1 Thess 5v9to18 New Year Accountability

I)       Text:  1 Thess 5:14-15

A)    File:  1 thess 5v9to18 new year accountability.doc

B)    Audio:  Accountability, the key to New Year’s resolutions.

C)    Series: 

II)    Some important questions

A)    This is about New Year’s Resolutions.  This sermon will give us some good information about making those spiritual goals we have work. 

1)      Made some in the past?

2)      Make some every day?

3)      Trouble getting them to work?

4)      Then a good look at this passage of scripture will help.

5)      But First, some serious questions:

B)    Would you stand between two children of God and hinder God’s work?  Would you knowingly be an obstacle to God sending help through one believer to another?  Would you be the cause of ministry left undone?  Would you deny someone the comfort, guidance, strengthening, or the help that could come from another Christian?  Would you stop another Christian from exercising their gifts in obedience to God by giving aid to a brother in need? 

1)      When it is put this way, it is obvious that the answer should be “no.” 

2)      But time and time again you and I, each one of us are guilty of exactly this – hindering the ministry between the members of the body of Christ.  How can this be?  I would never…but we do – we are guilty of significantly holding back the ministry of our church… 

C)    Every time we pass up an opportunity to be ministered TO.  Every time we decide to handle something on our own.  Every time we try to shoulder our own burdens.  Every time we attempt to improve in our own power.  Every time …

D)    And this very thing I bring up on New Year’s Eve because it is the primary reason our spiritual resolutions fail – accountability

III) Let’s look at this text.  READ 5:14-15.

A)    All second person plural imperatives.  You, plural, do this.

B)    Six total: Admonish, encourage, help, be patient, see that, seek,

IV) We urge you, brethren

A)    lit. “We ourselves are urging you” – continuous and emphatic

1)      Not a suggestion – a command. 

V)    Admonish the idle

A)    Admonish, warn:  instruction or teaching indicating wrong behavior, its consequences, and the correct course of action.

1)      In a friendly manner – not confrontational

2)      to correct rather than to reprimand

3)      “Don’t go down that road because…but rather this road…”

4)      Rom. 15:14, 2 Thess. 3:15 – also imperative, Acts 20:31.

5)      Not – order or relay message from superiors as in 1 tim 1:3, “instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines”

B)    idle, unruly

1)      lazy, undisciplined, something out of place.

2)      Of troops – those not standing in line, not following orders

3)      tasso – order or arrange to a specific place or position

4)      Strong’s:  “Used in Greek society of those who did not show up for work.”

5)      Not to be smacked down or shredded in the sermon – but individually, personally, set on the right course.

VI) encourage the fainthearted

A)    encourage, console, comfort,

1)      to speak to someone either to

(a)    admonition and incentive or

(b)   to calm and console

(i)     In John 11 – those who came to comfort Mary and Martha at the passing of Lazarus.

2)      Also 1 Thess. 2:11

B)    fainthearted

1)      Literally, “little souled”.  KJV ‘feebleminded’ unfortunate.

2)      “These are the quitters,” BEC.  It can mean discouraged.

(a)    Not to be confused with lazy – it’s those who are giving up hope and preparing to give in.

3)      Not to be shouted at from the pulpit or talked about behind their back – they need comforting words and encouragement.  Need to be told that the challenge is what God uses for our benefit and His glory.

VII)          help the weak

A)    help, KJV – support, NKJV – uphold.  Literally, “to hold against.”  In the physical sense, it means to literally hold fast to something.  In the figurative sense, to be devoted to something. Once in gospels as devotion to a master. In Titus for elders to be holding onto the proper teaching.

B)    weak,

1)      unable.  lit. one who does not possess vigor, strength.

2)      Not unwilling like the unruly, not giving up like the fainthearted, but actually unable to go on.

3)      Boot camp

(a)    Unruly – the insubordinate who will not submit to authority.  They need warned, corrected.

(b)   Fainthearted – discouraged, beginning to believe they don’t have what it takes to go on, getting ready to quit.  They need encouraged, a serious pep talk.

(c)    Weak – falling down from exhaustion on the 8-mile hump – they need carried.

VIII)       be patient with them all

A)    patient, longsuffering

B)    to not lose heart, to endure misfortunes and troubles, to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others, mild and slow in avenging, slow to anger, slow to punish.

C)    It’s used of God in the Greek Old Testament.

D)    It’s used of God in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”[1]

1)      Kenneth Wuest “God’s infinite patience with sinners who put Him to the test and provoke Him[2]” 

IX) See that no one repays anyone evil for evil

A)    Rom. 12:17-21

X)    always seek to do good to one another and to everyone

A)    A summary of the matter.

B)    Love your neighbor as yourself.

XI) Six seemingly simple commands.  My topic not these six – but the one thing all six have in common:  mutual accountability.

A)    It may seem that every sermon leaves you with a long list of what you should do for God or for the church – even this passage gives you six vital things to do for one another.  But this passage implies something subtler. 

1)      Admonish the idle – which one of us hasn’t been out of line at some point?

2)      encourage the fainthearted – we have all been little-souled and wanting to quit.

3)      help the weak – we are all weak sometimes, we fail.

4)      we all need patience

5)      we have all wanted to take revenge ourselves

6)      and we all have a need to have good done to us

B)    The lesson is this:  we must allow the body of Christ, the church, our friends, to minister to us and in order to do it, we must be accountable to them. 

1)      Of course we are primarily accountable to God – but what I mean is that there should be at least one person we can rely on to know what our spiritual goals, challenges, etc. are.

2)      We must cooperate in this process.  It is a sin to be in need and not allow your church brothers and sisters to help you with it.  How do I know?  Because the only thing that would stop us from accepting help from someone is pride!  By pridefully avoiding assistance, we rob someone of their ministry – going against God’s will!  We take God’s gift of ministry through that person and refuse it.  We rob ourselves of a benefit that God is extending to us and thus hinder our own growth.  We rob another child of God the opportunity to minister to us and grow and receive God’s benefit that He intended for them.

C)    It makes me wonder if someone can be a Christian

I)       Notes – we are sojourners here for a short time.  The instruction is for us to stick together in light of the fact that we are together headed for a destination that is not the same as the unbelievers.  We are on a particular and awesome track headed to glory.  Therefore we must keep one another in line when we stray, we must encourage those that want to quit sometimes, and we must hold onto those that are struggling to keep up.Some say, “Preacher, I’m sorry to burden you with this…”  It’s not my burden and it shouldn’t be yours – It’s Christ’s!  Together we will give it to Him and see if He might work through us to benefit one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15:  “14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish pthe idle,6 qencourage the fainthearted, rhelp the weak, sbe patient with them all. 15 See that tno one repays anyone evil for evil, but always useek to do good to one another and to everyone.”[3]

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Word find

Son-Light, some history of the Christmas holiday

Back in A.D. 274 an emperor of the Old Roman world chose December 25 as “the birthday of the unconquered sun.” He recognized that at this midwinter date it reaches its lowest point in the Southern sky and begins its gradual movement northward again. The annual rebirth of nature was closely linked to the Romans’ new year and planting season. Houses were decorated with greenery and candles, and presents were given to children and the poor. In time, Christians made this a holy day of their own. By A.D. 336, the church had decided that all believers should celebrate the birthday of the Lord Jesus, the Son of righteousness on December 25.

—M. R. De Haan II[4]

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[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Pe 3:9.

[2]Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997, c1984), 2 Pe 3:9.

p 2 Thess. 3:6, 7, 11

6 Or disorderly, or undisciplined

q Isai. 35:4; [Heb. 12:12]

r Acts 20:35; See Rom. 15:1

s See 1 Cor. 13:4

t 1 Pet. 3:9; See Rom. 12:17

u [Rom. 12:9]; See Gal. 6:10

[3]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Th 5:14.

[4]Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979).