THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
Dr. Russell Brownworth, D.Min., Pastor
January 11, 2004
1 Thessalonians 5:16-28 (NIV)
We are about to begin a series of four messages on "Life Handles" taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 2 Thessalonians 3:5. The longer title is "Life Handles - Patience For the Long Haul".
Handles are like rock climbing tools. Frankly, if you’re going to go up a mountain like "life" it pays to have some handles to grab-on and hold-on! The key verse of this series even says it that way:
…Hold on to the good 1 Thessalonians 5:21b
The Long Haul has to do with the fact that we do better to base our lives on principles than on rules. Rules tell you where you’d better not go; Principles show you the way to go. Life principles for the long haul are those which make life worthwhile and useful for a lifetime.
The Godly principle we seek is patience! Now, admittedly that is a dangerous and semi-despised word, especially in the Christian community. Everyone knows what Jesus’ brother James said about it…when you pray for patience, tribulation won’t be far behind. [1]
It helps to start with a definition:
Patience (Pa"tience) (?), n. [F. patience, fr. L. patientia. See Patient.]
1. The state or quality of being patient; the power of suffering with fortitude; uncomplaining endurance of evils or wrongs, as toil, pain, poverty, insult, oppression, calamity, etc…. [2]
Did you check-out all those words; especially the ones like pain and suffering? How about that uncomplaining? Waiting is one thing; suffering added to waiting stretches my admiration for patience. I have a lot of company in this. One psychologist put it this way:
No one wants to wait for anything and, for the most part, no one has to anymore. Waiting is interpreted as pain. ... People walk into my office and say they are Christians, but I see no difference except that they want to be happy and now expect God to make it so.
The problem is that, in this country, you can have what you want when you want it most of the time. ... People like the fact that they can buy a 50-foot tree and instantly plant it in their yard. Why on earth would anyone want to wait on relationships or wait on God? [3]
A few other wise sayings about patience:
Bill Gothard: Patience [is] accepting a difficult situation without giving God a deadline to remove it.
Arnold Glasgow: The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open.
Henry Ward Beecher: There is no such thing as preaching patience into people unless the sermon is so long they have to practice it while they hear. [4]
And, of course, my favorite given to me some time ago by my elder, married daughter, Jennifer:
I pray for -
Wisdom - to understand my man;
Love - to forgive him;
Patience - for his moods;
Because, Lord if I pray for Strength, I’ll beat him to death.
Amen.
We are all glad Jennifer found the strength there is in patience! And that is what this message, and this series of messages will be all about, finding the life handles of patient strength for the long haul of life…
Handle #1 - A Joyful Outlook
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Joy, prayer and giving thanks are such good things we sometimes forget they are commands. Paul even says that those are among God’s will for us. To disobey is to go against God’s will. That means none of us has the right to be cantankerous or mean-spirited, carping and nit-picking on every little thing.
These are inner attitudes, joy, prayer and thanksgiving - all directed towards God by His children. However, they correspond to the outward behavioral commands, those things we do towards other people, which we find in the previous chapter.[5]
Paul found it necessary to talk about this, because, even in the church, there are many people who claim to be experiencing the joy of God’s salvation, yet display anger and complain about everything from the temperature of the room to leadership decisions and the color of the carpet. They rarely have anything good to say! Our good friend Dr. McCutcheon would say, in his best South Carolina drawl, they musta’ been raised on sour stuff, an’ weaned on pickle juice.
I know it is hard to feel joyful all the time; at times we all get a little down, or even a tad cranky. But that should not characterize your every conversation. If you have trouble with being joyful, prayerful, thankful, pray for God to put some joy in your heart. Believe me; He is awaiting a prayer like that. Be like the oyster:
There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that sand had got under his shell,
Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain,
For oysters have feelings although they’re so plain.
Now, did he berate the working of Fate,
Which had led him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse out the government, call for an election?
No; as he lay on the shelf he said to himself
"If I cannot remove it, I’ll try to improve it."
So the years rolled by as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny--stew.
And this small grain of sand which had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral--for isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand;
What couldn’t we do if we’d only begin
With all of the things that get under our skin.[6]
Handle #2 - A Teachable Spirit
19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.
Paul had been treated badly in a public way by some of the believers. It happens that way in some churches; Corinth was one of those churches.
10For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful,
but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." 2 Corinthians 10:10 (NIV)
Treating a prophecy (teaching) with contempt means you dismiss it as unimportant. Paul says to take learning seriously. Many people feel they are past the point of taking part in Sunday morning Bible Study. I find that hard to believe. Paul testified that even at the end of his ministry, having written a third of the New Testament, he had not yet arrived [7] at the point of being done with learning.
A teachable spirit means you are willing to be instructed by God’s Word. Paul said the key in it was to hold to the good and avoid the evil. He was saying you need to let the Word of God shape your life in every way. Paul said it a little differently to the young pastor, Timothy:
15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a workman who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
Correctly "handling" the Word of truth is applying God’s Word to teaching that you hear. We want to discern God’s will. We cannot do that if we are ignorant of God’s written Word.
However, we must always be careful; not all teaching is Godly. There was a preacher who is now with the Lord who put it rather bluntly, but better than I could, so I’ll let him tell you:
Don’t be taken in. To put it crudely, don’t be a sucker. Don’t be misled into supporting a project just because somebody sends you a picture of pathetic looking orphans. Don’t contribute to things you know nothing about. Don’t fall for some promotion job. Investigate.[8]
Handle #3 - A Faithful Heart
23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
To "sanctify" is to set something apart, as we ordain preachers and deacons - they are set apart for a specific purpose in God’s service. Earlier in the letter (4:1-12) Paul challenged the believers to live a pure life. Now he prays that God would give them the power to live that way. Only God can do that; only we, individually can invite God to do that.
Faithfulness begins when we decide that our hearts are going to belong to God, when we make that decision that nothing else in the world matters more than being right with Him. I read an account attributed to Charles Spurgeon in his lectures to student preachers about a young man who had made just such a decision:
A YOUNG MAN desired to go to India as a missionary with the London Missionary Society. Mr. Wilks was appointed to consider the young man’s fitness for such a post. He wrote to the young man, and told him to call on him at six o’clock the next morning.
Although the applicant lived many miles off, he was at the house punctually at six o’clock and was ushered into the drawing room. He waited - and waited - and waited wonderingly, but patiently. Finally Mr. Wilks entered the room about mid-morning.
Without apology, Mr. Wilks began, "Well, young man, so you want to be a missionary?" "Yes, sir, I do."
"Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?" "Yes, sir, I certainly do."
"And have you any education?" "Yes, sir, a little."
"Well, now, we’ll try you; can you spell ’cat’?"
The young man looked confused, and hardly knew how to answer so preposterous a question. His mind evidently halted between indignation and submission, but in a moment he replied steadily, "C, a, t, cat".
"Very good," said Mr. Wilks. "Now can you spell ’dog’?"
The youthful Job was stunned but replied, "D, o, g, dog."
"Well, that is right; I see you will do in your spelling, and now for your arithmetic; how much is two time two?"
"The patient youth gave the right reply and was dismissed.
Mr. Wilks gave his report at the committee meeting. He said, "I cordially recommend that young man; his testimony and character I have duly examined. I tried his self-denial, he was up in the morning early; I tried his patience by keeping him waiting; I tried his humility and temper by insulting his intelligence. He will do just fine."[9]
Handle #4 - A Connected Life
25Brothers, pray for us. 26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
A connected life has to do with being involved with the family of God. Beside salvation itself, and an on-going relationship with the Lord Jesus, I don’t know of a life handle more important than being rightly-connected to the family of God. There are bumps, of course, but we need each other so much the bumps are well worth it!
Bumps are the mistakes and sometimes wrong attitudes. One family had a "bump" trying to have their three-year-old record the outgoing message on their answering machine. The rehearsals went smoothly: Mommy and Daddy can’t come to the phone right now. If you’ll leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, they’ll get back to you as soon as possible. [When it was time to record, the boy said it this way:] Mommy and Daddy can’t come to the phone right now. If you’ll leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, they’ll get back to you as soon as Jesus comes. [10]
Connection in the body of Christ happens in at least three ways. Paul mentions them in our text:
A. Prayer
Paul valued the prayer of fellow-believers. Being connected means people know all about you (and love you anyway)! I’ve heard that expressed in a negative way, especially about small towns: Everybody knows everybody else’s business. Well, there’s a difference between being nosey and being involved with each other to know where the hurts are, and how to pray for folks.
Paul counted on the prayers of the church. I have counted on prayer support to do every part of pastoral ministry, and to be a good father, husband and son. So many wonderful and strange things have happened to me in the last 25 years because of the prayers of faithful people who love me. I don’t even want to begin to think about where I would be today if it were not for the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
B. Fellowship
The church family was instructed to greet each other. Back then the sign of friendship was a holy kiss. (Before all you he-men get all hissey’d-up, relax, a handshake means the same thing - IF you mean what it implies…friend!)
The fellowship of a truly Christ like church is supportive, not combative. Being involved with one another in fellowship is a strong deterrent to having our faith stripped away. The reason Satan is out there going about as a roaring lion[11] is because he wants to devour Christians. That means he wants to ruin your testimony, your worship and your service to Jesus. Strong fellowship, accountable fellowship is a good strong medicine to help you stay in church, and out of the lion’s mouth!
C. Instruction
Paul charged the recipients of this letter to read it to all the brethren. "Charged" is oath-kind of language. There are so many things we need from the Word of God to help us in our lives. Patience is one, but think of all the instruction, practical life-handles Paul laid-out for the church in this letter - belief, behavior, attitudes within and actions without - Paul gave the church so much to hold on to, that the Devil would have a hard time prying loose a believer from his faith or his church family, or his commitments in life to family and friends.
Last Word - Grace!
28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Grace is the key to finding patience. In great patience Jesus came to die for our sins. He who experienced the joy of Heaven became the Man of Sorrows for us. He who had all knowledge became teachable and learned the sting of sin from us. He who was faithful in all eternity suffered the loss of relationship with His Father, when on the cross the Father turned away from the Son, treating Him as faithless for our sins. And he Who was the hand by which the Father created all, connected to all the heavens and universe, died alone, disconnected, deserted and despised…for us!
He did it all so that the offer of forgiveness, GRACE would be free; so we could escape the punishment we deserve. He was willing to be OUR life-handle.
THERE WAS ONCE A FELLOW WHO, with his dad, farmed a little piece of land. Several times a year they would load up the old ox-drawn cart with vegetables and go into the nearest city to sell their produce. Except for their name and the patch of ground, father and son had little in common. The old man believed in taking it easy. The boy was usually in a hurry - the go-getter type.
One morning, bright and early, they hitched up the ox to the loaded cart and started on the long journey. The son figured that if they walked faster, kept going all day and night, they’d make market by early the next morning. So he kept prodding the ox with a stick, urging the beast to get a move on.
"Take it easy, son," said the old man. "You’ll last longer."
"But if we get to marked\t ahead of the others, we’ll have a better chance of getting good prices," argued the son. No reply. Dad just pulled his hat down over his eyes and fell asleep on the seat. Itchy and irritated, the young man kept goading the ox to walk faster. His stubborn pace refused to change.
Four hours and four miles later down the road, they came to a little house. The father woke up, smiled, and said, "Here’s your uncle’s place. Let’s stop in and say hello."
"But we’ve lost an hour already," complained the hot shot.
"Then a few more minutes won’t matter. My brother and I live so close, yet we see each other so seldom," the father answered slowly.
The boy fidgeted and fumed while the two old men laughed and talked away almost an hour. On the move again, the man took his turn leading the ox. As they approached a fork in the road, the father led the ox to the right.
"The left is the shorter way," said the son.
"I know it," replied the old man, "but this way is much prettier."
"Have you no respect for time?" the young man asked impatiently.
"Oh, I respect it very much! That’s why I like to use it to look at beauty and enjoy each moment to the fullest."
The winding path led through graceful meadows, wildflowers, and along a rippling stream - all of which the young man missed as he churned within, preoccupied and boiling with anxiety. He didn’t even notice how lovely the sunset was that day.
Twilight found them in what looked like a huge, colorful garden. The old man breathed in the aroma, listened to the bubbling brook, and pulled the ox to a halt. "Let’s sleep here," he sighed.
"This is the last trip I’m taking with you," snapped the son. "You’re more interested in watching sunsets and smelling flowers than in making money!"
"Why, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said in a long time," smiled the dad. A couple of minutes later he was snoring - as his boy glared back at the stars. The night dragged slowly, the son was restless.
Before sunrise the young man hurriedly shook his father awake. They hitched up and went on. About a mile down the road they happened upon another farmer - a total stranger - trying to pull his cart out of a ditch.
"Let’s give him a hand," whispered the old man.
"And lose more time?" the boy exploded.
"Relax son. You might be in a ditch sometime yourself. We need to help others in need - don’t forget that." The boy looked away in anger.
It was almost eight o’clock that morning by the time the other cart was back on the road. Suddenly, a great flash split the sky. What sounded like thunder followed. Beyond the hills, the sky grew dark.
"Looks like a big rain in the city," said the old man.
"If we had hurried, we’d be almost sold out by now," grumbled his son.
"Take it easy, you’ll last longer. And you’ll enjoy life so much more," counseled the kind old gentleman.
It was late afternoon by the time they got to the hill overlooking the city. They stopped and stared down at it for a long time. Neither of them said a word. Finally, the young man put his hand on his father’s shoulder and said, "I see what you mean, Dad."
They turned their cart around and began to roll slowly away from what had once been the city of Hiroshima. [12]
No matter what you have been spending your time on in this life, the patient God of grace has offered to you this life handle, that whosoever will, may come to Him. If you have discovered that you have been struggling to get through this life, and there are no handles any more, the Lord Jesus extends His hand to you. Grab on! He is patiently waiting.
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ENDNOTES
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[1] An extremely loose translation of James 1:3, mind you!
[2] Encyclopedia, http://www.selfknowledge.com/69354.htm
[3] Psychologist Kim Hall, interviewed in The Door (Sept.-Oct. 1992). Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 9.
[4] Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992).
[5] 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
[6] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 19.
[7] Philippians 3:10-14
[8] J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible With J. Vernon McGee, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1983), 405
[9] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1998)
[10] John G. McFayden, Woodbridge, Virginia. Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom."
[11] 1 Peter 5:8
[12] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1998)
