Sermon for 3rd Sunday of Advent 12/13/20 15 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
Sermon for 3rd Sunday of Advent
Sermon for 3rd Sunday of Advent
This morning I'll be reading 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 16 through 24.
And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–24
This is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and as we get closer to Christmas Day,,, maybe we need a reminder that we do need to rejoice always! Especially this year,,, with everything that we are dealing with.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–24
16 Rejoice always! 17 Pray constantly. 18 Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Don’t stifle the Spirit. 20 Don’t despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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As we get closer to Christmas this year,,, I can't help but think that,,, especially this year,,, we need the reminder of the words,,, read just a few minutes ago,,, If Jesus comes to us again at Christmas this year, and if Jesus dwells within each of us, shouldn’t that make a difference in who we are and how we live our lives?
This is something that we probably need several times a year,,, but it should really be something that we pay attention to,,, but with all of the running around,,, gift buying,,, and all of this,,, along with a pandemic to deal with,,, we might have a tendency to ignore it!
And this is something that we don't want to do at any time,,, but it just seems so wrong to do during this time of the year!
So lets look at these verses,,, and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.
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Verse 16 says: 16 Rejoice always!
I believe that all throughout this pandemic,,, Christians have risen to the occasion over and over again so that Gods glory is shining more than it ever did before this virus started.
And it's seen,,, because without us realizing it,,, we have been putting this verse into action.
In case you are wondering what Paul means by saying this,,, he means that no matter what we are going through,,, we can remain joyful.
That doesn't mean that we love everything that we are going through,,, but we know that God will get us through it,,, some how,,, some way.
My Bible Knowledge Commentary says that God wants His people to be joyful,,, and He gives them every reason to be.
But Paul knew human nature well enough to sense the need for a reminder to rejoice at all times (see also Philippians 3:1; 4:4).
It also says,,, that this,,, is a command.
A Christian’s joy does not spring from his circumstances,,, but from the blessings that are his,,, because he is in Christ.
Also,,, it says that “The Christian who remains in sadness and depression really breaks a commandment - because,,, in one way or another,,, maybe even in a way that we don't understand,,, but it still means that we don't trust the promise of God like we should.”
So this is something that we need to be aware of and be careful of.
Again,,, this doesn't mean that we are happy for everything that we are going through,,, but we are joyful because we know that God is with us,,, and helping us,,, through whatever it is.
Just two little English words,,, Rejoice always!,,, but they mean so much!
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Verse 17 says: 17 Pray constantly.
Here we have two more,,, little English words,,, again,,, that mean so much!
This is one verse that I can honestly say that I use frequently,,, and for the right reasons,,, I might add.
When you are able to keep the conversation going with God all day long,,, everything just goes so much better.
Again,,, like the Rejoice always! above,,, it doesn't mean that you don't have problems but when that line of communication is already open,,, it sure helps your feelings to be able to ask for help immediately.
You pray constantly,,, the same way that you would keep a conversation going with a good friend that was visiting with you all day.
You might not talk the whole time,,, but when something came up that caught your attention,,, or you needed help with,,, that person would be the first one that you would say something to,,, right????
It's the same way with God,,, because "He" becomes a part of your whole day,,, He is with you,,, like a good friend would be,,, no matter what you are doing all day long,,, and,,, He's there every day,,, no matter what!
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Verse 18 says: 18 Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The two previous commands deal with one’s time (notice the use of the words “always” and “constantly” in the previous verses); this one deals with "circumstances".
Christians are to give thanks to God in every circumstance of life.
Again,,, like the previous two verses,,, this doesn't mean that God expects us to be thankful for every bad situation that we either find ourselves in,,, or get ourselves in!
But what it does mean is that like Romans 8:28 says: God works everything together for good for those who love Him.
And what that means is,,, that no matter what it is,,, how bad it is,,, whose fault it is,,, it doesn't matter,,, the important part is,,, that God is at work to bring something good out of it,,, some how,,, some way.
And no matter what it is,,, we can learn something from it,,, if we keep our focus on God and pay attention like we should.
These three verses 16–18 are not just good advice; they are God’s will for every Christian.
They are not the total meaning of God’s will,,, but they are a clear and important segment of it.
God’s will means joy,,, prayer,,, and thanksgiving,,, for those who are in Christ Jesus.
These three good habits have been called the standing orders of the church.
They represent the will of God in Jesus Christ for us.
The words in,,, Christ Jesus,,, remind us that He taught us these things during His earthly ministry and He was the living embodiment of what He taught.
By His teaching and example,,, He revealed to us God’s will concerning joy,,, prayer,,, and thanksgiving.
In the first three verses that we have looked at this morning,,, they have dealt with individual responsibilities in personal behavior,,, but these next 5 commands deal with the assembly of believers.
The first command is seen in verse 19.
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Verse 19 says: 19 Don’t stifle the Spirit.
By Paul warning us not to stifle the Holy Spirit,,, he is saying that we shouldn't ignore or toss aside the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us or others in our congregations.
Anytime that we do this,,, we run the risk of causing harm to our church and each other by doing so.
In the next verse,,, he mentions prophesy,,, but whatever gift it is,,, he gives us advise about ways to deal with it correctly in the next two verses.
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Verses 20 and 21 say: 20 Don’t despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.
Paul warns about despising prophesy because even if it seems too unbelievable,,, we might quench the spirit of the one giving the prophesy,,, then they might not be as willing to share their feelings again or make them leave the church.
At the same time,,, we must test all things.
They must align with the word of God,,, because if it differs from the word of God,,, then it cannot be a true prophecy from God.
Then,,, of course,,, we must Hold on to what is good.
Once we have heard a prophesy or other good news from someone and it has been verified as reliable,,, it needs to be noted and taken hold of.
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Verse 22 says: 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
During the council at Jerusalem,,, the apostles had agreed that the Gentiles should abstain from sexual immorality,,, from eating meat sacrificed to idols,,, from eating the meat of strangled animals,,, and blood,,, all of this is found in Acts 15:20.
Here,,, Paul broadens the instruction,,, to include,,, the fact that all evil must be avoided.
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Verses 23 and 24 say: 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Paul ends this part of his letter by speaking about the peace of God that the Thessalonians have obtained and is available to us today,,, and he's asking Him to sanctify them completely.
What Paul wants,,, is for them to realize that Jesus Christ is coming back and we need to be ready and we do that by staying faithful to God and working towards sanctification.
And we do that through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, helping us with our Bible reading,,, prayer time,,, class time,,, worship services,,, and any other way that we can grow in our knowledge and relationship with God.
And we know from verse 24 that,,, 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
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As we begin our 3rd week of Advent,,, waiting to celebrate the birth of our Savior,,, we are once again experiencing the high numbers of covid cases like it was predicted earlier in the year.
The fact that their predictions were correct,,, doesn't make it any easier to accept!
But,,, hopefully,,, we can continue as we have in the past 9 months,,, doing the things that Paul is wanting the Thessalonians to do in these verses,,, and by doing so,,, we can keep the light of Christ burning for all to see.
Because as we see here,,, it's by doing these things,,, that we can show the true Christmas spirit that the whole world needs to see.
And by showing the world the way that we should react to this virus,,, we can help show those that have doubts,,, that God will take care of them like He says that He will in the Bible.
Taking care of others is the way that we are supposed to spend our time waiting for Jesus to return,,, and showing them the correct way to react,,, is very loving,,, indeed!