Stay the Course
Perseverance: 1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 14 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
We have come to the end of our study of 1 Thessalonians. We have seen how this one little book in our Bible can help us as we wait with anticipation the second coming of our Lord and Savior. We are called to persevere. We are called to keep on keeping on in a world that seems to be impatient and falling apart. So how do we do it?
Paul, Silas and Timothy have provided in this last section, four distinct ways that we can persevere. List closely to the these words found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Persevere with Attitude (vs. 16-18)
Persevere with Attitude (vs. 16-18)
In verses, 16, 17, and 18, we see that we are called to persevere with attitude. Our attitude makes all the difference. Are you a person that sees the glass half full, half empty, or are you the person that just sees the dirty glass? It has been said that our attitude determines our altitude.
How high do you want to go? Maybe you are already thinking, “not too high because I am scared of heights.” We have to first get over the negativity, gloominess and sense of doom that is so prevalent. The way to do that is to be the opposite. To be positive and always looking for the positive. The Apostles write, “Be joyful always.” In order to persevere with our attitude, we must have an attitude of joy. Joy means to be glad and to rejoice exceedingly. Paul says it another way in Philippians 4.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Always? Really? What about those times when I get up and did not sleep enough? Be joyful. What about those times I don’t feel good? Be joyful. What about the fact I am surrounded by idiots? Be joyful.
10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
You might be thinking, I know what these verses say, but how do you be joyful always?
“To be joyful always is to see the hand of God in whatever is happening and to remain certain of God’s future salvation. Without such conviction joy would not be possible in the face of affliction, suffering and death.” Charles Wannamaker
You have to decide if God is bigger that your situation or if your situation is bigger than God. Joy is rooted in the gospel, infused with hope and grows in the one that is truly in a relationship with the Lord.
The second aspect of a persevering attitude is that if prayer. Scripture here tells us to “pray continually.” I used to think that this verse meant you never said amen but were always keeping that line open. Prayer is the fundamental activity of the person of God. Prayer helps us continue to understand the confidence we have in God. We fully understand what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 55:16
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
Paul is giving us one of many of his personal examples of prayer. These examples are found in 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; Romans 1:10, Colossians 1:3, 9 which are listed on your outline.
Always praying means to pray without ceasing. Our hearts and minds should forever be engaged in prayer even when our mouths are closed. I love what Matthew Henry wrote about praying continually:
“We should pray always, and not faint; pray without weariness, and continue in prayer, till we come to that world where prayer shall be swallowed up in praise!” Matthew Henry
This leads us to the third aspect of a persevering attitude. Paul goes on to say here that we should “give thanks in all circumstances.” The word for thanks is eucharisteo. It is the same word that gives us Eucharist which another word for communion or the Lord’s Supper. In communion, we are reminded of the body broken for us and the blood that made us clean. It is the ultimate reminder of the gift we have been given in salvation through Jesus. So we give thanks and we can say in all circumstances God is going to work for the good in all things.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
We persevere with our attitude of joy, pray and giving thanks and we should persevere with action.
Persevere with Action (vs. 19-22)
Persevere with Action (vs. 19-22)
God has done His part so we must respond by doing our part. Our text says in verse 19,
19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire;
If we are not putting out the fire, we need to be fueling the fire. What are you doing to keep the fire going?
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
This means that we support, encourage and promote the work of God who has gifted His people to carry out His tasks. The way you and I can fuel the fire is to understand our usefulness for the Kingdom of God. We learn the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) and how we are uniquely called and designed by God to carry them out. We learn the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and make sure our character follows. When we learn and do we are fanning the flame and not putting it out. As we fuel the fire, we will fortify the findings.
The more you and I understand what we need to do as Christians, the stronger our belief levels become and we become more and more solid standing on the foundational truths that come from God’s word. We will see the prophecies of His word and not call them circumstances. We will actually see God at work.
3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
God gave us a brain to test everything. The spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit God has given us could be abused and misused within the church and cause disorder. We have to make sure that prophecies and teaching line up with God’s word and not some cultish ideal. We are to test it and hold on to that which is good and take action by fleeing the falsehoods.
22 Avoid every kind of evil.
Paul says to avoid every kind of evil. Need a reminder of what every kind consists of?
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Listen, anything that caused you to look anywhere but to God is evil and false. We must draw closer to Him hold to that which is His Truth. We need to persevere with astuteness.
Persevere with Astuteness (vs. 23-24)
Persevere with Astuteness (vs. 23-24)
Astuteness is being keenly perceptive or discerning. Remember, Jesus said that in Matthew 7:15
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
To clarify, we must trust the sovereignty of God. Verse 23 calls God the God of Peace. False prophets will never produce complete peace. Our Sovereign God is the Author and Creator of Peace and He freely gives us Peace through no other name but the name of Jesus.
As we persevere with astuteness, we are keenly aware that the God of Peace desires for us to be at peace with Him so He wants us to train in His sanctification.
7 “ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.
What are you doing to train yourself to be holy? Are you being joyful and praying at all times? Are you giving thanks in all circumstances? Are you avoiding evil and making sure that you are putting in your life that which is holy?
Glory to God! Trust in His Sovereignty and train in His sanctification. If you do I promise you will tell of His Steadfastness!
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.
24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Tell your neighbor that God is steadfast!
We persevere with our attitude. We persevere with our action. We persevere with astuteness. And to keep us in check, we persevere with accountability.
Persevere with Accountability (vs. 25-28)
Persevere with Accountability (vs. 25-28)
We sure do need each other. The example Paul gives us here first is in asking for prayer. “Brothers, pray for us.” We need to be accountable to each other to pray. When someone asks you to pray, pray. When you are impressed to pray for someone, pray. We need to be faithful to each other and accountable in prayer.
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
We need pray for everyone!
We must be also accountable in practice. I love verses 26-27.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
We should be practicing so much love that we don’t think a thing about showing affection to one another. The custom of the day was to greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Our society had become so perverted that some of you are scoping out who you would want to kiss or not kiss.
tI remember as a young minister working with a pastor that was so loving and caring. I was visiting with him in the hospital one day and we were visiting this dear saint named Ms. Faye. She was very sick but we thought she had a good mind. The pastor was standing next to her bed and I was on the other side. The pastor, holding her hand said, “Ms. Faye is there anything we can do for you.” She simply looked up at him and said, “Come closer.” The pastor leaned forward closer to her, and all of the sudden Ms. Faye reached up and grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her face and kissed him square on the lips. The pastor was quite shocked and even more embarrassed that I saw it. I of course, was belly laughing. From then on, whenever the pastor said he was going to the hospital, I would ask, “you going to swap spit with Ms. Faye?” I wasn’t at that church much longer.
We are to greet each other with affection and care, not perversion.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:27 tells us to practice the reading of God’s word to each other. This is why we have Sunday School, Bible Studies, WH&FMS, our Wednesday Night Prayer and Praise and our Worship services with scripture reading and sermons. We need to do more! Some of you need to host Bible Studies in your homes. Some of you need to have Bible studies in coffee shops. Let’s get busy church and make sure these words are read aloud over and over!
Finally, as we persevere with accountability, we are accountable in praise.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
The more I realize the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the more I praise Him! The whole reason that you and I exist is to praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
In fact, let’s look at that whole Psalm as we close. If you want to persevere, praise the Lord. Let’s close out this time just now and read aloud this passage together!
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
It is contagious.
It is ongoing!
It happens when you decide to follow Jesus.