Sermon Tone Analysis

Christian Basics - 101

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

 

Brothers, pray for us.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

*Let’s get back to basics* is a common refrain heard in the face of failure.

In team sports, the players are drilled incessantly in the basics of the sport before ever the plays are studied.

Musicians invest countless hours in basic musical exercises.

Foundations are vital for any endeavour, and the foundations are basic to any activity.

What is true in the broad scope of life is equally true in the Christian Faith.

Whenever we discover that spiritual fervour is flagging, or whenever we find that we are becoming ineffective in Christian service, it is likely that we have neglected basics.

At such time we need to get back to basics.

The message today is a review of Christian Basics 101.

These are foundational activities necessary for success in one’s Christian life.

We are grounded in Christ as Lord for basic doctrine, but that truth must of necessity result in a lifestyle which reflects our relationship to Him.

The fundamentals of the Faith are established and unchanging: *an inerrant and infallible Word from God*;* Christ as God*; *the completed sacrifice of Jesus Christ*; *His resurrection and promised return*; *salvation by faith in Him*.

However certain activities are necessary for successful Christian living, for implementation of these truths in Christian life, and in his closing words Paul reminded the Thessalonians of these basic activities.

Read the words with me.

Brothers, pray for us.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

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

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

Having read the words, consider their application to life and service.

Prayer Is Essential For A Successful Christian Life*.

* Brothers, pray for us.

Do you ever wonder why the Apostle arranged his requests in a particular order?

I suppose it is inherent in the preacher’s make-up to wonder about matters which must appear unimportant, or even frivolous, to others.

Why would Paul, closing this intensely personal and loving letter, conclude with these particular entreaties?

Why would these pleas be arranged in this particular order?

Of course I cannot know the final answer any more than you can, but I can speculate; and should my speculation be founded upon clearly revealed principles of the Word of God I can rest assured that I have likely discovered the reason for the order of the appeals.

I doubt that any one of these matters is of greater importance than another, but Paul revealed something of his own personality and of his own priorities in arranging his entreaties.

Why do you suppose he pleaded first: Brothers, pray for us?

I imagine that it was precisely because the Apostle sensed that he and the other missionaries were in need of prayer from others.

Paul knew that a foundational principle of the Faith is that God permits us to be His fellow workers.

Through prayer we are invited to join Him in work.

Again, Paul realised that the advance of the Christian Faith is not dependent upon one individual.

The Faith advances through united effort and each of us can participate through prayer.

Again, Paul knew his own limitations and recognised his own weakness.

He willingly confessed his need to draw strength from others.

Let’s explore these reasons for prayer.

The first principle to note is that *God permits us to be workers together with Him*.

Perhaps you will recall any number of passages which make this fact clear to you.

I think of Paul’s affirmation in *1 Corinthians 3:9* which presents Christian workers, in fact all who labour for Christ, as God’s fellow workers.

It is akin to Paul’s view of his labour in *2 Corinthians 6:1* where he bases his appeal to the Corinthians as God’s fellow workers.

In short, the Apostle viewed the service we present to God as being that in which God has graciously consented to include us together with Him.

When you greet a guest and set them at ease with us, you are working together with Christ.

When you encourage another in the Name of Jesus, you are working together with God.

Just so, when you pray, you are entering into God’s work.

Do you suppose God needs us?  Do you suppose God requires us to pray in order that He may work?

Who prayed when He called all things into being?

Who prayed when He called the morning stars by name?

Who prayed when He brought judgement upon the wicked inhabitants of the ancient world that perished in the flood?

God is not limited by our lack of prayer, but instead He graciously invites us to share in the work He is performing through inviting us to seek Him.

*We* need to pray.

This is the reason God appeals through Jeremiah: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know [*Jeremiah 33:3*].

Likewise, through Isaiah, God says:

 

Before they call I will answer

while they are still speaking I will hear

[*Isaiah 65:24*].

God ever bends His ear toward the seeking heart to hear prayer, inviting us to join Him in His great work.

What great blessings we lose because we do not pray.

Is this not the word of God through James?

You want something but don't get it.

You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.

You quarrel and fight.

You do not have, because you do not ask God.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures [*James 4:2,3*].

The second reason for Paul’s request for the Thessalonians’ prayers is related to the fact that *Christian advance is too great a cause to ever be dependent upon a single individual*.

Who is the most important person to the growth of this congregation?

The Pastor can be ever so great a speaker, but without a congregation his messages are destined to fall on mere wooden pews.

The church board may be ever so adept at administering the work of the assembly, but if the people fail to support that work their plans are mere pipe dreams.

The most important person to the advance of the church is *you*.

It is only together that we advance the Kingdom of God and promote the cause of Christ.

Think about that fact for a moment.

None of us know the president of Air Canada, I should suppose, though perhaps we are able to recall his name with thought.

How do we decide whether to choose the services of Air Canada over the services of a competitor airline?

What is of immediate importance to our decision to choose Air Canada for a second flight is not who the CEO might be, but it is the people representing the airline—the stewardesses, the ticket sellers, the baggage handlers.

These individuals shape our choice of whether we would ever fly that airline after an initial flight.

In the same way it is not likely the administrative abilities of the church board nor even the rhetorical skills of the preacher which will determine whether a guest will attend our services again.

It is those meeting guests and those sharing the service with the guests who make the guest welcome.

These are the most important people to our services and to the work of the church.

As your pastor I am pledged to work hard to insure that a message of value will be presented from this pulpit so long as I am present with you.

As your pastor I labour to care for the needs of the flock which falls under my responsibility.

As your pastor I invest my best efforts in discerning the mind of God and directing the flock to follow His leading.

As your pastor I struggle in prayer for you, remembering you before the throne of God asking Him to reveal His love to you.

Yet the work of God is too great to commit solely into the hands of the pastor, or even to entrust responsibility to an oligarchy of individuals removed from daily spiritual warfare.

The work of God requires each member together working in concert with one another and with the Spirit of God.

Just so, we need to unite in prayer for specific ends.

Among the ends I urge us to set before our eyes is the need for a united church, the need to work together to make our church a warm and welcoming place where guests feel at ease and at home, the need to honour Christ through our daily lives, the need to live transparently and honestly before the watching world, the need to realise that we occupy this place at this specific time for the particular purpose of honouring God through presenting the Good News of Jesus’ sacrifice and of God’s forgiveness.

This is the work we share; and it all begins through our united prayers.

The third reason I gave for Paul’s request for prayer from the Thessalonians was that *Paul knew his own limitations and recognised his own weaknesses*.

We have the tendency to elevate Paul in our minds to a status equivalent to a virtual demigod.

He was a man with the same temptations, with the same weaknesses, with the same failures each of us have.

What makes Paul great in our estimate was his willing confession that he was weak and his utter reliance on the grace of God for success.

You will no doubt recall this encouraging passage: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me [*2 Corinthians 12:7-9*].

Recall as well the encouragement of these words: I can do everything through Him who gives me strength [*Philippians 4:13*].