More Grace? Series

We noted last week 3 important factors in being successful in life:

1. Don’t just make annual resolutions, Commit to a better life everyday!!

2. Commit to God’s instructions!

3. Have a Faith Partner, who will challenge, encourage, and pray for you!

And so if you have not done so, or even if you already have, rub your hands together right now till their warm…. now open them to the Lord and ask “What do you have in mind for me today Lord Jesus?”

We also noted last week that God calls us to rejoice all the time; God is good…. All the time… And so, if our God is good all the time, shouldn’t we be joyful, prayerful, and thankful all the time?

Of course this is God’s desire for us and so He gave us Jesus Christ! And so, the more we know about Jesus Christ and God, the more we will be able to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Let us continue to learn from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28……….

Let us focus on v23-28 today; and actually, I think it is helpful to go backwards with this passage. The most important truth we need to have is to know we have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

v28: Jesus Christ is Lord and grace is available from Him!

Lord is a title to God, the ruler and master of everything!

Do you see and believe Jesus as such?

Grace is available to those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord! If you believe Jesus Christ is your only Savior and Lord (Ruler and Master of your life) then grace is available to you! What is grace?

Grace in the original Greek is charis which signifies God freely giving Himself to people!

As we trust God more and more and allow Jesus Christ to be master of our lives, God gives Himself more and more to us!

Yes, Jesus gave himself once and for all for our sins on that cross; but let us note that the Triune God is still giving Himself to us everyday!

As we note v25-27, it is basically saying, as Christians growing in God, we are to encourage one another!

v25-27: encourage one another:

- Pray for each other

- Lovingly welcome one another

- Challenge each other with the Word of God!

How are we doing with all of these? We greet one another during church and we have our fellowship lunch to provide the settings to lovingly welcome one another; please continue to love one another in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; we are a family in Christ! We are brothers and sisters who need each other and to love one another1

And yes, I again apologize for not having a new church directory so that we can connect with each other to pray for each other and to challenge one another with the Bible (if you’re on Facebook, our church network site is a good place to connect!) I will take pictures later of those I don’t have on file, so I can put together a new Directory (pray for me regarding this).

Back to our passage; let us revisit v23-24.

v23: God tells us what Christians can have from Him:

- God is peace! Greek is eirene – proper, whole, peace of mind! This is god’s desire for each one of us!

- Santification (to make one holy and perfect). You and I are still being changed by God

- To be thoroughly blameless

Here’s another way of looking at these truths:

God created people in His own image! God’s intent for people is to be like Him!

People have marred God’s image with their sin! People themselves decide not to be with God!

God’s image in people is restored, being restored, and will be completely restored through Jesus Christ!

And because God’s intent for people is to be like Him, we note in v24: God calls people and He will do what He promises!

For some of you, God may still be calling you back to Himself; don’t wait any longer! Remember, it is your own decision to turn your back on God who loves you; therefore it is also your own decision to turn back to God by believing in Jesus Christ as your only Savior and Lord!

Do it today!

For those of us who have already answered God’s call to return to Him through Jesus Christ,

as Christians:

1. Memorize Revelation 3:20….

This truth is for Christians not for unbelievers; everyday Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts and He wants to make everything right! A Christian can say, “I already opened the door of my heart to Jesus Christ!”, this verse does not apply to me!