2020-03-22 1 Thess 5:14
Notes
Transcript
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray constantly,
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 thess 5:16-18
1 thess 5:14-
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
A. Rejoicing
I. Comfort the discouraged.
I. Comfort the discouraged.
II. Prayer can’t be an afterthought.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
A. Physical isolation does not mean relationally isolated.
A. Physical isolation does not mean relationally isolated.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Illus: We are at the beginning where many of us are drawing back into our homes. As the reality of the virus grows more real, we are taking the direction of the government much more seriously.
We are are eating out less, going to the store less. We are becoming more isolated.
Where fellowship was natural, gathering Sundays and Wednesdays was natural… catching up with friends, it is not any more.
Peopling is no longer a natural thing that happens in the regular pattern of our day.
If we are not deliberate, we will become isolated and alone. Fellowship must become a willful decision.
Hear me. I am not talking about staring at your phone and commenting on a friends status. That is fake.
In these next days you need to purposely pick up the phone and call your friends. You must choose to interact with your church.
More than that, as believers, think about our widows and widowers. They do not have husbands or wives at home. They need your fellowship. They need a call.
Gathering will look different in these days, but not forsaking the fellowship of believers must become a deliberate practice in these next days.
Heb
24 And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works,
25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
B. Take an active role in bringing comfort to the discouraged.
B. Take an active role in bringing comfort to the discouraged.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 thess 5:14
Illus: I spoke with a friend this past week who is a nurse and also has a heart for the seniors in our church.
She shared that many of our seniors are struggling with fear, discouragement, and depression.
Widows and widowers who once thrived off the fellowship of the church are now separated from the regular human contact they get week in and out.
Do you see the needs we already have in front of us?
As a pastor I looked forward to greeting my senior widows every week hugging their necks and telling them I love you.
This is a time that the church needs to step up. As the Word says comfort the discouraged.
Physically we need to isolate ourselves, but on the opposite hand emotionally and relationaly we need to expand our reach to love and comfort those who are close.
Let us pursue fellowship in this time through building each other up in our discouragement.
29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.
III. Choose to see the goodness around you.
II. Help the weak.
II. Help the weak.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
A. The stronger have a responsibility to serve the weaker.
A. The stronger have a responsibility to serve the weaker.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Illus: We do live in a very me centered culture. Conflicts for power have become the norm.
Republicans and democrats have fought for power.
Millennials and Boomers have been fighting over who is in charge.
It is time for a new day to arise.
We need to return to the day where the stronger take care of the weaker.
It means with this outbreak we know that those 60 and older are more likely to die.
For those of us under 60 it is our time not to take charge but to serve in order to save our older generations.
We need to go grocery shopping for them, run errands for them. We need to do whatever is necessary to protect them.
The call of the Christian is to help the weak.
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
B. May Christ be seen in us by how we serve in these next days.
B. May Christ be seen in us by how we serve in these next days.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1
Illus: This is the call of Christ. Lay down your life for others. Not just for those you love, but for everyone.
The bible is clear, while we were enemies, helpless, and sinful Jesus died for us.
Jesus willingly endured the pain of the cross so that I would not have to face it.
He became my replacement.
That is our call today. Give your lives for others.
Our nurses, police officers, paramedics are doing this.
We need to step up too. We need to be willing to do what is necessary to place our lives on the lines for the weaker in our community.
We need to give families with babies, people with compromised health, and those over 60 the freedom to stay home.
We who are young and healthy then take up the huge task of serving them.
12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
JOhn 15:13
III. Be patient with everyone.
III. Be patient with everyone.
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
A. We need to view others through the grace of God.
A. We need to view others through the grace of God.
Illus: I have fallen for this sin.
We all seem to be watching social media more and more these days.
Being more isolated, we look at others, whether leadership or friends and quickly find the fault of how their are handling these days.
For some reason there is not a handbook for leading and surviving a pandemic of this proportion.
What we are called to in a day like today is to be patient with one another.
Here is the challenge… instead of staring at your screen and complaining about them… pick up the phone and call someone who needs a touch of grace.
2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.
5 For each person will have to carry his own load.