“BE THOUGHFUL!”
We have been talking about the Rapture of the Church and What we are to do while watching. 1. The Rapture is sure and we are to stay awake and watch for it.
2 Honoring the Leadership .
God created the family. God used the same idea when creating His church ... it is to be a family. Nothing can bring more pleasure or more pain than being in a family. If a family is based on God’s design it is one of the most satisfying experiences in life.
Just as a natural family needs its members to be mindful of building their relationships and keeping them healthy, so too those who are members of the family of God need to be mindful of building and developing their relationships with one another.
A major responsibility of the church while it is watching for the coming of Jesus Christ is to be mindful of relationships, to seek the growth and development of one another in the family of God.
I. FAMILY (NIV) 1Th 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
A. Correction 1 Thess. 5:14a (NIV) 1Th 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle,
One of the beneficial things about being in a family is that you are tested to live right; your family sees what you are really like!
In the best of families this process happens all the time.
Especially as we are growing up!
My dad was a very spiritual man and I saw how he lived and prayed and paid tithes. He was working in a lumber yard back when the trucks were hand loaded.
One afternoon he come home and sat down to eat and bowed his head to pray and said “Good evening this is Sabine Valley Lumber Yard”. He was very embarrassed and told me and my mom never to tell anyone what he did.
You can hide flaws in a public but they will show up in the home!
"Training" takes place in the home more than anywhere else!
Some people think that a loving church never experiences conflicts!
This is so wrong!
The healthiest churches are the ones where a "real" family atmosphere exists, where our relationships are much more than just surface!
Healthy churches are full of conflicts; they are healthy because those people within those churches learn to work through their conflicts, where they are committed to each other in love!
We are to really see each other as "BROTHERS & SISTERS" in Christ!
Painful correction sometimes is necessary to keep us growing and awake spiritually, this is one of the roles of being the church or family of God; that we correct one another in love when we are wrong!
As we are watching for the return of Jesus we should be ever mindful to correct our brothers and sisters who might be falling asleep spiritually!
It is interesting to note that the term used in this verse, “IDLE” in Greek literally means, “one who breaks ranks as in the military.”
As such it does not mean to correct those who have differences of opinions from our own, or do things differently; it means those who quite literally break ranks with everybody else; they get out of line in a serious way!
Paul’s use of this military word gives the idea of how destructive it would be for the whole army if soldiers broke rank. It would be serious enough to cause harm to the church or themselves!
B. Comfort 1 Thess. 5:14b (NIV) encourage the timid
Our entire ministry to one another should not be correction.
It would produce a spirit of pride in us if all we did was look around for who we could correct!
There are enough "spiritual critics" around on a full time basis already; we don’t need the "GIFT OF CRITICISM" in the church! (Besides, it doesn’t exist!)
Fortunately, Paul continues the list, and the next item mentioned is "ENCOURAGE THE TIMID!"
The Greek word translated here "TIMID" literally means, "The faint-hearted."
It meant those who lacked courage, either from a natural reality such as their personality, they are just the type of person who is afraid more … or
It might also mean those who had become faint-hearted or worn down from frequent trials!
We could use more men like Barnabus in the Bible, his name "BARNABUS" literally means, "SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT" ... something for which he was well known in the Book of Acts!
This is also true in a family ... when a member of the family has had a rough time everyone rallies around them to encourage them!
Even brothers and sisters who might not always get along too well have been known to be there for each other in the midst of a struggle!
One of the important roles in the family of God when we see saints who are our brother or sister in Christ when they are afraid or worn down is to encourage them!
We need to distinguish between the saint that is rebellious and the one that is discouraged.
Let’s remember to give one another large measures of encouragement when we are worn down, or to those who have more fears than others.
C. Community 1 Thess. 5:14c , (NIV) help the weak, be patient with everyone
The next statement of Paul’s is "HELP THE WEAK."
The word “WEAK” here clearly means those who are weak spiritually, not physically!
This might include new Christians, those who have been damaged by bad examples,
*those who were worn out from severe trials
*those whose faith has been shaken through some experience.
The word "HELP" means to "CLEAVE" or "SUPPORT."
Paul’s statement here means to help hold up those who are weak spiritually!
Like helping a baby stay up when it is learning to walk.
Like helping to support someone on crutches.
Nothing is more beautiful than a church where the weak feel protected and helped from those who are strong in it!
This is what "COMMUNITY" means in the church!
This is what it means when the Bible says, “that if one member suffers, all the body suffers.”
We need to take under our wings those who are afraid or weak; they need our spiritual and emotional support!
II. FORGIVENESS
1Th 5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong,. (NIV)
Like any family, its members need to learn the fine art of forgiving as well as being forgiven!
Healthy churches are NOT free from discord, but they do know how to heal from discord!
They have learned how to handle faults and offenses, they forgive one another!
Loving families are filled with forgiving and forgiven people!
While a church might not be perfect, it should be moving toward the goal of loving more and more, of forgiving more and more.
In a forgiving church anyone can feel welcome and loved!
When we learn to forgive others we will experience the joy of being forgiven also!
To the church in Rome Paul gives similar advice about forgiveness: “Ro 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Notice Paul says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you...”
There may be times when you can’t settle a broken relationship, but be sure it is not because of your failure to do so.
Paul seems to indicate here that there might be people who just won’t respond, you can only be responsible for your own actions, you can’t force healing on others!
Your forgiving will increase the possibility of others doing so however, do your part!
B. Compassionate 1 Thess. 5:15b But always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
*The motivation for family:
*Challenging the Rebellious
*Encouraging the Fearful
*Helping the Weak
**IS LOVE! (Compassion!)
Without compassion the commands of Paul in verse 14 wouldn’t be possible!
God’s family is often well versed on love, we know a great deal about love, we talk about it, our theology is based on it; but what we need is to PRACTICE IT!
ILLUS: Like the man who was passing a used book store. He saw through the window a book titled "HOW TO HUG." Being a man interested in love he went in to purchase the book; to his chagrin he discovered that it was the 7th volume of a set of encyclopedias, covering alphabetically "HOW TO HUG." How many people come to a church hoping to find a love that is demonstrated but instead discover an encyclopedia on theology!? – Source Unknown
Love is the power that drives a family and keeps it healthy, without it we are weak and powerless!
ILLUS: Like a car battery, if it is kept in the cold it loses much of its useful power, only those which are kept warm or frequently charged can get the car started. This charge must come from a source outside itself; it can’t hold it long on its own! – Source Unknown
The church needs to have a warm environment to demonstrate real power and we need to be "charged" with power from on high on a routine basis to be useful and to give power to the church!
CONCLUSION: As we watch for Christ’s return we are reminded not to wait just idly, we are to be always mindful of the ways we are to love one another in God’s family. The church is to love in a real way and not just in a surface way!
