The Impossible Made Possible In Christ

So 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18, very simply, Paul says,

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Well, clearly at the heart of this text is this pronouncement

that what is being said or what is being commanded is the, quote, will of God.

And that brings a weightiness to this, doesn't it?

Of course, we understand the Bible is God's word.

Everything that we read there is the will of God in some way,

and there are various ways to understand that.

But whenever we come to a statement like this in the Scripture,

it really is functioning like a giant flashing sign.

It's urging us to pay careful attention to what's being said.

This is the will of God for you.

This is what God wants for you.

To do anything less is to sin, to be in rebellion against Him.

And we've seen the phrase once before in this very letter.

If you remember back in chapter 4 and verse 3,

Paul wrote that the will of God is the Christian's sanctification.

Why don't you just set your eyes on it?

It may even be on the same page for you there.

Chapter 4, verse 3,

This is the will of God, your sanctification.

Very plain.

Sanctification, of course, refers to our progress in holiness,

our progress in purity.

We might understand it in the context of this book

and the way that Paul has used it here.

We might understand it as living consistently

with the purposes for which God has saved us

and set us apart for His glory.

Of course, that too has been echoed in the letter.

Just turn again back to chapter 2 and verse 12.

We exhorted each one of you, encouraged you,

and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God

who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

That's really what this is about, isn't it?

This sanctification, it really means to walk worthy of God,

to live consistently with the calling on our life.

That is our calling to salvation.

That since we belong to Him as His people,

if you're a Christian,

there is a particular way that He desires for you to live your life

in purity and in holiness.

This is His will,

Paul says plainly in chapter 4 and verse 3.

Well, when Paul speaks of God's will again here in chapter 5 and verse 18,

it's also in relation to the believer's sanctification.

And we know that because of verses 23 and 24.

They are working as the climax,

not only of this section,

really the climax of the whole letter,

but especially this section.

Just set your eyes on them.

Paul offers this prayer.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.

This whole idea of walking worthy,

of living a life that is consistent,

of having an existence that is consistent

with the calling of God on our lives,

he says,

may God bring it to completion.

And may your whole spirit and body and soul be kept blameless.

Blameless being another word for sanctification.

May it be blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

He who calls you is faithful.

He will surely do it.

That's the climax,

not only of the letter,

but of this section.

That's what helps inform us of what Paul is doing with this section.

It has to do with our sanctification.

God will be faithful to complete that work when Christ returns.

But until that time,

the challenge for us is to pursue sanctification,

to pursue holiness and purity,

blamelessness in the context of verse 23.

That is our part.

We are to do that.

We are to pursue that in His grace

and of course in the power of His Spirit.

So again, when we get to chapter 5,

there's this repetition.

This is the will of God.

And what is it in relation to?

Well, ultimately it's in relation to our sanctification again,

but it has a narrow focus as well.

Here, sanctification means constant joy,

persistent prayer,

grateful praise in every circumstance.

The bottom line of all of this is

that God desires for His people

to actually live like His people.

And in these verses,

to live as if you belong to God

is to rejoice always,

to pray without ceasing,

and to give thanks in all circumstances.

So it's not very hard to see that, is it?

It's easy to see,

okay, this is what God wants for me.

And though as His people,

it is always,

or at least it should always be,

our delight

to do the will of God,

that doesn't mean

that obedience to God's will

is always easy.

In fact,

there are times where

God's commands

actually,

they seem downright impossible

to obey,

impossible to fulfill.

And I think this is one of those times.

We're so familiar

with these three verses

that we may take for granted

exactly what God is telling us to do here.

Consider the Thessalonian Christians

who were the first recipients

of these instructions.

That they face significant suffering

in their lives

for their faith in particular

is well established.

We know that.

From the very beginning,

their faith

was rocked

by persecution.

Paul himself

and his team

being chased out of town

at threat of their life.

Those who had allowed

Paul and his team

to stay with him,

Jason in particular

was one man

that's named in Acts 17,

are dragged before a mob

and beaten.

Why?

Because they were Christians.

And of course,

as we've studied the letter,

we have found

that that has continued.

Not only has the persecution continued

and not only is it severe,

but now they're starting

to notice that

people that they love,

Christians,

their brothers and sisters in Christ,

are beginning to die

and that's brought confusion.

That's brought a different kind

of grief to them

that Paul has dealt with

in the letter.

Everything that we know

about the Thessalonians

and about their context

is hard.

It's a struggle.

It's suffering.

And their suffering,

both physical and emotional,

showed no signs of letting up.

Now it is to those people

that Paul writes,

God wants you to rejoice.

God wants you to continue praying.

God wants you to express

thanksgiving.

And surely,

as they heard this letter read

in one of their gatherings,

somebody in that worship service

would have thought,

God's asking too much.

How is that even possible?

Perhaps you're in a season of life

that is somewhat like that,

where instructions like these,

while you get them

and maybe you can feign

some type of obedience to them,

you really know

or at least think

that I can't do this.

Sure, you know how to get on

well enough in Christian settings,

but genuinely expressing joy to God,

continuing in faithful

dependence on Him,

offering sincere thanks

from the heart,

just isn't happening.

And maybe you've concluded

that God asked too much.

He asked too much of you.

Or that these attitudes and actions

can only be true

of a certain kind of Christian,

some kind of super Christian

that just has something

that you don't have.

Neither of those things

is true.

We tend to think of these precepts

in terms of what we must do.

I want to try to correct that,

but not entirely,

because it's not all wrong,

but it is incomplete.

These are not merely things

that we must do,

actions that we must perform.

By God's grace,

I want to show you

from this text

that it is not only

what we must do

or that we must do them,

but that we can do them.

You actually can.

not in a way that is

a fake it till you make it

kind of situation,

but you,

those who are in Christ,

you can actually do

what God is commanding you

to do in this text.

You can have authentic joy

in the midst of grief.

You can have confident,

hopeful prayer.

You can have grateful praise

even in the most difficult

moments of your life.

You can suffer with joy.

You can pray with confidence.

You can find reasons

for gratitude

when all of your faith,

love, and hope

rest and are at rest

in the person

and the work of Jesus Christ.

That's what these verses

are about.

That's what I hope to point out

to you this morning.

First thing I want to do,

just two main things,

but the first thing is this.

I want us to look at

the essence of the commands here.

The essence of the commands.

Look again,

verse 16 to 18.

Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances.

Now I want to try to get ahead

of a potential misunderstanding

that I've witnessed before

in some Christians.

some have misunderstood

these three commands

to mean that expressing grief

or acknowledging a serious struggle,

maybe even a struggle of the soul,

darkness of the soul

as we would call it,

that to experience those things,

to feel those things,

and to express those things

is actually sinful.

They wrongly believe

or at least wrongly behave

as if joy cannot exist with grief,

as if prayers cannot be made

in moments of confusion

or maybe even doubt,

or that thanksgiving cannot

be true thanksgiving

if it also admits hardship

and difficulty.

And what that kind of thinking

results in

is the appearance of joy

that's not actually real.

Prayer that is hollow,

vain.

Jesus said it of unbelievers

that it is vain repetition

that they think that they will be heard

for their much speaking,

but it's not prayer

that's genuine from the heart.

It's not informed by reality.

It's just words,

religious forms.

It also results in displays

of gratitude that may be misguided.

They may express gratitude

for something that God

doesn't actually instruct us

to be grateful for.

Perhaps you've seen somebody

who just out of confusion about this,

they have the intention of obedience.

They want to be obedient to the passage,

but because they misunderstand

what God has actually commanded here,

they look at their suffering

and they express gratitude

for the suffering itself

as if that's what God's asking them

to do here.

I don't think that's what God is asking.

Now, I understand there is a way

to do that

that is genuine

and good,

but there are some

who feel like

what God is actually asking them to do

is express this kind of

feigned thanksgiving and joy

for something

that he hasn't actually told them

that they must be thankful for.

The result of all of that,

the aura of all of that,

it reeks of vain religion

that is out of touch with reality.

Now, I'm not suggesting

that any of you think that way,

but I have seen that.

I've seen Christians

who just,

they don't have a good understanding

of suffering,

therefore they have

a complete misunderstanding

of what God's actually asking for here.

That's not how we're to understand

the essence of these commands.

To ignore or to deny

the experience of suffering,

it actually robs these virtues

of their meaning

and of their power.

Suffering is the backdrop

against which Christian joy

and hope and gratitude

shine the brightest.

A couple of weeks ago,

I can't remember what brought it on.

Maybe the girls were asking about it

or Julie and I were talking

about her engagement ring.

One of the girls asked

how much I paid for it.

I don't know,

a quarter,

whatever it cost

at the vending machine, right?

We were talking about it.

I remember when I would go

to Jared's,

that's the only place

that I will allow myself

to buy jewelry.

We'll go to Jared's

and what is it that they do

with the jewelry?

They pull it out of the case, right?

They put it on that black felt thing

or at least it's what they used to do.

It's probably been 16 years

since I've been in a jewelry store.

They put it on the black.

Why do they do that?

They got the spotlights right above.

They shine it down

against the backdrop

of that black felt board.

The diamond shines brightest,

doesn't it?

When we think about Christian joy

and Christian hope

and Christian prayer,

Christian gratitude,

it shines brightest

against the backdrop

of suffering.

It's not in ignorance

or denial of grief

but in the perseverance of joy

through incredible grief

that is the essence

of these commands.

And Paul affirmed this routinely

when he spoke of his own suffering.

I want to just read to you

this one paragraph

that he wrote

in 2 Corinthians 1.

He said,

We do not want you

to be unaware, brothers,

of the affliction

we experienced in Asia.

He's being honest

about his circumstance.

We were so utterly burdened

beyond our strength

that we despaired

of life itself.

This is the Apostle Paul,

the great Apostle.

He's supposed to always

be happy, right?

I mean, that's who this guy is

and he's saying,

No, there's been some times

it's been so hard

that I just wanted to die.

I just wanted to die.

Indeed, he says,

we felt that we had received

the sentence of death.

Oh, but that was to make us rely

not on ourselves

but on God

who raises the dead.

He delivered us

from such a deadly peril

and he will deliver us.

On him we have set our hope

that he will deliver us again.

You also must help us by prayer

so that many will give thanks

on our behalf

for the blessing granted to us

through the prayers of many.

Do you see what he's doing there?

He's not denying serious suffering

but he is showing that it is possible

for a Christian

to have true hope

and joy

and gratitude

in the midst of intense suffering.

The kind of suffering

that when you lay at bed tonight

you just ask God,

Will you just take me already?

These three commands

are about more than

outward religious performance.

That's not what God is interested in.

All of them are written as actions.

They're verbs, aren't they?

We are to rejoice.

We are to pray.

We are to give thanks.

All of those are verbs.

All of them, however,

each action flows

from an attitude toward God

that is not manufactured.

It's actually something

that is settled

in the heart

of a believer

and of a believer alone.

There's a transformation

of heart and mind

that God graciously gives

to those he saves.

We read about it

in 2 Corinthians 5

in verse 17.

Paul says,

If anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

All things made new.

And we are to put on

this new man.

What does that actually mean?

It means that we live

consistently

with what God

has already done

in us.

This new creation,

it includes

the disposition

of our heart

toward God.

God does that work in us.

We don't do that

for ourselves.

He does that.

So when God says

that his will

is that we rejoice,

he is instructing us

to express the joy

that he has put

in our hearts.

To give voice

to something

that he has put

in us.

It's there.

If you're in Christ,

it's there.

It may be hard to see

at times,

but it's there.

And he says,

I want you to give voice

to it.

I want you to rejoice.

When he tells us

to pray,

he means for us

to act upon

the hope

and faith

that he's put in us.

When he commands

our thanksgiving,

he is instructing us

to give voice

to the heart

of worship

that goes

far beyond

our present circumstance.

What am I saying?

These three commands

are not about performance.

So we need not

look at them

and say,

well,

if I'm going to obey God,

I've got to find a way

to fame joy

and continue

in hopeful prayer

even when prayer

is quite difficult

and to just come up

with some random thing

that I can express

thanksgiving for.

No,

that's not what this is about.

It's not about performance.

It's about our attitude

of heart

towards God.

These commands

don't require

that we ignore

or deny

the reality

of hardship,

but that we faithfully

persevere

in genuine worship

through

our various sufferings.

And it's in this way

that God wills

our sanctification

in this text,

preparing us

for Christ's return

when he will

complete

our joy

and he will

complete

our hope

and he will

complete

our thanksgiving

in eternity.

But of course,

we understand

when we come

to a text like this,

we understand

God has done

this work,

he's asking us

to give voice

to something

that he has done

in us,

but then we also

know that

our hearts

can grow cold.

Which is exactly

why we need

this kind of instruction

again and again.

Paul wrote

these things

to the Thessalonians

in order to

awaken in them

something that

may have become

dull,

but why would it

have become dull?

Well,

some of them

we know

are living

in sinful

behaviors.

Sin can make

your heart

grow dull.

When you have

sin in your life,

it's going to be

hard to express

genuine joy

and you probably

won't want to

pray very much

because you

understand the

contradiction

between your life

and prayer.

It will be hard

to even think

about thanksgiving

because you're

obsessed with

this other thing

that you want

more than you want

obedience to Christ.

sin dulls our

hearts to these

things.

It's not just

sin,

there's intense

distress happening

in the church.

Distress,

suffering,

can dull our

hearts.

It's hard to

find joy when

you can't see a

reason to feel

joy.

It's hard to

pray when you've

prayed again and

again and again

and it seems like

God isn't

listening.

it's hard to

express gratitude

when you're

finding it

difficult to

find anything

that's worth

being thankful

for.

Of course,

we can pull

out all kinds

of random

things that we

know we're

supposed to be

thankful for

but that doesn't

mean that we're

actually doing it.

Our hearts can

grow dull and

cold.

Of course,

the difficulty

here is not

so much the

commands themselves,

it's the

modifiers that

follow them.

we aren't

told simply to

rejoice.

We're told to

rejoice always.

We aren't

told simply

to pray.

We're instructed

to never stop

praying.

We're not

told to give

thanks, we're

told to do so

in every

circumstance.

That's why

these commands,

we come to it

and we think,

if we're being

honest with

ourselves, we

come to it

and we think,

this is not

possible, how

can this

actually be

possible to

do the

things?

God's asking

too much.

Who can

genuinely do

these things

at all times?

We want to

do these

things at all

times but

who truly

can?

And the

answer comes

at the end

of verse

18.

So we've

seen the

essence of

the commands,

now I'm

going to

show you

the basis

for the

commands.

That God

is not

asking too

much of

you, he's

actually

commanding you

to do

something that

he's made

possible.

Look again

at verse

18.

For this

is the

will of

God in

Christ Jesus

for you.

For this

is the

will of

God in

Christ Jesus

for you.

What seems

impossible is

suddenly made

possible when we

think about this

last statement.

Think about how

Paul could have

said this.

He could have

said, rejoice

always, pray

without ceasing,

give thanks in

all circumstances

for this is the

will of God

for you.

He could have

said that.

He doesn't

say that.

It would be

incomplete if he

said that.

Oh, the

addition of

in Christ

Jesus is of

utmost importance

to the

instructions.

It roots the

command for

constant joy

and persistent

prayer and

continual

thanksgiving.

It roots it

solely in the

good news of

Jesus.

The impossible

is made

possible in

Christ alone.

God doesn't

command us to

rejoice because

of our sorrow

but to rejoice

in our sorrow

because Jesus

has conquered

our grief and

will bring it

to an end

that is coming.

That's how we

can rejoice in

Christ.

God doesn't

instruct us to

pray because he

will always grant

our request.

He makes no

such promises.

He invites us

to pray.

We know that

prayer is a

means by which

he does very

often grant

our request.

But that's not

why he says to

pray without

ceasing.

He says to

pray without

ceasing because

in Christ

Jesus we

can pray.

We have

access to

the throne

of God

through our

great high

priest Jesus

Christ.

Why wouldn't

we pray

when we have

such wonderful

privilege?

God doesn't

demand our

thanksgiving

because life is

always good.

He commands

our thanksgiving

because Jesus

is always good

even when life

is not.

The radical

call to rejoice

always and pray

without ceasing

and give thanks

in all circumstances

really it's

fundamentally a

call to view

every moment

in light of the

fact that you

belong to Jesus.

that's what

this is about.

Living every

moment of our

life understanding

every circumstance

viewing all of

life and all

that we see

and experience

viewing it with

the understanding

that I belong

to Jesus.

I am his

and he is

mine.

Isn't that the

message that

seems to be

coursing through

this entire

letter?

Christ is

coming back

to redeem

his people

and judge

his enemies.

Things may be

tough right now

but take heart

you belong to

Jesus and he

will not forsake

you over

and over

and over

this is the

theme that

comes to the

surface in

this letter

to the

Thessalonians.

So you can

keep rejoicing

in the pain.

You can

keep praying

through the

confusion.

You can

give thanks

in the

suffering

because you

belong to

him and

he's coming

back and

he's going to

make all

things right

and we will

be with him

in eternity.

That's

1 Thessalonians.

The reality

of the

Thessalonians

suffering made

these attitudes

and actions

difficult but

the fact of

their salvation

made them

possible.

I want to

say that

again.

The reality

of the

Thessalonians

suffering made

these attitudes

and actions

difficult,

maybe even

seemingly

impossible but

the fact of

their salvation

made them

very possible.

Yes,

they were

enduring

significant

hardship but

consider what

else the letter

says was

true of them.

In chapter

1 and

verse 4

we're told

that they

are loved

and chosen

by God.

In several

places we are

told that they

are filled

by the Holy

Spirit.

In chapter

1 verses 5

and 6

they are filled

with the power

of the Holy

Spirit.

A few verses

later they are

given the joy

of the Holy

Spirit.

When we get

to chapter 4

we find that

they have been

given by God

His Holy

Spirit.

That's true

of them.

In chapter

1 and

verse 10

we find that

they have

been delivered

by Christ

from God's

future wrath.

In chapter

2 and

verse 12

they've been

called into

God's kingdom

and glory.

In chapter

2 and

verse 13

they were

being transformed

by God's

word.

In chapter

3 and

verse 8

they were

standing

firm

in the

Lord.

In chapter

3 and

verse 13

they were

being established

in holiness

by God

Himself.

In chapter

4 and

verse 14

they received

the promise

of resurrection

on the basis

of Jesus'

resurrection.

In chapter

4 and

verse 17

they received

the promise

that whether

living or

dead

they will

spend

forever

in the

presence of

Christ.

chapter 5

verses 9

and 10

they are

destined

not for

wrath

but to

obtain

salvation.

If we

spend all

of our

time

looking at

1 Thessalonians

and thinking

wow

what a

hard life

they lived.

What a

shame for

us.

They didn't

think that

way.

You hear

all of that

encouragement.

Yes

things were

hard but

that's not

all that was

true of

them.

No

they were

in Christ

and they

were going

to receive

all the

benefits and

privileges of

being in

Christ.

That is what

was true of

them.

That's why

Paul could

write and

say it's

God's will

that you

keep rejoicing

in your

hardship and

that you

keep praying

in your

doubt and

that you

keep giving

thanks in

all circumstances

because you

belong to

him.

You can

do this

in Christ.

And if

you're a

Christian this

morning everything

that we just

read about the

Thessalonians

that's true

of you.

You too

have been

delivered from

the wrath to

come.

You too

have been

given the

presence and

power of the

Holy Spirit.

He is in

you.

He has put

joy in your

heart.

His word

is at work

in you.

It's transforming

you.

You have the

promise of a

future resurrection.

You will be

forever with

the Lord.

You are

destined by

God,

determined by

God to

obtain salvation

in the end.

That's true

of you.

God's will is

that you

remember who

you are in

Christ at

all times so

that in every

circumstance you

can give voice

to what he has

done for you

and what he

has done in

you.

Truly,

at all times

and in all

circumstances,

you can rejoice.

You can pray

and you can give

thanks because

you're in

Christ.

Christ.

Now, if you're

not a

Christian,

I'm glad

you're here

and I hope

you will come

to understand

the wonder

of this

gospel that

I'm speaking

of now.

But what I

want to say

to you now

is that Jesus

really is this

good.

He really

is.

Listen to

how he

described the

salvation that

he gives in

Matthew's gospel.

These are two

of my favorite

parables.

In Matthew

13,

Jesus said,

the kingdom

of heaven

is like a

treasure hidden

in a field

which a man

found and

covered up.

Then in his

joy,

he goes and

he sells all

that he has

and he buys

that field.

And then he

continues,

again,

the kingdom

of heaven

is like a

merchant in

search of

fine pearls

who on

finding one

pearl of

great value

went and

sold all

that he

had

and bought

it.

Now,

what's the

point?

Jesus is

the treasure

in the

field.

Jesus is

the pearl

of immeasurable

value.

He really

is as good

as the word

says that he

is.

Apart from

him,

we are all

destined for

God's wrath.

We're destined

for that

because God

is holy

and we

are born

sinners.

We are in

rebellion

against him.

But on

the cross,

Jesus,

the sinless

son of

God,

bore

God's

wrath

in our

place.

He took

the place

of every

sinner

sinner

who will

believe,

who will

trust in

him and

follow him

as Lord.

Only those

who are safe

in Christ

can rejoice

always and

pray without

ceasing and

give thanks in

every circumstance.

And you

can be safe

in Christ

today

and forever.

if you

will be like

that man

in the

field

and like

that merchant

searching for

pearls.

This life,

it offers a

lot of

things.

And you

may be

satisfied to

some extent

with what

it's offered

you.

But when

you finally

see Jesus

for who

he really

is and

what he

really is

and what

he has

done,

everything

else in

this life,

as Paul

said to

the Philippians,

will feel

like

rubbish.

And the

great thing

about it

is he

just invites

us to

receive it.

He does

all of

this and

he doesn't

even put a

cover charge.

He says,

just come

to me.

All who

are burdened

and heavy

laden,

I will

give you

rest.

You will

find rest

for your

soul in

me alone

so that

when

everything

else

around

you

is

falling

apart

and

all

the

suffering

that

you're

enduring,

you can

actually have

true joy

because you

have rest

in your

soul

because Jesus

has put it

there.

In the end,

to rejoice

always,

to pray

without ceasing,

to give

thanks in

all circumstances

is to live

like you

belong to

God.

That's what

sanctification is

all about,

isn't it?

It's God's

people living

like God's

people.

But it's

not an easy

task and we

know that and I

don't mean to

present it as if

it is easy.

We do

regularly fail

to live up to

it.

we're grateful

that the promise

even of this

chapter is

that God is

going to

complete all

of this in

us one day

and this

will not be a

struggle anymore.

But for now,

it will be a

daily struggle.

I think that's

why God is

pleased for us

to grow in

Christian community

and I want to

zoom out just

for a moment

from 16 to

18 to see

its place

in this

section.

The verse

before it,

it led with

see to it

that no one,

that is other

believers,

see to it

that we will

not repay evil

for evil but

that we will

always do good.

Well,

there's no break

in the thought

between verse 15

and verse 16.

It is a different

unit that Paul

is focused on

but all of it's

working together.

We might

understand this

rejoicing and

this prayer and

this thanksgiving

as flowing out

of our responsibility

in verse 15

to ensure

that one another

are doing it.

You know what

that means?

That means we

need to see to

it that each

other are

always rejoicing,

always praying,

that are always

giving thanks.

And when we

understand our

own hearts,

we understand that

we actually need

one another to

help encourage us

in this,

don't we?

we need each

other.

This section

that flows out

of that instruction

and we must

see to it

that everyone

lives in light

of their standing

in Christ,

rejoicing,

praying,

giving thanks.

In Christ,

it's possible

and we should

continue in these

things as we

eagerly await

his return.

Let's pray.