How to Get the Most out of Your Leaders, Pt. 2
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
Intro:
(Last week)
1. Respect them (12)
2. Love them wholeheartedly (13a)
3. Get along with one another (13b)
4. Help Share Some of the Ministry Load (14)
A. Warn those who are idle
B. Encourage those who are timid (faint-hearted, confused)
C. Help those who are weak
D. Be patient with everyone
5. Model and Encourage Mercy and Kindness (15)
-What are some other ways you can get the most out of your leaders as you live in a way that honors the Lord? I’ve identified 6 of these, but they can be seen as 2 groups of triads.
*Worship God as a way of life
(Praise, Prayer, Thankfulness)
6. Be joyful and express it!
7. Pray continually
8. Be grateful in all things
*Humbly Receive God’s Word
9. Do not extinguish God’s voice through others
10. Test everything
11. Hold on to the good stuff!
1. Be joyful always (16).
-At all times rejoicing. All of us desire to have more joy but life often throws up roadblocks on the highway to happiness. We might experience brief encounters with joy but they seem to be the exception, rather than the rule. And yet, the Bible is clear that joy is to be a way of life for the believer. Psalm 5:11: “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.” Psalm 32:11: “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” In Philippians 4:4, Paul had to say it twice because we don’t automatically default to a spirit of joy: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
-We must make an important distinction when we talk about joy. Happiness is related to “happenings,” while joy can be experienced and expressed in difficult circumstances. Even when we’re persecuted, Jesus said in Matthew 5:12: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” Paul was able to experience joy even when he was wiped out with weeping in 2 Corinthians 6:10, when he said: “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”
-And yet many of us are only “joyful” when things are going well. How can we be joyful always? Perhaps it would be helpful for us to state this exhortation in a different way: There is no event or circumstance that can occur in my life that should diminish my joy. We are commanded to be joyful always, no matter what is going on, no matter how bad things are around us. This command to rejoice will never be lifted due to difficulties.
-Let me suggest that the only way to be joyful always is to recognize that joy is the result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. It is not natural, but supernatural. But our will must be involved. The route to rejoicing begins with a deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything and He is working everything out for our good in time and our glory in eternity. Christian joy is not a wild emotion on top of a giddy feeling. It’s my response to what I know to be true about God.
-What do we do if we lack joy? We need to receive what God offers to us, not passively, but actively. If we allow our emotions to control us, we will only taste joy but if we focus on the faithfulness of God and cultivate some disciplines in our life, we can drink deeply from it. Joy is not automatic but we can access it with some work.
-Here are some proactive and practical steps we can take to find the joy of the Lord.
*Focus on the promises of God. Jesus is coming back, and if you know Him, you will be with Him forever. Luke 10:20: “…Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”Stay close to Christ. Psalm 16:11: “…You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
*Read and feed upon the Word of God daily. Jeremiah 15:16: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight…”
*Spend time with joyful believers. When referring to his friend, Paul wrote in Philemon 7: “Your love has given me great joy…”
*Share the gospel with people. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19, Paul called the new believers his “joy.”
*Sing praises of joy to God. Psalm 71:23: “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you.”
2. Pray continually (17).
-This second command is simple and very specific as we’re called to pray as a way of life. Praying is to be as normal as breathing. If that’s the case, then many of us, including me, have been guilty of holding our breath. The word for “prayer” here is a general word that encompasses thanksgiving, confession, praise, intercession for others, and personal requests to God. The word “continually” refers to something that is constantly recurring. Prayer is like a long conversation with God that is never broken. Jesus put it this way in Luke 18:1 when he said that we, “…should always pray and not give up.”
-If some of us feel guilty about our joy deficit, almost all of us are embarrassed about our paucity in prayer. More is said about prayer and less done about it than any other subject in the Bible. This directive is within the reach of everyone, not just a select few. Instead of quoting a bunch of verses on prayer, I’d like to focus on a couple ways we can become people who pray persistently. Most of us don’t need convincing that prayer is important, we just need some practical ways to apply this intercession imperative.
Schedule a set time to pray each day.
Pray spontaneously with “popcorn prayers.”
Pray while you wait.
Pray with others on the phone.
Offer to pray when someone shares a burden with you.
Pray in the car while you’re driving (eyes open).
Join others in prayer.
Write out your prayers in a notebook.
Pray for what you see and hear.
Read good books on prayer: “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala;
-So, we’re to be joyful always and pray continually. As we practice these disciplines, we can’t help but transition to a theme of thanksgiving.
3. Give thanks in all circumstances (18).
-Please notice that we don’t necessarily give thanks for everything that happens to us, but we can give thanks in all our circumstances, even if they stink. If you fall into a pit, you don’t have to be thankful for the pit, but while you’re in the pit, you can be thankful. No matter what our circumstances, we can always give thanks to God for His blessings. When things happen in our lives that we don’t understand, we can still thank Him because He’s in control.
-Are you giving thanks in all circumstances? You can tell how well you’re doing in this area by listening to how much you grumble or grouse. When you’re tempted to complain, force yourself to give a verbal word of thanks. You’ll be surprised by what happens. When Daniel got some bad news, it’s very interesting what he did in Daniel 6:10: “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” No matter how bad things look, give thanks! By giving thanks when we don’t feel like it, we are proclaiming that God’s wisdom is greater than ours.
4. Do not extinguish God’s voice through others (19-20).
-The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of conversion. But, it’s possible for us to squelch the Spirit’s influence in our lives. Verse 19 can be translated, “Stop putting out the Spirit’s fire.” This is an indictment because it suggests that there were some spiritual fire fighters in Thessalonica.
-Have you ever noticed how “on fire” new believers are? Unfortunately some older believers can pour cold water on them by dousing their enthusiasm and joy. Let me ask you a question. Is the Spirit’s flame flickering in your life, or is He burning bright? Some of us are smoldering spiritually, either through neglect of the daily spiritual disciplines or because of deliberate disobedience. Whether we are wayward, worried, or weak, most of us could use some fresh wind and some fresh fire.
-Paul wrote to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6: “…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…” That phrase literally means to stir up the coals again by blowing some air into the embers. Here’s the good news. A smoldering wick can burn with a white-hot passion for God again. Fan into flame that which once burned bright. Don’t squelch the Spirit.
-Now the context in which Paul writes this warning about not putting out the Spirit’s fire leads us to believe that he was referring to a certain situation in Thessalonica. Some scholars believe it may have been the reverse scenario of Corinth. In Corinth they needed to learn to show some restraint and be more orderly. In Thessalonica it appears that some (perhaps some in leadership) were discouraging people from being used in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are referenced in 1 Cor. 12 & prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues are discussed in ch. 14. We can only guess why some didn’t want people to speak out prophetically. 1 Corinthians 14:3 says, “… everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” Most prophetic words are not predictive of future events. Most of them contain words of comfort and encouragement that the Holy Spirit lays on the hearts of various people.
-If you could tell the people here today one thing that you sense God is saying to us, what would it be? Many of you would be too nervous to even think about doing that, but the cool thing is that God can speak through any one of us – if we will let Him. It is fear of failure or fear of rejection that might keep us from letting God use us in that way.
-Do not treat prophecies with contempt (20).
-We need to be on guard so that we don’t treat what God would say to us with contempt. It must be in alignment with the Bible, and thus should not be treated lightly or with disdain. Contempt is a pretty strong word that means, “to make utterly nothing.”
-A lack of response to the God’s word can hinder the work of God in our lives.
-Malachi 1:6 provides a strong indictment to the professional clergy of the day to guard against becoming bored with those things that matter to God: “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ You place defiled food on my altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible.”
-The best way to guard against treating God’s Word with contempt is to keep the fire burning inside through praise, prayer, and a thankful spirit.
5. Test everything (21a).
-When you hear someone preach or teach the Bible, or speak a prophetic word, it’s important to test what is being said. We’re called to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who “…Received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” We should be eager but not gullible. 1 John 4:1: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” Here are a couple of ways to test teachers and preachers:
Do their words square with Scripture? (1 John 4:5-6)
Are they committed to the body of believers? (1 John 2:19)
What is their lifestyle like? (1 John 3:23-24)
Does their message stand up to reason and revelation? (1 John 4:1-3)
What do they believe about Jesus? (1 Thessalonians 5:10)
Examine what you hear, scrutinize what you see, and measure all things by the standard of God’s Word.
6. Hold on to the good stuff (21-22).
-Once we’ve tested to make sure things are true, then it’s imperative that we embrace what is approved as God speaking to us. This literally means, “to hold down or seize” that which is good. The word translated “good” was used for something genuine as opposed to a counterfeit. Romans 12:9 captures it well when we’re told to “cling to the good.” When you find something that is true, don’t let go of it. Don’t trade God’s timeless truths for a fling with the world.
-Holding on sometimes requires letting go of something. Avoid every kind of evil (22). When we test something and find out it is good, we’re to hold it down in our life. If we test it and it is not good, then we are to abstain, or “hold ourselves away” from it. There is no room to dabble. If it’s good, embrace it. If it’s evil reject it. While we can’t withdraw from the world, we are to make sure we don’t give sin a foothold in our lives. The King James Version translates this as “abstaining from every appearance of evil.” Even if something just seems sinful, we should consider running away from it. Far too many of us get as close as we can to things that will only destroy us.
-Again, when all of these things are working together in the church family, great things will happen! And leaders will love to lead because they love seeing what God does through His people! Also, as the body of Christ, the people of God, step up and be the church with a mission, it becomes very clear that the success of the church is not about any one man or woman. It is about Jesus building His church and about people allowing the Holy Spirit to use them in supernatural ways, bringing honor to God!
-So, 1. Respect your leaders. 2. Love them wholeheartedly. 3. Get along with one another. 4. Help Share Some of the Ministry Load by encouraging one another. 5. Model and Encourage Mercy and Kindness. *Worship God as a way of life through Praise, Prayer, Thankfulness. And *Humbly Receive God’s Word by keeping the fire burning in your life and receiving God’s voice through others. Test everything and Hold on to the good stuff!
-As you know, this is about more than just getting the most out of your leaders. It is about giving yourself entirely to God and living a life that honors Him!
