Christ's Desire

Turn with me in your Bibles please to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. We've been doing a sermon series on the church and this morning we will be continuing that series and we will be looking in particular at the church in relationship to the day of the Lord. Hear now 1 Thessalonians chapter five. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, peace and safety, Then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night. And those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, Uphold the weak. Be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Please join me in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word, your inerrant and sufficient word. We thank you that we are not in darkness, but you have spoken the light of your truth. Father, help me to proclaim your word faithfully and boldly and clearly. Father, help your people to hear your word, to believe it, and to obey it. For Christ's sake, amen. So I will be breaking down this chapter into four sections. So there's four points. Number one, be prepared for the return of Christ. That's verses one through 10. Number two, we need one another in order to be prepared. That's verse 11. Number three, God has made very clear and specific how to be prepared, verses 12 through 22. And number four, God is faithful to prepare his people. verses 23 and 24. So first, be prepared for the return of Christ. Or, to phrase it as a question, are you prepared for the return of Christ? Jesus Christ is coming back. The day is coming, the day of the Lord when he returns. And as we think about this question, am I prepared for that day? I want to begin by asking the question, well, why is that an important question to ask? Why is that so important? And I'd like to give you five reasons. First. We need to ask that question because Jesus is coming at any moment. As a thief in the night, look at verses one and two. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. He is coming unexpectedly. He's coming suddenly. And the point would be. When he comes, it's going to be too late to get prepared. So we don't have to ask the question, am I prepared now? Don't think I can wait and be prepared then. Secondly, we need to ask this question because Jesus is coming to judge the earth. We know that just over 2000 years ago, he came the first time. Meekly and quietly, he came to seek and to save the lost. But he has told us that he is coming again with the sound of the trumpet, riding on the clouds with power and great glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And when he comes, all things will stand before the flaming fire of his holiness. In 2 Peter 3 we read, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. The heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. It will be a day when all of us, the world will stand before The holiness of God. And for those who are outside of Christ, it will be a day of wrath. He will judge the earth in righteousness and punish every evildoer. In Revelation, chapter 20, we have a picture of this. where John has a vision and he says, Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. So we need to ask that question, am I prepared? Because it will be a day of judgment and wrath. Third, we need to ask this question because there are many who are unprepared. Look at verse three. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. There are those who feel secure, secure in their storehouses, secure in their health, secure in their relations, secure in their wisdom. And yet they are utterly unprepared for the disaster to come. As we saw in our scripture reading from Luke 17, Jesus said, His coming, it will be just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Then he says, in that day, he who was on the housetop and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. And so you can be unprepared simply because you never heard the warning, or you can be unprepared because like Lot's wife, you heard the warning and did not heed it. For both, the end is destruction. Fourth, we need to ask the question, are we prepared for this day? Because there are many who think they are prepared, but are deceived. And as we, especially in the Gospels, as you go through and you hear Christ speaking of the day when he comes, it is amazing to see how much he emphasizes the fact that there are many who think they're ready for him and yet are not. May we examine our own hearts today in Luke 13, for example. Jesus says, strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out. Or similarly, in Matthew 7, Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." Or a third example, in Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins. The women who were invited by the bride and they took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom, and he says, five of them were foolish and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, since Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. And Jesus says, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. I think the basic point is. When Christ comes, it will be too late to prepare. Do not be like the foolish virgins who took no oil, were unprepared and just complacently assumed it would be OK. Fifth. We need to ask the question, am I prepared? Because for those who are prepared, his return will be glorious. You know, it's more than just the negative of the fear of what if I'm not prepared, but if we can know that we are prepared, that affects the way we live our lives now. And I think in the context of 1 Thessalonians, yes, Paul is warning the unprepared, but he's also seeking to encourage the church and encourage believers His main purpose is not to terrify the Thessalonians over whether or not they are prepared. His point is that it's possible to know that you are prepared and therefore to have hope and joy. That's why he says in verse 11, therefore, comfort each other and build one another up just as you also are doing. And that's why in chapter four, he's just been comforting them over the return of Christ, that you don't need to sorrow is those who have no hope over those who have died before he before he's come. For they, too, will rise. They, in fact, will rise first. And here, I think what he's saying is you don't need to be afraid that there's some crucial aspect of being prepared that God hasn't told you. We know what we need to know to be ready. God has been faithful to tell us. We don't know when, but the point is, we don't need to know when. We just need to be ready. And when Christ comes for those who belong to him. He is coming to welcome us into an everlasting kingdom of perfect righteousness, perfect peace, perfect joy, bountiful provision, perfect fellowship, and most of all, the presence of God. In Revelation, chapter 21, we have a great picture of this. where it says, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. If we can know that we are prepared to enjoy that for eternity, what strength we will have to live for Christ today. What strength we will have in the midst of every present trial and suffering, knowing that these present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed. And secondly, as we think about that new creation, we need to realize that we, as those who are in Christ, are the beginning of that new creation now. Second Corinthians, chapter five or 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is new creation. God has already begun the process. Of his new creation now for those who are in Christ, that's why Jesus can say the kingdom of God is upon you, it's here. Yes, it's coming, but it's already at the same time. And and that's where we can see the importance of the church. Because it's the church which is the foretaste of that coming kingdom. And it's in the church and living as Christ's people that we need to be preparing ourselves, even now, for that kingdom which is to come. So, we need to ask the question, are we prepared? Secondly, I want to discuss, how should we answer this question? How do you know if you are prepared? How does one prepare? And as we look at verses one through 10, I'd like to point out to you seven contrasts between those who are prepared and those who are not. First, as we have hinted at already, there is a contrast between the ignorant and the informed. Look at verse four. But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. Unlike those who are uninformed, who do not know God's word or do not believe it, for you who are in Christ, God has not left you in the dark. He has told you what is yet to come, that Christ is coming. We're not in darkness. He has told us everything we need to know. Secondly, there's a contrast between darkness and light. Look at verse 5. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. And so those who are prepared for the coming of Christ are those who are of the light. Those who walk in the light. In 1 John chapter 1 we read, God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. So how do you know? Well, do you walk in the light? Now, walking in the light does not mean walking in sinlessness, because the next verse in 1 John says that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But walking in the light means walking in continual repentance. The next verse in 1 John, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do you confess your sin? Do you repent of your sin? Turn from it and walk with Christ in the light. Third contrast, there's a contrast between night and day. Also verse five, you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. And so, this is very similar to darkness versus light. It's the idea of, if we're in the day, our deeds are not hidden, they're not in secret, but they are exposed. But secondly, I think this idea of daytime versus nighttime, day has to do with working. It's night when people behave in revelry and carousing and foolishness. In the day, people are industrious and they work. Are we industrious for God? As Romans 13 verses 12 through 14 says, the night is far spent. The day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Fourth contrast. There's a contrast between sleeping and watching. Verse six, therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. Now, the idea when we think of sleeping versus watching is not, if I'm not looking out and watching for Christ, he may come and I may miss it. You know, and all the people who see him are going to be secretly raptured away, and I'm just going to miss out. You know, in fact, in 2 Thessalonians, it seems that the Thessalonians were sort of afraid that something like that had happened. And Paul is saying, no, you know, you do not be deceived. The day of the Lord has not come. When he comes, it will be like lightning that flashes from one end to the other. There will be a trumpet. There will be you are not going to miss it. But the idea of being watchful is that of being ready. The watchful person is the one with true faith. who expects Christ to come, just as he said, and thus is diligently about his work day and night. The one who sleeps is the person who is oblivious and unconcerned with spiritual things because he is so consumed with the things of this world. In Luke 21, Jesus said, but watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life. And that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man. And you know, all of us, we are weak. We are prone to fall. We are prone to sin. We are prone to sleep. And we need to watch and to pray to escape temptation. Remember the disciples in the garden. Christ told him, he said, watch and pray lest you fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Yet he comes to his disciples and finds them sleeping. He says, what? Could you not watch with me one hour? Do we struggle to pray for one hour? What would Christ say to us? Fifth, fifth way of answering this question, the fifth contrast between those who are prepared and those who are not. They are the drunk and the sober. Verses 7 and 8. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. Now, drunkenness here, I think, is a catch-all for all kinds of fleshly indulgence. including drunkenness, lust, gluttony, laziness, greed, the love of comfort, the love of the praise of men. Sober means serious, self-controlled, disciplined, vigilant, thoughtful, clear-headed. The sober man is focused on doing God's will. As Luke 12 says, And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his master will make ruler over his household to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming and begins to bear to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and be drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour when he is not aware and will cut him into and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Will we give in to indulgence of the flesh or will we in sobriety do God's will. Six, contrast. There are the complacent and the armed. Verse three, there are those who say, peace and safety, and yet sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. Verse eight, there are those who are armed. It says, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. And as we've gone down this list, the ignorant versus the informed, the dark versus the light, the night versus the day, the sleeping versus the watching, the drunk versus the sober, first question is, which are you? which describes your life. But the second question is, how will you respond? Because the complacent person is the one who hears these things, and yet they say, peace and safety. I'm sure all will work out fine for me. You know, the complacent person looks around and says, you know, I'm better than most people. Do you see sin in your life and yet feel comfortable delaying repentance? The complacent person does. Do you think repentance is optional for certain small sins? You know, I need to repent of this, but these other, they're small. I don't really have to repent of that one. That's how the complacent person thinks. Are you content with sort of mostly obeying God's Word? Are you able to just simply sleep and rest instead of being devoted to watch and to pray? That's the complacent person. Or will you arm yourself in Christ? Do you hear these words and these charges and respond by running to him and clinging to him and trusting him with all your heart? The beauty of the gospel. Is that whether you are here as a Christian of many years? Or whether you are here as not a Christian, and an unbeliever who knows very little, or someone who knows much, the primary question is really the same. Because the question is not, have you been walking in the light? The real question is, will you walk in the light now? You see, the first question has you looking from now backwards. and evaluating, well, how have I performed? How well has my life been in the light? And that has you focused on you and works, and that will lead to no assurance of your salvation and no power to repent of sin. But the second question, will I repent of sin and turn and walk in the light now? That question has you looking from now forward. And that has you focusing on Christ and asking yourself the question, will I trust Christ enough to repent of my sin and step into the light? That's really the only question there is. Because Christ has paid it all. He died for us. He paid the price. You don't need to make up for your sin. You just need to trust him. And so if you are an unbeliever, it does not matter how dark your past may be. Christ can save you. You can be prepared for the day when Christ comes now. Only believe. Give your heart to him. Step into the light of his glory. And if you are a Christian. But you are living in darkness and refusing to repent and refusing to step into the light. Then it really doesn't matter how much you think you walked in the light back then. That should not give you assurance. Because you won't trust Christ now. Your assurance make can only be and should only be in Christ. You must repent. You must put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. And choose to trust Christ and step out of the darkness and trust him for salvation and him alone. Contrast number seven. There are those who are appointed to wrath. And there are those who are appointed to salvation. Look at verses 9 and 10. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Now, there are those that have been appointed to wrath. First Peter chapter 2 says they stumble being disobedient to the word to which also they were appointed. And there are those who have been appointed to salvation and ultimately the difference between those who are prepared to stand before Christ on the day when he comes and those who are not is the sovereign grace of God alone. God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. He will have compassion on whom he will have compassion. And the beauty of that truth. Is it ultimately? You know, it is not the quality of our faith or the quality of our repentance that saves us. It's the quality of our Redeemer. And if you are caught in sin and struggling to repent. Put on as a helmet the hope of salvation. You will never find the strength to repent and turn from your sin. By fear of condemnation. That's motivation, but it's not a sufficient motivation. The only motivation that really has the power to set you free and to enable you to truly repent is the motivation that comes when you have hope and faith. Hope not in the sense like we use it of a desire or a wish, But hope in the sense of a certain expectation. Trusting entirely in this with total confidence that Jesus Christ died for us. That whether we wake or sleep, that is live or die, we should live together with him. It's the love of one who will not let you go, the love of one who has died for you. who loved you in your darkest moment. That is the love which can motivate real repentance. You must believe, you must have hope. So, point number one, verses one through 10, be prepared for the coming of Christ. Point number two, we need one another in order to be prepared. Verse 11, therefore, comfort or encourage each other and edify or build up one another just as you also are doing. And brethren, the reality is it's hard to stay awake and watch all night by yourself. We need one another to shake us when we start to doze off. We need one another to remind us Christ is coming. Sin is deceptive. It is dangerous. It will destroy you. We must pray. We need one another to remind us of the glory of the gospel of our salvation, what Christ has done and of the hope of eternal life. We also need to be shaking others to keep them awake. Because if we're not doing that, we aren't being faithful ourselves. And if you look at just the verses following this, Paul begins by talking about relationship to one another, to those who are in authority in the church, and then to all of us with one another. What it looks like to follow Christ revolves around the way we relate to one another as his people. Jesus said, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. We cannot walk in the light ourselves without walking with other believers. As we already saw in 1 John, it says, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Another way to say it, the vision of Christian living is not that we're all charging up the mountain to reach the end as fast as possible. Rather, it is that we all go up the mountain together so that on the day of the Lord, when Christ comes, we are all standing there before him together. And as we'll see, that's why the commandments are things like comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. We need to pursue Christ together. Now, third, third section and third point. God has made very clear and specific how to be prepared. We don't have to guess and wonder at what God expects of us so that we are faithfully doing His will when He returns, but He's told us very clearly, very specifically, verses 12 through 22. In chapter 4, verse 3, this question of God's will is answered. He says, for this is the will of God, your sanctification. He answers that question again here in verses 16 through 18, where he says, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We have concrete, practical specifics regarding how to walk in the light, how to be watchful, how to be sober, how to be armed, how to be faithful. And I think this section, verses 12 through 22, breaks down into roughly three main categories. The first is verses 12 and 13, which have to do with how we relate to those in authority in the church. The second is verses 14 and 15, which has to do with how we relate to others in the church. And then the third is verses 16 through 22, which is how we are to conduct ourselves. both in faithfulness to God and as an example to others. And verses 16 through 18 in that section, I think the focus is on positively what to devote yourself to. And then verses 19 through 22, the focus is on negatively what to avoid and how to be careful and cautious. So, First mini section here, verses 12 and 13, how to relate to those in authority in the church. And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. So God has placed some in authority in the church. These are those who are over you in the Lord. We call them pastors or elders or bishops slash overseers. And these men, their function is they labor among the sheep and admonish or warn the sheep. So labor is in particular in the word and in doctrine. They work hard to understand God's word and teach it. And they admonish by warning and correcting those who are erring. And you are urged to recognize these men and to esteem them very highly in love. Paul is saying, take notice of their hard work in preaching, in counseling, in leading. Recognize that God has placed them in the position they are in. They are over you in the Lord. If we fail to honor and respect the authorities God has placed over us, we fail to honor and respect God himself. It doesn't matter how weak or foolish or sinful those authorities may be. We must honor them because God is the one who has placed them where they are. Then it says, esteem them in love for their works sake. Be grateful for the way that you benefit from their work. Do not take it for granted and be grateful even for their admonishment, which we all know is often difficult. We do not like to be corrected. And yet Proverbs says, do not rebuke a fool or he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. May we love those who admonish us. And then Paul adds, be at peace among yourselves. And I think he's saying seek peace and unity in the body. Specifically, do not create discord between the body and the leadership. Now, this doesn't mean you blindly follow the leadership and you never question them. No, later he says test all things. Hold leaders accountable to the word of God, but be a peacemaker, be humble, give deference and allow those whom God appoints to lead. Surely it would be greatly to our shame to have Christ return and find us quarreling with one another. Secondly, so second section, that's verses 14 and 15. How do we relate to others in the church? We read, now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for yourselves and for all. Now first, I just want to point out that many of these things you may think of as being the responsibility of pastors, but these are things which are the responsibility of all. He begins, he says, warn those who are unruly or idle or insubordinate or disorderly. And the idea is we are to warn those who are going along out of step or going their own way. We need to realize the danger of the one who is undisciplined, idle, and out of step with the Word of God and warn them. We need to say, brother, sister, don't be found in darkness at the coming of Christ. Secondly, he says, comfort the faint hearted. That is, look for the discouraged and encourage them. Now, discouraged people are often not the people who are the most fun to be around. Yet in love, go to them and encourage them. Do not allow their discouragement to grow and turn into drunkenness and worldly things. Don't let them turn to to evil, but come alongside them and encourage them and turn them to Christ. Remind them of the gospel. Next, it says uphold or help the weak. So whatever weaknesses you may see in another. Maybe they are weak in doctrine, maybe it's someone who's weak in faith, weak in love, weak in how they relate to other people, weak in parenting, weak in self-control. Whatever kind of weakness there may be in another person, help them. You know, don't go talk about their weakness with other people. Don't get frustrated with them. Don't avoid them as if they are less than you. Don't ignore them. Don't run over the top of them. Help them. said to the, as an example of this, to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he says, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. May we use our hands to help and to support the weak. And I think one of the keys to doing this is to realize how weak you are. Paul, as an apostle, we see in verse 25, he says, brethren, pray for us. Paul wants their prayer. Paul knows he needs prayer. Do we realize that if we stand, we stand by the grace of God? In whatever way someone else is weak, we ourselves are weak. Let us help one another. Then he says, be patient with all. Now, if you were someone who heard me say, warn those who are unruly and thought, amen, this is probably the verse for you. People don't always receive help well or right away. Be patient. You know, it may not be time to warn them or rebuke them. It may be time to be patient with them and to wait for them and to positively encourage them and pray for them. You know, if other people aren't bothering you, you can't be showing them patience. You only show patience when you willingly choose to overlook it and wait for them in hopes that they will come around. It's a way of loving them. Then, he adds, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone. Now, we so often feel justified in speaking unkindly, in acting rudely, in returning an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Yet, this is utterly out of step with Christian character. And as Brian prayed about, even in the extreme of a man who comes into a church and murders. We are not to return evil for evil. And not only does he say, don't do this yourself, but it says, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone. This is so important, you are to see that no one else does this. And just one observation, church discipline is hard. But note that the evil others in this body do is your business. The church is not a club or business, but it is a family. This is one example where we are charged to See that this does not happen in first Corinthians five. We read, for what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Therefore, purge the evil person from among you. Then finally, it says, always pursue what is good. Both for yourselves and for all. So even when another does evil against you. Do good. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. And also, in every other situation, consider not your own interests, but what is best for the church, what is best for all. Now, third, how you are to conduct yourself, verses 16 through 22. So first, verses 16 through 18, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. So once again, God's will is not a mystery. It is plain and simple, but it's hard. Rejoice always. You see, if you are in Christ, you always have a reason to be rejoicing. Whatever your struggles are, whatever disappointments, whatever hardships, when you compare that with the fact that Christ is returning and his favor is upon you, there's really no comparison. And what trials do is they reveal how much of our joy is really in Christ versus in something else. How much of your joy is found in your performance? How much of your joy is found in the approval of others or the love of others? How much of your joy is found in getting the stuff or the experiences that you want? And how much of your joy is really in Christ? Now, how do we cultivate that joy we ought to have? Well, secondly, he says, pray without ceasing. This is connected. If you don't pray, you won't rejoice in Christ because you won't set your mind on things above but on things on the earth. Prayer refocuses our mind on Christ. That is, biblical prayer does. Prayer should be filled with praise and thanksgiving. And prayer should be without ceasing. That is, pray all the time. Pray in such a way that it fills and characterizes your life. Would someone be able to look at your life and say it is characterized by unceasing prayer? And if they were to look at what you pray for, would it be praying and ceasing? Praying and losing heart? Or would it be praying without ceasing until God does as he has promised? Believing God, taking him at his word. As in Luke 18, after Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, he says, hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them? I tell you that God will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Or will he find people who just gave up praying because we didn't believe? And I would like for us to ask ourselves, do we as a church give ourselves to prayer? Do we have extended times of private prayer? Are we prayerful throughout our day, and do we pray together as a church? Are we eager to gather to pray together? Because a lack of prayer reveals pride, A complacence that says, I don't think I can fall. An unbelief, thinking God won't answer. Don't claim to love God's word, yet refuse to pray. Third, he says, in everything, give thanks. That is, in every circumstance, you have a reason to thank God. Every good thing you have is from Him. He is working all things together for your good, so even in the darkest circumstances, you have something to be thankful for. for how God is using that. Now, in everything, and I think part of why Paul is telling us positively not just to be grateful but to actually give thanks is because we are such a forgetful, hardened people that we must cultivate thankfulness by intentionally remembering how faithful and good and generous God has been. And so I think one good principle would be never ask God for anything without first thanking Him for all that He has already given. As Philippians 4 says, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And secondly, never complain. Complaining always betrays an ungrateful spirit. Now, verses 19 through 22, do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. Now, these commandments are all related, and I believe these commandments are also related to what went before in verses 16 through 18. And one scripture that they're also related to that I think shows how related it all is, is Ephesians 5, verses 15 through 20. where we read, see then that you walk circumspectly. That is, be careful. Not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." So now he's mentioning the ministry of the Spirit. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. That is rejoicing in prayer. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, really what I want you to see is that the first key to being careful and not falling into evil and not quenching the spirit and not despising prophecies is devote yourself to rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving. Now, secondly, what does it mean to quench the spirit? Well, the presence and work of the Holy Spirit is often likened in Scripture to a flame, and so to quench it is to douse water on it, to resist and oppose the working of the Spirit. And how do we do that? Well, first, we do that by despising prophecies. And basically what that means is when we hear what God has said and refuse to believe it or heed it, So one example would be the Israelites when they fled to Egypt in the days of Jeremiah. The Israelites were afraid of the Chaldeans because of the insurrection. They're afraid, what are the Chaldeans going to do? They're going to come and punish us. And so they start going to Egypt. And then they say, Jeremiah, we want you to pray for us and ask God what we should do. And they say to Jeremiah, let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you. Well, Jeremiah prays and God answers and God says, don't go to Egypt. Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. And yet what do the Israelites do in response? They say, you speak falsely. The Lord our God has not sent you to say, do not go to Egypt to dwell there. So they went to the land of Egypt for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. They said, well, we want to know what God says. We're definitely going to obey God whether we like it or not. And yet when they heard what God said, they despised it and they rejected it. So the question is, we have no debate about what God has said here in His Word. When you hear God's Word and it tells you to do what you don't want to hear, do you listen? Do you obey? Do you believe God's Word when it tells you what doesn't make sense to you? And one of the clear evidences that we aren't believing God's Word is when we aren't rejoicing, praying, and thanking. Second, so that's the first way we quench the Spirit, we despise prophecies, but there's a second way we quench the Spirit, and that's when we fail to test all things. Because the reality is you can't be safe by just believing and accepting everything. The spirit is blasphemed equally, whether we call his work Satan's or Satan's work his. So whenever you believe the lie of a false, you see, whenever you believe the lie of a false prophet. You're not believing God's word. God's word tells us what we need to know for life and godliness. We know that the Thessalonians were later shaken in mind and troubled by the lie that Christ had already come back and they had missed it. This is in 2 Thessalonians. They were not trusting what God had already told them where we see in chapter 4 of this book, verse 16, that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with a trumpet And you know, the the scary thing about that is that if Satan can get you to believe one lie. And make you think God said it. And then show you that it's false. He's trapped you. Because now you think God's a liar. That will give way to a whole flood of unbelief. So we quench the spirit when we despise prophecies and when we fail to test all things. Now, how then do we test all things? Well, as Isaiah said to those who were believing false prophets, he said, to the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, there is no truth in them. So we need to test everything by scripture. That is every doctrine and belief, every practice and activity, that is everything you do at work, at home, in church, in society, test it by the Word of God. Assume nothing, trust nothing apart from God's Word. And then secondly, we need to hold fast what is good. And, you know, I think it's easy to say test everything by Scripture, but how do you know your interpretation of Scripture is right? Doesn't it get confusing sometimes? Well, I think a big part of the answer is hold fast what is good. Because our problem is that we spend so much time worrying about doubtful and uncertain things while flagrantly disobeying what God has plainly said. Do you want to have a heart of wisdom that can discern God's truth amidst all the lies of the world? Well, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Set the truth of the gospel, the faithfulness of God, and the glory of Christ's coming before your heart continually. Do you want to have a heart that is blind and unbelieving and deceived? Don't rejoice always, don't pray, and don't give thanks. Then he says, abstain from every form or kind or type of evil. Now apart from the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, we can do nothing. And if we involve our hearts or bodies in evil, he will be grieved and he will be quenched and we will be headed for disaster. Small sins always lead to bigger ones. And there is never a just cause or valid reason to participate in evil. Obeying God never requires compromise. And I think one key is to positively devote yourself to what is good. Don't ask, what's wrong with that? Ask, what is best? As Romans 12.9 says, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Now, fourth major point, and finally, Verses 23 and 24, God is faithful to prepare his people. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. And when it says, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, I think in keeping with chapter 4 verse 3 where it talked about this is the will of God, your sanctification. In verse 11, be edified or be built up. In verse 22, abstain from every form of evil. It would seem most natural to interpret this as regarding progressive sanctification as a believer. The word completely, I don't think is meant in the sense of sinless perfection, but in the sense of maturity and arriving securely to the end. The idea here is may God himself, through his power, may you stand before Christ at the last day and hear, well done, good and faithful servant. And he says, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is your whole being. May you overcome the temptations and the snares of this world in order to stand faithful before Christ in the end. And as we think about all we have just heard and all the commandments, it is easy to be overwhelmed because of our weakness and our faithlessness. And what a comfort it is to come to the end of this section and hear, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful who also will do it. The good news is that He will sanctify us, He will preserve us, He will prepare us for that day. As it says in Philippians 1.6, Paul can write, I'm confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. You know, even in spite of our faithlessness, we can have peace because our God is a God of peace and a God who is faithful. That even if we are faithless, he remains faithful. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. So brothers and sisters, even if we do go astray, he will discipline us. Praise God for his discipline that he, whom the Lord loves, he corrects. If we are weak, he will strengthen us. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. When our faith is ready to fail, Christ prays for us. As he said to Peter, Satan has asked to sift you, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. When we are lost, he calls out to us. He leaves the 99 to find the one who has gone astray. When we are tempted, He makes the way of escape. When we are in the valley of the shadow of death, His rod and His staff protect us. We have a Savior who will not fail us and who will not let us go. As Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. Praise God for his faithfulness. Let's pray. But Father, we praise you and thank you that you are the God of peace, who is faithful to your people, that we can hope and trust entirely in you. We praise you for that. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen.