“Despise not prophesyings.” 1st Thessalonians 5:20

The word “prophesy” has several meanings in Scripture. I believe all of them are under consideration in this verse.

We should not ignore the writing of the Old Testament. These writings are filled with prophecies about Jesus. It is necessary to read the Old Testament in order to understand many things we find in the New Testament. We should not neglect the study of any part of the Bible.

During the times of the first century church, there were people who had the gift of miraculous prophecy. Men such as Agabus, and others, were gifted to foretell actual events before they happened. Even though the miraculous expression of this gift no longer exists today, we should not ignore the fact of this blessing to the early church.

The gift of prophecy exists today in two forms. There are those who, by experience, keen observation and prayer, can usually see the end result of actions long before others can. We should heed their warnings. They may not be 100% correct all the time but they do offer wise counsel.

The other manifestation of the gift of prophecy in the church today is found in the preaching of the Gospel. We should never forget that the message from our pastor may not be popular, but if the message is sent from God, it is something we need to hear and act upon.

The preaching of the word of God should be the focus and primary part of our public worship of God.