1 Thessalonians Ch5v16-28 - Healthy Church 2

Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

! Greet all God's people with a holy kiss.

I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

!

Well, what a mishmash of commands and instructions.

We need God's help, so let's pray and see what God will do amongst us this morning.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this ancient letter written hundreds of years ago to a church just like this.

Your word written down to instruct us, to encourage us, and help us.

And so we ask that by your spirit, you would be our teacher and you would build us up today,

build us up in Christ, and encourage our hearts.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

So what are we to do with all these instructions?

Rejoice always.

Don't treat prophecies with contempt.

Greet each other with a holy kiss.

What are we to do with them?

What are they?

Well, I think what Paul is doing is giving us a picture of a healthy church.

We saw that in verses 12 to 15 the last time we looked at this together.

You see, the local church is like a family.

Have a look at verse 12.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters.

Verse 14.

We urge you, brothers and sisters.

And down at verse 25.

Brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters.

You see, we are brothers and sisters united in Christ for the encouragement and support of each other.

It's all about relationships.

Healthy relationships between God's people.

And what he's instructing us and encouraging us here is to say,

I need you and you need me.

And we all need one another.

So in verses 16 to 28, we are shown what our Christ relationship looks like in practice.

And there's two ways in which brothers and sisters in Christ help each other.

Two very simple things we're going to look at together,

which I think summarises this last section of the letter.

We're to speak to God about each other.

And we're to speak to each other about God.

Speak to God about each other.

The prayer of one another.

And to speak to each other about God.

Speaking his word.

So first, we speak to God about each other.

Let's look at verse 16 to 18.

Rejoice always.

Pray continually.

Give thanks in all circumstances.

So here we have three different kinds of prayers

that we can always be praying for each other.

The first one is to rejoice always.

When we see each other, as we gather together like this,

we are to be joyful,

filled with spontaneous praise to God.

Have a look back at chapter 3, verse 9.

Chapter 3, verse 9.

How can we thank God enough for you

in return for all the joy we have

in the presence of our God

because of you?

When Paul thinks of the church,

he's filled with joy.

He's rejoicing that this church

is continuing to work or to walk with Christ.

Every news report that he gets,

there is a love for Christ

and a love for each other.

And he's overflowing in praise to God.

As we gather together,

even now,

look around at one another.

These are your brothers and sisters

that God has given to you

to rejoice over.

And as I look out

this morning at each one of you,

I am filled with joy

because you are here,

you love Jesus,

and you continue to walk with Jesus.

So let us always rejoice

over our brothers and sisters.

Pray continually

is the next one.

We need to pray for each other.

Just in the next verse,

chapter 3, verse 10.

He says,

night and day,

we pray most earnestly

that we would see you again

and supply what is lacking in your faith.

You see,

none of us is perfect.

None of us

has the Christian life sorted.

We come today

with all kinds of struggles and issues,

overwhelmed with pressures,

some grieving,

some hurting.

Well, God has placed us

into the family of this church

amongst people

who are here to pray for you.

You see,

life can be so hard sometimes

that we just don't know what to pray.

And sometimes we can't even pray ourselves.

So we need one of our brothers and sisters

to come alongside us

and say,

tell me your story.

Tell me how your week is

and I will pray for you.

Pray continually

for one another.

And his third prayer was,

well, let's give thanks

in all circumstances.

There's always reasons

to be giving thanks to God.

In fact,

that's how the letter began.

Look at chapter 1

and verse 2.

We always thank God

for all of you

and continually mention you

in our prayers.

But what gives him such thanks?

Verse 3,

we remember before our God and Father

your work produced by faith,

your labor prompted by love,

and your endurance inspired by hope

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your work for God,

your love for others,

the hope that you have in Christ.

You,

and I am talking about you

here today,

all of us,

you have been faithful,

committed,

persevering.

You have been here

at certain times

to speak a word of comfort

to a brother or sister

who's been grieving.

You've been here

committed

to help

when people have been low.

Give thanks

for your brothers and sisters

who have stood with you

through thick and thin

and are still here with you today

because they love you.

Let's go back to chapter 5

of Thessalonians.

So here we have

three kinds of prayers,

verse 16,

that we can speak to God about.

Rejoice over one another.

Pray continually.

And give thanks

in all circumstances.

Now this isn't just

the optional extra

for the very keen.

Do you see what it says

at the end of verse 18?

This is God's will for you

in Christ Jesus.

This is God's design.

This is his best for you

that we pray

for one another.

In fact,

Paul saw the necessity

of prayer.

Verse 25.

He reaches out

to the church

and says,

Brothers and sisters,

pray for us.

I cannot do ministry.

I cannot continue

in the Christian life

unless you are

praying for me.

Well, if Paul needed prayer,

how much more

are we in need of prayer?

Think of it like this.

When you go on a flight,

the stewards go through

all the safety rules,

don't they?

Directing you

to where the doors are

in case of emergency.

But then they also say,

well,

if the cabin pressure

reduces,

you're to pull down

the oxygen mask

and the parent

or adult

is to place

the oxygen mask

on the child.

because without

the intervention

of the adult,

the child

can't breathe.

Well, think of prayer

like that.

Sometimes

we find life

so difficult

that spiritually

we are finding

it hard

to breathe.

We're finding it hard

to walk with God.

Well, our brother

and sister

is there through prayer

to put on that

oxygen mask,

to breathe

that life-giving

work of God's

spirit

into our life

so that we can

keep on going.

God has placed you

in the family

of this church,

brothers and sisters,

to pray to each other

to God.

Well, before we move on,

we're given an example.

You may be thinking,

well, what should I pray

for my brothers

and sisters?

Well, we have a prayer

for the church

and it's the most

wonderful prayer.

Look at verse 23.

May 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.

Don't know what

to pray for each other?

Look at verse 23.

This is what we can

speak to God about.

Look at the beginning,

that God would

sanctify you

through and through.

That God would

change you,

transform you,

make you

more like Jesus.

What a great

encouragement

that through

our prayers

for each other,

our prayers work,

they connect

with God the Father

and by his spirit

he works

in our life

so that we

become more

like Jesus.

More and more

beautiful.

More and more

precious.

But not only

that he would

work sanctification

in our life,

the second part

of verse 23

is there

that God

would keep you.

May your

whole spirit,

soul and body

be kept blameless

at the coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One day

Christ will come.

One day

we will die

and we will face him.

Are we ready

to meet him?

Well,

God has given

you

to one another

so that we

can be ready

for when

Christ comes.

Through our

prayers

we strengthen

each other's

hearts

to go on

walking

and trusting

to be ready

to meet Jesus.

so wondering

what you

should pray

to God

about?

What should

I rejoice

over my

brothers and

sisters about?

What should

I continually

pray for?

What should

I continue

to give

thanks for?

Verse 23

thank you

praise you

Lord

for what

you are

doing

making them

more like

Jesus.

And would

you please

continue that

work

and keep

them

to the

very end.

So first

a healthy

church

will always

be speaking

to God

about each

other.

It's a

wonderful gift.

Here's the

second way

brothers and

sisters can

relate to

each other

and help

each other.

We speak

to each

other

about

God.

Verse 19

Do not

quench the

spirit.

Do not

treat

prophecies

with contempt

but test

them all.

Hold on

to what

is good.

Reject

every

kind

of evil.

So

what are

prophecies?

Well

prophecy

is a

word

from

God

about

his

son

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

spoken

by

a

prophet.

That's

simple

isn't it?

A

prophecy

is a

word

from

God

about

his

son

Jesus

Christ

spoken

by

a

prophet.

Let's

have a

think

about

this

because

it

can

be

confusing

because

many

people

claim

to be

a

prophet.

So

what

do

we

mean

by

that?

Well

first

we

want

to

think

about

prophets

in the

capital

P

sense.

So

think

of

prophets

in the

Old

Testament.

People

like

Moses,

Isaiah,

Jeremiah,

when they

spoke

the

words

they

could

say

hear

the

word

of

the

Lord

or

God

has

said.

They

spoke

as

representatives

of

God.

Primarily

they were

speaking

of the

coming

King,

the

coming

Messiah,

Jesus

Christ,

God's

ultimate

prophet.

But

there

weren't

just

prophets

in the

Old

Testament,

there

were

also

prophets

in the

New

Testament

in the

early

church.

So

have a

look

with

me

to

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2.

So

go back

to

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2.

It's

another

letter

to a

church

and

Paul

is

the

author

again.

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2.

And

we'll

pick it

up

in

verse

19.

So

here

he's

speaking

about

the

church.

Brothers

and

sisters

who've

been

brought

together

in

Christ.

They've

heard

the

gospel

about

Christ

and

they've

been

united

together.

Verse

19.

So

consequently

you are

no longer

foreigners

and

strangers.

You're

not

outsiders

but

you're

fellow

citizens

with

God's

people

and

also

members

of his

household.

You're

now

part

of

his

family

built

on

the

foundation

of

the

apostles

people

like

Paul

and

prophets

New

Testament

prophets

with

Christ

Jesus

himself

as

the

chief

cornerstone.

In

him

the

whole

building

is

joined

together.

That

is

the

church

is

brought

together

by

Christ

and

they

are

built

together

by

Christ.

So

these

prophets

of the

Old

Testament

the

apostles

and

prophets

of the

New

Testament

were

people

who

spoke

on

behalf

of

God.

Their

words

were

God's

words

about

Christ.

And

that

is

the

word

that

we

now

have

before

us

that

we're

reading

and

looking

at

which

is

written

down

for

us

in

scripture.

So

that's

why

we

might

call

them

prophets

with a

capital

P.

We

should

never

ignore

or

sideline

or

turn

away

from

God's

word.

It

is

the

foundation

for

our

lives

and

for

our

church.

So

there's

prophets

with a

capital

P.

Then

there's

prophets

which we

might say

come with

a

small

p.

Because

it seems

there were

these

kinds

of

prophets.

So

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:11

chapter

4

verse

11

we

read

this.

It's

been

talking

about

Christ

who

gives

gifts

to

his

church.

Verse

11

of

chapter

4

So

Christ

himself

gave

to

the

church

the

apostles

the

prophets

there

what we've

just

looked at

in

chapter

2

verse

20

the

apostles

prophets!

The

evangelists!

The

pastors!

and

teachers

and

what

are

they

to

do?

To

equip

his

people

for

works

of

service

so

that

the

body

of

Christ

may

be

built

up.

So

Christ

gave

to

his

church

gifted

men

and

women

who

could

teach

and

apply

God's

word

to

the

church

who

like

evangelists

could

reach

out

to

others

with

the

good

news

of

Christ.

They

take

what

God

has

said

in

scripture

about

Christ

and

they

teach

it

and

proclaim

it

to

those

who

do

not

know.

So

preachers

and

teachers

are

in a

sense

prophesying

in a

little

p

sense.

That's

what's

happening

now.

As I

am

teaching

as

we're

preaching

God's

word

we are

encouraging

and equipping

the church

so that

it is

built up

in

Christ

and we

are

drawn

closer

to

Christ.

And

that

means

that

there's

a

difference

between

those

who

spoke

God's

written

word

and

those

who

preach

and

teach

God's

word.

Let's

go back

to

Thessalonians.

There's

a

difference

between

those

who

wrote

it

and

those

who

may

speak

it

today.

Let's

go back

to

Thessalonians.

And

that

difference

is

and

we

pick

it

up

in

verse

19

chapter

5

verse

19

and

20

do

not

quench

the

spirit

do

not

treat

prophecies

with

contempt

but

test

them

all.

You

see

that's

the

difference.

The

word

of

God

scripture

doesn't

need

to

be

tested

against

anything.

It

is

its

own

authority.

But

the

words

that

we

speak

the

preacher

speaks

needs

to

be

tested

against

scripture.

And

that's

what I

think

Paul

is

saying

the

church

needs

to

do.

Everything

they

hear

all

that

they

speak

needs

to

be

tested

against

God's

word.

So

look at

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:13

chapter 2

verse

13.

Keep

following

along

with

me

it'll

all

be

clear.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:13

chapter 2

verse

13.

So

he

says

and we

also

thank

God

continually

because

when

you

received

the

word

of

God

which

you

heard

from

us

you

accepted

it

not

as a

human

word

but

as it

actually

is

the

word

of

God.

So

as

Paul

spoke

he

claimed

that

his

word

was

God's

word.

We

see the

same

in

chapter

4

verse

2.

2.

For

you

know

what

instructions

we

gave

by

the

authority

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

So

what

he

said

came

with

the

authority

of

Christ.

And

what

he

claimed

to

be

his

word

what

he

said

was

the

authority

of

Jesus

Christ

he

now

writes

down

for

people

to

read.

So

look

at

chapter

5

verse

27.

Chapter

5

verse

27.

He

says

I

charge

you

before

the

Lord

to

have

this

letter

read

to

all

the

brothers

and

sisters.

It's

a

command.

It's

a

charge.

You

must

read

this

word.

Now

I

can

prepare

a

sermon

and

send

it

round

to

you

but

I

can't

say

I

charge

you

you

must

read

every

word

of

this

sermon.

I

hope

you

would

but

it

doesn't

come

with

the

same

authority.

Everything

that I

say

everything

that we

say

in

terms

of

speaking

God's

truth

must

be

tested

against

scripture.

So

verse 20

again

do not

treat

prophecies

with

contempt

but

test

them

all

against

God's

written

word

and

if

it

is

of

God's

word

hold

on

to

it

because

it

is

good

it

will

bless

you

it

will

encourage

you

but

if

it's

not

of

God's

word

reject

it.

Now

in

another

sense

and I

want us

all to

be

clear

on

this

we

should

all

be

prophesying

to

one

another.

We

should

all

as

God's

family

brothers

and

sisters

be

taking

God's

word

and

speaking

it

into

each

other's

lives.

It's

something

we

can

do

and

we

should

all

do

because

chapter

5

verse

19

not

to

do

so

not

to

speak

God's

word

is

quenching

the

spirit.

You

see

Christ

has

given

his

Holy

Spirit

to

his

church.

He

has

given

his

word

to

us

and

the

word

and

the

spirit

working

together

does

a

powerful

work

in

God's

life.

So

if

you

are

a

brother

and

sister

in

Christ

today

let

me

encourage

you

to

take

the

word

of

God

which

is

about

his

son

Jesus

Christ

and

speak

that

truth

into

the

hearts

of

one

another

and

trust

that

as

the

spirit

is

prompting

you

and

working

in

your

life

a

word

may

come

to

mind

for

a

particular

person

that

you

might

go

to

them

and

say

here's

what

God

is

encouraging

me

to

say

to

you

today

to

bless

you

God

has

given

us

his

spirit

to

one

another

to

build

one

another

up

in

the

faith

as

we

teach

God's

word

to

one

another

that

in a

sense

is

what

he

has

been

encouraging

the

church

to

do

so

look

at

chapter

4

verse

18

he

says

therefore

encourage

one

another

with

these

words

what

words

well

he's

just

been

talking

about

the

resurrection

hey

everybody

the

Lord

Jesus

is

coming

again

he's

been

raised

from

the

dead

and

if

you're

trusting

in

him

too

he

is

going

to

raise

you

and

there's

going

to

be

a

wonderful

reunion

of

all

God's

people

so

whatever

you

are

going

through

today

remember

the

Lord

is

risen

can

we

speak

words

of

encouragement

to each

other

like

that

of

course

we

can

it's

a

little

bit

like

the

bumblebee

I

had

in

my

bedroom

this

week

when

I

found

her

she

was

weak

and

unable

to

fly

so

I

got

a

teaspoon

of

sugar

and

a

little

bit

of

water

and

carefully

put

the

bumblebee

onto

the

spoon

and

there

was

her

tongue

!

like

up

all

that

sweetness

and

goodness

and

then

all

of

a

sudden

it

just

buzzed

flew

into

my

face

practically

took

off

flying

renewed

restored

strengthened

well

sometimes

we're

like

that

weak

bumblebee

and

we

need

someone

to

bring

the

sweet

nectar

of

God's

word

speaking

that

truth

into

our

life

so

that

we

take

off

flying

as

God's

people

don't

treat

prophecies

with

contempt

!

Don't

quench

!

the

Spirit's

work

speak

the

word

about

Christ

to

one

another

and

we

will

see

the

church

built

up

now

before

we

move

on

you're

wondering

what

could

I

possibly

say

well

there

is a

word

for

the

church

and

it

comes

in

verse

24

after

the

prayer

here's

the

word

the

one

who

calls

you

is

faithful

and

he

will

do

it

the

one

who

calls

you

is

faithful

and

he

will

do

it

maybe

there's

a

brother

or

sister

today

struggling

with

sin

wondering

if

God

has

actually

forgiven

me

maybe

doubting

if

God

loves

me

fearful

that

I'm

never

going

to

make

it

that

somehow

I'm

going

to

lose

my

salvation

well

brother

or

sister

if

that

is

you

if

God

called

you

to

faith

God

will

keep

you

in

the

faith

he

will

not

let

you

go

what

wonderful

words

of

encouragement

that we

can

speak

God

will

keep

you

he

is

faithful