it comes to salvation, I’m to put it to the test of faith. I did that and got born again. Then I am to demonstrate the correctness of it. Romans 16:26 talks about the obedience of faith. I am to set forth the indisputable evidence for a lost and dying world to see. In I Thessalonians 1:7-8, Paul is talking to some people about their testimony. “So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.” Do you know what he said? “You have a testimony that speaks volumes. Your transformation of life is something that has great substance. It is no secret.” When I got saved, I had a buddy that was a drug addict. About two months after I got saved, I saw him sitting at a picnic table at a wide spot, waiting for a bunch of heads to come and party. It was a rendezvous point. So I pulled off, got out of the vehicle, and sat down. I started talking to him about what the Lord had done for me. Big old tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at me and said, “I’ve been watching you. I know what you have is real.” If you are a professing Christian, somebody is watching you. I didn’t know he was watching me. I wonder if those people that are watching you, do they know what you have is real? Are you demonstrating the correctness of it? Are you putting on display what the Bible says a Christian is supposed to be? You will either be a stumbling block or a stepping stone. People will stumble over a backslidden Christian and land in Hell. They’ll come to Christ through the testimony of a saved person that demonstrates the correctness and the substance and reality of what they have. There are a lot of people that claim to have something, but there isn’t any more evidence than just them saying it. A poor testimony is going to mess somebody up. When the rich man arrived in Hell, do you remember who he asked for? “Send Lazarus.” Why didn’t he ask for one of his rich banker friends? He asked for the only soulwinner he ever knew, the only guy that cared for his soul. Do people see a reality to your Christian life? Would you be the person they asked for? So the Bible tells us then that we are to prove all things. We are first to prove ourselves. Then He said, “I want you to prove the sincerity of your love.” In II Corinthians 8:8 He says, “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” It is one thing to say you love the Lord. He said I want you to prove the sincerity. Don’t just say it. Prove it. It’s easy to say, “I love God.” When He talks about sincerity, sincere, that is two words joined together. It means ‘without wax.’ It came from the Hebrew culture. If they went to the market place and found a clay vessel that had been through the kiln and was already painted, they wanted to know if it was without wax or ‘sine-cere’. Because oftentimes, they put it in the kiln and it would crack. Then they would melt wax into the crack and paint over it, but the first time the vessel was heated, the wax would melt and the liquid inside would run out. The first thing they wanted to know if they were buying a painted vessel was this: “Is it without wax, or is it marred and you just covered it up with wax?” Sincere means not covering up the faults or being dishonest. Oftentimes what we call love is little more than wax covering over selfishness and pride. In the market place, that clay vessel had to be examined. God wants us to understand that He is taking a look at us and He knows if we are sincere or not. He knows if we are just talking love, or if we actually love Him. In II Corinthians 6:6, He lists some of the means by which we approve ourselves and approve our love. “By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,” He said I’m supposed to have love unfeigned. That’s one of the evidences of my sincerity, no pretense, no faking it, no going through empty motions, but actually sincerely love God. Just about everybody in a church setting, if I asked you, “Do you love God?” Most would say, “Oh, yes.” What that means to them versus what it means to God maybe two different things. The Bible says we are to love Him, but not just in word. First John 3:18 says, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” A lot of people love in word, but don’t love in deed, in what you do. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” First John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” They are not burdensome. In other words, not only do I do the will of God, I do it with a glad heart. I’m enjoying this, if I really love Him, because my obedience is an act or expression of love. God in my sin provided a way of deliverance for me when I was unworthy. Now that I’m saved, I can express my love to God by my obedience. If I have the opportunity to do that, I do it with delight. The greatest expression of love that the world has ever seen is Calvary. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) I’m to put to test the sincerity of my love with the Word of God. Does it match up with what God said love is? I am to demonstrate before a lost and dying world that I love God, not just in word, but in deed and in truth. They are to see that love. It should be visible to them because real Biblical love is not an emotion; it is an action. It is doing what is best in behalf of the object of my love regardless of personal expense. Then I’m to prove my diligence in work. The Bible tells us in II Corinthians 8:22, “And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.” He said he was proved diligent in work. Diligence is steady application in business of any kind, just being steady, just doing what you are supposed to do. It has to do with putting forth a constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken. It has to do with exerting of the body and mind without delay. In other words, being quick to respond. In Ephesians 5:15-16 it says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The fact that we live in evil times is no excuse for me to be sorry. I’m supposed to redeem the time, be diligent in God’s business. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4) If you are going to work the works of Him that sent you, you’d better be diligent because the night cometh when no man can work. You don’t know when the night is going to come. The night of ill health, the night of death. It’s coming. If you are going to do anything for God, tomorrow is not the time. Now is the time, and we need to be diligent in our service, diligent in our efforts for God and be faithful. It also has to do with accuracy, taking care of detail. I’ve often talked about my daughter that when she was about 11 years old, spilling everything. She always said, “I didn’t mean to!” I sat her down and said, “Look, honey, I know you didn’t mean to spill that stuff, but let me explain something to you. In a few years, you are going to start driving. If you run over somebody and you did not mean to, they are still dead. Your lack of ill intent won’t bring them back to life. Being sorry won’t bring them back to life. You are going to have to be more careful and less apologetic. Anybody can make one mess after another, apologize for it and the next day make another mess equally as bad. I doubt your sincerity because you are not making the effort to keep from making messes.” Diligence keeps me steady. Diligence makes me careful. Diligence makes me punctual. Diligence causes me to take care of every detail and not overlook things thinking they are unimportant. So the Bible tells us we are supposed to be a diligent people and prove our diligence in service. Christianity is measured not just in years, but it is measured in decades. A lot of people start well that don’t finish well. They are going great guns and a decade later they are not serving God at all, not even in church. That’s tragic. Christianity is for a lifetime, not a short time. The Bible tells us about Caleb, that God promised him a mountain when he was 40 years old. When he was 85, he hadn’t given up hope on what God promised. God promised him a mountain. He was still pursuing it. He was an old man when he got what God promised. The fact that it didn’t happen immediately didn’t imply that it was not going to happen. Then we need to prove the promises of God. Second Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” You prove the promises of God by putting them to the test of faith. Faith is dependency upon God and expectancy from God to the point that the Word of God is enough. “What do you mean enough?” That means I don’t need a sign or a wonder or a tingle or a feeling. I don’t even need an explanation of why or how. All I need to know is what God said and that is enough to take immediate action, if I am operating by faith. Romans 16:26 talks about the obedience of faith. So if I put something to the test of faith, I put it to the test of obedience. When I take one of God’s conditional promises, God said, “If you’ll do this, then I’ll do that.” When God makes me a promise, if I’ll meet the conditions by faith and practice obedience then God will come through, but I have to prime the pump. When I was a small boy, we didn’t have inside plumbing. We had a that big tile out there about four feet wide that stuck up out of the ground at the corner of the house where we had a shallow well with a hand pump. That pump, you stand there all day long and get nothing, because you had to prime the pump. We kept a bucket of water beside the pump. If you wanted to get anything out, you had to prime it every time. When you primed the pump, once the water started flowing then you could pump as much water as you liked. As soon as you stopped, you lost prime. The next time you need water you had to prime the pump again. There are all kinds of people that want the blessings of God without priming the pump. You prime it with the obedience of faith. You set in motion the blessings of God that He promised and bring them to pass, but if I don’t ever exercise faith, He’s never going to do it. Then according to Romans 12:1-2, we are suppose to prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. That just means to put on display for a lost and dying world what real Christianity is. The Bible tells us what it is. It’s the most enjoyable existence in this world. We need to put it on display. Let me just remind you today, some friend or relative is watching you. You have something to prove, if you claim to be saved, if you claim to be a Christian. You have something to prove, something to put to the test of the Bible, something to put to the test of obedience, something to put before them to display the indisputable evidence that what you have is real, instead of them wondering whether you are for real or not, or whether you just have dead religion. Friend, we have something to prove |
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