Striving For Sanctification – part 2
(Refine Your Relationships)
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (13b-15)

Last Sunday night we began this very important
Yet very practical section in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

We have now been taught that God’s will for our lives is extremely clear.
God desires for you and I to be sanctified.
He wants us to be set apart.
He wants us to be holy.
He wants us to be like Jesus.

Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

And because this is God’s will, it is also obvious that God
Is aggressively pursuing that goal for each of us.

Scripture calls Him Jehovah Mekadesh, “The Lord who Sanctifies You”.

It is God who is at work
Performing the process of sanctification in our lives.

But as we saw last week, that does not mean
That we are without responsibility in this endeavor.

We know, according to the last two verses of this passage,
That God will eventually perfect us in sanctification.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

We know that God is faithful to accomplish our sanctification.
But what we also know that we are called to join Him in this effort.
In fact, that is what verses 12-22 are all about.

They are practical ways in which we can strive
To achieve the sanctification that God is working out in our lives.

And as we said last week, there are 8 directives that Paul gives.
1) Honor Your Leaders 5) Rejoice Always
2) Live in Peace 6) Pray Continually
3) Encourage One Another 7) Be Thankful
4) Love One Another 8) Submit to God’s Word

And so obviously Paul is teaching us how to practically
Bring our entire life under God’s plan for our sanctification.
Last week we saw the first, which was to HONOR OUR LEADERS.
We must recognize that God has divinely placed in our midst
Men who are called and equipped to help us reach sanctification.

And once we recognize that these men are present,
We are called to “esteem them highly in love”.
We are called to love them for this great work they perform in our lives.

Tonight we see the next 3 areas
In which Paul wants us to pursue sanctification.

All of these three areas deal with our relationships.

And this makes sense.
You can’t be like Jesus if you can’t learn how to interact with people.
And so part of our crucial lesson is found in refining our relationships.

There are three commands Paul gives us here in this regard.
Now we saw the first one last week, let’s look at numbers 2-4 tonight.

#2 LIVE IN PEACE
1 Thessalonians 5:13b

“Live in peace with one another.”
And this is a vital first step to making sure
Our relationships are what they ought to be.

Remember: PEOPLE AREN’T THE PROBLEM
Scripture tells us not to look at them as an enemy, but as a victim.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

We have to remember, that people are not the problem.
Our war is against sin and Satan.

Now granted he uses people,
And that can make peace a near impossible thing.

After all Jesus did say:
Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

We have all seen how the name of Jesus can bring division,
Especially in a carnal world.

And that is why Paul says in Romans:
Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

We know there are some people with whom peace isn’t possible,
But that should never be our fault.

Our calling is to “Live in peace with one another.”

We are called to do what we can
In order to make sure that we can all dwell in unity.

It does not mean that we tolerate sin, or overlook wickedness
(discipline is still required),

But it does mean that in every issue that does not have to do with sin,
We continually deny self in order to live I harmony with other.

And this is the second step to achieving sanctification.

WHY?
Because the “one another” that Paul is referring to
Are first and foremost your brothers and sisters in Christ.

And they, like your leaders, are called to help you achieve sanctification.

Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”

We are called to “live in peace” because as we dwell together,
We inevitably help one another achieve the goal of sanctification.

This is why the writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Things like church attendance and assembling together are important
Because they are tools God uses in order to sanctify us.

So when dealing with the area of sanctification, do not disregard the importance that your leaders, and your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have in this matter.

Live in peace with your brothers.

Romans 14:19 “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

Honor Your Leaders, Live in Peace
#3 ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
1 Thessalonians 5:14

This is truly a great verse that speaks of the importance of fellowship.

You will notice that in this verse Paul speaks about 4 types of people,
And the four ways that we are to respond to them.

1) THE PERVERSE
“We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly”

“unruly” comes from a Greek word
That literally means “out of place” or “out of order”.

It speaks of something or someone that does not fit,
Or is not doing what they were intended to do.

And that is what it means to pervert something.
PERVERSE: “deliberately or stubbornly departing from what is reasonable or required.”

And that is what some people do.
They are “unruly” in the sense that they are out of place.
They are perverting the purpose God has for them.

So in a broad sense it would be anyone who is living
In a way opposite of the way God intended.

And for the Thessalonian church
Paul even has something more specific in mind.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.”

Paul there spoke of the “unruly” man being a man who refused to work,
But instead insisted upon being a bum and a busybody.

So whether it refers to work or any other defection from God’s purpose,
We know that at times we will come in contact with those
Who are “unruly” or perverse.

And obviously, as we just read in 2 Thessalonians,
Our treatment of them can reach such a severity
That we are actually called to shun them.

Certainly this walks in perfect agreement with the Lord’s command to
Warn a brother and yet eventually treat him as a tax collector or a gentile.

So dealing with an the unruly can reach such extremes as disfellowship.

However, this is NEVER the first step.

The first step is what Paul says to do here.
“admonish” him.

“admonish” translates NOUTHETEO

It is compound word.
The first part meaning “to understand”
The second part meaning “to place before”

And so Paul is telling us to systematically, and thoroughly
Reveal to this “unruly” brother how his life is outside of God’s will.

We are not to simply set back while they pervert God’s plan,
But instead we are to clearly and concisely show them
How God is not pleased with their way of life.

We are to “admonish” them.

And we are called to do this, if we want to be like Jesus.

After all, Jesus did this didn’t He?

I’m reminded of John 21.
If you remember John 21, it is a great story about a man
Who was about to go and do the opposite of what he was created to do.

John 21:3 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.”

These men weren’t fishermen anymore, they were disciples of Christ.
They were fishers of men.

And yet on this day they were returning.
Of course Jesus rerouted every fish in the sea, as sort of a way to remind them that the old life had no fulfillment for them.

It was later He asked Peter three times “Do you love Me?”
And each time Peter said “yes” to which Jesus replied “feed My sheep”
Peter wasn’t a fisherman, Peter was a shepherd,
But he was about to completely miss his purpose.

He was “out of place” he was “unruly”, and Jesus called him back.

If we wish to be like Jesus, we do the same.
We “admonish the unruly”

The Perverse
2) THE PESSIMIST
“encourage the fainthearted”

“fainthearted” translates OLIGOPSUCHOS (olee-GOP-sukos)

It is another compound word.
Oligos meaning “small”
Suchos meaning “soul”

This is a person who is “small-hearted”
This is a person who is easily discouraged.
They are defeated
They have no passion
They have no drive

They are sort of looking for a place to lay down and quit.

And Paul says to this person we are to “encourage”
And this is a word that simply means
“To come beside a person and speak.”

We simply come to them with words of encouragement
In order to lift them up and help them see things better.

Satan is quite a liar, and when we converse too much with him,
We easily get discouraged.

An encourager is one who helps this “small-hearted” brother “fix his eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

And of course you know Jesus did this.
There are quite a few pessimists in Scripture,
But none quite as obvious as our friend Thomas.

• In John 11 he is certain that Jesus is about to die and he will die with him.
• In John 14 he is certain that when Jesus leaves he will never find him.
• In John 20 he is certain that Jesus is dead and is never coming back.

He is a pessimist, until Jesus encourages him.
John 20:26-27 “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Jesus came to Thomas and presented the truth
In order to help Thomas not be so weak in faith.
He was strengthening Thomas’s heart.

We “admonish the unruly”
We “encourage the fainthearted”

The Perverse, The Pessimist
3) THE POWERLESS
“help the weak”

And the word here literally means “without strength”

They just aren’t strong enough to handle what they are facing.
It is not that they are giving up, they just can’t beat it.

Sometimes we place so much emphasis on victorious living
And victory over sin through Jesus, that we seem to forget
That sometimes people still struggle.

And the self-righteous answer to their struggles
Is to criticize their faith and to tell them to claim the victory.

Yet, while victory is in Jesus,
Don’t miss the fact that Scripture clearly indicates
That part of the victory is found in the help of other believers.

The fact is people face things in this life
That they just can’t beat on their own.
They need the help of others.

Galatians 6:1-2 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

The first illustration that comes to mind is Johnny Narron.
• Johnny Narron never fielded a ball last year for the Texas Rangers.
• He never swung a bat.
• He never threw a pitch.
• He never even called a play.

But many would argue that there was no one person more important
To the Texas Rangers success last year than Johnny Narron.
WHO IS HE?
The man hired to stay with Josh Hamilton 24-7

Josh Hamilton.
• Star Center-fielder for the Texas Rangers
• American League MVP
• Freakish baseball talent
• Strong Christian

Yet he also spent 3 ½ years banned from baseball
Because of substance abuse.

He then got saved, but still had some relapses.
And so because Josh Hamilton isn’t strong enough to battle alcohol on his own, he has Johnny Narron at his side at all times.

Johnny keeps his money for him
Johnny keeps him company when there is nothing to do
Johnny does exactly what this verse commands.

“help the weak”

“help” translates ANTECHO (an-te-kho)

It means “to hold firmly to”

It pictures a person to weak to hold on for themselves,
And so a brother comes and holds on for them.

This person holds the other person in place.
• They won’t let them fall
• They won’t let them go the wrong direction
• They are aware that there is a weakness in this person’s life and so they hold on with them.

And if we want to be like Jesus, we must do the same.

Jesus also did this for Peter.
Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus knew what Peter was about to face,
But He also knew that He wouldn’t let Peter go.

Had Jesus not been with Peter, the last phrase you would ever read about Peter in Scripture is that he went out and wept bitterly.

But Jesus wouldn’t let him fall away.
(even if it meant rerouting all the fish as we saw a moment ago)
The Perverse, The Pessimist, The Powerless
4) THE POKY
“be patient with everyone”

Boy, there may not be anything more frustrating to me
Than someone who pokes around.
I know, because I have a daughter we call Pocahontas

And it can be just as bad when dealing with a brother or sister in Christ.

Sometimes we set back and wonder if they are ever going to get it.
And what we really want to do is tell them
To forget about it and leave them behind.

But Paul here tells us to “be patient”

This word means to “let your anger be far away.”

Don’t blow your top.
Don’t explode on them.
Don’t break out in some rage induced tirade.

Swallow it, be patient, know that God is at work.

2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

And we can all agree that this was Jesus.

We don’t even need an illustration from Scripture
Because we all supply our own illustration.

I was saved 15 years ago.
And you would think after 15 years
I would be a lot more like Jesus than I am.

What has kept Him from just blowing a gasket and thumping me?
He is patient.

And if we wish to be like Jesus, then we do the same with others.

And when you put all four of those together,
We see that the third step in being a sanctified church is that we ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER.

No matter if they are Perverse, Pessimistic, Powerless, or Poky
We still encourage them.

We will never be a sanctified body if we don’t encourage each other.

Honor your Leaders, Live in Peace, Encourage one Another
#4 LOVE ONE ANOTHER
1 Thessalonians 5:15

And although the word love is not used there,
It is obvious all over that passage.

From not taking your own revenge,
To wanting what is good for others instead of yourself,
To helping each other do the same.
Love is the theme of this verse.

“See that no one”
And so we obviously see here,
That the encouragement factor is still very much in play.
We are not on this journey alone.
We are all looking out for each other.

Not only do I push myself to be like Christ,
But I am also called to encourage you, as you do me.

And if you or I see anyone in our church doing it wrong,
We are called here to help them do it right.

And the first area has to do with revenge.
“See that no one repays another evil for evil”

Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”

Romans 12:17 “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.”

Romans 12:19-20 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”

And it is obvious isn’t it.
We are called to die to self and consider others as more important,
Even if that other person harmed us.

(Telling Hannah to tell a bully “Jesus Loves You” – she said, “I don’t think that will work”)

It’s not human tendency to let people off the hook,
But that is what we are called to do.

In fact a great term for this is “forgiveness”.
To forgive is to refuse the right to punish,
And that is what God not only asks us to do,
But asks us to help each other do as well.
And not only refuse revenge
“but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”

That is love isn’t it?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

It is love that if given the choice
Would choose another person’s happiness over their own.

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”

And you and I know that those things are extremely difficult.
Yet, if we wish to achieve the sanctification that God wills for us,
Not only must we strive for those things,
But we must help each other attain them as well.

OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS HOW JESUS LIVED.

He always put others first, and His command was that we do the same.

And so these next three admonitions make practical sense as well.

If we want to achieve God’s will and be like Christ,
Then not only must we honor our leaders,
But we must also refine our relationships.

• We must live right with others.
• We must live in peace
• We must encourage one another
• We must love one another

And when we do those things
We are on the path of sanctification that God has willed for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Striving For Sanctification – Part 1
“Honor Your Leaders”
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

I’ll begin by asking you tonight if you know what God’s will is for your life.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”

God wants you to be sanctified.
God wants you to be like Christ.
God wants you to be holy just as He is holy.
God wants you to be perfect just as He is perfect.

In fact, not only does God desire you to be sanctified,
But it is God who is at work to ensure your sanctification.

One of the first ways God revealed Himself to His people was as
Jehovah Mekadesh.

Exodus 31:13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”

God wanted His people to understand the purpose for all the rules.
It is because He was in the process of sanctifying them.
He was undertaking the process of setting them apart as holy.

Sanctification has always been God’s work.

That is why in the upper room we hear Jesus praying to the Father:
John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

Jesus knew that sanctification was the work of God,
And so He prayed to God for it.

And not only that, but that is why Christ came.
Ephesians 5:25-26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”

You may remember that scene in the upper room
In which Jesus wanted to wash the disciple’s feet.

You may also remember that Peter took issue with that.
John 13:6-11 “So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Peter didn’t fully understand what sanctification was.

On the day we are saved we are bathed, we are cleaned,
We are justified and made right before God.

But that doesn’t mean we are perfect.
We still manage to have a lot of the world stuck to us,
And it is Christ who systematically begins to remove that dirt.

That is the process of sanctification.

And so you see that sanctification is so important to God,
That it is a task that He takes upon Himself.

1 Corinthians 6:11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
God did it, and God continues to do it.

Yet, that is only part of the equation.
While it is clearly God who sanctifies us,
The other side is that we also strive for that sanctification.

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

And of course that is implied every time Paul commands obedience
And every time he told the Thessalonians to “excel still more”.

God is the one who sanctifies, yet we also strive to achieve
That same purpose through our obedient lifestyle.

I suppose the mystery is best stated in:
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

• And so it is not possible for anyone to take credit for their sanctification, for God did it.
• Yet it is also not possible for any of us to grow apathetic either as though we need do nothing.

Sanctification is the will of God and the work of God,
But it is work we gladly strive for as well.

And that is what this passage is all about.
Paul is outlining the steps to becoming a sanctified church.

In fact you can see this thought ends in verses 23-24
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Paul ends the thought by saying, now may God grant this sanctification that you are striving for, and don’t worry, He will do it.

So it ends by reassuring us that God will finish what He started it.

What we find in verses 12-22 are our part in the great equation.

In these next 11 verses,
Paul gives 8 steps to becoming a sanctified church.
(not one time steps, but all the time qualities)

Let me just quickly give you these 8, although we won’t be able to study them all tonight.

1) HONOR YOUR LEADERS (12-13a)
2) LIVE IN PEACE (13b)
3) ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER (14)
4) LOVE ONE ANOTHER (15)
5) REJOICE ALWAYS (16)
6) PRAY CONTINUALLY (17)
7) BE THANKFUL (18)
8) SUBMIT TO GOD’S WORD (19-22)

These 8 points of application are a great pathway
To achieving the sanctification that God wills for you.

And rest assured, He is faithful to bring it about in you.

Tonight we look at the first of these 8 characteristics:
HONOR YOUR LEADERS

(12-13a) But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”

It is quite obvious that Paul wants the Thessalonians to honor those
Whom God has placed in charge of them.

When Christ left, He left His church under the care of under-shepherds.
Sometimes called Elders
Sometimes called Overseers
Sometimes called Shepherds or Pastors

They all speak of the same person,
But the difference in names refers to their differing functions.
Elder translates PRESBUTEROS
(You recognize it as the root to words like presbytery)

It can mean “older man” but when understood in a spiritual sense
It speaks of one who is wise and mature.

And thus God calls them elders because they lead and guide the church.

Overseer translates EPISKOPOS
(again you think of the word Episcopal)

It speaks of one who has oversight of authority.

Pastor translates POIMEN

Often translated “shepherd” it speaks of one who
Feeds the flock through teaching and protects them from false doctrine.

And all of these three titles are used of those
Whom God has placed over His flock.

1 Peter 5:1-2 “Therefore, I exhort the elders (presbuteros) among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd (poimen) the flock of God among you, exercising oversight (episkopos) not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;”

You may remember from studying Acts that in Acts 20:17
Paul called the Ephesian elders to himself. He then told these elders this:

Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to shepherd (poimen) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

And so it is clear the leadership that Christ left behind.

(You be in prayer about this, as I have even begun talking to the deacons about our church following this biblical model of being an elder led church)

And it is obvious that in Thessalonica
Paul had appointed elders to lead that church.

In fact Paul even lists the tasks that they were doing.

1) THEY DILIGENTLY LABOR
“appreciate those who diligently labor among you”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Well, it simply means they work hard.
But what was their labor specifically?

Well it could have been actual physical labor.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”

While those who preach the gospel are given right to gain their living by it
Certainly not all do so.

And even today there are plenty who serve God’s flock
And yet still work to provide their own living.
These are certainly exceptional men.

It can also be seen in a more spiritual sense as “God’s Work”.

Such as EVANGELISM
Matthew 9:37-38 “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 – 6:1 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain”

Galatians 4:11 “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”

Clearly the labor spoken of here is a labor to see the lost saved.
Anyone who has ever sought to win the lost, knows that it is hard work.

It could also be DISCIPLESHIP
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

In regard to his preaching Paul told Timothy to:
1 Timothy 4:15 “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”

Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

Paul’s labor was to help mold the churches into the very image of Christ.

And so anyway you slice it, the elder or overseer, or shepherd
Is one who diligently labors.
2) THEY HAVE CHARGE
“and have charge over you in the Lord”

I know that today we live in a world that resents authority and rejects the notion of submission, yet we also know that the church is different.

God did not make the church a democracy.

God set up the church, to be under definite authority,
That is Christ ruling through men He has divinely appointed.

1 Peter 5:2-3 “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

1 Corinthians 16:15-16 “Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints), that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.”

I am well aware that at times the church has been so eager
To follow the pattern of this world
That any notion of the church having earthly leaders they are to obey
Can seem almost shocking.
Yet, that is precisely the way God ordained it.

Now obviously their charge is “in the Lord”

Meaning that their authority only reaches as far as the word of God does.
They don’t get to boss people around for the sake of it.

They do however have the authority to rule the church
According to the truth of Scripture,
And the church is expected to submit to their authority.

And it is obvious that Paul has set up some of these men in Thessalonica.

Men who diligently labor. Men who have charge
3) THEY GIVE INSTRUCTION
“and give you instruction”

This is of course their primary role and occupation.
They guide the church by instructing her according to the word of God.

When you read the qualifications of an overseer in 1 Timothy,
There is only one qualification that is not character based.
Only one speaks of their ability.
1 Timothy 3:2 “…able to teach,”

Titus 1:9 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”

It is these men who study the word of God in order to teach it
And to teach the flock how to live.

And again it is obvious that Thessalonica had such men in their midst.

Now, here comes the first command in being a sanctified church,
And that is that you honor those men.

Now that being said, this is a little out of my comfort zone
To preach a sermon that tells you to honor your preacher.

So just know that I am preaching this in sincere hope
That we will eventually become an elder led church,
And I am giving you the basis for how to honor those men.

And here Paul gives two points.
#1 RECOGNIZE THEM
1 Thessalonians 5:12

We already talked about what these men are doing.

The main point here is “that you appreciate those” men.

“appreciate” is a little misleading here.
The Greek word actually means “to know”.

It means “to have seen”
And it speaks of having full knowledge of someone.

To better understand what Paul is getting at, he is saying
“Recognize what these men in your midst do for you.”

• Recognize how hard they work.
• Recognize the decisions they make.
• Recognize the instruction they give.

And it helps us understand Paul’s point.

The first step in living that sanctified life is to recognize
That God has placed in your midst men
Who are specifically set apart to help you achieve it.

God hasn’t left you on your own.
DO YOU EVER GO TO A LUMBER YARD?
(Now days they are called home improvement centers)

And you go in looking for that special type of electrical box
Or that unique piece of plumbing material

And if you are like me, you probably don’t even make it to one of the aisles before you do something else.
YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO WORKS THERE.

And if you find one who works hard
And if you find one who can tell you where to go
And if you find one who can instruct you as to what you need

Then you have really found a good thing.

See those people are specifically placed throughout that store
To help you achieve your goal of buying something.
Because not only is it your goal to buy something,
It is also the goal of the people who own the store.

You both want you to buy something,
And so they place people in your midst to help make that goal a reality.

And when we find a good one, we are grateful.

Well Paul says, open your eyes, God has done the same for you.

Furthermore stop and think about where you might be
If God had placed no one who would work hard
To lead you and teach you the truth.

Ephesians 4:11-15 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

There you see why God gave those men.
And the implication is that without them,
You would be susceptible to all sorts of deception,
Tossed here and there and carried about by every wind of doctrine,
And you would never grow up into Christ-likeness.

God gave them to you to help you.

And the first thing Paul wants you to do is recognize that.
#2 REGARD THEM
1 Thessalonians 5:13a

“and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”

Not only should you recognize them, but you should also regard them.

The Greek word for “esteem” literally means “to lead.”
Here it means to “lead before the mind” or “to consider” them.

Here is how the word is used elsewhere.
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;”

So Paul is talking about the place you assign to these men.
He is talking about how you view their importance.

Paul says “esteem them very highly”

He wasn’t asking for the Thessalonians to get together
And see what their leaders were worth.
Paul was telling them what they were worth.

He tells the Thessalonians to spot their leaders
And give them a high standing.

He even tells them in what manner.
“esteem them very highly in love”

Open your eyes and see that you have some there
Who work hard to lead you and instruct you,
You make sure that you love them a lot.
You make sure that you give them great amounts of love.

And he even says why:
“because of their work”

And Paul is wanting the Thessalonians to recognize
That the service they perform is absolutely vital to the congregation,
And the congregation ought to be extremely grateful.

1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Paul told Timothy that he actually assures salvation for his flock.
By working hard, and leading right, and teaching thoroughly,
Timothy would bring that entire congregation under conviction
And cause them all to examine their salvation,
And he would ensure the salvation of all of them.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

There the preacher essentially says the same thing.
These men “keep watch over your souls”

Make this easy on them, because if you make it hard on them,
It won’t help you in the long run.

(It is much easier to preach in Spur, than it was in Crawford)

Sheep that make it hard on the shepherd
Aren’t doing themselves any favors.

And so Paul tells the Thessalonians
To not only recognize their leaders, but also to regard them highly.

These men are here to help you achieve God’s will in your life.
They are placed here by God to help you achieve sanctification.

And so the first step to becoming a sanctified church
Is to willingly come under the authority of those
Whom God has commissioned to lead it.

If the church continually rebels against her shepherd,
She will never be sanctified,
After all, they are the ones who work as God’s agents to bring it about.

So if you want to be a sanctified church, and to achieve God’s will,
THEN HONOR YOUR LEADERS.

It will make the journey much much smoother.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

The Return of Christ: Anticipation or Anxiety?
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Tonight we talk a little more about the return of Christ.
And every time His return is mentioned,
It almost automatically produces one of two responses in people.

1) Anticipation

When John saw the Revelation he said:
Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

When Paul gave an account of his own life he said:
2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

In fact Paul even outlined believers as though who should long for Christ’s return.
1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.”

And so some definitely hear of the return of Christ
And their hearts are filled with anticipation.

But others have a different response:
2) Anxiety

Some are terrified of His return.
And obviously some should be terrified.
When He returns He isn’t coming back to preach.
He will return to judge the living and the dead.

He will tread the wine press of the wrath of God
And the blood will run in the streets up to the horses bridles
For a distance of 200 miles.

But even more frightening than that is the permanent spiritual judgment which follows in which the dead are cast forever into hell.

And so those who are lost should be filled with anxiety.

The tragedy is when you see a true believer
Who quite frankly has both.

On one hand he longs for the return and the reign of Christ.
He longs for the glorified earth where righteousness dwells.

But on the other hand he is a little anxious when he ponders it
Because he wonders what the Lord will think of him when He comes.
And this is the type of anxiety that was occurring at Thessalonica.

On one hand they couldn’t wait for Christ to return.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

But on the other hand apparently they were a little concerned
About some of the aspects of it.

We dealt with one of their concerns last week.

And that was:
WHAT ABOUT THE DEAD?

Do those who die in the Lord miss out on the return of Christ altogether?
And of course the answer is no.

They will rise first and then meet the Lord in the air
And always be with the Lord.

But there was a second question.

WHAT ABOUT THE LIVING?

Yes, I know what you said about the living being caught up
To meet Him in the air, but that was not the only concern.

What if I don’t recognize His coming?
What if I am not pleasing to Him?

They were concerned about the logistics of His coming.
On one hand eagerly waiting for it,
But on the other hand not exactly sure
What they would experience when it happened.

In order to sooth their anxiety the Thessalonians had one question.
(It is the same that all men have had)

WHEN WILL HIS COMING OCCUR?

(1) “Now as to the times and epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.”

Obviously that is what they wanted to know.
They wanted to know when it would happen.

Isn’t that the question everyone wants to know?

Matthew 24:3 “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Acts 1:6-7 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”

They always wanted to know when.
WHY?
Matthew 24:43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.”

Because knowing eliminates anxiety.
If I know when it is, then I can be better prepared.

The Thessalonians were concerned.

And so Paul writes these next ten verses
To settle the anxiety of the Thessalonians.

Three points
#1 THE REVIEW
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

The answer Paul gives here is just the answer that we would expect.

He doesn’t tell us anymore than Jesus did.
He doesn’t tell us anymore than we already know.
“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”

You would think people would quit asking.

Matthew 24:36-39 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

And it is obvious Paul had already told them that.
Because they “know full well”

But because they ask again Paul gives a little review.

We don’t know the day or hour of His return,
But we do know three truths about His coming.
1) HOW

“the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”

We don’t know the day He is coming,
But we do know how He will come when He does.

His coming will be sudden.
His coming will be unexpected.

When He comes there will be no time to prepare.

Of all the accounts we read of the Second Coming,
We see nothing of an invitation first.

It is too late to prepare for a thief once he is standing in your living room,
And it is too late to prepare for Jesus once He splits the sky.

And while the Lord did not think it important for us to know the day,
He did find it important to tell us this aspect.

Obviously so we would not tarry in readying ourselves for it.

We know HOW He is coming.
2) WHEN

“While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” THEN destruction will come…”

Granted we don’t know the day or hour,
But we do know what the world will be like when He comes.

He will come during a time of deception.

People will be proclaiming “Peace and safety!”
When in reality people are about to experience anything but.

Jesus said:
Matthew 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

While false prophets are always here,
They will escalate their efforts just before His return.

Their aim is to move people to apathy.
Their goal is to remove the threat of judgment.
Their desire is to keep people from repentance.

They aim to let people be caught completely off guard
By the coming of the Lord and so they deceive.
“then destruction will come”

And obviously this was something else that God desired for us to know.
While He didn’t tell us everything, He did tell us this.

So we would not be lulled to sleep by the lies of the false prophets.

So God told us when.

3) WHY

“then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”

When Christ comes it is to rain judgment upon a godless world.

Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

We also know why He is coming,
And it is to take back the earth from the usurper.

There is but one true king.
There is but one rightful heir to the throne of earth and heaven.

And when Jesus returns He will render judgment on all those
Who sought to remove Him as Lord of their lives.

He will vanquish the foe
He will kill the traitors
He will clear the earth of all His enemies
And He will reign in peace.

And God thought we should know this as well.

We don’t know the day, nor the hour,
But we do know HOW, we do know WHEN, and we do know WHY.

That is the Review
But it is likely that at this point the Thessalonians said, “That is why we are anxious. He is coming to judge, He is coming suddenly, and we are afraid we will miss it, or worse yet be destroyed in it.”

That is why they wanted to know more.

The Review
#2 THE REMINDER
1 Thessalonians 5:4-10
And here Paul gives three reasons why a true believer
Can set their mind at ease in regard to the coming of the Lord.

If you are a true child of God you don’t have to be afraid,
You don’t have to be anxious.

And here are the three reasons why a believer can drop their anxiety.
1) YOUR DISCERNMENT (4-5a)

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.”

In other words, you don’t have to worry about being caught off guard.
You won’t be.

• The Lord has given you discernment.
• The Lord has opened your eyes.
• The Lord allows you to see what the lost world can’t see.

Matthew 24:32-35 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

Jesus has told us many things so that we can recognize that He is near.

WHAT ARE “THESE THINGS”?

TURN TO: MATTHEW 24:3-31

Great Deception (3-5)
Great Destruction (6-8)
Great Defection (9-13)
Great Declaration (14)
Great Desolation (15-22)
Great Demonstration (23-28)
Great Deliverance (29-31)

We know what to look for, we know how to prepare ourselves.

Do you suppose a lost world looks at the natural disasters around us and sees that the return of Jesus is near?

No, they look at the natural disasters and assume that
The C02 levels have eaten a hole in our ozone layer
Causing global warming which is to blame for all the weird disasters.

Yet global warming cannot be blamed for the unrest in Egypt
Or starvation in Africa, or the AIDS epidemic.
We have a discernment.
We aren’t kept in the dark we “are all sons of light and sons of day.”

2) YOUR DIFFERENCE (5b-8)

Some were concerned that they would not recognize the Lord’s coming,
Others were afraid that He would be unhappy when He came back.

But Paul says, that isn’t true either.
“We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

The point being is that while the lost world cannot please God,
Or live in a manner that is pleasing to Him, you and I can.

• Christ has moved us from death to life.
• Christ has given us of His Spirit.
• Christ has made pleasing God possible.

The world, apart from Christ,
Has no hope and will be destroyed at His coming,
But we, because of Christ, can please God and have nothing to fear.

Paul’s admonition here is to live like it.
“let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

Don’t partake of all the deeds of darkness.
Don’t gratify the sinful nature.
Instead purify yourself.

Guard your heart with faith and love.
Guard your mind with hope.

Live righteous, because you can.

NOW WHY WOULD PAUL SAY THAT HERE?

Is it because if we don’t then Jesus will change His mind and destroy us at His coming?
No.

He wants you to live righteous so that you will assure yourself
And calm your own anxiety.

1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

1 John 4:17 “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”

Both of those passages tell you to live righteously.
WHY?
• So He will accept you at His coming? – No.
• So you won’t have to be afraid when He comes.

He wants you to live right so you can put aside your anxiety.
He wants you to live right so you can anticipate His return.

In fact, that is the point of His entire letter.

1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

He didn’t say, “So God will see that you are saved”
He said “so that you may know”

And that is Paul’s point here.

If you are concerned about the 2nd coming,
Then make sure you live righteous, as He has equipped you to do.

For as you live righteous, you will realize that you are His
And your anxiety will slip away.

The world will be destroyed and the world will be afraid, but we won’t.

Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

If you are living right, you can have confidence,
Because you only did it because He was in you.

Your Discernment will help you be ready
Your Difference will help you be ready
3) YOUR DESTINY (9-10)

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
And this is the most beautiful.

If you are a child of God,
You have nothing to fear from the return of the Lord.

If God wanted to destroy you, He would have never saved you.
If God wanted to destroy you, He only had to do nothing.

But He sent His Son, who died for us,
And He didn’t do that to change His mind in the end.

Christians have a destiny.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

God has already determined the destiny of your life
And it is not to end in destruction.

He destined you for salvation.
He destined you to be with Him.

And with that Paul is telling the believers at Thessalonica to calm down
And not get too worked up about the return of the Lord.

They won’t miss it, they have the discernment of God.
They won’t be destroyed with the world, they are different from the world.
They won’t obtain wrath, they are destined for salvation.

“so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”

And with that Paul has answered both questions.
What about the dead when Christ comes?
They will rise and be with the Lord.

What about the living when Christ comes?
They will be caught up to meet Him and be with the Lord.

It doesn’t matter if you “are awake or asleep”
If you belong to Christ you will always be with Him.

The Review The Reminder
#3 THE REQUEST
1 Thessalonians 5:11

And this has been the theme of the book,
And the verse we have closed each sermon with.

“encourage one another”

Carries the idea of pushing each other to a higher level of sanctification.
We tell each other to “excel still more” in our efforts to please God.
We tell each other to “excel still more” in our love for others.

But we also “build up one another”

And this implies supplying what may be lacking.
That can be comfort to those who mourn.
That can be instruction to those who are misinformed.
That can be an example to those who need guidance.
That can be praise to those who have obeyed.

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

It is the essence of Christian love,
To help each other achieve the will of God in our lives
Which is sanctification.

“just as you also are doing.”

Paul wasn’t critiquing them as a church that lacked encouragement,
Paul just wanted them to keep it up.

And so do we.
We want to encourage better and we want to keep it up.

Because we want every believer in this church
To not only be ready for the coming of the Lord,
But to also know they are ready for the coming of the Lord.

So we encourage.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

The Importance of Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

When last we studied in this letter from Paul to the Thessalonians
We listened as Paul gave some practical encouragement.

He knew that they walked to please God.
He knew that they loved their brethren.
Now Paul wanted them “to excel still more”

He didn’t just want them to obey God
He wanted them to be passionate about obedience.

He didn’t just want them to love other
He wanted them to be consumed with their love for others.

He was pushing them to strive for Christ-likeness.

And that is all and well and good, but at some point,
Someone is bound to look at Paul and wonder why.

You and I know that Christianity makes
Some pretty serious demands on the lives of those who proclaim it.

What is it that motivates the Christian to “excel still more”?
And the answer is HOPE

But the Thessalonians were struggling with hope.
WHY?

Because time and time again they saw people live the Christian life,
And then they watched them die before they ever received the reward.

If you remember the Thessalonian’s obedience was built upon something.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

The Thessalonians had a great faith, but it was a faith
That still lacked a little in the way of true understanding.

Perhaps you remember the parable Jesus gave about the 10 virgins.
• But you remember that 5 of the virgins were wise and 5 were foolish.
• The 5 wise had enough oil to last until the morning.
• The 5 foolish weren’t prepared for the groom to delay.

And there are many warnings to take from that parable,
But one of them is that you and I must be prepared to persevere
Even if the bride groom tarries.
The Christian life is not a sprint, the Christian life is a marathon.
You have to be prepared for the long haul.

But this was one area where the Thessalonians were uninformed.
• They fully expected for Christ to return in their lifetime.
• They fully expected the suffering to be brief and for Jesus to soon return and rescue them.

But there was something happening that was unsettling their faith.
SOME OF THEM BEGAN TO DIE

Some of these who had forsaken this life to follow Jesus
Were dying before His return (possibly even martyrdom)
And they didn’t know what to do with this.

Death was causing a much anxiety to the Thessalonian believers

And you know death can do this.
Remember the preacher who wrote Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 2:15-17 “Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.”

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 “Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.”

Ecclesiastes 9:2-6 “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”

That is a disheartening view of death.

And it was this same anxiety that was bothering the Thessalonians.
They watched each other forsake this life to wait for Jesus,
But some of them never saw the Jesus they waited for.

And this was causing them to lose hope.
And a Christian without hope is in a dangerous predicament,
They actually lose all motivation for obedience.

In order for a Christian to strive for obedience,
They need to know why it is worth it.

This is why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15

The Corinthians doubted the resurrection and Paul knew that would backfire by stealing their hope and ultimately their desire to obey.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

It was the existence of the resurrection that allowed Paul to tell them to
“be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”
Because it was the resurrection that allowed them to know that
Their “toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

They could obey because hope remained.

That is the same message Paul is preaching to the Thessalonians here.
• I know some of you have died.
• I know Jesus hasn’t returned yet.
• But you can still have hope that obedience is worth it.

So let’s look at the comfort Paul gives to the Thessalonians here tonight.

4 points.
#1 HOPE IS ESSENTIAL
1 Thessalonians 4:13

When Paul starts out here it is obvious
That he is concerned about a hole in their theology.

“But I do not want you to be uninformed, brethren”

Again it is not a matter of disobedience, or disapproval,
It is simply something Paul sees that needs to be addressed.
And here it is an incomplete understanding of the truth.
AND WHAT A GREAT WAY TO ENCOURAGE ANOTHER BELIEVER.

While it is true that truth can be terrifying to a non-believer,
The truth should always be satisfying and even to a true believer.

And this is why one of the greatest ways we can encourage each other
Is to continually instruct one another in the truth.

Paul is doing that here, and in a specific area.
“I do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep”

Paul is referencing those believers who have already died in the Lord.

And as I said there was a tremendous amount of anxiety brewing
Amongst the Thessalonians because of this fact.

And Paul wants to straighten out their theology.
“so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.”

And this statement is really the key to the passage.

It is not that grief is wrong.
Jesus was grieved at the tomb of Lazarus.
The brethren grieved the death of Stephen.

The problem was that Paul did not want them to grieve without “hope”

When a lost person dies, what comfort can the family find?
NONE
There is no hope of eternal bliss.
There is no hope of a reunion.
There is no hope of comfort.

But that should not be the case when a believer dies.

When a believer dies, there ought to be at least a silver lining
Of joy and gladness over what that believer has experienced.
(I think of Eldon)

You see we know that believers haven’t missed anything,
But have instead gone to be with the Lord.

BUT IMAGINE IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT.

What if you didn’t know that believers go to be with the Lord?
What if you didn’t know that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?”
What if you didn’t know that the dead will rise at His coming?

Then when a believer died you would grieve the same as a lost person.
Before long the church would be locked in the same fear as the world.
There would be no radical obedience.
There would be no dangerous mission trips.
There would be no life altering moves.

(And maybe it’s because we forget this truth
That the church today isn’t more radically obedient)

And Paul didn’t want the Thessalonians falling into such a snare.
He knew that hope was essential.

Hope is essential for a believer to live a truly sacrificial life.

You may remember when Paul penned that 2nd letter to Timothy.
Timothy wanted to quit, and he needed some motivation.
Timothy needed some hope.

So Paul wrote:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

It was hope that allowed Paul to persevere,
And it was only hope that would help Timothy.

And it is only hope that will help the Thessalonians.
And it is only hope that will help each of us.

Hope is essential
#2 HOPE IS CONDITIONAL
1 Thessalonians 4:14

Now we know that hope matters.
No one would risk their lives without it.

But you also need to know that hope is not an automatic thing.

True hope is based upon something.
“For IF we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

WHAT IS HOPE DEPENDANT ON?
Belief

Hope is built upon the salvation of Jesus Christ,
Which only comes through belief in Him.

But when a person places their faith in Christ,
They are saved for all eternity and therefore can have hope.

Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Hope is a byproduct of salvation which only comes through faith.
But to try and have hope apart from Jesus
Is a foolish and ultimately futile attempt.

Hope is essential, Hope is conditional
#3 HOPE IS RELIABLE
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

Here is the best part and what Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know.

Paul’s hope is not built upon assumption,
Nor is it built upon what he desires.
Paul’s hope isn’t even built upon logic or a hunch.

“For this I say to you by the word of the Lord”

Paul’s hope is built upon the words of Christ.

You may be uncertain about those who have fallen asleep.
You may wonder if they missed out on the 2nd coming.

Well, let me tell you what Jesus says about that.
“that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

And the primary fact is this.
Just because someone has died
Does not mean they will miss the 2nd coming,
In fact, they will get to see the Lord before you do.

And just with that one statement
Paul eliminates all anxiety about untimely death.

It was that understanding that allowed Paul to say:
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Death was no downer for Paul.
Paul said it was better than life, because to die is to be with the Lord,
And those who die before His coming haven’t missed a thing.

What a great truth!
But Paul doesn’t stop there.

He gives 4 undeniable truths that are meant to solidify your hope.

1) THE LORD WILL RETURN (16a)

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God”

One thing we know for certain
(and something the Thessalonians knew as well) is that Jesus is coming back

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

After Jesus ascended two angels appeared to the disciples and said:
Acts 1:11 “They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Jesus is returning.
Hebrews 9:27-28 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
JESUS WILL RETURN

2) THE DEAD WILL RISE (16b)
“and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

We are all aware of the various things
That will occur at the return of the Lord.

• We think about the sword coming from His mouth to strike down the nations
• We think about Him treading the wine press of the wrath of God
• We think about Him casting the beast and false prophet into hell.
• We think about Him binding Satan for 1,000 years.

But the first thing He will do at His return
Is bring the dead in Christ back to life.

Revelation 20:4-6 “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”
All those who have died for their faith…
All those who died before He returned…

They will not miss it, they will see it first.

3) THE LIVING WILL RAPTURE (17a)

“Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”

As soon as the dead in Christ rise, the next thing that occurs
Is that the living are called to meet Jesus in the air.

When Christ comes to judge this world…
When Christ comes to tread the wine press of the wrath of God…
He won’t do it until His bride is gone.

How many times have seen this fact in Scripture!

We just studied Ezekiel 9 a couple of weeks ago.
And before God would execute judgment He marked the righteous to exempt them

But Jesus spoke of the same.
Matthew 3:12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

I’ve told you before, I believe this to be the event revealed in Revelation 14

Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

The grain is gathered and then the grapes are crushed.

And I know what many think here.
DO YOU THINK WE WILL BE HERE FOR THE GREAT TRIBULATION?

Almost every preacher I love and respect says, “No”.
And I hope they are right.
But it seems too clear to me (even in this passage in 1 Thessalonians) that the dead rise when Christ returns and that happens before the rapture.

And immediately people say, “Well, that’s not hope”,
I feel worse now than I did earlier.

But keep things in perspective.

One – persecution is promised either way
Two – God seals His bondservants in the great tribulation
Three – God tempers the degree to which you can be tempted.

Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
God will take care of His own, even in that great day.

But beyond all that, don’t miss the beauty of this passage,
And that is that before Christ destroys the earth,
He takes His people to Himself.

One day those who are alive at the coming of the Lord
Will be sucked right out of their tennis shoes.

Christ will Return The dead will Rise The living will Rapture
4) WE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN (17b)

“and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

And that is the obvious point Paul wants you to see.

The Thessalonians were afraid that if they died before Jesus returned,
Then they would miss Him.

Not so.
Once you come to Christ,
There’s never a time when you’re without Him.

In fact, this is a mystery, but it is a great truth.

Paul said the dead will rise when He comes.
That has led some to wonder,
So if they rise when He comes, where are they now?
Are they just in some sort of timeless sleep?

Yet, did you catch what Paul said in vs. 14?
“even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

The dead aren’t alone, they are with Jesus, and they are coming with Him.

HOW DO THEY COME WITH HIM AND RISE TO MEET HIM?

I have no idea.
It is a mystery I cannot fathom or untangle.

But this I do know, they are always with the Lord,
And so shall we all be.

Nothing can separate us from Him.
Not even death.

And you can bank on that!
Hope is Reliable

Hope is Essential Hope is Conditional Hope is Reliable
#4 HOPE IS INCREDIBLE
1 Thessalonians 4:18

And here is Paul’s point
“comfort one another with these words.”

Set each other’s minds at ease.
Settle each other down.

Furthermore help each other see that it is ok to risk your life for Jesus.
It is ok to lay down your life for Jesus.

If you sell out and “excel still more” even to the point of death,
You don’t have to worry at all.

You will be with the Lord and you will not miss His return.
You are His and nothing can change that!
IT IS OK TO OBEY GOD!

AND THAT TRUTH HAS INSPIRED CHRISTIANS FOR CENTURIES
TO LAY DOWN THEIR LIVES UPON GOD’S ALTAR.

Hope is incredible.
And if nothing else tonight I just want to reassure you of a truth
You all know well.

That if you belong to Christ, nothing will ever separate you from Him.
Now, go out and “excel still more”

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Practical Encouragement – Part 2
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

The last time we studied in this first letter from Paul to the Thessalonians,
We saw Paul begin the “Practical Encouragement” section.

As we said, all true biblical encouragement
Must include the concept of exhortation or confrontation.

Our aim and goal as Christians is not solely to uplift or console,
But ultimately to mold and push each other into Christ-likeness.

And so our encouragement cannot just be emotional or sentimental,
It must be that which takes the truth and confronts one another with it.

And in this fourth chapter Paul has
Two major practical encouragements for the Thessalonians.

The first we saw two weeks ago as Paul outlined their desire to walk in a manner that is pleasing to God.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.”

Paul reminded the Thessalonians of their main goal in life,
And that is that they please God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”

God’s will for your life is that you begin to look like Christ,
And that you continue in that journey for the rest of your life.

And as we said then,
This was a journey that the Thessalonians were embarking on.
“just as you actually do walk”

The Thessalonians were striving to please God.

Paul’s encouragement for them was this: “that you excel still more.”

Throw off your contentment in regard to your level of achievement
In this Christian life and strive for more.

Similar to the way Paul lived, “forget what is behind and reach for what is ahead, strive to lay hold of that for which you were laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

Take your commitment to God to a whole new level.
Strive to Obey God’s Commands
Strive to Achieve God’s Will
Strive to Honor God’s Spirit
In a practical sense Paul used the example of sexual immorality to help them see how to take their commitment to God to a whole new level.

• Through Abstinence (3)
• Through Self-Control (4-5)
• Through Fear (6)

Paul wanted them to take their commitment to God to the next level.

Tonight comes the second piece of practical encouragement.
And it is in the area of LOVE.

And again it is the same type of encouragement (10b) “But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,”

The first encouragement is please God more.
The second encouragement is love people better.

And of course that also encompasses
The Greatest and 2nd Greatest commandments.

Well, tonight let’s look at this second practical encouragement.

2 main points
#1 THE OBSERVATION
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10a

In verse 1 Paul said, “AS TO how you ought to walk and please God”
Here he says, “AS TO love of the brethren”

It is a new topic.
But, like the old one, it was NOT AN AREA OF IGNORANCE.

(9) “Now as to love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;”

He is not bringing in a new piece of theology
Or something no one has ever heard of before.
He is talking about something that God Himself has taught them.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

(My dad – “I teach you nothing,
I only confirm what the Spirit has taught you”)

And that is sort of what Paul is saying here.
If you really are saved, and if you really do have the Holy Spirit,
Then I shouldn’t have to teach you a thing about loving other people.
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

You have probably heard before
That there were three Greek words for “love”
AROS – the emotional, passionate, soap opera type love.
PHILEO – brotherly love
AGAPE – unconditional, God-like love.

AROS may come natural to you,
But PHILEO and AGAPE only come from God.

When God truly moves into a life, love moves in as well.

And so Paul can say to the Thessalonians, “you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.”

And here tonight with a Sunday night crowd,
I don’t think the command to love shocked anyone.

You know it and so did the Thessalonians.

SECONDLY, THE THESSALONIANS ALREADY DID IT.
(10) “for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia.”

So, not only did the Thessalonians know the importance of love,
But they also practiced it.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,”

1 Thessalonians 3:6 “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you,”

So again, like the previous encouragement,
This is not an area where the Thessalonians struggled.

We’re reminded that when someone pushes you to be like Jesus,
That does not necessarily mean they thought you were unlike Him.

They already do love the brethren.

That is Paul’s observation.
#2 THE EXHORTATION
1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12
And here we see the encouragement.

“But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,”
I know you know about love…
I know you practice love…
I just want you to take it even a step farther and be even better at it.

And in one sense this is obvious.
If our goal is Christ-likeness…
If God’s goal for us is Christ-likeness…
Then regardless of how much we love now,
We can all stand to do it better.

And Paul is here pushing the Thessalonians to that great kind of love.

Only here his encouragement is not in regard to the DEPTH of their love, but rather it is in regard to the BREADTH of their love.

When you read this entire passage you realize that
Paul knows they love the brethren,
But he now wants them to love those outside.

In fact look where Paul is taking them.

Skip down to verse 12 and we see the objective Paul is pushing for.
(12) “so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”

It is clear that everything Paul commands in verse 11,
Is simply to help them love those outside the church better.

• By Paul’s own admonition this church had love of the brethren down.
• By Paul’s own admonition he didn’t need to tell them anything about loving the brethren.
God was doing that, and they were doing fine.

This is about encouraging them to let their love spread
Beyond the walls of the church to a lost world.

Paul sees their love is genuine, now he wants it to spread further.

He wants them to “excel still more”

And he even gives them specifics
As to how their love can be shown to those outside the church.

As believers we know we are called to love the lost.
Furthermore, we want those outside the church feel loved by us.
We want them to know the love God has for them.
Paul here gives basic guidelines as to how you can begin to show that.

And he begins in a place you might not expect.
• He doesn’t begin by showing you things to for the lost world.
• He doesn’t begin by showing you ministries you can start.

Paul begins by giving you three areas in your own life
That you first need to bring under control
So that you do not kill your witness with a lost world.

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LOVE?

Friend, if you offend them by your actions,
You won’t ever even get the opportunity
To express that love you want them to see.

And surely as you have studied the Scriptures
You must know that Paul was very conscious
About his image before a lost world.

People today say, “I don’t care what people think of me”, but that is a foolish statement.
You ought to care,
Because when it comes time for you to share the gospel with them,
You want to have enough credibility to do so.

Paul was like this.

Remember in Acts after he fought that ferocious battle in Jerusalem in order make sure that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised.

Immediately after that, do you remember what he did?
Acts 16:1-3 “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

Even later when Paul arrived back in Jerusalem,
He found out that he had been the victim of false accusation.

Acts 21:20-26 “And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. “What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. “But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.”
And Paul did it.
He did not want to lose his credibility with the lost world.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”

Paul was willing to sacrifice self,
In order to be able to maintain credibility with the lost he longed to reach.

And Jesus was no different.
Matthew 17:24-27 “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

AND THAT IS LOVE.
And that is where Paul begins here with the Thessalonians.

Before he ever tells them about practical ministries they can start,
The first step of love is that they get their own lives in order
So as to be able to gain credibility with a lost world.

And here is the question for you.
• How hard would you be willing to work to gain the respect of the lost?

• Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself in order to gain an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone else?

That is what Paul is about to ask the Thessalonians to do.

What we see here are three bad habits
For Christians seeking to impact a lost world.

1) BUSYNESS
“and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life”

The statement Paul makes here almost appears to be contradictory.

The word “ambition” literally means “to love or seek after honor”
The word “quiet” is just the opposite meaning “to be still; quiet, tranquil”

It’s kind of like the statement we would make to “hurry up and wait”.

Paul tells them to be ambitious, but not in a worldly sense.
He tells them that their ambition is to be different from that of the world.

Their ambition is “to lead a quiet life”

And of course this can have several applications to life.

On one hand it speaks of contentment.
Be tranquil, in the sense of contentment.

Don’t be the type of person that is always discontented and restless
Always wanting something more.

Such a lifestyle sends a bad message to a lost world
We are supposed to be those who are fulfilled and content in life.
We are supposed to be those who are at peace in our circumstances.
We are supposed to be those who have enough and have found the answer.

Show a little tranquility in the midst of this rat race world.

Another application could be in regard to being a busybody or gossip.

The 2nd letter he wrote to the Thessalonians seems to imply this.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”

They were apparently sticking their nose in other people’s business,
Trying to jump in the middle of other people’s dilemmas.

We have all seen compassion cross the line to just being nosy.
We have all heard prayer requests turn into gossip.

And that is also a bad example to the world.
And either way here Paul is letting you know that
Either being a flustered, discontented person, or a nosy busybody;
Either way will not win you the respect of the world.

If you want to win their respect, be content, be tranquil, be at peace,
And don’t jump into the gossip rat race of life.

So one bad habit is busyness
2) CARELESSNESS
“and attend to your own business”

Most people read this as if Paul is saying “Mind your own business”
As if to say, “keep your nose out of mine”.

And as we saw in the last point, that is certainly applicable.

But here the Greek phrase simply says, “Do your own”

And instead of speaking of meddling in someone else’s affairs,
This speaks a person who doesn’t take care of his own affairs.

They are irresponsible.
They are not dependable.
And as a result they are always requiring someone else
To take up the slack for them.

And such behavior does not win the respect of the world.
Proverbs 24:30-34 “I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.”

A Christian ought to take care of his own affairs.
And this is as simple as paying your bills on time
And keeping your yard mowed.

Your non-Christian neighbor mows his yard,
And so it is obvious he doesn’t want your house to be an eyesore.
You’ll never win his respect if you don’t take care of your own business.

Busyness Carelessness
3) LAZINESS
“and work with your hands, just as we commanded you”

We read earlier in 2 Thessalonians that
If a man does not work, he shall not eat.

Work is important in Scripture.
Proverbs 6:6-11 “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest” — Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.”

Work is obviously important.

Furthermore you live amongst lost people who do it every day.
You may even work with people who do it every day.

And if at work, your non-Christian co-workers out work you,
You will not earn their respect.

If you are a person who gives the appearance of a bum,
Because you don’t work, and you are always having to reach for handouts, that is not the way to win the respect of the lost world.

Now, are we as Christians striving to gain the world? – No
Are we working to get rich, and live luxurious? – No

But Christians still ought to be the hardest workers around,
Because they work alongside lost people who do value it.

And the application here is easy.

If you want to show love to your lost neighbor,
There is obviously no better way to do that than to introduce him to Christ

But if you offend him with your lifestyle or do not earn his respect,
You will never get that opportunity.

So the idea here is that you sacrifice.
• Learn to be content and sacrifice to earn his respect.
• Take care of the little things in your life that may not be important to you, but are to him.
• Work hard so that he will see you are not just trying to skate by on life.

This is the way you earn the respect of the lost man.

And this is what Paul wants from the Thessalonians.
(12) “So that you will behave properly toward outsiders”

The second reason is so that you will “not be in any need.”

We as Christians are called to be ready to share, not ready to borrow.
We as Christians are to be generous, not needy.
We as Christians are to be benevolent, not beggars.

And one of the ways we achieve this is by working hard
So that we will be able to give and share and not be in need.

Apparently at Thessalonica there was a hint of a problem
Where people in the church at decided to look for Jesus so zealously
That they were forsaking all other duties.

Some even quit working just to wait for Jesus.

And Paul’s point is that this is irresponsible.

1) You will lose the respect of the lost world around you.

No one respects a lazy person who wants to live off of everyone else.

2) You will burden other Christians unnecessarily.

When Paul wrote to Timothy about widows he said this:
1 Timothy 5:16 “If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.”

The church is called and commanded to help those in need.
But if she is constantly having to help you because of your laziness,
Then she is not able to help others.

3) You won’t have anything to share with people in need.

One of the greatest blessings of Christianity is the privilege of giving.

But a lazy man who doesn’t even take care of his own responsibilities
Can’t appreciate that blessing.

Ephesians 4:28 “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”

And these are good reminders to us as Christians.
We don’t put our hope in money.
We don’t strive to obtain the world.

But we do work hard, and take care of our own responsibilities,
So that when needs arise we will be able to share,
And so that we can win the respect of the lost world around us.

And that is what Paul is pushing the Thessalonians to here.
He knows that they love each other.

Now he wants them to “excel still more” in their love
By giving of themselves
To earn the respect of the lost world around them.

He is encouraging them not only to strive to please God,
But to also strive to love people.

And this is good Christian encouragement.

If you are a Christian, then strive to be the best Christian you can be.

And if you are a Christian in this world,
Then be the best citizen you can be.
And if you are a Christian in the work place,
Then be the hardest worker you can be.
And if you are a Christian in your neighborhood,
Then be the best neighbor you can be.
And if you are a Christian in your family,
Then be the best son or daughter or aunt or uncle or cousin you can be.

Sacrifice yourself to show your love to the world,
Gain their respect, and earn the opportunity to show them Jesus.

That is how the church is to live in this world.
And Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians
To be that type of church.

I encourage you to be the same.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”