The Will of God Concerning the Believer
Study Text: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 - 18
Introduction:
- People often wonder what God's will is. The Bible is God's word and reveals to us what the will of God concerning us is.
- The Bible also gives principles in the will of God for us to use in daily situations of life. But many still struggle to know God's will.
- Our text tells us three areas where we can know God's will: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
- So God's will for all His people in every circumstance is to rejoice, to pray and to give thanks. God's word and God's will does not change even though our circumstances certainly do.
- These three brief commands in scripture are easy to understand, but they are incredibly difficult to put into practice in our lives.
- The real challenge for God's people is to discover how we can truly "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.
- We shall be discussing the three things the Bible reveals to us as the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us:
1. The Will of God: Rejoicing Always
2. The Will of God: Praying without Ceasing
3. The Will of God: Giving Thanks in Everything
1. The Will of God: Rejoicing Always
- The word "rejoice" is a call to joy. Paul exhorts the saints to rejoice always. It is a command, which makes it clear that joy is more than happiness. Happiness is an emotional response to favorable, pleasant, or rewarding circumstances.
- You cannot compel a person to be happy. It is based on what happens to a person. But Christians are commanded by God to rejoice always.
- Indeed, there are many times, reasons, and occasions that call for rejoicing. But the command is to rejoice always, not only sometimes.
- These exhortations apply to all Christians in every place and every situation. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances." The justification for the commands is "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
- It is God's will that we rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. God's will for our lives is not about the circumstances we face. It is about how we respond to those circumstances.
- The believer's unceasing rejoicing is the will of God for us "in Christ Jesus." Unbelievers do not rejoice in God, pray to God, or give thanks to God.
- Religious people rejoice sometimes, pray when they feel like it, and give thanks when things are going well. But Christians rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.
- This is not the believer's response because we are unaffected and immune to life's dangers, toils, and snares. It is our response to life because we are in Christ Jesus and that is His will for us.
- The Lord wants His disciples to live in peace. But true peace is not the absence of negative, painful, or difficult realities. The fact is that disciples of Christ will have tribulations in this world.
. - The tribulations of life are inevitable. But they do not have the last word. The crucified and risen Christ is the world conqueror. The Lord Jesus Christ reigns over heaven and earth. Rejoice in this glorious truth now and forever.
- The only way we are going to experience joy is when we realize that the source of it is not in circumstances, situations, or emotions. The source of joy is God Himself. He is the fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11
- We must remember that the fullness of joy is found in the presence of God, and we won’t find it anywhere else. Joy is not something we produce or whip up, joy is something that comes as a natural outflow of having the Spirit of God residing within us.
- Regardless of circumstance, situation, or trial, we can have joy within our lives because we set our gaze on Christ and declare our trust in Him, no matter what we face. Philippians 4:4
- So God, through Paul commands us to choose joy every moment of our lives. We are to rejoice regardless of circumstance, situation, or emotion.
- How can we practically “rejoice always” in all situations, every moment of the day? Some of the following points could be helpful:
1. We must always be conscious that God is the source of joy
- We will never experience joy if we don’t know where it comes from. True joy, and the fullness of comes from God alone. He is the fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11
2. We must recognize that Joy is a fruit, the natural outflow of the life of the Holy Spirit within us.
- Joy is not something we produce within us, nor is it a smile we put on to make people think we have joy. Joy is an evidence of the life of Christ within us.
- When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, what comes out is His “fruit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
3. We must understand that Joy is not about circumstances but a purposeful response to, and amidst the circumstances.
- Being joyful doesn’t mean you need to be ignorant or careless about what is going on around you, rather it is about having the proper perspective amidst whatever life throws at you.
4. Rejoicing may not appear to be reasonable, doesn’t but it does need to happen always.
- Because joy is not an emotion like happiness, you can rejoice even with tears in your eyes and sorrow in your soul. So whether you feel happy or sad, you are still called to rejoice.
- There are times when we must command our minds or souls to come in alignment with truth. Psalm 42:11
- Regardless of how we might feel, let us choose to obey the command to rejoice always, in all circumstances.
5. Joy is a present declaration in our future hope, we rejoice today because we know the future is secured.
- When we rejoice, it is our present declaration in our future hope.
- If we know the end of the story, and the hope that awaits every believer, we can rejoice regardless of what happens around us. Luke 10:20
2. The Will of God: Praying without Ceasing
- Firstly, we need to know what prayer is all about. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.
- Praying without ceasing does not mean doing this continually without any break. It does not mean non-stop praying, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week – or else we cannot do anything else like work, study, eat and sleep.
- Praying without ceasing means praying frequently and persistently, even in the midst of our daily activities. And when we understand what prayer is meant for, we will be able to see why we ought to pray like this.
1. We have Privileged Access to God through Prayer.
- Through prayer, we have privileged access to God. This access brings us to our great Creator who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
- What an awesome privilege it is to have unlimited access to the Almighty God Himself. God is also the ultimate source of everything, including joy. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Prayer gives us unlimited access to this joy from God.
2. We have Peace that Surpasses all Understanding through Prayer
- Prayer is the only means by which we can experience the peace that comes from God, and that is why He is called the God of Peace. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
- This is a peace that passes all understanding, a blessed peace that guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus Philippians 4:6 - 7.
3. We Enjoy Fatherly Relationship with God through Prayer
- We enjoy a sweet communion with God which arises naturally from our Father - Son relationship with Him. As God’s children we love to cry out to Him, ‘Abba, Father’ because He has given us the Spirit of adoption to dwell in our hearts (Romans 8:15).
- Such a blessed communion that we can enjoy with our loving heavenly Father, should move us to pray a lot more than we do now.
- Such close communion is also the natural outcome of having God with us at all times. It is always so comforting to know that God is present with us and will never leave us nor forsake us. Hebrews 13:5
4. We Present our Requests to God through Prayer
- Prayer is the only way to ask for help from God and to let Him know about our requests and desires. Philippians 4:6
- Whenever you encounter a problem, commit it to the Lord first before you attempt to solve it. Prayer ought to be your first resort, not your last one. Whenever you feel like worrying, pray.
- The Lord wants you to cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you 1 Peter 5:7.
- No matter is ever too small to bring to God’s attention, for even the very hairs of your head are all numbered Luke 12:7.
- And so, let us develop the habit of praying about every matter, great or small. In that way we will make full use of the privileged access that we have to God’s throne of grace.
5. We Receive Grace and Strength to Do His Will through Prayer
- Prayer is God’s appointed means for carrying out His work on earth, because through it, we receive the grace and strength we need to do His will.
- This is true even in our service to others, as our service will yield results only through God.
- This is also true of all our evangelistic efforts. While we ought to do everything we can to witness to our loved ones, friends and colleagues, our witness becomes effective only with God’s power. Hence we need to keep praying for their salvation. 1 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10
- Here is the way that you can be most effective for Christ in your prayer life, Keep praying for the work of witnessing to the lost. Unceasing prayer provides opportunities for the Gospel to reach the lost effectively.
3. The Will of God: Giving Thanks in Everything
- Thanksgiving, which is the giving of thanks to God for all His blessings, should be one of the most distinctive marks of the believer in Jesus Christ.
- We must not allow the spirit of ingratitude to harbour in our heart and destroy our relationship with God and with others.
- Ungrateful heart turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than anything else. And a true spirit of thankfulness will restore contentment and the joy of our salvation more quickly than anything else.
- The Bible tells us of ten lepers that approached Jesus outside a village, loudly pleading with Him to heal them. In an instant He restored them all to perfect health.
- But only one came back and thanked Him. All the rest left without a word of thanks, their minds were preoccupied only with themselves, and gripped with a spirit of ingratitude.
- Also in our own days, ingratitude and thanklessness are far too common. We take for granted the ways that others help us, and above all, we fail to thank God for His blessings.
- Ingratitude is a sin in the sight of God, just as surely as lying or stealing or immorality or any other sin condemned by the Bible. Romans 1:21.
- An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how insufficient we are in everything, and how dependent we are on God for everything.
- Thankfulness is the natural outflowing of a heart that is connected to God. A spirit of thanksgiving is always the mark of a joyous Christian.
- Why should we be thankful? Because God has blessed us, and we should be thankful for each blessing:
1. Thank God for the Material Blessings That He Gives You.
- We seem never to be satisfied with what we have: rich or poor, healthy or sick. But what a difference it makes when we realize that everything we have has been given to us by God.
1 Chronicles 29:12-14
- Are you constantly preoccupied with what you do not have? Or have you learned to thank God for what you do have?
2. Thank God for the People in Your Life.
- It is so easy to take people for granted, or even to complain and become angry because they do not meet our every wish.
- But we need to give thanks to God that we are not lonely, that He had surrounded us with good people: our spouses, our children, our relatives, our brethren, our friends and others who help us in some way.
- Do you let others know that you appreciate them and are thankful to God for them? 1 Corinthians 1:4
3. Thank God in the Midst of Challenges and Difficult Situations.
- We usually draw back from difficulties, yet not one of us is exempted from some kind of trouble.
- But the will of God for us as Christians, is to thank God in the midst of those trials and for every situation we are in, because we know that He has promised to be with us and that He will help us.
- We know that He can make all things to work together for our good, and use times of suffering and difficulties to draw us closer to Himself. Romans 8:28, James 1:2-3.
- It doesn't matter what trials you may be facing right now, God knows about it all, and He loves you and is with you by His Holy Spirit. Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness even in the midst of those trials and difficult situations.
4. Thank God for His Salvation in Jesus Christ.
- God has given us the greatest Gift of all: His Son, who died on the cross and rose again so that we can know Him personally and spend eternity with Him in heaven. 2 Corinthians 9:15.
- Have you opened your heart to Jesus Christ? If not, turn to Him with a simple prayer of repentance and faith, and thank Him for what He has done for you.
- And if you do know Christ, how long has it been since you thanked God for your salvation? We should not let a day go by without thanking God for His mercy and His grace to us in Jesus Christ.
5. Thank God for His Continued Presence and Power in Your Life.
- When we come to Christ, it is not the end but the beginning of a whole new life. He is with us, and He wants to help us follow Him and His Word.
- In ourselves we do not have the strength that we need to live the way God wants us to live. But when we turn to Him, we discover that “it is God who works in us to will and to do according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:13
Conclusion:
- Thankfulness is a common theme in Scripture, with the understanding that God is the one from whom all blessings flow, and so all praise is due to him. Psalm 95:1-3
- It may seem impossible to do this when faced with impossible circumstances. But we are commanded to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and to thank God in everything and for everything.
- With an attitude of trust and confidence in God, we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.
- Because of God’s eternal goodness to us in Christ and because of His moment-by-moment blessings that he has graciously given us if we have eyes to see, we can obey the command to “give thanks in all circumstances.” Giving thanks is closely related to rejoicing and praying; the three are commanded together because where one is, the others are too.
- Being joyful always, prayerful without ceasing and a heart of gratitude for everything is the lifelong path of the believer, and the perfect will of God for us in Christ Jesus.
