The Rules

Call to Worship

Psalm 139:1–12 LSB

O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Yahweh, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And You have put Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I lift up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will bruise me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not too dark for You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:23–24 LSB

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 44:6–8 LSB

“Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare it; And let him tell it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient people. And let them declare to them the things that are to come And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not be in dread and do not be afraid; Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”

New Testament Reading

Matthew 13:24–30 LSB

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:36–43 LSB

Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

INTRO:

AG:

TS: Welcome to the sentence sermons of Thessalonians! So called because in this text Paul gives several 1 sentence instructions.

These verses form a summary of the Christian’s virtues and provide the foundational principles for a sound spiritual life in brief, staccato statements that, in spite of their brevity, give believers the priorities for successful Christian living.

In them, Paul addresses several areas of concern. These are practical instructions on how we treat each other in the church.

Many concern our attitudes.

RS:

1. Rules in the Church (5:12–15)

A. Be respectful 12-13

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 LSB

But we ask of you, brothers, that you know those who labor among you, and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,

Honor and love your spiritual leaders.

Know- This means we are to know our pastors well enough to have an appreciation for them and to respect them.

I have nothing against big churches, but they have challenges.

one my best friends from High School illustrated the danger for me.

He was a funeral director in a large town and was helping with a funeral by a well known pastor. After the service, as the ministers stood there while people walked by, the assistant asked the pastor, “Did you know her?” He replied he didn’t.

Pastors and other spiritual teachers and leaders need to know their people and the people know them.

The way that happens in the large churches, is by having small groups. Much like Israel in Exodus:

Exodus 18:25 LSB

And Moses chose excellent men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

We need connection and the larger the church, the more intentional it must be.

3-fold description of the ministry:

a. Laboring

Pastoring is work!

Teaching is labor!

b. Leading

lit. “standing before”

leading in the way of righteousness

Acting as an example of the faith.

c. admonish

teaching the truths of God’s word.

Hebrews 13:7 LSB

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:17 LSB

Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they will do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.

This isn’t an instruction to obey everything a pastor or teacher tells you to do. It isn’t about authority to run your lives for you.

It is referring to teaching the Word of God. Obey the word of God!

V. 13

1 Thessalonians 5:13 LSB

and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

In addition to knowing pastors, congregation are instructed to think rightly and lovingly of their pastors.

This isn’t based on personality, but because they serve as undershephards, watching over the flock on behalf of the Chief Shepherd

1 Peter 5:2–4 LSB

shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Live in peace

submit to the authority of God’s word.

Don’t fight and cause dissension over the teaching of God.

One of the saddest realities is that churches often fuss and feud and hurt each other.

One of the most common feud’s is when they divide in factions for and against the pastor.

They fight each other

This often leads to church splits, and hard feelings

1 Thessalonians 5:14 LSB

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

In the congregation, we should apply this verse to each other

warn the unruly to get back in line

Encourage the fainthearted to keep living righteously in spite of fear and doubt.

Help those who weak to grow stronger in the faith.

Be patient!

instead of viewing each other with arrogance and as opponents, lovingly correct, encourage and strengthen each other.

AP: We should work to live in peace.

Mutual love and respecting that we are co-laborers in the Lord’s work will help us.

Most battles are about a spirit of wanting to be the boss.

GOD is the boss!

B. Be merciful (5:15)

1 Thessalonians 5:15 LSB

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

Do not return evil for evil.

Don’t fall into this trap!

It is human nature to seek revenge.

It is too easy to fall into a back and forth of evil

Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof

During a tense town meeting after the villagers of Anatevka learn about violent anti-Jewish attacks (pogroms) happening in neighboring villages.

One of the aggressive villagers demands they take matters into their own hands and fight back against their oppressors, using the biblical idiom of retribution “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” being quoted.

"Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless"

The OT was teaching about justice within the nation of Israel, not personal vengeance

Seek Good for one another

Be merciful- withhold the condemnation you may think they need

Only God can (condemn/punish)

Forgive each other.

Ephesians 4:32 LSB

Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

Seek good for each other

Do good to each other

Carry each others burdens

2. Rules for our Attitude (5:16-22)

A. Be joyful (5:16)

1 Thessalonians 5:16 LSB

Rejoice always;

Rejoice at all times.

Joy is always appropriate.

Philippians 2:17–18 LSB

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Joy isn’t based upon circumstances, but rather it because we are saved by God’s grace.

All other considerations pale in light of that!

B. Be prayerful (5:17)

1 Thessalonians 5:17 LSB

pray without ceasing;

This isn’t encouraging vain repetition or without a break.

Matthew 6:7 LSB

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Magical chants: reciting a litany to appease the so called gods

Mechanical recitation: Praying without mental or emotional investment, viewing prayer as a formula rather than a conversation with a loving Father

This speaks of praying persistently and regularly

Ephesians 6:18 LSB

praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

We come boldly to the throne of Grace and address our Father.

An ongoing conversation with Abba.

C. Be thankful (5:18)

1 Thessalonians 5:18 LSB

in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

No matter what happens, be grateful.

Recognize God’s provision.

Lack of thankfulness is a trait of unbeliever, not us!

Romans 1:21 LSB

For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.

We have so much to be grateful for!

D. Be careful (5:19–22)

1. What not to do (5:19–20)

a. Don’t quench the Spirit (5:19).

1 Thessalonians 5:19 LSB

Do not quench the Spirit;

We should not douse the fire of the Spirit with our sins

Follow His promptings

Other verses:

don’t grieve the Holy Spirit

Be controlled by and walk by the Holy Spirit

Listen to the still small voice of God as He applies the Scriptures to our lives.

b. Don’t despise prophecy (5:20).

1 Thessalonians 5:20 LSB

do not despise prophecies,

Don’t disregard the spoken revelation of God, the Scriptures.

God.

When God’s word is preached or read, it is to be received with great seriousness.

2. What to do (5:21–22)

a. Do test everything (5:21).

1 Thessalonians 5:21 LSB

but examine all things; hold fast to that which is good;

Use discernment!

Examine, weigh new ideas in light of God’s word.

Reject those things which are against it, and hold on to what is good and shun what is evil or unbibical.

We see new books, movements, packaging of the truth of God’s word.

Weigh them all by God’s Word.

b. Do avoid every kind of evil (5:22).

1 Thessalonians 5:22 LSB

abstain from every form of evil.

Here, we are clearly instructed to avoid sin.

How we live matters!

Embracing the Word of God and not embracing sin is a vital act of obedience

Conc

Citations

MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)

The Outline Bible (Section Outline Five (1 Thessalonians 5))