Message/Devotion
February 2, 2020
1 Thessalonians 5 [ with emphasis on verses 16-18 ]
The True Life of A True Christian
The Reading
5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be [a]sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11 Therefore [b]comfort each other and [c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.
Various Exhortations
12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and [d]admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we [e]exhort you, brethren, warn those who are [f]unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Blessing and Admonition
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify[g] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you by the Lord that this [h]epistle be read to all the [i]holy brethren
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28
The Message
When the pastor says: “Let us pray” – or¬- “Bow your heads and all eyes closed” – or - “I invite you to pray with me now”. Just what goes through your mind?
Most likely, we all bow our heads and close our eyes in obedience. Then what? Do we listen intently to the words and meanings of the uttered prayer? Are we just maybe thinking about any one of many thoughts in the back of our minds? Maybe we’d like to just get on with it. OR do we seriously and earnestly listen to every word of the prayer and endorse it with enthusiasm? When we say “Amen” at the end of a prayer we are saying that we are in 100% agreement with the words spoken. Most translations ascribe to amen as “so mote it be” more modern “may it be so!”.
A thought came to mind the other evening in our bible study: Nothing breeds success like success! Does that resonate with you? And so, it is with FAITH. When we pray and have FAITH in God that He will hear and answer that prayer. When He does answer, what does that do to our faith in God and in prayer? Of course, it strengthens it and renews it.
Look at it like this: A family is heavily in debt and cannot see a way out. First of all, nothing is too difficult for God. You either believe that or not. This family decides to pray for God to bless them with a way out. He will! There is no question about it. It may not be quick, it probably will not be painless, but trust and faith say, He will. I believe that He will, do you? In other words, it is a sure thing.
But because we are a hedonistic bunch always looking for the quick fix and immediate gratification, many will put their faith and trust in a lottery ticket. Am I right? What are the odds that the lottery ticket will provide a way out of debt? God is a sure thing. Lottery offers odds at 1 in 13,983,816. That's 1 shot in almost 14 million.
Where does that faith belong?
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” - Philippians 4:6-7
That isn’t meant to imply an attitude of indifference. You know like: “cum se cum sa or que sera sera”. What it means is you either believe God and trust God or you don’t. If you do, give Him your prayers and be patient. God acts in His time not ours, but He Always answers. Is it difficult? You bet; can we do it? Yes, if we truly trust God. There it is: THAT SURPASSING ALL UNDERSTANDING thing. We learn to bridle our fears and turn them into faith.
In our reading, we are admonished further – let’s go down the list
1 – respect supervisors and co-workers – be at peace. How? Be gracious in receiving criticism. Hold your tongue when temptation arises to argue or retaliate in disagreements. You know what I mean. We always want to be “right” and for the most part we are reluctant to give in when we see only our own point of view. Is it really worth the stress and atmosphere that it creates?
2- warn the unruly (more like disorderly) I think Paul is addressing behavior within the church here, but I can see applications in the family structure and in communal gatherings. Unruliness tends to disrupt and de-energize the goodness of a gathering. I recall preaching in a church in Bisbee Arizona and having a congregant share his disagreement with a comment by loudly proclaiming, “The heck there isn’t” in response to my saying there isn’t anything wrong with being tolerant of secular celebrations during the holidays. A tad bit unruly wouldn’t you say?
3 – comfort the fainthearted and uphold the weak, be patient with all. Here we are admonished to be aware of and be an encouragement to those among us that are easily discouraged or fearful of taking that next step lest they fail. We can all be a shoulder to lean on and to help build on strengths and diminish weaknesses with each other. One of the ladies here in the church went so far as to accompany another on a trip hundreds of miles away to confront a negative situation and retrieve some personal property. We are proud of both of them and see that as an example of just what Paul is saying here.
4 – uphold the weak. Sometimes, we encounter someone who is just worn out, weak in spirit and in physical stamina. We have a neighbor who recently moved in with an invalid seven year-old daughter who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and respiratory issues. The mom works, takes care of the child and goes to school to better her life and ability to provide. Her spouse works two jobs and also goes to school. Last week she was in an accident and totaled her car. She was just so worn out that she was not as alert behind the wheel as she should have been. We certainly have fallen in love with them. God put it on our heart to regularly place their trash receptacles at the curb and return them to the garage on collection days. We mowed the yard and collected several containers of leaves and yard debris, which was a heavy accumulation when they moved in. It isn’t much but it takes some burden off of their lives.
5 – Our intercessory Prayer List is very extensive. It is shared all over the globe via the internet. We believe in prayer and we believe in miracles. Our weekly message/devotion is also shared electronically to a worldwide list of subscribers.
6- do not render evil for evil to ANYONE. Holding on to unforgiveness, wanting to “get even” for some slight are natural tendencies fed by Satan’s lies. Two wrongs NEVER equal a right. Evil begets Evil and Goodness begets Goodness. Practicing that goodness is a sure sign of Christian Maturity.
7 – Rejoice – it is so easy to feel like rejoicing when you maintain a clean heart, even when waiting on answers to prayers. It’s that peace that surpasses understanding thing again.
8 – in everything give thanks – I don’t advocate giving thanks when you step on a rusty nail, slam your finger in the car door of cut yourself badly on the table saw (as I did a short time back) but what this means to me is: God May YOUR WILL be done and Thank you for being with me and upholding me in every situation – even when I do not understand. What I understand is YOUR LOVE and your WILL and that is what I want.
Think about everything that we just shared; Is that something that you can embrace? Is that something that you can share? I certainly pray that it is.
Let’s all stand, hold hands and pray together. Going forward, let’s keep our emphasis on FOLLOWING JESUS and seeking the character of true righteousness!
We love and serve God by loving and serving each other – EVERY each other.
Let us pray –
Let us now go forth loving and serving God by loving and serving each other – EVERY each other.
I humbly and sincerely ask for your prayers!
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