1 Thessalonians 5:16- 18 – The Attitude of Gratitude

October, the 10^th month of our year is annually remembered as Thanksgiving month at Eastside. We do this deliberately to keep the culture of thanksgiving alive. The Thanksgiving offering built upon the biblical principle of thanksgiving, supplements the ministry and projects of our church. At this time we would ask you to consider giving generously to your  church,  as our financial resources are being  steadily eroded. We trust that you see the value of this church’s ministry, and your generous giving would very much affirm that.  This morning’s  sermon  is not designed to manipulate you, as many prosperity preachers  would  do in our day, but to help you to continuously live  a life of thanksgiving to God.

Our text from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians reads,   “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  [vv. 16-18]. The text contains three imperatives:  “rejoice always”, “pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances”.   Rejoice always – that is not a suggestion, but a command. Pray without ceasing – not a suggestion, but a command; give thanks in all circumstances – again, not a suggestion, but a command. Paul is speaking about our state of mind, our general attitude in life.  Christians ought to be always  joyful, always prayerful and  always thankful.  God wants us to respond to Him in ways that demonstrate our deep gratitude for what He has done for us and in us.  It arises from the great work of God in our souls. 

• The  Psalmist  in  30:11-12 says: ''You turned for me  my mourning  into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory  may sing  your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.'' The Psalmist was quite overcome by the goodness and mercy of God.  

• In a sermon on Psalm 100 (Make a joyful noise  to the Lord all the earth … enter into his gates with thanksgiving)   Charles  Spurgeon  had this to say:  In all our public service the rendering of thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke… [the] sacrifices are ended, but those of gratitude will never be out of date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. …Be thankful unto him. Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue, and let it all be for him to whom it all belongs. And bless his name. He blessed you, bless him in return; bless his name, his character, his person. Whatever he does, be sure that you bless him for it; bless him when he takes away as well as when he gives; bless him as long as you live, under all circumstances…

• In Psalm 103:1-5 David preached to himself: " 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, (and he begins to list them)  3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. And David's list goes on.

In the context of  Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians  this  joy, this prayerful spirit, this thankful spirit arises out of the fact that  they knew that God had chosen them to be His own  (1:4). The gospel had come to them not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1:5). They had received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1:6). They had turned to God from idols to serve the Living God (1:9)

Now as you listen to this you may be tempted to say, “Well, that all sounds all very nice and good, but it sounds somewhat idealistic. This just isn’t a reality for me. Joy regularly escapes me, prayer escapes me and thanksgiving escapes me.”  So, is Paul idealistic or sentimental when he says this? Isn’t this the problem with Christians – they are just a bunch of idealists?   

Well, let’s see. Paul says two  things in this challenging verse

(i)               Give thanks in all circumstances

(ii)             For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus

1.     Give thanks in all circumstances:

This little phrase  requires careful thought. It’s easy to be thankful   when things go well, but when things don’t go well for us, are we still to remain thankful? We need to read this carefully.  Hear then what Paul is not saying. He is not saying “for everything give thanks”. He says, “in everything give thanks”. There are some circumstances for which we cannot give thanks.  I could not say, when my cousin was brutally murdered his home on the 18^th June 2016, "Lord, I thank you for my cousin’s murder”. No one can give thanks for the brutal murder and dismemberment of that little girl, Avihe Cheryl Ujaha, (granddaughter of Pastor Seth Kaimu, an uncle of our Pastor Spencer Tjijenda) in recent months. You may have been at the receiving end of evil in your own life, and for this the LORD God is not asking you to give thanks in itself. That is not what Paul is asking you to do.But Paul is saying that in every circumstance, no matter how catastrophic, you are to acknowledge His presence and sovereignty in and over these things. For His own good reasons, God allows evil things to happen, and we are not always able to see the outcome.  He allowed His Son to be killed on a cross by evil men. We now know and understand the outcome.  It is very important that we maintain an understanding of the sovereignty of God in all things.   This is very important, because we can get so easily lost in our ugly emotions, as we will easily  take ownership of such  a situation and  become bitter, angry and murderous  in our own thoughts. God is perfectly  aware  of everything that happens to us, and He counsels us not to retaliate  (see Romans  12:17-21).

Let me give you an illustration to help us understand. You may have heard this story of Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the famous Puritan commentator  and  preacher  who was once  robbed. In his diary he records the event,

8^th  March 1713. Lord's-day. In the evening I went to London. I preached Mr. [Samuel] Rosewell's evening lecture, Psalm 89:16  -- the joyful sound. As I came home I was robbed. The thieves took from me about ten or eleven shillings. My remarks upon it were, -- 1. What reason have I to be thankful to God, who have travelled so much, and yet was never robbed before 2. What a deal of evil the love of money is the root of, that four men would venture their lives and souls, for about half a crown a piece. 3. See the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. 4. See the vanity of worldly wealth; how soon we may be stripped of it. How loose, therefore, we should sit to it.

Somewhere along the way, his meditations upon the event were reported as a prayer: Lord, I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.

This is the spirit of our text in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In these circumstances, though they were awful, Matthew Henry found reasons for thanksgiving.  Matthew Henry certainly knew how to make lemonade out of a lemon. Now that is how God expects us to react in such times, and we need to train ourselves to think like that, so that we are prepared for such events.  For you see, thanklessness toward God is the first step in backsliding from God. We see this in Romans 1:18-21.  Here Paul describes the path people take in departing from God, and at the heart of it is  an attitude of ingratitude. Paul says, “For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or gave thanks to him.” (Rom 1:21). A life of  ingratitude or thanklessness  leads to many bad choices. When we take God’s’ blessings for granted and neglect to give him thanks, we slowly have little time for God, little time for worship, and little time to help others. We become self-centered. Before we know it, we have wandered far away from God, and we wonder what happened to that  relationship we once enjoyed with God. That is why we must worship and give thanks to God. Gratitude toward God leads to peace, joy, and satisfaction.

You may know the remarkable story of Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) who became blind and deaf through a virus when she was only 19 months old.  Despite her immense disability she went on to become an author, political activist and a lecturer. I am not entirely sure of her  spiritual roots, but when she was  young  she was introduced to  Phillips Brooks,an Anglican clergyman  who introduced her to Christianity, Keller famously saying: "I always knew He was there, but I didn't know His name!" She said, “For three things I thank God every day of my life. Thanks that He has vouchsafed me knowledge of His works; deep thanks that He has set in my darkness the light of faith; deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to—a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song. Helen Keller may not have been thankful for the circumstance of being blind and deaf, but she was thankful in that circumstance. And that is precisely what Paul is saying to us. In every circumstance, we are to give thanks.

2. Why we should give thanks

I draw your attention  now to the second part of that statement: “Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you.” That means at least two things.

(i)               God wants you to give thanks in everything, and therefore, you ought to do it. It's just like when your mother says,  “Eat your broccoli”, and you say, “why?”, and she says, “Because I am your mother – that’s why!” God wants you to give thanks because He says so!

(ii)             But there is more to it than that. God wants  to teach us to be a thankful, joyful people, whose delight is in Him. He wants a people  who do not get lost in their circumstances, but  who get lost in in Him! This is who  Paul  is in a Philippian prison. And even though  we live in a fallen world in which there are many things  for which we cannot be thankful, we should  not miss  out on seeing the grace of God extended to us in these experiences.

How to give thanks: Here it is  in just three words, "In Christ Jesus." When  my friend Pastor Roland Eskinazi lost his first wife Sharon, in an accident  with  a taxi in Johannesburg, my abiding impression was that of a brother, friend and pastor,  who as he held his dying wife  committed her to the grace of the  Lord Jesus Christ as he was praying the 23^rd Psalm. There is not a trace of bitterness or anger in my friend today. He committed  her with a thankful heart  to the Lord Jesus in whose presence she now dwells. 

If you have  seen the  face of God in Christ, if you have tasted the love of God and the goodness  of God, you  will know that all that is taken from you  ultimately never was yours. They are His.   And therefore you rest in His grace, and you thank him for what you have. And the greatest treasure we have is Jesus! Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-24 - “A God centered church pleases God by not quenching the Holy Spirit and by holding on to His Word”

What do we mean by  being God- centered? What is a God centered church? This question has been occupying our minds as we have been working our way through  Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.  Being God –centered means  to  have  the Word of God  shape  our  way of  thinking and living as opposed  to  living  and thinking in a man centered  or in a natural or fleshly  way[1].  Being God centered means to  engage in   sanctified living- a life that pleases God.  Sanctification is a progressive  process  whereby the Holy Spirit continuously   and  progressively applies His Word to our heads and our hearts,  causing us  to act more like Jesus.   The subject  of  sanctification is extremely  important – for  it must  follow our justification. They belong together like  the protons  and neutrons that compose an atom. We all know that  splitting atoms  has  disastrous consequences!

I simply point out that  if you have believed in Christ  and if you have been justified by grace through  faith, then  it must also follow that  you  should  obey your Lord, “working out  your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you…” (Phil 2:12,13).

The Christian  race is not finished simply because we have started. Neither is the race  a concluded matter  because we have started well.  You know the famous story of the race between  the rabbit and the tortoise – and you know who won!  The tortoise,  slow starter that she was,  won  because she persevered.   The rabbit  started with an impressive sprint but fell down exhausted before the finish line.  Starting well is  great – but it is not what matters. Finishing well is what counts. So your justification  must be followed by  sanctification. You must  persevere to the end. 

Now, the  Thessalonians were commended by Paul  because he knew  that they had started well.“ The gospel had come to you  not only in Word , but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”   BUT how did they continue?   See 1:6-10!  The Thessalonians gave rich evidence of a sanctified lifestyle. But we also  saw that Paul exhorted them not to sit on their laurels and he exhorts them, “For this is the will of God – your sanctification …” (4:3). He says to them, “do so more and more !”(4:1,10)

Now there are many aspects to that process of  sanctification – that process  of growing to be more Christ like  and less worldly.   Paul addressed a  number of them   such as  the sanctification of  our sexuality  purity ( 4:3-8)  and  the sanctification of our  brotherly love  (4:9-12),   the sanctified relationship with  the elders of the church  (5:12-13),  our relationship   with those that struggle in the church  (5:14&15) ,  along with  real displays of  joy, prayer  and thanksgiving. (5:16-18) etc.  You will find that  Paul  is a very practical theologian. He never thinks in terms of doctrine  as  the Greek philosophers did. They loved philosophy  because it stimulated their brains and because i  sharpened their logical  thinking skills  – but it did  very little else . Above all,  it often lacked practicality.

Paul  wants the truth  to  works itself out in practice , and  he isn’t finished yet. And now he addresses …

5:19- 22:  “ A life pleasing to God through  a sanctified obedience to  the  Holy Spirit and to  the Revelation of the Word of God.” 

Our  obedience  and submission to the Holy Spirit’s  work in us and  to His  revealed Word (prophecy)   is  crucial to  our sanctification!  In this regard Paul reminds us: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies…” 

In this regard there are  two errors  which are often committed in  the churches. On the one hand there are  those quench the  Holy Spirit  by  claiming  to speak  prophecies and revelations that are not from Him, and then  there are those who make altogether too  little of Him, even despising His person and His  work. 

Now what does  this mean - “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies…”  ?

a. Do not quench the Spirit (v. 19)  

To  ‘quench’ in its other occurrences in the New Testament is used  with reference  to  putting out a fire [2]. This term is  used here  metaphorically  to warn  us not to quench  - not to  put out the Spirit’s fire . Simply stated  this means that we must not  hinder or oppose  the person and  the work   of the Spirit. Paul writes this in  the  present tense  and in the imperative mood i.e. “don’t go on  quenching the   Person and the work of the Holy Spirit.”    This is what Jesus said that   the Pharisees always did (Matt  12:22-32) . In fact they  attributed the work of the Spirit to  Satan! Jesus tells them that this  sort of persistent   blasphemy  ( for they kept on saying this)  was  tantamount to committing   the unforgivable sin-the sin against the Holy Spirit. In view of this and  what we read in v.20 about prophecies  we may come to the conclusion that  some in the church may have been resisting the gift of prophecy. This was certainly the case in  Corinth. There the gift of prophecy was being ignored because of an overzealous emphasis on the showy gifts like speaking in tongues (see 1 Cor. 12-14).

b. Do not  despise prophecies (v. 20)

The gift of prophecy  is  the ability to receive and communicate direct revelations from God. Now here is an important aspect to consider. Before  the NT was completed (1 Cor. 13:8) this was   an important  part of the church’s ministry. It still is an important part of the church’s ministry, but  the prophetic element today  has  become  subject  to  the  written Word,  since in Christ the revelation from God, given to the apostles,  is now complete à Hebrews 1:1-3. 

How  then do we understand  prophecy?  The Puritan pastor  William Perkins  (1558-1602)  wrote a treatise entitled  “The art of prophesying”.  William Perkins wrote this book for fellow preachers because he was concerned  that the  “main business was to preach Christ , and to reach the heart.”  Perkins said   that preaching should  “rip up the hearts of those that heard it, and  by the same token  he saw the preacher as a spiritual  doctor  whose knowledge of the biblical remedies enabled him to  bathe the wounds and heal the spiritual  sicknesses of God’s people with the grace of Christ .” [3] 

Now when I read this, I think immediately of the OT prophets. Their prophecies under the hand of God  were spiritually  very challenging and  exposing. They ripped open their hearers hearts. But their prophesying was  not heartless. Yes,  it was severe, but  it was not heartless. It was  intended to bring healing to those who would  hear and obey!  For those who  had the grace to see the truth of these words , these words  became life giving in their effect.

But there is also an opposite  effect to  such prophesying. Many whose hearts were ripped hated the prophets on this account  and that is why many of them were eventually killed. Jesus words in this regard are very telling: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” (Matt. 23:37) Remember that the  greatest of prophets was Jesus  and for this reason He was killed by  those who hated His prophetic words, because they perceived that He spoke against them!  

Perhaps you will now understand that   your preacher  is a prophet in that sense, when he  opens the Word to you, and when  he proclaims it forcefully  and filled with  heavenly conviction  and  with contemporary application - “thus says the Lord…! ”

Now for argument’ s sake let us consider how God  may  be using this series of sermons to speak prophetically into the life of this church: 

1.      We  begin by reading the Word of   God.  

2.      The pastor –teacher  who has a biblical office and mandate  from God to inform God’s sheep of  His will,  having  spent  hours this week  seeking to  understand this Word, letting  it first speak to his  own sinful heart,  praying into his own situation,  now relaying this Word  of God to  his congregation,   releases it  as  it were into the  hearts of His hearers , at which time the Holy Spirit will do  His  ploughing work  within  each  heart.

3.      So, what has God   spoken to us about? Many things .. just to take it from chapter 4   sexual immorality … the need for brotherly love … concerning the coming of the Lord… relating to church leadership … helping those that are struggling  etc … Do you get the point?

Does this mean that you must  accept everything   thoughtlessly that comes to you from this pulpit? Clearly not !

c. Examine All Things (v. 21a)

Let me begin  with the context . Apparently, however, certain “idle” brothers (v. 14; cf. 4:11, 12) had misused this gift by providing false information  regarding the Lord’s return. This may  have caused the  church at Thessalonica   to despise  prophecy in general. Their tendency now was not to listen to any more prophetic messages.  Paul warns against  such  an overreaction and urges the church to give prophecies their proper place in edifying its members.

This is also important  since  false prophets would arise,  as the Lord Himself warned[4]   us. There must be careful discernment of the message of a prophet. Thus, Paul  ends  with this positive command : “Test [5]  everything“.  Here  is your  warning against gullibility. Here is a call to  biblical discernment.   The  Bereans  (Acts 17:11)  tested  everything Paul  had said  by the standard of Scripture  (the OT)

In 1 Cor. 12:10 and 14:29 discernment is a spiritual gift to be used  in conjunction  with the gift of prophecy. It consists of an ability to discern whether  what  a prophet has said  is  true.

For us  this is a call to examine all preaching and teaching in light of the Scripture. Just because somebody  preaches from  the  Bible it does not mean his  message is truly biblical. There is far too much Scripture twisting and  proof-texting  done in pulpits , and  God’s people  do well  to  know the Word of God  themselves  in order that they may discern  what is  truly the Word of God.  It is difficult to skillfully handle the Word (2 Tim. 2:15).  This is one of the reasons God places a greater responsibility on teachers (Jas. 3:1).

d. Hold fast what Is good (v. 21b)

Obviously  then, once what is heard is discovered to be “the good,” i.e. true and in accordance  with the revelation of God in Christ,  then we must  hold fast to it. 

e. Stay Away From Every Form of Evil (v. 22)

Believers must examine everything carefully and avoid that which does not conform to the truth – stay away from it.  Avoid it. Don’t be taken  captive by it.

This too then is part of our  sanctification, and it forms part of Paul’s  ultimate prayer for the Thessalonians (5:23-24) : “ Now may the God of peace Himself  sanctify you completely , and may your whole spirit  and soul and body  be kept blameless at the coming of  our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful ; He will surely do it “.  Amen !

---

[1]  Paul uses the following terms to describe the opposite of the God centered way of thinking and living   i.e.  by  speaking about   “the natural person”  (1 Cor. 2:14) , “the spirit of the world” (1 Cor. 2:14) ,  “ being of the flesh”  (1 Cor. 2:14; 3:1-4 ), “the wisdom of the world”  ( 1  Cor. 1:20; 3:20)

[2] Matt. 12:20; 25:8; Heb. 11:34, or metaphorically, Mark 9:48; Eph. 6:16

[3] William Perkins : The  Art of Prophesying , Foreword by Sinclair Ferguson   p.  x

[4] Matt. 7:15; 24:11, 24; see also 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 4:1

[5] Gr  dokimazo – to  test metals in the fire  , with the view of separating the metal from the dross .

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 : “A God centered Church demonstrates sanctified behaviour “

It has been a while  now since we  have considered  Paul’s first letter to the  Thessalonians.  So allow me to refresh your memories. We have been  considering this  letter  under the  general heading “ Portrait of a God-centered church”.  We are  using this letter as a kind of  mirror  to evaluate ourselves and to see how we are doing  as a church.  Be assured that it matters greatly  to God  how the church  is doing. From the epistles of the  NT  and the seven letters to the   seven congregations  in the book of  the Revelation to John we learn that it matters  greatly to God  how the local church (i.e. the sum total of the members of a local church) is behaving. For some churches the Lord Jesus  has no good words, but for other churches,   like this  church  there is much praise.   We  saw  that this church  manifested  the essential marks  of faith, hope  and love (1: 3), because the gospel had come to them not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1:5). The joy of the Holy Spirit was in the church (1:6) and  this church was  a real testimony to those around  them, as it  became known that they had  turned to God from idols to serve  the Living and True God (1:9). This was truly an obedient church and  the apostle Paul found it  easy to encourage them.

There were however  a few things in which they needed help  and instruction.  This is true  for us too, and for this reason we cherish the Bible which makes us competent and equipped for every good work (2 Tim.3:16) .

As Paul concludes his letter to the Thessalonians,  he  reminds them  concerning their future hope,   such as the resurrection  (4:13-18) and the  day of the Lord  (5:1-11)  and he urges them  to remain fully alert  and prepared for that day . I remind you that  this  day comes to us in two ways : either by the  literal second coming of Christ or by  our death.  The day  on which you die will be the day  in which your soul will be transported back to Him  who has made you (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and so it is important to be prepared for the day of your  death. It is important  to encourage one another (4:18) and to build  one another up  (5:11)  in the light of that day.    

And now in conclusion of his letter Paul  gives  a good number of  important  and practical  instructions which the church   ought to remember  as they  await  the coming of the Lord . All of these  instructions relate  to pleasing the Lord (4:1)  in the context of  a sanctified  life  lived within the church (4:3).   These  issues mentioned here   are of course  selective, but we will receive  these  exhortations  as  the Word of God for ourselves  today, believing that this is what the Holy Spirit wants us to hear and  obey.  In verses  12 – 15 we  find three  issues  addressed :

• The matter of relating to  our elders  (5:12-13a)
• Relating to one another (5:13b)
• Relating  to those that are struggling in various areas   (5:14)
• Keeping evil  under control and promoting good  (5:15)

(next  time  we will consider  vv. 16 -25  under the heading : “Pleasing God through a life of prayer , joy and thanksgiving")

1. Sanctified behaviour through  respecting our leaders  

Vv. 12-13: “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

Another   text  in this regard is  Hebrews 13:17 : “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning , for that would be of no advantage to you .”

Let us begin by observing  that the pastoral leadership  (note  the “plural” emphasis on pastoral leadership)  is given to the church by God  as a spiritual gift  (Eph. 4:11). How will  a proper  relationship with  such affect my spiritual development  and sanctification?  What is their role in my life?  And why should I respect them, esteem them  very highly in love, obey them and  submit to them …. ? 

We are of course assuming then that these  pastoral leaders do  their work  with the integrity required by   God and His Word [1] . This does not mean that  members  must submit to their leaders uncritically   if  they discern them to be  in error.  However it does mean that  members must  not do so in an rebellious  or independent spirit, but in love and  being willing  to work towards biblical agreement (Phil 4:2). This being said , here are the reasons  why  we should  esteem  our pastoral  leaders : 

(i)                 Because they labour  (Gr. kopiaō) among you :   The  word means “to work to the point of growing weary “.  The pastoral ministry  can be  tiresome  work, and one of the reasons  we are to respect our leaders  is  because they  often  labour among us to the point of exhaustion.  Going  with God and going against a world that  holds   the hearts and minds of so many people  captive  can be exhausting. The last  50 years have seen unprecedented shifts in religious, moral, social,  ethical and economic  conditions and these have greatly  challenged  the way  traditional pastoral ministry is done. Postmodernism  has brought  about a  dismantling of  biblical and traditional  values  and as  a result of  this  our society has experienced  much brokenness  as people have been tempted to the limit,   as they have experimented with  all sorts of new freedoms. As a result pastoral work has become  labour intensive  as  God’s sheep need much  healing – Pastoral  work is to be  done with  utmost patience  (2 Tim 2:24-26 ; 4:2) . A Shepherd  leader needs to be patient  and not short tempered  and rude. That  continual  self- restraint   can be  hard on the soul of the pastor. It is hard to maintain a balance between toughness and tenderness.  Furthermore,  pastors   who committed to  doing  ministry in a biblical way  must  truly  labour [2] in preaching and teaching  (1 Tim 5:17). Preparing sermons  means  preparing  the heart and mind, for no preacher can truly  preach until he has first preached to himself . That is hard work – subduing one’s own heart is hard work!

(ii)                They  are over  you in the Lord :  (“over” à Gr.proistemi  lit. “ to stand before”  – hence to lead/rule).  Paul reminds  us  that  our shepherd  leaders rule in the congregation by the Lord’s  appointment  and  therefore by His  authority. On this account  they  have  great  levels of responsibility  and therefore  they  shall be judged more strictly by God if  they  fail in their duty.  (1 Peter  5: 1-4; James 3:1)

(iii)             They are  called  by  God to admonish you :  (Gr.  “noutheteo” – lit.  “to put in mind“ -  to instruct  and warn in view of the things that are wrong). Don’t resent them for this  work. They are called  to  do this by  God.  

How should we respond to  our pastoral  leaders or  elders ?  

Paul says  that they should be esteemed highly in love  because of their work . So, we should make a good start  by not making  the job of the pastoral leadership  any more difficult than it already is.  Unfortunately it seems that faithful leaders  are often  badmouthed , maligned and ridiculed[3] . We should really thank God when we do have faithful leaders, and value  them  as such.  So , make it  your duty  to encourage them in their work.  Listen to what they are saying. Follow their leadership  as far as  they are following Christ.

2. Sanctified behaviour by living at peace with one another ( 5:13b)

We  don’t  know  whether this is still part of the previous discussion about pastoral leaders or whether it is a new thought.  If it is still part of the discussion on respecting spiritual leaders, it might indicate that there was a power struggle going on in the church. In this case, Paul was pleading for the people to stop  being contrary  and to  be co-operative  and submissive to their  appointed leadership.

If this is a new section, Paul is giving us a familiar principle: we should be peacemakers rather than troublemakers!

3. Sanctified Behaviour by helping those that are struggling in various areas :

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. “ (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 ESV)

a.  Admonish (warn)  the idle :  “idle”  is probably better translated  as  “unruly/ disorderly /undisciplined ”^[4].   When we see someone going astray in this way , we have a responsibility to warn that person that they are in danger. (see  James  5:19-20). When we see people who are drifting from the faith,  we need to know that those people are actually drifting into the path of the wrath and judgment of God.   We have the responsibility to warn such  people!  By all means  choose your words carefully and  let them be said in love, but be bold and honest!  Don’t be indifferent . Care enough  to keep each other from danger.

b. Encourage the fainthearted. The word translated  “faintheated”   literally means “ small souled” ^[5].  The idea seems to be that we are to encourage those who want to give up.  Most of us  know such  periods in life when  we want to quit.  We become  timid ;  tired  of living faithfully; worn down by those who resist the truth of the gospel. At  times we feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything.  At these times  we  need  someone to come along to encourage us . 

c. Help  the weak.[6]  Lit. those “without strength”.   A weak person needs support.  The Christian church is not a place where  we reject or belittle the weak. The Christian church  is a place  where  we develop   support systems (not dependency systems , mind you) but  helping  people to be  self-sustaining/  self -supporting   after they  have experienced setbacks  e.g. divorce ; illness;  being advanced in years;  bereaved –   times when people  cannot help themselves  and  don’t know how they will cope.  etc . These are times when people need someone to help them. 

d. Be patient[7] (lit.  long suffering) with them all:    In some respects this may be the most difficult of them all.   We  tend to  be  so impatient with people . You see it all the time with people who are grieving.  They don’t need answers; they need someone to understand that they are hurting.  They have lost someone  and no amount of comforting words  can replace them .  They need time to heal. We all need people in our lives  who will be patient with us and who will  pray for us and with us even when we don’t seem to be making progress; who will endure our “bad days” rather than getting offended and walking away.Patience is the key that unlocks the door to the deepest relationships.  You can’t have any significant relationship unless you are willing to be patient.

e.  See to it that  nobody repays another evil for evil. This was not the way of Jesus.  He  taught us  to love our enemies (Matt  5:38-48) . Paul instructs us to “not avenge ourselves, but to leave it to the wrath of God.” (Rom 12:19).  

Conclusion

Don’t you want to be a part of a church where people value their leaders and care about each other?  Don’t you long for people who will care enough about you-  to turn your from wrong and to encourage you when you are burnt out or stand with you when life knocks the legs out from under you?  

Let’s take this text personally and pray that  the sanctifying grace of God  will  empower us in each of these areas :

1. Give thanks to God for your leaders.   Encourage them.
2.  Be a peacemaker and not a disturber of the peace.
3.  Bring someone  back   who is heading  in the wrong way.
4.  Encourage a  fainthearted person this week.
5.  Help a struggling Christian  this week. 
6.  Determine not to be impatient.  Resist the hostility and aggression  of the world and  practice the patience, the love and the kindness of Jesus. 
7. Take the wind out of your enemy’s sails  by  saying something good to them .

May  the Lord be with us  as  we believe the sanctifying power  of our crucified Lord to be at work within us , and as we do these things   by faith  alone  for the glory of God alone. And may we be enabled to give testimonies in time  as to how the Lord has helped us  as we  have chosen to obey Him . Amen.

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[1] 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 ; Titus  1:7-9

[2] Same word as  in  1 Thess 5:12 - kopiaō

[3] This was Paul’s experience  and it is described in 2 Corinthians

[4] Gr. ataktos  - not keeping order ; a military term, denoting not keeping rank; insubordinate  

[5] Gr  oligopsuchos  lit. “small souled “

[6] Gr. Astheneō lit.” to lack strength “

[7] Gr. Makrothumia : long- suffering