Church Relations Part 3
Church Relations • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsWhen the people who make up the local church live in such a way as to please God, they function like a well-oiled machine.
Notes
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Please take your Bible and turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 as we continue with our mini-series titled: Church Relations.
We have frequently reflected on the idea of God’s will, and the importance of God’s Word. We learn of God’s objective will for both individual believers, for the universal church, and for the local church by a careful study of the Bible. Whenever Scripture gives a command, we must see this as God’s will. For instance, Derek read Psalm 98 to us this morning. This psalm began with a command: Sing to the Lord a new song. Later on the psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gave another command: Shout joyfully to the Lord. From this we learn that God’s will for us as a body of believers is to worship with exuberance! Psalm 100 reiterates the command to shout joyfully to the Lord, and then adds another command to enter His gates with thanksgiving. So we learn that God’s will for us as a body of believers is to verbally, and exuberantly express our gratitude to Him.
In our passage for today, Paul gives eight distinct commands. The first three are applicable to both individual believers and to the assembled church. The last five are specifically directed to the assembled church.
To keep God’s revealed will is to please Him. When the people who make up the local church live in such a way as to please God, they function like a well-oiled machine.
Let’s read our passage together.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
Obedience to God’s Will
Obedience to God’s Will
As we consider obedience to God’s will, we will look at three commands which Paul gives without comment. Since the apostle didn’t comment on these things we must assume that his audience would understand exactly what he was talking about. The question is, do we understand what he is saying?
Some commentators have noted that these commands are for individual believers. And while that is certainly true, we need to understand that they apply as easily to the church as to individuals.
Note that:
Churches please God when they are obedient to His will
I’d like to begin by noting the last phrase of verse 18: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. The reason why Paul mentioned the three commands which precede this statement is that keeping these commands is God’s will for the believer. Though it is not the completeness of God’s will, these commands are certainly a part of God’s will for each believer, as well as for each local church.
Also, notice that it is God’s will because we are in Christ Jesus. So, keeping these commands reflects on the union that the believer has with Jesus!
As we consider this first triplet of commands, we need to reflect on the circumstances of the Church of Thessalonica. It was a suffering church. It was a persecuted church. And most commentators have pointed out how these first three commands are to be understood in the light of suffering persecution.
Also note that these commands are not a one and done kind of thing. They are to be the continual practice of both individual believers, and of the church as a whole.
God’s will is for the church to have joy in the midst of suffering
(and at any other time as well)
Though it may seem paradoxical, the church is to continually rejoice, even in the midst of suffering, and we are able to do so because we know that there awaits us a reward in heaven. Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
God’s will is for the church to be persistent in prayer
(in both good and bad times)
F. F. Bruce stated:
To “pray without ceasing” does not mean that every other activity must be dropped for the sake of prayer but that every activity must be carried on in a spirit of prayer which is the spontaneous outcome of a sense of God’s presence.
Certainly our joy should motivate us to pray
Our anxieties should motivate us to pray
Our difficulties should motivate us to pray
Our triumphs should motivate us to pray
Our intimacy with Christ should motivate us to pray
You may have figured this out already, but my wife and my daughter are really close. As soon as something good happens they are on the phone with each other telling them about it. As soon as something bad happens they are on the phone with each other. Not only that but they talk to each other several times a day just to check in. It doesn’t have to be a matter of something good or bad happening. And that’s exactly how our prayer life should be. We should be so intimate with the Lord that we want to talk with Him about everything, good, bad, or indifferent.
So far we’ve looked at the commands to rejoice, and to pray.
God’s will is for the church to be continually grateful
Writing to the Colossians, Paul prayed that the folks who made up this church would be:
strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We have so much to be grateful for — and we should be expressing that gratitude to God.
So far we’ve look at the importance of living in accordance to God’s revealed will by obeying His commands to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Let’s turn our attention now to
Honoring God’s Word
Honoring God’s Word
Before we delve into this section, I need to let you know that commentators are not in agreement as to what Paul is referring to in this section.
Some, if not most, see this as a reference to the early church era in which Divine Revelation was still occuring. In writing to the Corinthians Paul described certain things which were to occur during public worship. One of those was the giving of prophesies by NT prophets. If that is what is being referred to in this section, then the commands that follow, including the final command to abstain from every form of evil could be interpreted to have a connection with the NT prophets — and those who were false prophets.
Other commentators see this as a reference to ones attitude regarding the Word of God which came to us as a prophetic utterance.
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
It is in this light that we will consider this text this morning.
Note that:
Churches please God when they honor His Word
As we consider the concept of honoring God’s Word, we will first look at what it means to quench the Spirit, despise God’s Word, and we will consider the importance discerning between truth and error.
Quenching the Spirit
Quenching the Spirit
Look again at verse 19.
Do not quench the Spirit;
The term for quench has to do with the act of putting out a fire (hence my changing the screen background to one that is supposed to look like fire). Before His ascension in heaven, Jesus had instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit. Regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit, in Acts 2:1-4 we read:
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Thus, the term quench is a fitting term to use in reference to squelching the power of the Holy Spirit.
We quench the Spirit when we dishonor God’s Word
We quench the Spirit when we fail to study God’s Word
We quench the Spirit by not accepting God’s purposes in life’s difficulties
We quench the Spirit by failing to follow through in progressive sanctification
We quench the Spirit through stubbornness and self-will
We quench the Spirit through pride in our own ability
Despising God’s Word
Despising God’s Word
Look again at verses 20.
do not despise prophetic utterances.
To despise something is to treat it with contempt, to look down on it, or consider it of no value.
A prophet was one who had a dual function. One function was that of foretelling. They would foresee into the future about specific things which God would reveal to them. Then they would relay these things to the specific peoples that God wanted it revealed to.
The other function was that of forthtelling. In other words, declaring “Thus says the Lord.” Much of the writing prophets content in the OT could have been derived from a careful study of the Books of Moses — The Pentateuch.
We believe that the foretelling aspect of the prophetic office is no more. Once God’s Word was completed there was no longer a need for receiving Divine revelation, since the Holy Spirit had given all the Divine revelation that was needed.
But the function of forth telling is what preachers and teachers are suppose to be doing as they proclaim the message of God’s Word to God’s people. And God’s people have the responsibility to respond to God’s Word and embrace its message.
We despise God’s Word when we fail to embrace its message with our whole heart
During His time of being tempted by Satan, Jesus rebuked the devil for trying to get Him to feed himself by turning stones into bread. He said this:
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Not only does that give us an example of how to war against temptation. It also shows just how highly God’s Word is to be prized.
If you need a reminder of how to feast on God’s Word and how to honor it, meditate on Psalm 119 where practically everyone of the 176 verses focuses on the Word of God in some shape or form.
We despise God’s Word when we put the words of man on an equal plain with it
We despise God’s Word when we don’t obey it
We despise God’s Word when we don’t make a priority out of feasting on it
Discerning Truth from Error
Discerning Truth from Error
In the following verses, Paul gives three more commands in regards to the message that is being taught. Look again at verses 21-22.
But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
First we see that we are to
Examine What is Being Taught
Though there were many people whom the NT referred to as prophets, there was certainly the potential for false prophets to arise as well. In fact Peter and Jude warned about their coming. And John stated that they were now here.
As it relates to this present time, can we be guaranteed that everyone who teaches a Sunday School class, Bible study, or preaches from the pulpit is preaching the truth? Sadly we can’t. There are many categories of false teaching.
Deceptive teachers who are ought to destroy the church
Well-meaning believers who think they are able to teach, but they don’t really know the Scriptures well enough to do so
The sad truth is that even the most spiritual and doctrinally sound of all preachers and teachers can be wrong from time to time. If anyone thinks that he is always correct then they need to be reminded where they came from and who made them. Only God is correct all of the time. And this is why believers need to be like the Bereans and carefully weigh what is being preached and taught against what the Bible says.
Next we see that we are to
Hold on to Good Teaching
This is more in reference to the content of what is being taught than to the teacher themselves.
Avoid Bad Teaching
Talk about argument with Sam Roach in 12th grade English class
This morning we’ve looked at obedience to the will of God, and honoring the Word of God. The church can only function properly if we are being obedient to God’s will, and giving proper honor to His Word. And it behooves us as a part of this church to take stock in how we are doing in these areas.
Let’s pray.
Dear Father,
We bow before acknowledging that we often are disobedient to your will. We often fail to rejoice, pray, and give you the thanks which You deserve. We often fail to recognize Your provision for us, not just in the spiritual realm, but in the material realm as well. Forgive us for our failures. Empower us to make the necessary changes in our attitude. Helps us to give attention and honor to Your Holy Word, and to live in accordance with its precepts. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Closing Song: Rejoice in the Lord
God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long
In darkness He giveth a song
O Rejoice in the Lord
He makes no mistake
He knoweth the end of each path that I take
For when I am tried
And purified
I shall come forth as gold
