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, 1Thess 5:10. 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, vs 11. 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 and some good practical, spiritual advice particularly vss 16-22. May we simply read and obey. It’s not always easy to rejoice always, but the command is still here, vs 16 (echoes of Phil 4:4). This is 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, to hear when God’s prophetic voice is being spoken vs 20 and be given discernment to test the hearts, minds and motivations not only in ourselves but also within others, vs 21. These are direct commandments that should be observable practices and character traits on display by every follower of Christ. But it takes a daily discipline to see they are maintained.
6. 1 Thess 5:19-21 encourages us to speak truth into people’s lives, but also to discern what is appropriate to say, avoiding all evil. The only way to do this effectively is to spend time with each other to see where the gaps in knowledge and obedience are and then exhort and encourage accordingly.
7. Let’s remember that 1 Thess 5:26 and the “holy kiss” is a command. Paul mentions it several 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 1st Cent Jewish culture. I believe we need to mature and grow here. No-one should make anyone uncomfortable or do what they simply don’t want to do. But the scriptures command it, so my advice would be to pray about how we to implement the holy kiss within western Christianity. The middle east and European cultures have this well defined, even our cousins across the ditch in New Zealand have a wonderful culture of greeting. Poor old Australia is profoundly stunted in this area. Christ centred affection is desperately needed in a culture that looks for other harmful ways to fulfill this need within the human heart.
8. 1Thess 5:27 Paul puts the readers under oath before the Lord to have the letter read to “all the brothers”. Bible reading should not be an option to do or otherwise and it is certainly more than an obligation. The words are living and active, they are food for your soul given by the hand of God. Read His word daily and be well fed.
9. It is believed that 2nd Thessalonians was only written a few months after the first letter. Paul includes Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy as those who are conveying this second letter. As always, the Apostle Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians because it is right, 2 Thess1:3. We should be ready to give thanks for others 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. I confess I boast about our church to other church leaders, vs 4 and encourage them to do the same. Let’s continue to give thanks to God and encourage and build each other up in love.
10. 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? I most certainly have. 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 all will “reap what we sow”. This does not negate the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I believe this is all part of the outworking that Paul describes upon those who claim Christ but deny His character within their our lives.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson group Wednesday night 6:30pm. Off this week so that everyone gathers tonight for the combined prayer night. Starts at 7pm.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group looking at “what is a cult” this Sunday.
Prayer Points
1. Land slide in New Guinea that has claimed around 1000 lives. May God have mercy in the recovery efforts.
2. Keep praying for Anna and the Playgroup, pray for more families to be reached.
3. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
4. Church finances to cover all expenses. Budget presently not being met.
5. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
6. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:00pm in the church cafe. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
7. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Combined Baptist One prayer meeting was an encouragement to hear what the Lord is doing in the other churches and to pray for revival in our city.
2. Great meeting on Sunday with new comers – give thanks
3. Tad’s health getting better all the time.
4. Glenys is looking well and receiving good treatment as she recovers from her stroke.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Playgroup 9:30-11am on Friday.
2. Special Members meeting 30th June after the service.
3. Young Adults study after church on Sunday – “What is a cult?”.
4. Wednesday evening prayer at church 5:30-6pm
5. Life Groups Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
6. Kids@Church every Sunday.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for June...
Q. 21. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve? A. He made them holy and happy.
Bible References – Gen.1:26-28; Ps.8:4-8.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
