What is the greatest thing you desire? Is it to be with the Lord? Sometimes even this becomes blurred because of earthly passions. Paul has some good advice here. We also begin Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians which includes much about the “man of sin”, but like all of Paul’s letters begins with thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5: The Day of the Lord
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
3 While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Final Instructions and Benediction
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophecies,
21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
25 Brothers, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
2 Thessalonians 1: Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering---
6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,
12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Things to think about…
1. Paul is very practical regarding the day of the Lord and how we should live. In 1 Thess 5:1-4 he says the Thessalonians already knew that the day would come as a thief, like labour pains on a pregnant woman when people are saying peace and security, the day will come. That’s our world isn’t it? Most people are oblivious to the spiritual realities around them. Our calling is to wake them up to the truth of Christ’s return and their need to repent of sin and believe in Christ for salvation.
2. We are children of light and not darkness, 1 Thess 5:4-8. As we are walking in the light and day of Christ our words and actions expose the darkness and the actions of darkness. You a light source around those whose ignorance keeps them in spiritual darkness. The lights need to be turned on so our world does not stumble in the mire of sin and ignorance. Paul reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle and hints back to what he wrote to the Ephesians in Eph 6 w.r.t our spiritual armour by saying “having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation”, vs 8. It is important that he says these things are put on. This is a daily choice for the Christian enlisted in Christ’s army.
3. The reason for all of this is that this is not the end. We are saved from the wrath to come and we are to live lives that reflect this truth. As a result we need to encourage each other and build one another up in our faith. Have a think about who you can encourage today.
4. As a pastor I feel CBC is carrying out 1 Thess 5:12, 13 very well. I praise God for the peace and joy which rests over our church. Let’s pray it continues and that we never take it for granted.
5. There is so much admonition in 1 Thess 5:15-25. May we simply read and obey. It not always easy to rejoice always, but the command is still here, vs 16. This is no doubt only possible if we do the next thing to “pray without ceasing”, vs 17. As we pray we listen to God and as such we are more able to “give thanks in all circumstances”, vs 18, to listen to the Spirit, vs 19, hear when God’s prophetic voice is being spoken vs 20 and are given discernment to test the hearts, minds and motivations not only in ourselves but also in others, vs 21. 1 Thess 5:19-21 speaks about speaking truth into people’s lives, but also discerning what is appropriate to say, avoiding all evil. The only way to do this effectively is to spend time with eachother to see where the gaps in knowledge and obedience are and then exhort and encourage accordingly.
6. Let’s remember that 1 Thess 5:26 and the “holy kiss” is a command. Paul mentions it a number of times in his letters. Aussie men want to reject these scriptures under the banner of ‘culture’. But if we start doing that where do we start and stop. Eventually we would say believing in Jesus is just cultural. I believe we need to mature and grow here. No-one will make anyone uncomfortable, but the scriptures command it, so my advice would be to pray about how to implement the holy kiss within western Christianity.
7. Don’t you just love the Apostle Paul! He says he ought to give thanks for the Thessalonians because it is right, 2 Thess1:3. We should always give thanks for everyone in the church. The reason Paul gives this advice is that he sees the love they had for each other was increasing. You would have to be blind to not see that this is not happening at CBC. The Lord’s blessing is clearly upon us. Let’s continue to give thanks to God and encourage and build each other up in love.
8. Look at 2 Thess1:5-12. Paul speaks about the fact that they are experiencing persecution because of their faithfulness, vs 5. But he also says that God will afflict those that afflict them, vs 6. What do you think about this statement? Have you ever seen this work out in your life, where someone has experienced God’s hand of judgment because you have remained faithful when they have afflicted you? If you are faithful in your calling and others are targeting you in a way that does not honour Christ; the promise is that we will “reap what we sow”.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon and reading topic for this week – Sermon “A walk through Colossians”
Reading – Colossians 1:15-23
1. Jay asked on Sunday why you do what you do. For example, our minds drive our wills and motivate our hearts. This is true for our employment, study, sport, social life, faith and recreation. What we know in our minds motivate and drive our hearts into action. Question - Is this wholly true for you or are your mind and heart in conflict in any areas in your life. I.E Are there things in your belief system that don’t necessarily align with your actions? Discuss, especially w.r.t your faith.
2. Colossians was written by Paul while he was in prison, likely in the mid 50’s AD. He follows the same pattern in all his letters. He greets the church, gives thanks for them and then proceeds with theology by instructing their minds. After the teaching element he then tells the church how this applies practically in their lives. Very much mind over matter. With respect to what we just read, how does the theology about Jesus in these verses affect the way you live?
3. Paul mentions philosophies and empty deceit of human tradition in Col 2:8. Read this verse and discuss some of the philosophies having effect today in our lives and the church.
4. Discuss some prayer points of the group. Church prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Recharge youth and Kids@Church ministries as term 2 starts this week. Pray for Melinda as she starts as the Youth Coordinator.
2. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
3. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
4. Getting drawings into council.
5. Sunday’s message from Thessalonians - “I’m in Raptures” – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. Zac and Bec’s wedding followed by 7 baptisms was an amazing testament to God’s grace.
2. More visitors to church on Sunday.
3. We praise God for the rain but pray for those travelling over the Easter break.
4. Praise the Lord for the Kids@church ministry. Thankyou Maddison Willey.
5. Praise and worship – pray for continued growth and blessing.
6. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
Announcements
1. Gel blaster morning – 8-12pm Sat 24th April – Wacol reserve. Contact Tim Freeman for more details 0403 682 909.
2. Recharge on this week all high schoolers – 6:30pm-8:30pm Friday at church. $2 coin donation. Melinda Fourie heading up this ministry.
3. Kids Church for all primary schoolers. Maddison Willey is the ministry contact. Parents please check your rosters. Remember to sign your kids in and out.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
