Living for God
Jeffery Anselmi / General
Thessalonians- Faith In Uncertain Times / Walk; Faithfulness / 1 Thessalonians 5:12–24
INTRODUCTION
• In the last couple of weeks, we have covered what 1 Thessalonians tells us about the issue of the Second Coming of Jesus.
• I am glad Paul gave us the information so we can know how things will go when Jesus returns.
• Remember, how the events of the Second Coming would play out was a deep concern for the church at the time since they were expecting Jesus to return at any moment, even to the point that some had quit working and were waiting for Jesus to return.
• The overarching concern was what would happen to those who died before the Second Coming.
• Paul offered what he wrote to help ease the tension folks were experiencing as a result of not knowing the fate of those who had already died.
• Today, folks are so fixated on the logistics of the Second Coming that if we are not careful, we can forget what is truly important for all of us to grasp: what to do until He does return or we pass away.
• Some people may become fixated on finding out the specifics of God's will, plan, and timetable, especially regarding the topic of Jesus's Second Coming.
• But Jesus Himself warned us that no one other than God knows the day or the hour of his return (see Matthew 24:36).
• However, we can still know God's will for us, with passages like this one clearly indicating what God desires from us in every time and season: godly living.
• The way the Second Coming happens is of little consequence if we are not READY for Jesus to return.
• Paul understood this concept, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he shared with us what God's will for us is while we anticipate the coming of the Lord!
› Big Idea of the Message: We might not know the day or time of Jesus's return, but we can always know God's will for us is to live godly lives of faithful obedience.
• Our passage today will give us an idea of what living a godly life looks like.
• Let's begin by turning to 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
1 Thessalonians 5:12–15 (NET 2nd ed.)
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you,
13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.
15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
SERMON
I. Living for God while living with others in your life.
• Paul reveals God's will for us concerning how to live with others; the main focus of this teaching centers around how to live with your brothers and sisters in Christ, your church family.
• Paul begins with how those in the church are to live with their church leaders.
• In verse 12, he tells us to acknowledge them.
• This section also shows the leaders' obligation toward the flock.
• Church leaders are called to labor hard on behalf of the flock.
• Church leaders are called to preside over the flock and admonish the flock when needed.
• The word PRESIDE denotes one who has authority and to care for others by doing good works.
• The word ADMONISH means to give instruction.
• Church leaders are called to labor hard, lead, and instruct.
• Doing those things can be upsetting to people at times.
• It is not always an easy job.
• I find it interesting that Paul starts the end of his letter admonishing us to appreciate our leaders.
• Why do you think Paul did this?
• A leader's job is tough; it can be a thankless job sometimes.
• This is one of the reasons that the first qualification for Elder found in 1 Timothy 3 is the desire to do the work.
• It is easy for people to take shots at leaders in business or church.
• Often, people who want to lead but do not want any responsibility will be very critical of church leaders.
• Our responsibility to our church leaders is to acknowledge them.
• The connotation here is that believers must know their shepherds deeply and respectfully and value their service.
• Such knowledge is much more than the mere recall of their names or the general awareness of some facts about their personal lives.
• Instead, it entails a close, personal acquaintance that results in the caring appreciation of the Lord's servant. (MacArthur Commentary)
• Another way to translate "acknowledge" is to "know".
• This word means to gain by experience.
• We have a track record with the leaders that help us to appreciate them.
• Verse 13 tells us we are to "ESTEEM" them most highly for their work.
• The word esteem ties in closely with appreciate.
• We are to have a personal attachment, respect their position, and deeply appreciate what they do.
• We are to hold them in the highest regard!
• Apparently, some of the brethren in Thessalonica had evidently refused to follow their leaders in church activities.
• We need wise leadership today, but still more wise following.
• An army of captains and colonels never won a battle. (Word Picture of The New Testament)
• The work of Elders and church leaders is not always easy; these positions come with a great deal of responsibility.
Hebrews 13:17 (NET 2nd ed.)
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.
• The end of verse 13 tells us to be at peace among yourselves.
• This significant charge pertains to being at peace with our leaders and brothers and sisters in Christ.
• When you look at verses 14-15 it is easy to see why we are called to be at peace with others.
• The charges in verses 14-15 are for church leaders and all of us.
• We have to have the correct attitude to be able to pull this off.
• First, we are called to admonish (instruct) the undisciplined.
• The word UNDISCIPLINED in Greek culture often occurred in a military context and referred to a soldier who was out of rank and behaved in a disorderly, insubordinate manner.
• The word came to refer to anyone who did not perform his duty or follow through on his responsibility.
• The undisciplined were those who were out of step with everyone else's direction.
• Being undisciplined doesn't necessarily mean we are perpetrating evil.
• We can be undisciplined if we fail to use our gifts (material, spiritual, or other areas of giftedness) for the betterment of God's kingdom and His church or if we refuse to be supportive of the leadership.
• Second, we are all called to comfort the discouraged.
• To comfort means to "speak alongside."
• A person who is discouraged is in grief or pain.
• We are called to come alongside them and help encourage and strengthen them.
• The third group of people we are called to help are the weak.
• Weak means fragile.
• These brethren have a weak faith beleaguered by doubts.
• Their faith may not be strong enough to enjoy their freedom in Jesus Christ.
• They are certainly more susceptible to error, temptation, and sin than stronger believers.
• Some weaker believers have such sensitive consciences over their past sins that they perceive things as sin that are not sin at all (cf. 1 Cor. 8:7).
• We are called to help them to be strong.
• To help means to "hold on to," to "cling to."
• The weak need to know they are not alone.
• Next, we are called to be patient with all!
• Being patient means "the restraint of anger."
• Are there some folks who just get under your skin?
• We will have brothers and sisters in Christ who, for whatever reason, will make you want to lose patience with them.
• It can be tough dealing with undisciplined, discouraged, and weak brethren.
• As we are helping folks, it is tempting to throw up our hands and walk away.
• We must be patient with all people.
• In verse 15, we are told never to return evil for evil, but instead, we are called to pursue what is good for one another (brothers and sisters in Christ) and for all (those outside of Christ).
• We are to look at what is best for them; as a matter of fact, we are supposed to "seek after" what is best.
• We are to be in active pursuit of what is best for others.
• Always means we are to seek out good for others as a matter of habit.
• Let's look at verses 16-22
1 Thessalonians 5:16–22 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Always rejoice,
17 constantly pray,
18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not extinguish the Spirit.
20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt.
21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.
22 Stay away from every form of evil.
II. Living for God with God in your life.
• Verses 16-22 are filled with attitudes and actions we are called to do and have as we live our lives for God when God is in our life.
• We are called to rejoice always!
• The church was facing a lot of persecution.
• Just living life was tough.
• It would have been easy to be depressed about life in general.
• It would have been easy to think that God had abandoned them because of what they were facing.
• Paul encourages us to rejoice ALWAYS!
• The verb tense of the word indicates a continuous action.
• The consequence of receiving God's salvation should be the reason to rejoice!
• Circumstances do not dictate rejoicing.
• Rejoicing does not come from outward conditions; it comes from inside us because of our spiritual riches in Christ.
• We can rejoice always because of the assurance of what we have in Christ!
• It is too easy to focus on the negative.
• We are called to pray constantly!
• When you are struggling and facing difficult situations, what do you do?
• What is the first thing you think to do?
• I hope it is to pray.
• Prayer is often how obstacles that stand in the way of our joy are removed.
• Praying without ceasing means our souls are constantly elevated to God.
• God means for prayer to be a constant in the life of the Christian.
• We are called to give thanks!
• We are told that in everything, we are to give thanks!
• NO EXCEPTIONS.
• Sometimes, we have to look and pray really hard to find the reason for being thankful, but we are called to be thankful.
• Focusing on being thankful will help keep us from feeling sorry for ourselves when things are tough.
• Giving thanks also keeps us grounded in the good times.
• We are called not to extinguish the Spirit!
• Paul compares the Holy Spirit to a fire that can be put out.
• When we live as we await the return of Jesus, we must focus on the Holy Spirit so that we do not quench the Spirit's work in our lives.
• We can extinguish the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives by immorality, hardness of heart, carelessness, or living a life contrary to that which God wants for us.
• The Spirit is given to us to help convict us of sin in (John 16:8), to help us in the renewal process (Titus 3:5), to help free us from the bondage of sin (Romans 8:3-9), to be a mark or seal to show we belong to God (2 Cor 1:22), to gift us for God's work (1 Cor 12), and to live within us (Romans 8:9) among other things.
• We can quench the Spirit when we refuse to listen to the Spirit's prompting in our lives.
• When I refuse to live up to my knowledge of God, my heart will become hardened, and the Spirit will not be able to work within me.
• We need to focus on the Spirit's leading in our lives.
• There have been times I did not want to follow the lead because I was unsure I wanted to travel where the Spirit was leading; it is a miserable feeling.
• Verses 20-21 are a call to focus on God's Word.
• The phrase HOLD IN CONTEMPT means to set oneself against.
• We are not to set ourselves against the word of God.
• We are to work hard to see this does not happen.
• We are called to examine the truth to make sure it is truth.
• To be able to do this, we must know what the truth is.
• Cults prey on Christians who do not know the word of God, so when they come peddling their false message, the Christian does not know how to discern whether what they are saying is true.
• To examine means to "prove something is genuine."
• Too many people write off some or all the words because they do not like what it says or does not align with what THEY believe.
• We are supposed to preach the truth with conviction and stand on the truth without apology!
• In verse 22, we are told to stay away from EVERY form of evil!
• These are ways we live our life for God when we are in Christ!
• Let's turn to verses 23-24
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 (NET 2nd ed.)
23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.
III. Living for God while living with yourself.
• I am going to be brief here because of time.
• We also have to learn to live with ourselves.
• The God of peace will make you completely holy!
• When you are in Christ, God sees you as holy and blameless.
• He sees you as a saint.
• How do you see yourself?
• Does the past haunt you?
• Are you defining yourself by your mistakes?
• Why?
• I know that God sees us as holy and blameless, and we are, in practical terms, far from that.
• Our life is about living up to how God sees us because we love God.
• The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all of our sins!
• Why are you allowing yourself to be defined by your sins?
• Verse 24 reminds us that God is trustworthy.
• In Christ, in God's eyes, your past sins will not define you.
• Learn to love yourself because God loves you!
CONCLUSION
• So what are we called to do until the Lord returns?
• That is precisely what Paul lays out in our passage today!
• This is an excellent start to living out god's will in your life.
Application Point: We can trust God to be faithful to the end as we offer our lives loyally to him.
